Sidney Korshak

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (May 2007)
This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia.
Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions.(December 2007)

Sidney R. Korshak was a lawyer and "fixer" for businessmen in the upper echelons of power and the Chicago Outfit in the United States.

Contents

[edit] Private Life

He was born on the West Side of Chicago on June 6, 1907. He was raised with his four siblings in the Lawndale community of Chicago and graduated from DePaul University College of Law. Through his law practice he interacted with many mobsters like Al Capone, Frank Nitti and Sam Giancana. He was known as "the most powerful lawyer in the world", and his services were used by the upper ranks of both legitimate and illegitimate businesses in the United States. He and his wife played tennis and socialized with stars like Dinah Shore and many others. Korshak was known to have had a long-time affair with Stella Stevens.[citation needed]

Marrying Beatrice [Bea to her friends] and raising two sons, the Korshaks had as their primary residence for many years a mansion in 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.[citation needed] Some people say he is responsible for their movie careers.[citation needed]

[edit] Life In Los Angeles

Korshak and his wife quickly made many friends in both locales, and indeed the world over, including many famous Hollywood celebrities, executive, studio heads and leading figures in the entertainment industry, including MCA/Universal chief Lew Wasserman, Paul Ziffren (an entertainment attorney who would, in the 1980s be honored for, among many accomplishments, being the driving force behind bringing the 1984 Olympics to Los Angeles), Kirk Kerkorian (MGM chief), Charles Bluhdorn (Gulf + Western founder), Frank Sinatra, Ronald Reagan, William French Smith (labor attorney & future United States Attorney General during the Reagan administration], Edmund "Pat" Brown, Edmund "Jerry" Brown, future Governor of California Gray Davis, producer Robert Evans, Warren Beatty, Barron Hilton, Hugh Hefner and many others of significance in the field of motion pictures.

[edit] Business and Work

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

As a Labor Consultant and 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.

[edit] Mob connections

As a dominant figure in both the world of labor disputes, negotiations & settlements, Korshak dealt with, on an attorney-client basis, various elements of the Chicago Outfit.

Willie Bioff was once told by Cherry "No-Nose", a top capo for Frank Nitti to, "pay attention to Sid. He's our man. Remember, any message he may deliver to you is a message from us."[citation needed] Korshak bought the J.P. Seeberg Corporation and immediately after the company stock rose from $35 to $141.50 a share. He then sold 143,000 shares to pivotal figures in the stock market like Bernard Cornfield, who owned the FOF Property Fund in Switzerland. Korshak received $5 million from the deal.[citation needed]

Korshak died on 20 January 1996, without ever having any criminal conviction (or even, according to his New York Times obituary, any indictments) against him. Korshak was the inspiration for David Strathairn's character "Pierce Moorehouse Patchett" in L.A. Confidential. In September 2006, investigative journalist and author Gus Russo published a comprehensive biography of Korshak entitled Supermob.

[edit] References