“I AM THE DAY” – Dorothy Huston Hodel (1906-1982) – “Dorero”-The Real “I Am The Night- Corinna Hodel”
February 2, 2019
Los Angeles, California
(Orig blogged April 15, 2006, updated this date.)
Fiction and Fact- Actress Connie Nielsen plays my mother, “Corinna Hodel” (Dorothy Hodel) in the TNT miniseries “I Am The Night” – Here’s the real Dorothy
(SKH Note- Much of this blog was originally published by me in 2016, as a remembrance of my mother on what would have been her 110th birthday. It is here updated to included additional photos and text.)
Many readers have asked for more information regarding my mother, Dorothy Huston Hodel, or “Dorero”. “What was she like?” “Was she cruel and abusive?” “What were the “Gypsy years” like with her?”
Unfortunately, much of the biographical description of my mother was edited out of my original manuscript due to space restraints. This gave a very soft focus of her as a woman and a mother.
Quite simply, she was the most remarkable woman I have ever known. Possessed of a powerful intellect with the soul of a poet, she loved Nature and all things of Beauty. When I think of my mother, I think of the song, Vincent, and the line, “This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.” To me, mother was like, Rima, the other-worldly jungle-girl in Hudson’s romantic-novel, Green Mansions. A bird-woman, not really born or prepared for the harsh realities of, “civilization.”
Los Angeles Times 1918 12-year-old, Dorothy Jean Harvey LA’s Queen of the May- Elysian Park
Los Angeles’ “Queen of the May” (Insert upper left of shows Dorothy Harvey age 12, “Queen of the May”)
Mother was born, Dorothy Jean Harvey, in New York (Central Park West), on April 15, 1906. Her parents moved west around 1913 and bought an orange grove, not far from Los Angeles, in Riverside, California. My grandparents then moved to Los Angeles where my mother attended high school. Still a teenager, she met and fell in love with John Huston. In 1925, the two teenagers ran off to New York, married and lived in Greenwich Village. They then returned to Los Angeles, and both began writing screenplays for the Hollywood studios. Their marriage lasted seven years, from 1926 to 1933. An article in the Los Angeles Times dated August 19, 1933, announced their separation and Huston’s desire to seek a divorce from Dorothy on the following grounds:
“being extravagant, and of keeping him in debt continually. He also accuses her of making no effort to become a good housekeeper.”
In author Martha Harris’ biography, Angelica Huston: The Lady and Her Legacy, (St. Martin’s Press, N.Y. 1989) the following quote was attributed to John regarding his first wife, Dorothy. In my mother’s later years she made it clear that John was “her one true love”. If the below quote is accurate, apparently Huston’s feelings coincided with her own.
Angelica Huston: The Lady and Her Legacy, page 49:
Peter Viertel, a writer who worked with Huston on various projects over the years including The African Queen, wrote a novel titled White Hunter, Black Heart that is reputed to be a very thinly veiled portrait of John Huston. Not at all flattering, the novel shows a lot of warts that the Huston aura usually managed to conceal. But there is a paragraph in it that might serve as a kind of epitaph for John and Dorothy’s marriage:
“I knew I had lost the best dame I was ever likely to meet, and I’d lost her because I’d acted like a horse’s ass. And it turned out that way. I’d done something wrong and I had to pay for it, and so every time I fell in love again after that, I knew the disenchantment would ultimately turn up. And it did. Never failed. Because you get one chance at everything in life, and that’s all.”
Walter Huston greeting Dorothy and John at the train station on arriving for their honeymoon in LA circa 1926
Dorothy age 19- 
Mother’s typed private “reminiscence” of her former husband, John Huston,
found in her personal papers after her death. Dorothy and John were married seven years. (1926-1933) It reads:
“All his life he was fascinated by boxers. He also loved bullfighters even before he read Hemingway. He had a brief enthusiasm for six-day bicycle racers and even looked into dance marathons and flagpole sitters. But boxers were the best specimens he felt, that the race of man had produced.
