The Hiltons: The True Story of an American Dynasty

by Taraborrelli, J. Randy

  “That [incident] told me that he was not himself. He wasn’t the same Hilton I used to know. He had never been old, but he became old. He had been such a young man, but no more. He always had a sparkle in his eye, and unfortunately that was gone. Sometimes, he was coherent and sometimes he wasn’t with it. Barron said so, too. Barron Hilton kept telling it to me.”

  QUESTION: What else did you notice?

  ANSWER: He walked differently. He walked like an old man. Stooped over. He started going down the hill. All of a sudden he didn’t wear his toupee. No. Take that out.

  QUESTION: Excuse me?

  ANSWER: About the toupee, take that out. Take that toupee bit out.

  QUESTION: I’m sorry?

  ANSWER: Can we take that out? I don’t want to say that.

  QUESTION: But if it is something you noticed…

  ANSWER: I don’t like it. It’s terrible. Take that out.

  Eventually, Gabor’s attorney convinced her that the remark should not be stricken if it was true. She said it was true.

  At the end of the first four-hour session, Zsa Zsa was exhausted. When told by Ralph Nutter that she would probably have to come back for more questioning, she became annoyed. “But how much more can I tell you?” she asked him. “I have already given you my whole life!” Myron Harpole added that there would likely be just a few more questions. “Fine,” Zsa Zsa decided. “Then I will do what I have to do for my daughter. I don’t care how many more times I have to come down here and answer your embarrassing questions, I will do it,” she concluded. “Connie always thought I was weak. Well, I just hope he is watching me now.”

  In the end, Zsa Zsa Gabor would be further deposed on July 9 by attorneys Nutter and Harpole, and then again on July 10 by Harpole alone.

  Smoking Gun?

  In her sworn testimony, Zsa Zsa Gabor claimed that she and Conrad Hilton had engaged in one single night of passion at the Plaza Hotel in New York City in early July 1946, during which her daughter, Francesca, was conceived. Zsa Zsa’s tale of an almost scatterbrained, hurried tryst with Conrad half dressed while in a leg cast had a whiff of the kind of highly amusing anecdote she loved to tell late night talk show hosts. It’s safe to say that no one on the Hilton estate’s side believed a word of it. But then, much to everyone’s astonishment, Francesca Hilton’s team of attorneys located a gentleman named Willard Kramer, an insurance man who was able to testify to at least some of the specifics of Zsa Zsa’s unusual story. Kramer had been a golfing buddy of Conrad Hilton’s in the 1940s. His testimony—at least the way Francesca’s lawyers viewed it—could well help win Francesca’s case. Willard Kramer was deposed by Robert D. Walker of the firm Belcher, Henzie & Biegenzahn on July 1, 1979.

  QUESTION: In the spring of 1946, did you have occasion to remember any kind of injury that Conrad Hilton had to any part of his body?

  ANSWER: Yes. It was to his knee. I don’t recall whether it was broken or lacerated or strained, but he wore a cast on his right knee. I don’t remember how long he wore it, but it was cumbersome. It interfered with our golf game, but he and I still traveled extensively during that period when he had the cast on his knee.

  QUESTION: So you recall traveling with Mr. Hilton at this time?

  ANSWER: Yes. I have a rather good recollection of having flown with him to New York. I think it was the day before Easter, which was in April of that year. We arrived in New York by plane after midnight. We stayed at the Plaza Hotel which at that time, or later, became one of the Hilton Hotels acquired by him. We shared a suite of rooms in the building. We arrived there on Easter Sunday in the very early morning hours. We went to the hotel by limousine. We got to the hotel after midnight.

  According to his testimony, the morning they arrived—which would have been Easter Sunday—they rose and went to mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. “It had been the only reason we flew to New York,” he said. “Connie’s custom was to attend Easter Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s. He was very excited about it. We went by taxicab because of the cast on his leg, and then by taxicab back to the hotel.”

  QUESTION: When you came back to the hotel, did you meet anyone?

