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MICKEY COHEN
The Life and Crimes of L.A.’s Notorious Mobster
by TERE TEREBA
The true story of Hollywood’s brazen and phobic celebrity mob boss – and the L.A. underworld.
Tere thinks of herself first and foremost as an Angeleno. Her L.A. universe spans from downtown to Venice Beach, from Mulholland to Malibu and beyond. She spent her teen years going to clubs on the Sunset Strip, particularly the Whiskey A Go Go, to see performances by musicians like Jimi Hendrix, James Brown and English bands like the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones.Soon rock legend Jim Morrison’s girlfriend, Pamela Courson, discovered Tere, recruiting her to design for her boutique, Themis. Tere laughs, “Themis was ‘incredibly exclusive’ because it was never open. You could count on one hand the times it was open.” Simultaneously, she was hired as an apprentice by Young Edwardian, then the most important junior fashion label in the country, to sketch designs in the back room.
She proved her mettle in the fashion industry quickly, enjoying early commercial success. Her hallmark became wearable “contemporary” fashion: timeless yet trendy design featuring clean lines, unique fabrics and unexpected detailing.
While a teenager, she caught the attention of Andy Warhol in Los Angeles. She was thrilled as she was fascinated by “all things Warhol.” Invited to visit Warhol’s Factory, then at 33 Union Square West, when she came to New York, Tere began traveling the world meeting new friends, many from the artist’s exotic milieu. Soon, she was written about and writing for Warhol’s magazine, INTERVIEW.
Her interest in music segued into film, which resulted in her interviewing many important filmmakers for the magazine. Although consumed by a demanding fashion career, she enjoyed writing. Soon, she was cast in the black comedy, Andy Warhol’s BAD, directed by Jed Johnson. In a role expressly written for her she played the mother of an autistic child– provocative material for film at the time. She never pursued an acting career and appears in just this one film.
Tere set trends in her personal life with her idiosyncratic apartment, which was featured in ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST, and as an early collector of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, as well as American surrealist, Joseph Cornell.She emerged from a hiatus to design cutting edge fashion for the 21st Century. Many young pop culture icons were seen wearing her designs for BEBE STORES.
The book: A non-fiction work set in Los Angeles, Tereba reveals the complete history of the L.A. underworld - definitively seen for the first time - taking the reader into dark, uncharted territory. A seductive, premium octane blend of biography, true crime and Hollywood, with unprecedented research and more than 75 rare photos and documents, Mickey Cohen covers a half century of history, from the early days of the film business into the late 1970s. Filled with provocative revelations and iconic players, among the 20th century legends appearing are RFK, President Richard Nixon, Rev. Billy Graham, Shirley Temple, Marilyn Monroe, Lana Turner and her lover Johnny Stompanato (the Cohen associate who turned up dead in the film goddess’s bedroom) and Frank Sinatra — as well as gangland powers, Hollywood moguls, socialites, hoods, sports figures, politicians, police, party girls and pimps. L.A. author JAMES ELLROY has rightly called Mickey Cohen, “The greatest gangster…EVER!”
In Tereba’s book the reader will learn the real story behind the fictional Mickey Cohen, who is now a character in the L.A. Noire video game, and will again appear in a fictional context, as portrayed by Sean Penn, in the film Gangster Squad,coming Fall 2012.
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