The first time he tried to tell me about all this, he was 19 years old. I was 19, too, and we were at this party where this shocking thing had just happened. I mean, it was shocking to me, but it left John in an exalted and unusually talkative mood. There was blood all over the floor and on some of the furniture, and my face was green and I was trying not to be sick.
“You’re missing the whole point,” John said. He pulled me to my feet and steered me to the front porch. With the sweet sick smell blowing away and everything outdoors swinging slowly back in focus again, I said weakly, “I am?”
Dorothy married my father, Dr. George Hill Hodel, in Sonora, Mexico in 1940. She bore him four sons, Michael (1939), Steve and John (1941), John was my twin, died two weeks after our births due to “failure to thrive”, and Kelvin (1942).
We lived in the Franklin House from 1945-1950. After dad left the country, mother though ill-equipped and unprepared to be the sole breadwinner in the family, obtained secretarial type jobs in real estate and rental offices and would spend the next fifteen years, raising her three sons. Though alcoholic in the extreme, she managed to clothe and feed her sons and instruct us in what was truly important in life.
She taught us to be tolerant and compassionate of others, to fight against bigotry and prejudice, encouraged us to read books and to love the beauty of Nature and strive for what is Good. What more could any son ask from a mother?
Dorothy Hodel with two sons, Steven (standing) and Kelvin newborn, Oct. 1942.
THE FRANKLIN HOUSE YEARS [1945-1950]
Dorothy posing for our family photographer Man Ray in 1944. Center photo his wife Juliet and Dorothy
Photo of mother taken by our father George Hodel in 1946
Mother with my older brother, Mike Hodel who had just won an LA county-wide public school essay contest circa 1951.
Here is a letter my mother sent me on my 33rd birthday, in 1974. Despite her life-long struggles with “Demon Rum” there was never ever any doubt, at any time, that she loved her three sons. See how beautifully she communicates it here, with poetic elegance.
Birthday 1974
Dearest Steven:
How does one write to a son one loves, admires, venerates so completely that the only thing that sums it up would be to say: I dreamed a perfect son and you turned out to be that son in every way- and even more? Words are tired things and through reiteration seem to lose force and meaning- Fortunately, the emotion behind the words does not. Perhaps I should devote my remaining years to creating a new language which would convey strong emotions freshly and effectively. Or perhaps like birds and animals, we should go back to chirps and growls and grunts. Or perhaps-lovely thought! we could develop a coloration process, like some mating animals, so that looking at you and saying ‘love’ I should glow in a rainbow of colors. So, fortunately, since my pigmentation isn’t up to it, see me now, in your mind’s eye with a glowing purple beak, bright green hair and red blue and orange arranged in a gorgeous chromatic pattern saying ‘Love” in a way as fresh and new as a rainbow.
Spectroscopically,
Mother
Dorothy Jean Hodel died in late March 1982, just a few weeks before her 75th birthday. I have no doubt that she KNEW that our father was a serial killer and was responsible for the murder of Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Short. Ever protective of her three sons, she took the knowledge of this secret horror, with her to her grave. I suspect her heavy drinking was her own way to try and drown the knowledge of the many horrors that she hid and held inside. Can one really blame her? I say NO! (Note the sadness that is reflected in almost every photograph ever taken of her.)
Here is a private poem written by my mother sometime in her 67th year, some seven years before she would find her wished for– “oblivion”. It was found by me, after her death, hidden away in her papers. I pray she now– Rests In Peace.
To grow old
To lose the magic of lover’s nights
Not to wish to recall them even-
How many! How bitter sweet!
To wince away from old scars
Refusing even memory of sensation
Re-kindling of ancient pain-sweet fires
Wanting peace now –
No feeling to ruffle precarious peace
So hard won- so easily overthrown
Not to remember-
Refuse the nights-
Refuse now the sight of lover’s faces
In evening dark-
The swift knife in the dark of lover’s kissing
Awakening what I want forgotten
As I search my way to oblivion
In this my 67th year
Trying to ease the threshold
Between life and not-life
Easing, the cowards way-
And How I welcome cowardice!