  ANSWER: Yes, standing on the steps of the hotel facing Madison Avenue was the ex Mrs. Hilton and her mother and father.

  QUESTION: Now, the ex Mrs. Hilton, what is her first name?

  ANSWER: Zsa Zsa.

  QUESTION: I see. That is the woman who is known as Zsa Zsa Gabor.

  ANSWER: That is correct. To me, it was rather obvious that she was waiting for us to come. She knew that we were at church, and we would be coming back, and, of course, it is a presumption on my part, but it looked to me as if she was prepared to wait there to receive us.

  QUESTION: Okay, tell us what happened then.

  ANSWER: She invited us, both Connie and myself, to come to her table inside the Plaza, which was a very colorful Easter Day, for a cocktail. We declined and said that we would later come after we had been upstairs to freshen up, and we did. We came down from our rooms. We went to her table. We had a cocktail.

  Just as it seemed Kramer’s testimony might go a long way toward helping to prove some of Zsa Zsa’s claims, the case took yet another surprising turn.

  QUESTION: All right. Now, did Conrad Hilton say anything to you about or with regard to Zsa Zsa Gabor on this occasion that you now recall?

  ANSWER: Well, all I recall is that he didn’t want to be in her company by himself. He said, “Willard, whatever you do, don’t let me be alone with Zsa Zsa today.” I said, “All right, Connie. I will keep a close eye on you.”

  QUESTION: So, to your knowledge, was Conrad Hilton ever alone with Zsa Zsa Gabor on that trip to New York City?

  ANSWER: To my knowledge, no.

  Willard Kramer’s testimony that Conrad Hilton was never alone with Zsa Zsa Gabor substantially weakened his impact as a witness for Francesca. That said, there was an even bigger problem. In 1946, Easter Sunday fell on April 21. But Francesca was born on March 10, 1947, a full eleven months later. Therefore, one of the two witnesses—Kramer or Gabor—was mistaken (or lying) about the date Conrad Hilton was in New York wearing a cast.

  To clarify things, Zsa Zsa needed to once again be interrogated at the Beverly Hills Hotel, this time on July 10, 1979. Questioned by both Robert D. Walker for Francesca and Myron Harpole for the estate, Zsa Zsa—more impatient and short-tempered than before—repeated her story of making love to Conrad while he was wearing a cast exactly as she had earlier told it.

  QUESTION: Mrs. O’Hara, is it possible that this event you described occurred in April of 1946?

  ANSWER: No.

  QUESTION: Why is that?

  ANSWER: Because I remember it very specifically. How could I not? It was when my daughter was conceived. It was in July of 1946.

  QUESTION: Can you be specific in terms of the date?

  ANSWER: How can you be specific about a date from 30 years ago? No, I can not. I know it was in July of 1946. That I know.

  QUESTION: What would you say to a witness whose testimony it is that you were never alone with Conrad Hilton when he came to New York either in April of 1946 or, as you claim, July of 1946?

  ANSWER: I would say you are a liar. That is what I would say.

  QUESTION: How would you respond to a witness who claims that Mr. Hilton said, “Please do not let me be alone with my ex-wife,” and who then proceeded to make certain that Mr. Hilton’s wish was then granted?

  ANSWER: Was he with Conrad Hilton 24 hours a day? Did he sleep next to him in his bed all night long? How does he know where my husband was every single moment of the day and every single moment of the night. It’s ridiculous. Please.

  QUESTION: So, is it your testimony then, Mrs. O’Hara, that Mr. Hilton slipped away for a rendezvous with you?

  ANSWER: No it is not. Stop putting your words into my mouth. I don’t know if he slipped away. I only know that we were together. That is what I know. And it was in July of 1946. That is what I know.

 
; The question remained: Was Conrad Hilton in New York in April 1946, or was he there in July? If in April, it would not be have been possible for him to have fathered Francesca, since she was born the following March. But if in July, then, yes, it would have been possible.

