Sidney Korshak

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General History & Background

Sidney R. Korshak was born on June 6, 1907 and was raised with his four siblings in the Lawndale community of Chicago, attended and graduated from DePaul University College of Law, and, after a period of time relocated to Southern California where he maintained residence until his death on January 20, 1996.

Marrying a beautiful lady named Beatrice [Bea to her friends] and raising two sons, Mr. & Mrs. Korshak had as their primary residence for many years a mansion in the exclusive Bel Air portion of Beverly Hills at 10624 North Chalon Road, with a secondary home in Palm Springs. During the 1960s he had longtime affairs with actresses Stella Stevens and Jill St. John. Some people say he is responsible for their movie careers.

Life In Los Angeles

The couple quickly made many friends in both locales, and indeed the world over, including many famous Hollywood celebrities, executive, studio heads & leading figures in the entertainment industry, including Lew Wasserman [MCA/Universal Chief], Paul Ziffren [Entertainment Attorney who would, in the 1980's be honored for, among many accomplishments, being the driving force behind bringing the 1984 Olympics to Los Angeles], Dinah Shore, Kirk Kerkorian [MGM Chief], Charles Bluhdorn [Gulf & Western Founder], Frank Sinatra, Ronald & Nancy Reagan, William French Smith [Labor Attorney & Future Attorney General of the United States during the Reagan Administration], Edmund "Pat" Brown, Edmund "Jerry" Brown [Future Governor of California], Gray Davis [Future Governor of California], Robert Evans [Paramount Pictures Production Chief & Independent Film Producer], Warren Beatty, Barron Hilton, Hugh Hefner & almost anybody and everybody of any significance in the field of motion pictures.

Business and Work

Although holding a degree in law, and indeed often functioned as an attorney, Korshak held real dominance in the field of Labor Consulting & Negotiations, and his client list read like a veritable "who's who" list of corporate titans, including Hilton Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, MGM, Playboy, MCA/Universal, Diner's Club and literally hundreds of others.

As a Labor Consultant & Negotiator, Korshak was heavily involved in the West Coast Operations of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, during a time in American history where organized labor was at the peak of furious and intense activity.

Character Assassination

The following is a whitewash: As a dominant figure in both the world of labor disputes, negotiations & settlements, Korshak dealt with, on an attorney and client basis, various elements hailing from the famed Chicago "Outfit," otherwise known as La Cosa Nostra, or, in more common parlance, "Mafia."

Although of Jewish and not Italian descent, Korshak earned the respect of the Italian community and indeed was respected to a degree not typically afforded to "outsiders" of that particularly rarefied [and admittedly highly dangerous] world.

Additionally, Korshak is reputed to have had significant personal investment in certain Las Vegas Casinos.

The combination of certain segments of his client list, with the added factor of reputed investments in Las Vegas, led some to believe that he himself was a "member of a criminal enterprise" and somehow that he was a criminal himself.

Personal Opinion obviously written by one of his decendants

There is little doubt that, until the last few and particularly the past couple of years, the name Sidney Korshak was largely unknown to the general public. Under the Freedom of Information Act, the files on Korshak, maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are readily available [albeit in censored form, a common practice of the Bureau] on the internet.

However, anonymity from the general public does not equate nefarious practices. Indeed, famed MCA Chief of 50 years, Lew Wasserman, similarly eschewed the public light noting to his executives that "publicity is for the stars, not for studio executives."

There have only been two books of any significance written about the life of Korshak, one in 1986 and the other in 2006.

The latter is probably the most comprehensive work that will ever be done regarding Korshak, and, after several readings, I have concluded that the author, Gus Russo, while sincere in his efforts, and who is a very good writer, has unfortunately succeeded in many extrapolations that are unsupportable and, in some instances, are purely conjecture.

It is my considered opinion that, in reading every book where the name of Sidney Korshak is mentioned, and in reading Russo's book thoroughly several times, coupled with my considerable knowledge of the development of 20th Century America, that Sidney Korshak was not a criminal, but rather was a highly intelligent and sophisticated man, with a fearsome intellect, who utilized his talents to represent his clients, corporate and otherwise, to the very best of his ability. In so doing, he became a wealthy man.

Indeed, even Russo's book[which, sadly, ultimately vilified Korshak as being at least as criminal as certain of his clients were reputed to be, is replete with anecdote and tales, repeated again and again by those who knew him, of great kindnesses he dispensed to not only his friends, but to people whom he barely knew--and this extended to not only movers & shakers, but all the way down to the kitchen staff of restaurants he frequented.