Ronni Chasen Investigation Obsession

by YankeeJim | November 27, 2010 at 08:16 am

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“Let’s keep moving,” Ronni Chasen

I am on it and can’t stop. There is so much mystery about the Ronni Chasen murder and this story about the pushy shoving and popular publicist deserves continuous attention. It is hard to run a story like this one to the ground when you are stuck far away from the scene of the crime with a hearing impairment no less. Hey, I am doing my best.

First off, I determined that Ronni Chasen was born Veronica Cohen in Kingston New York in 1946. Veronica adopted the nickname “Ronni,” and that portends some indication into her personality. Her brother Larry Cohen gave her a break doing PR for him in his early days in the film business, and she did a good job.

I can imagine her saying, “Everybody will think I am a success because of my brother Larry, so I had better rebrand.”

Chasen’s was a popular celebrity-filled restaurant in Beverly Hills and just maybe she decided to adopt the identity. She became Ronni Chasen and Chasen was billed as the name of her PR firm. David Chasen and his wife Maude made the Chasen restaurant a success from the 1940’s. David, a Russian immigrant died first, but Maude kept the doors open until she was into her 90’s.

So, when I first searched Ronni Chasen, I sought the family connection with David Chasens and came up with no dice. The fact that Chasen had a Russian heritage kindled a spark connection to Randy Quaid’s star whacking theory linking the Russian mob. But, lots of people have Russian heritage, and the Russian mob is a relatively new phenomenon.

If I still lived in Hermosa Beach, I would go to Martha’s or someplace and listen to conversations to pick up the scuttlebutt. Of course I am not there anymore and my hearing isn’t good so I did the next best thing. I went to the Daily Breeze, the Southbeach newspaper online.

There, I found people inquiring about why Ronni changed her name. I covered that theoretically. Then, they asked questions about the Quaid’s theory and it ginned up some interest. Where there is smoke there is fire. Russian mob invests in films that don’t pay off as they were supposed to.

Plausible is Ronni made big promises about high margin quick returns that didn’t pan out. They badgered her and she said “Take a hike,” with her fist waving in their faces.

She kept records of appointments and phone logs. They must be a mile long. The LA police have got to be looking at them.

Oh, yes, then there are the Beverly Hills neighbors, the folks from Westwood. What do they have to say?

Folks remark that there are cameras all over the place around the Beverly Hills Hotel from where she was leaving the Burlesque party. They would surely show if someone was tailing her in a car.

Other neighbors who arrived at the car while Ronni was still breathing said that someone could have approached on foot. Yet, with people at the car’s side in minutes, no one saw anyone anywhere on foot.

Police remarked that shooting someone five times with a 9mm pistol, close range, and with hollow point bullets indicates the shooter was really angry and wanted Ronni dead.

A male shooter would probably have a hard time shooting a woman, don’t you think, especially someone they didn’t know.

The police have lots of information and remain tight lipped. They have lots of background investigation to complete, pouring over business records and such.

If there is a criminal link, it isn’t likely to show up in the books, but it surely could show up in the electronic and communications files, and logically on surveillance videos.

If there was serious money involved the hit would not expose the real hitter as they would just pick a shooter for the job. Yet, shooting on the streets of Beverly Hills is risky, isn’t it. Why not just pick a quiet time and spot to rub out Ronni. Emotions must have been running high.

So, there are a couple of loose theories out there: 1) it was a gang initiation event or 2) road age.

Ronni was driving down the road, leaving herself a list of things to do on her answering machine six minutes before the shooting, police say. Was she distracted and cut someone off? Did they honk and did she yell and wave her fist? Did that so enrage someone to pull out their handy 9 mm pistol with hollow point ammo to shoot her?

That makes no sense. Often, nothing makes sense in LA.

“Ronni Chasen Memorial: Friends Mourn Murdered Publicist
Talk about an Influencer.

For 40 years Ronni Chasen plied her craft in a way that many publicists did when I first entered the film industry in the late 70s, but few do anymore. She was creative, personal, passionate, and yes, tenacious. But she was also a class act.