Close eyes-close ears-close memory-
Think only of the dark bridge ahead
Think only it is easier to die
If living is forgotten-
Dorothy Jean Hodel- 1975
March, 1982- Los Angeles
At her request, our mother’s body was cremated and her ashes recycled back to Nature. (Buried under a flowering Japanese Magnolia tree) A small group of close friends and loved ones attended the “service” and her three sons: Michael, Steven, and Kelvin each delivered a few words in eulogy to their mother. In remembering this most remarkable woman, I had this to say:
DEAREST MOTHER:
EULOGIES, FOR THE MOST PART, ARE WELL INTENDED DISTORTIONS WHICH GLORIFY A PART WHILE IGNORING THE WHOLENESS OF OUR EXISTENCE.
EACH OF US HERE PRESENT POSSESS OUR INDIVIDUAL AND PRIVATE THOUGHTS WHICH COMPRISE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT YOU WERE IN LIFE. THIS IS PRIVATE AND PERSONAL AND SHOULD REMAIN SO.
WHAT CAN BE RECOGNIZED AND SHARED ARE THE INFLUENCES WHICH YOU GAVE TO YOUR SONS AND FRIENDS.
INDEPENDENCE, ORIGINALITY, AND ROMANTIC INTELLECTUALISM PERVADED YOUR LIFE AND WERE YOUR SPHERE OF INFLUENCE.
WHITMAN, JOYCE, RACHMANINOFF—ALWAYS THE THINKER-OUTSIDE, THE LOVER-INSIDE. (EXCEPT WHEN YOU REVERSED THE TWO.)
YOUR LOVE OF NATURE WAS MOST PRONOUNCED. YOU LIVED LIFE PASSIONATELY AND POETICALLY. YOU SAW AND LOOKED FOR THE NATURAL BEAUTY IN MAN AND HIS UNIVERSE. LIFE WAS A DANCE, A POEM, A SONNET OF THE SEXES—A MATING RITE BETWEEN PAIN AND PLEASURE, GOOD AND EVIL.
YOU WERE NEVER RELIGIOUS IN THE TRADITIONAL SENSE, BUT EVER CONSCIOUS OF THE PERFECT ORDER HIDDEN IN ROCK, RIVER, STAR AND FLOWER. THESE WERE YOUR ANGELS AND YOUR HEAVEN.
YOUR STATED WISH, AT YOUR PASSING, WAS THAT WE WHO LOVE YOU, REUNITE YOUR ELEMENTS WITH THOSE OF NATURE.
THAT YOU MAY CONTINUE TO ADD BEAUTY AND BE OF INFLUENCE TO OTHERS, LET THIS TREE, A JAPANESE MAGNOLIA WHICH BEARS FLOWERS ANNUALLY, BE A SYMBOL OF YOUR IMMORTALITY.
YOUR LIFE SHALL CONTINUE THROUGH THE FORM AND FLOWERING OF THIS TREE. MAY THE LIFE YOU GAVE US BE RETURNED TO YOU THROUGH THE SAP, TRUNK, BRANCHES, LEAVES, AND BLOSSOMS OF THIS TREE.
Update July 23, 2023
Steve H. ~
That is a wonderful, heartfelt tribute to your mother. No wonder she cared so much for you. Time brings reflection & you have triggered a flood of remembrances from my own past.
Tempus fugit!
~ Steve S.
Steve ,like other readers I too have wondered about your mother and always been intrigued to have more of an insight into a being that was clearly a very remarkable lady. I wonder what she was thinking as the camera shutter captured her image, that moment ‘forever suspended in time’. Your recollections of her appear a fitting tribute to someone who in my view was effortlessly creative and gifted. George Eliot once wrote ‘Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them’. It’s the treasured memories of those dearest to us that keep them alive in our hearts. As always regards sue
Hi Su: Yes, “effortlessly creative and gifted” is a perfect description for her.
All my best, Steve.