  It wasn’t until weeks after both Gabor’s and Kramer’s depositions that Conrad Hilton’s attorneys were finally able to locate his travel itineraries for 1946. Had they found them earlier, it might have saved a lot of trouble, though still not answering all questions conclusively. The startling discovery was made that Conrad had been in New York in both April and July. Now it appeared that both Zsa Zsa Gabor and Willard Kramer had been telling the truth. The only question was whether or not Zsa Zsa was telling the whole truth: Had she and Conrad really been intimate in July 1946?

  A Surprise Visitor

  It was a sunny afternoon the last week of July 1979 when Frances Hilton was rudely awakened from a sound nap by a loud rapping on her front door. It had been six months since the death of her husband. She was now living in a fairly nice—but by no means extravagant—three-bedroom apartment on Comstock Avenue in Beverly Hills. The home was tastefully furnished, a few antiques here and there, but mostly plain retail furniture. Frances was quite comfortable there, having turned one of the bedrooms into a study, the other into a master for her own use, and the third for guests. About a month after she moved in, Steven Hilton, Barron’s son, visited her and noticed that the apartment needed some repairs. “This has got to be done now,” he said, and he took care of it immediately. A few weeks later, Barron came to visit with a gift—a mink coat. She had never had one, and Barron just thought she deserved one, so he bought it for her. His father would have been happy about it. Barron always realized how much Frances meant to his father. He even wrote a letter to Bill Kelly to tell him that he believed Frances to be “my father’s one true love.” Therefore, the Hiltons would always treat Frances as a treasured member of the family. She would never really want for anything, but as was her custom, she would never really ask for anything either.

  “Who is it?” Frances said as she stood behind her front door.

  “Why, it’s me, dah-ling,” came the voice from the other side. “It’s Zsa Zsa!”

  Could it be? Was it possible? And if so… why?

  Frances cracked the door open with more than a little trepidation and… there she stood: Zsa Zsa Gabor—bouffant platinum blonde hair, shimmering blouse, slim-fitting slacks, spiked heels… the whole Gabor-esque picture. As Frances would later recall it, she couldn’t quite believe her eyes. In that moment, it was as if her two worlds had suddenly collided—the extravagant life she had once led as Conrad Hilton’s wife and the simpler one she now led as his widow. Instinctively, she reached out and embraced Zsa Zsa. “My goodness,” Frances exclaimed. “This is such a surprise.”

  “For me, too,” Zsa Zsa said, laughing.

  As it would happen, in the days following Zsa Zsa Gabor’s deposition in Francesca’s case, she couldn’t get Conrad Hilton off her mind. After all, at one time he had meant the world to her; they had so much history. When she heard that he had died, she went to pieces. People in her life were surprised at just how devastated she was by the news. Now it appeared Zsa Zsa had some unfinished business with his widow. After Frances welcomed her into her living room. Zsa Zsa took a place on the sofa; Frances sat next to her. She offered her a cup of tea, but Zsa Zsa declined.

  Phyllis Bradley recounts what Frances Hilton later told her about this surprise visit from Zsa Zsa. “Mrs. Hilton told me that Miss Gabor started by asking if she had given her deposition yet,” Bradley recalled. “At first, Mrs. Hilton didn’t know what she was talking about. Then it hit her—Francesca’s lawsuit. Frances was scheduled to be deposed in just a week’s time. Miss Gabor warned her that the attorneys would probably ask her to recall every little detail about this visit, so they should probably be careful about what they discussed. She said that she had become smart about such things of late and joked that she could be a lawyer herself, with all that she had been through with what she called ‘these goddamn depquisitions.’ ” (As it would happen, Zsa Zsa would be proved right; the attorneys would ask Frances about this surprise visit and Frances would be asked to provide a clear and concise account of it in order to determine if Zsa Zsa had left any threadbare clues as to Francesca’s paternity—which apparently she had not.)

  After she settled into her chair, Zsa Zsa took in her modest surroundings. “So, they wouldn’t let you stay at the mansion, would they?” she asked.