Chasen will be missed, said her friends, family, clients and colleagues at her packed memorial service Sunday at the Hillside Memorial Park. Most of the crowd of 750 couldn’t fit into the chapel, and shivered under a wind-tossed tent outside. Publicists Vivian Mayer-Siskind, Jeff Sanderson, Kathie Berlin and Heidi Schaeffer, her brother, director Larry Cohen, and client/friends Lili Fini Zanuck and Hans Zimmer recalled a respected well-coiffed lady who sparked a room whenever she entered it, worked tirelessly on behalf of her clients, nurtured younger press agents, and said “I love you” before hanging up the phone.

“I thought she only said that to me,” Zanuck told the crowd. “She would be shocked by this outpouring, and pissed that her age is now part of her last name. She has literally stopped the show; the industry came to a standstill.” Chasen’s goal was to push her clients into the spotlight; she never gossiped, Zanuck said: “She never promoted herself. She was the real deal.” Zanuck scoffed at any speculation about workaholic Chasen’s secret life. “Ronni would have been happy to have had a life, let alone a secret one.”

Nor did Chasen ever try to take anyone’s clients away, said New Yorker Kathie Berlin, who worked with Chasen at Rogers & Cowan for years, sharing clients, before they both reported to Alan Ladd at MGM. Chasen liked to enjoy an early 6:30 PM dinner because she not only got better service, but could get home to finish up memos to her staff and emails. After hip surgery, Chasen arranged for all orders for flowers from her favorite florist to go toward the purchase of a tree. “She’s now upstairs changing the seating arrangements,” said Berlin, recalling how Chasen sat vigil with her dying former boss Warren Cowan. “She held a lot of our hands.”

Cohen grew up with younger sister Ronni, “his little companion,” in Washington Heights, New York and recalls carrying her home from the movies when they ran out of bus fare and taking her to her first celebrity encounter after seeing Roy Rogers and Dale Evans at Madison Square Garden. “I touched the Queen of the West!” she told bus riders on the way home.

Years later when they attended the Academy Awards together, Cohen’s sister took him back to her apartment to sew up his ripped tuxedo before hitting the Governors Ball. “Where did you learn this?” he asked. “I went to sewing school and got an A,” she told him. “She got an A in a lot of things: personality, perseverance, dedication and loyalty,” he said. “She was an A person.”

Chasen client T Bone Burnett and wife Callie Khouri comforted each other during the brief ceremony, sitting in the same row as vet publicists Marvin and Don Levy; nearby were Bruce Cohen, Richard Fischoff, Mark Pogachefsky, Neil Koenigsberg, Robert Forster, Adam Keen, Chris Day, Gregg Kilday, Steve Pond, Nicole Sperling, Rebecca Keegan, Steve Chagollan, Sharon Swart, Rob Friedman, Michele Robertson, Jeffrey Godsick, Julian Myers, Ron Yerxa, Albert Berger and Ron Bernstein.

“Ronni came to me last night and she was pissed as hell,” said speaker Mayer-Siskind, who remained close to Chasen after working for her 15 years ago at MGM. “Her strength and tenacity made her the best publicist in Hollywood. She was the pitcher, I was the closer. She had an amazing eye for talent. She knew a good film from a bad film, but she could sell them both.”

Chasen for the first time put such film music people as Burnett, Zimmer, Diane Warren and Elliot Goldenthal (who arrived late to the ceremony) “on the map,” said Mayer-Siskind. “She will always be remembered as a legend in the entertainment industry and a driving force in our lives who will never be replaced.”

Jeff Sanderson, who worked for Chasen for 16 years, described her as “generous, loyal and tenacious.” Her mantra was: “let’s keep moving.””

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recommend This comment thread is now closed

YankeeJim

at 16:59 on November 29th, 2010

Too afraid to comment, I guess. Well, it is scary.

Lando (not verified)

at 19:58 on November 30th, 2010

I see a handicapped sticker hanging from her car mirror, is/was she handicapped? And I don't think anyone who does murder for hire would have any problem what so ever about shooting a woman in a car, sorry. Or, I don't think that anyone who made a mistaken identity due to gangs or drug wars would hesitate either, just collateral damage. The drug cartels in Mexico don't even care if they kill innocent children, so why should they care if they kill a middle aged woman by mistake? And lets face it, Mercedes like hers are a dime a dozen in Hollywood, so, could very well have been mistaken identity. I tend to think it was a professional job just because if it is true hollow points were used, and the fact that many bullets hit right on target, not something your average Joe would pick for bullets or accuracy from a sometimes gun shooter. Nope, this person know how to shoot accurately and with intent.