Steve,
You have a big heart. I’m sure that you will be remembered for your enormous capacity to serve others without a thought for yourself. It’s most unfortunate that your life is marred by so many scars; of pain, suffering, and the knowledge that your father is not what you expected him to be. Be advised however, that you are every bit the man he knew you had become. You exemplify truth, honesty, and justice. The world needs to see more Japanese Magnolia Blossoms like you, Steve. Wishing you every blessing of peace this world could ever experience.
Most Respectfully Yours,
Robert Ricciutti
Robert R: Thank you. Your words are much appreciated. My greatest pleasure and reward comes from knowing that readers like you really “get it.” Best to you and yours. Steve
Dearest Steven,
Your words, testimony and work have touched me very deeply. I hope you know that throughout all these years, not one drop of blood you’ve shed for the cause of goodness and Justice has been in vain.
I know that because of your diligence, there is reward for you in the eternal. I hope that the light of that truth genuinely fills you up. I imagine it must have been so hard for you, many times throughout your life, to keep up faith in what is good.
I encourage you to keep pressing on, because you are the beauty rising from the ashes. I know your mother is so proud. And I can not say this strongly enough: you deserve to be so proud of yourself.
A few years ago, my grandmother passed away, and though we were all grieving, these words broke through my mind in a gentle, delicate ray of sunlight. It was such a different feeling from all the gray clouds swirling around me at the time. I knew I had to write them down. At the time, though they resonated with me, I did not fully understand their meaning. When I read this post about your mother, her spirit reminded me of the spirit of my grandma. And I remembered the poem again, which entered my head like a gentle breeze, just like before. When I went back and reread it, in light of learning about your story, I fully understood.
I present this to you humbly, just for the simple reason that I hope you enjoy these words, which I cannot fully claim ownership of. In fact, I truly believe they belong to you, too.
—
The Cherry Blossom
(for my grandma.)
death comes quietly
yet it is loudly felt.
A blossom on a cherry tree
blooms for only a few days each spring
but if grace befalls the blossom,
it becomes a fruit.
The grace comes from the provider
of all things sweet as honey
He comes to transform the blossom
and make it new.
The blossom has only to open up and let him in,
And then she may live on.
This life is holy.
Only fleeting as it passes to the next.
Keep your eyes fixed on the Eternal
and your heart fixed upon the Son
That shines down eternally on all of us.
Death comes quietly,
yet it is loudly felt.
let Love be heard above
the din it tries to create,
for Love
will
not be
conquered.
—
They say that Angels collect every tear you shed in a golden cup, and at the end of your life, they are presented at the throne of God.
You are and have been the gold. You were appointed, and you answered (and continue to answer) the call. You, Steve, have chosen to sing the sweet song of Triumph over death and fear.
No matter who recognizes it or not, there are plenty of us who know and can see the truth. Everything is revealed in the light of eternity.
Wherever this life takes you next, I want to remind you of what you already know: there is always hope over the horizon!
Sending healing, love and blessings to you. You and yours are in my prayers!
<3 Paige
—-Matthew 23:25
Oh! I did mean to notate the scripture differently at the bottom. Matthew 25:23, a poetic line in the parable of the talents.
Paige: Thank you for very kind thoughts and Cherry Blossom poem. Beautiful. steve
*Matt 25:23
For one of the few times in my life, I’m left speachless and deep in contemplative thought after reading this, you’re latest post. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing these deeply personnel rememberances of your mother, Dorthey. I’m getting to understand the woman and the artist she was better than I ever have before. Life is always complex and sometimes difficult to phantom but through your own personal struggles you’ve helped me be more in touch with my own humanity. For that, I’ll always be grateful.
Dennis E: Thank you Dennis. Yes, one comes to understand her through her own words. I don’t know how she survived seven plus decades, living and knowing what she knew, but I am so grateful that despite the difficult “Gypsy Years” and her alcoholism, we were able to stay together as a family until each of us boys grew to adulthood. She was THE major influence on each of her sons for GOOD.
