Produced in association with bosses at Audio Up, 'Hollywood Death Trip' will comprise five episodes and center on a notorious mid-century murder taking place in Los Angeles.
- April 17, 2021
AceShowbiz - Author James Ellroy is revisiting gory Hollywood crimes, including the killings of "Rebel Without a Cause" star Sal Mineo and his mother, for a new podcast.
The writer, known for books like "L.A. Confidential", shows no signs of slowing down at 73, and will now host a new audio series.
"Hollywood Death Trip", produced in association with bosses at Audio Up, will comprise five episodes, each centered on a notorious mid-century murder in Los Angeles.
"Glamour Jungle" will cover the 1963 unsolved murder of Karyn Kupcinet, whose father, Irv, was a noted columnist of the time and known for his links to mobsters. Stephanie is about Stephanie Gorman, who met an untimely end in L.A.'s Cheviot Hills area in 1965, while "Clash By Night "details the 1976 death of James Dean's "Rebel Without a Cause" co-star Mineo.
Episodes four and five, "Body Dumps" and "My Mother's Killer", deal with the murder of Ellroy's own mum in 1958, when he was 10.
And Ellroy, known for his snappy, abrupt writing style, can't wait to get behind the mic and join the podcasting revolution, which really took off during the COVID-19 lockdown.
"Summer '21 is the soil-your-soul season of the Demon Dog," he says in a statement referring to his nickname. "I'm a rapacious reader of my own work, and I'm here to rip and revitalize radio - and run it raw. And that's no shivering s**t, Daddy-O."
The wordsmith also shares his show will feature era-appropriate music, "socko" sound effects, and "rip-roaring radio at its boffo best".
Ellroy has a big summer ahead - his latest novel, "Widespread Panic", will hit bookstores on June 15.