  “Well, no,” Frances answered. She explained that the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation actually owned Casa Encantada. Attorney Donald H. Hubbs had told her that the foundation would list the house completely furnished—the way Conrad had bought it—for around $15 million (the equivalent of about $50 million today). “It was definitely time for me to leave,” Frances said. She added that she was sure Conrad wouldn’t have wanted her rattling around in that enormous mansion all by herself with just servants for company.

  “You couldn’t take any of the furnishings, either?” Zsa Zsa asked.

  Again according to her deposition, Frances told Zsa Zsa that if she wanted to keep any furnishings from Casa Encantada, she would’ve had to purchase them from the foundation. Zsa Zsa found this arrangement puzzling. She wondered why the widow should not be allowed to keep her deceased husband’s furniture. “Maybe in the real world,” Frances observed wryly, “but not in this one.” She added that even Barron and Eric had to purchase any pieces that had sentimental value to them. After some more small talk, Frances finally asked, “So, why are you here, Zsa Zsa?”

  “I don’t know, to tell you the truth,” Zsa Zsa answered. She looked a little lost, as Frances would describe her. “But you were always so kind to me,” she said. “I guess I want you to know that I’m very sorry I was so mean to you, dear. It has really bothered me.”

  Frances was surprised. She certainly never expected an apology from Zsa Zsa Gabor! She told Zsa Zsa that she probably had a great deal on her mind at the time, and that this was likely the reason she had often been so abrasive. Zsa Zsa agreed, but said she now realized she could have just been nicer to Frances. She specifically referred to the scene she had caused in front of Conrad’s hospital room when he was dying. “Do you know that I was actually quite proud of you that day?” Zsa Zsa asked Frances. She said she admired how Frances had stood her ground. Of course, she was angry at the time, she admitted. “But I also thought, ‘My God, this woman is completely underrated, isn’t she?’ ” she observed. “ ‘She’s tough, like me. She’s strong, like me.’ I thought, ‘It’s no wonder Connie married her.’ ”

  Frances conceded that, in retrospect, she felt terrible about the way she had handled things at the hospital. She now believed she should have just let Zsa Zsa in to see Conrad, “but it was such an emotional time,” she explained. “I think I just got caught up in it.” She added that “in some ways I ended up being someone I really didn’t want to be.”

  “You did what you believed was the right thing to do for the family,” Zsa Zsa concluded. “I understand. I fight for family, too. I always have.”

  Zsa Zsa then spoke about her tortured relationship with Conrad. “To be loved is a strength,” she observed, “but to love, that is a weakness.” Conrad had represented an important reminder of her first days in America, she said. He was like a father to her, which, she observed, perhaps explained why she had so desperately sought his approval for so many years. “I have not been able to stop crying about his death,” she confessed, sadly. “I’ve just been so upset.”

  Zsa Zsa then spoke of the meeting she and Conrad had about a year before he died when he apologized to her for ever having hurt her. “It just meant the world to me,” she said. “My God, I never thought he would do that! Never!” She also said she’d had a telephone call with Conrad about a month before he died, during which she told him that she didn’t know how she would ever survive his death. True to
his nature, he told her that she would just go on, that she would pull herself “up from her bootstraps” and continue with the business of living. She should not give him a second thought, he said, because that’s just how he would want it. Characteristic of their relationship, the two then got into a bit of a tiff because Zsa Zsa felt Conrad was trying to control the way she should grieve his death, telling her just how to be sad.

  “So does this mean you are no longer angry at him?” Frances asked.

  Zsa Zsa couldn’t answer the question; she was ambivalent. She allowed, however, that she would always have strong feelings for Conrad Hilton because, as she put it, “completely letting those feelings go would be like cutting out the roots beneath me.”

  “Okay, I go now,” Zsa Zsa then suddenly announced. “I’ve taken too much of your time.” According to Frances’s memory, Zsa Zsa stretched out her arms to her as the two women stood in the doorway. The unlikely friends then shared an embrace. “You know, I don’t ordinarily like women,” Zsa Zsa told Frances with a smile. “But you, I like. I know why he loved you,” she concluded as she broke away from the hug. And with that, Zsa Zsa Gabor turned and walked away.