Upon interrogation from the original investigators, Dorothy hodel also said: (1) “to the best of my knowledge he didn’t and doesn’t know her.” (2) “His branch of medicine is V.D. generally and administrative medicine.” (3) “to the best of my knowledge he didn’t and doesn’t know her.” (4) “i have nothing to tell you that would bear out any idea you may have that he did this. All I know is that he is not the sort of man that would psychologically be the kind to do it. He has a fine record as a doctor and is a dedicated man. He has never had a fashionable practice. He could have had. He is a man that really cares about medicine, not of earning money, but it is incredible to me that he should be in any way connected with it.” these are your mother’s own words, Steve.
Robert: No question about it. My mother when confronted and questioned by LADA Lt. Frank Jemison about George Hodel knowing both Elizabeth “Black Dahlia” Short and the second photo of Mady Comfort lied and denied knowing either woman. She lied and omitted the fact that George had been the sole surgeon at a logging camp and had been a skilled surgeon. She was in full stonewall mode and the following day went to George and informed him of everything that Lt. Jemison said to her and knew. She lied about George’s rapidly deteriorating mental health to Lt. Jemison after writing multiple letters to her ex-husband John Huston in a full-blown panic describing her fear and terror that George was going insane and she feared for her and her children’s safety. As ordered by George she destroyed the incriminating manuscripts written by George’s secretary, Ruth Spaulding which were given to her at Spaulding’s apartment. George told her to “burn them” and she did. That act alone made her an accomplice to murder, and George knew it and would use it as a threat “if I go to prison, you’re going with me.” There is much more. Her alcoholism, her dark side when on binges, her arrests for “child neglect.” Far from a perfect woman and a serious victim to “Stockholm Syndrome.” Did she have character flaws? Yes. Was she masochistic to a fault? Yes Did her children suffer due to her alcohol and drug addictions? Yes. I and my brothers growing up were well aware of her many weaknesses. But, mostly we were aware of the Mahatma (“Beautiful Soul”) within her. The poet that loved Beauty and Nature and encouraged each of her three sons to strive to be of Service, to Sacrifice, to Love.
So glad that as a grown man you understand that all the things she did she did to protect her sons. To shield them from their father who might have felt the need to remove the threat of exposure of what he had done. To protect her three sons who bore the Hodel name which would have marked them with their father’s crimes when they were so young and helpless. If she had been alone she might have chosen differently about telling the truth. She was extremely strong as all masochists have to be to survive. Such beautiful writings she left for you that show her love and prove that even in her life path filled with danger and shadows she also walked in beauty and light. You honor her memory by telling her story truthfully and with a son’s love.
Joyce Payton: Thank you for the for the kind words. Yes, a most remarkable woman that like a mother bear did everything possible to protect her cubs. Taking all the darkness to her grave. steve
Steve, a good mother will lie cheat and steal if it means that her actions will ultimately protect her children. Selflessness.. Survival. Love.
Katq8: Yep. Definitely, Mother Bear Mode protecting her cubs.
Thank you, Stephen. Your wonderful mother was blessed to have her sons and you all were blessed to be her sons. Your mother’s words and your words are beautiful.
Carole P: Thank you for the kind words. Best to you and yours. steve
Has DNA testing been done to determine if George Hodel is Fauna’s biological father?
Janet: I’m not watching the fictional episodes, but Tamar, my half-sister was very clear that Fauna’s father was a White Male Italian from San Francisco. My father was out of the country in Hawaii when Fauna was born. In real life my father never met Fauna nor was she ever at the Sowden/Franklin House until long after his death in 1999. skh
Steve, I am in awe of your candor and strength. Speaking out against ones own family member is always difficult and excruciating. People typically tend to white wash events, even after the death of the actors. You have all the respect in the world from me in your endeavors to bring the truth to light.
Do you feel that Tamar was credible and honest in her accusations against George in the time before and during the incest trial? Do you feel that George had ever forced cohoursed woman at his sex parties, if they ever existed?
Emily S: Thank you for the kind words. Much appreciated. Yes, I have always believed Tamar and her testimony as to events that occurred at the Franklin House with the three adults in July 1949. Other than that one event, I am not aware of any “sex parties” at the Franklin House. Unlike what is being fictionally portrayed in the current miniseries, “I Am The Night” (I have only seen the trailers) there were no “sex parties” no bacchanals. Lots of social cocktail parties with the rich and famous and others, YES. But no open obvious sex. Never happened. Best, Steve
Once again, thank you for your candor Steve. I myself come from a family with many dark secrets, and I can understand the turmoil you must be feeling, and have felt through the years in your search for the truth. You are in my prayers.
Emily S: Thank you. Much appreciated.
What a remarkable spirit your mother had! I loved reading about her and reading her writings. I’m sorry that she had to endure what must have been very painful things. Thank you for sharing her with us here. Her writing touches me.
By the way, I read your book years ago when it came out and now that I’m watching the new series and listening to the podcast, I think I’m going to pick it up and read it again!
Leigh: Thank you. Yes, our mother was a very special woman. If you reread BDA besure to get the updated SkyHorse/Arcade 2015 ed. Lot of new chapters. Best, Steve
Mr. Hodel:
The letter your mother wrote for your birthday (above) is one of the most beautifully written and sense-filled expressions of devotion and love that I have read. What lovely ideas! What a lovely keepsake. Thank you for sharing it.
Alison K.P.: Thank you for your mention of my mother’s writing. Yes, she was a very special woman and much loved by all three of her sons. She is missed.
Steve,
What year did your mother and George Hodel divorce? Do you know if your mother was the woman who took Tamar and/or Fauna to Nevada and arranged for Jimmie Lee to adopt Fauna? That wouldn’t make sense except for perhaps Stockholm Syndrome.
Thank you.
Monica S: No, my mother never had contact with Fauna’s adopted mother. She never wrote her any letters and never had any contact. ZERO.
That’s all fiction. My mother and father were divorced in 1945, but we lived together as a family until he fled the country in 1950. I would not learn that they had divorced until my investigation some fifty years later.
First, I would like to thank you for sharing the history of your family so openly and for being so devoted to shining light on the truth. I began reading BDA because, like so many, I was always fascinated with the Black Dahlia murder. Through reading your book I have become so fascinated with all the different layers that become evident as the investigation progresses -the history, the location of places, the people, the family dynamic, the corruption in the LAPD, the lifestyle at that time, the way life moves on but still carries all the good and bad with it. It’s all fascinating for me so again thank you. I wanted to ask about something you mentioned in a reply above that though your parents divorced in 1945, you didn’t learn of it until your investigation 50 or so years later. What did you think when you were younger and your father just left? Did you feel like he was going to come back for his family? When he remarried June did you think think it was not a valid union because of believing him to still be married to your mother? Did your mother never say anything ever about that they had divorced?
Sabrina G:
Thanks for the kind words. Much appreciated.
As far as mother’s “divorce” actually it never really came up and I was nine when dad was arrested, but never really knew about the arrest and trial as a young boy of nine. All I and my brothers knew was we were placed in Page Military Academy, and then about six months later, mom came and got us out and we moved to Palm Springs. All she said was that they split up and he moved to Hawaii. Mike, Kelvin and I just assumed she got a divorce something in the early Fifties and no questions asked. It wasn’t until after my father’s death in 1999 and doing my research that I found the Divorce Papers filed at L.A. County Hall of Records that showed they were formally divorced in 1944. News to me! Which meant we were living “off an on” at the Sowden/Franklin House “at his pleasure” so to speak. But, we three boys knew nothing of the earlier “divorce.” All Best, Steve
Is it possible that Jeanne Spangler was abducted and kept captive in the basement at Sowden House? And it was her cries heard on the wiretaps? Her remaind might still be there even now.
Marvie R: No, too long a time period. Spangler was slain in early October 1949 and the assault and or probable murder of the unknown woman occurred on February 15, 1950, so moare than four months later. skh
Steve, you are everything good you say about your mother. It is wonderful you took that good from her and did so much with it. True honesty and pursuit of truth is also a gift if not also an art. I really like everything you’ve done. I’ve been reading it all these years. Certainly not everyone would have had the courage and strength of heart to turn around a horrible family story of evil and murder into a mystery focused on truth and justice. Poetic in itself, really.
Nancy N: Thank you for the kind words. Much appreciated. Mother was truly our (her three sons) inspiration. Yes, she was a true poet. skh
Dear Steve,
I want to ask you about your mother´s letters to John Houston. I notice Letter no. 6 dates from 1950. You lived in a rental with your mother and brothers in 1948. Why would your mother return to the Sowden House in 1950 with her sons, despite the knowledge she had about your father? Maybe this is not as relevant to the story, but I am interested in her way of thinking in those days.
Ana: No money, totally dependent on him for support. I think she may well have been addicted not just to alcohol, but possibly drugs too. She was an accomplice to murder as far back as 1945, Ruth Spaulding, dad’s secretary when she responded to her apt at at George’s order’s “burned the manuscripts.” Factor in the Stockholm Syndrome effects and it makes it easier to understand the WHY she came back to the house.
Was your mother Tamar’s mother? I’m a little confused about that. If so why would she not be furious for your father molesting her?
Cornell B: No, my mother was not Tamar’s. Tamar is my half-sister. Same father, George Hodel. What adds to the confusion is the fact that both Tamar’s and my mother were named Dorothy. My father renamed my mother “Dorero” to help make the distinction. My mother was furious. Tamar’s mother was not and took the position that her daughter was a “pathological liar” and did not believe her when she made the claim of incest. Sadly, for that and other reasons father was acquitted by a jury despite the fact there were three adult witnesses present in the room when the sex acts occurred. Regards, Steve
So interesting!! Am I correct that your mother was the ex wife of John Huston? Do you and Angelica have different mothers? I hope you get closure. It’s amazing that a simple dna test on those letters could solve this crime and you can’t get the ok!
God Bless
Jossey: Yes, my mother was John Huston’s first wife. They were married for seven years. (1926-1933). No relation to Anjelica. Huston was married four or five times.
Best, Steve
How did she die?
Why didn’t George mass killing in Philippines
Can you give pictures of hortensia and Dorothy Anthony
Pukar:
My mother died of a heart condition/heart attack at age 76. Amazing she lived that long because of her serious alcohol/drug abuse, but a strong constitution just kept her going.
I suspect George did commit numerous other killings throughout Asia and possibly Europe. But, no real investigations would occur with a corrupt police force and if the victim were “a dead prostitute in a backstreet Manila alley.” Would be easy fishing grounds for a man like GHH. Here’s a link to Hortensia photo: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/163597314/hortensia-starke
I don’t have a photo of Dorothy Anthony.
Why didn’t George quickly leave Philippine after divorce
Did he molest any of his kids with hortensia
Your mother was ‘all things’ including the most fantastical poet. Oh what a thrill it would be to read her book of pros.
In good health and contentment
A
Amanda:
Yes, smarter than both Huston and Hodel. Such a tragic life.
steve
He didn’t butchered any Filipinos after lucila
I did research
He not interested in Asian culture
And she was 1 months pregnant
Do you think he killed her for it
Bob:
If they were in fact in a relationship it is possible GHH could have been the father?
But, I suspect there was more to the killing than just her being pregnant. What did she know?
I just learned of the TNT series. Just one question:
Has any recognition of you or your tremendous books/work been given?!
So far I’ve seen a Youtuber covering the Sowden House and the series, and then I saw the series description on Hulu, and then I read reviews… I’ve yet to come across mention of the source of all this material, and it bugs me.
Niteflyte:
No, I had nothing to do with the production of the fictional miniseries, I Am The Night. Didn’t know it was being made until seeing the promo/flyer a few weeks before it aired. It was all my half-sister Fauna’s collaboration with TNT people behind my back. I didn’t watch the series, but from the trailers could tell it was 95% fiction. My father never met Fauna and she was never at the Sowden House until long after my father died and my first book, BDA was published.
Hi Steven! Thanks for your response!! For me this is a bit of a thrill, because I have been a big fan ever since I came across you on a KFI radio show way back when, talking about your first book. I had never been a big book person, but I just found you and your commentary fascinating and it drew me in from the beginning.
This is just my opinion, but I think that higher intellectual people often want to explore and learn about human nature and aspects of life that are outside the generic norms. Of course, this can often lead people down a more sadistic, evil path, but for others it can be used for good educational insights. I think that sometimes, people of higher IQ/intellect become frustrated and bored with the generic, groupthink constraints that the common folk live by. That existence where people won’t question things too much because like farm animals, they desire stability and structure.
Anyways, on a side note, did you consider that perhaps George became a taxi driver to facilitate casing and stalking? I believe you mentioned in one of your books (I haven’t read them all yet) that he learned of many nightspots through this job. It just occurred to me that he had these other professional pursuits for higher purposes, but cab driver would be something beneath him – unless it was for studying people.
As for the Youtuber I mentioned, she DID mention you in her second video, and that you were the source of her information, so I was glad to see that. It just strikes me tho that people come across this “story” and become fascinated (and rightly so, because it’s a tale that people can learn a lot from) by it, but then don’t give credit/appreciation to the source that made it all possible. Let me take a moment to say on the one hand, I wish you comfort, love and peace for some very tough experiences in your life path where you were in the front row seat. And also to thank you for the work you have done, both as an investigator but also as a writer presenting all of your findings. I wonder how many people realize that beyond the entertainment and fascination, that this is a RARE insight into human nature and behavior, and also life itself.
I don’t know if you ever checked-out the very sad and troubling story of Skylar Neese who was murdered by her two 16 year old friends. The local lead investigator has held to the notion that this was a “thrill kill” in the face of everyone else who all search for other answers and are so lost as to how this could happen. And while I agree that it’s indeed shocking, sad and terrible, it seems to me the same sort of situation, where someone who is a bit of a higher intellect or independent thinker is bored or confounded by the redundancy and seeming futility of society around her, and starts down a dark path where others are simply NPCs (non-player characters) in her reality. For my part, I find some insights into people’s minds and every day lives.
Niteflyte: Thanks. Some good thinking and observations. Much appreciated.
steve
Hi Steve,
I hope you’re doing well. I’ve been delving into some research on George and his first wife (Dorothy Anthony), particularly interested in Dorothy’s background. Do you happen to know her birth and death dates? I’ve hit a wall with some of the information.
Additionally, I’ve been intrigued by your family’s connection to Elizabeth Short. Are there any details you could share that might not be widely known? maybe your ready to share some private stories and info? If you’re comfortable, I’d love to hear any personal experiences or perhaps some lesser-known stories about your father. Of course, if you’d rather not discuss these topics, I completely understand.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
samara abigail
Samara A:
No private stories re. Elizabeth Short. I didn’t know there was any connection to my family prior to 1999 upon my father’s death. Below info on Dorothy Anthony (Barbe). Dorothy Grace Anthony (Barbe) was born 4/17/11. Death 10/12/95 in Marin County
Death Dorothy Grace Barbe. Married to Charles Barbe in 1947. Daughter Tamar born in 1935.
I don’t believe she was ever married to George Hodel, but not positive.
Hi Steve,
Thank you so much for your quick reply. I have a few more questions that I’m hoping you could shed some light on: What do you believe were Elizabeth Short’s activities and whereabouts in the final days leading up to her murder? Did George really leave her at the hotel that day, or did he take her home? Was Elizabeth romantically involved with women, and if so, could this have made her a target during that era? How might this aspect of her life have influenced the investigation? Was Elizabeth tortured for multiple days, and how? Was she surgically cut in half before or after her death? What do you think was George’s motive for killing Elizabeth Short? These question has been particularly puzzling to me. Thank you so much for your time and help. Your answers have been incredibly valuable to my research.
Best regards,
Samara Abigail
Samara A:
I suggest you read BDA I, II, and III. They answer all or most of your questions.