L.A. Quartet
Encyclopedia
The L.A. Quartet is a sequence of four crime fiction
novel
s by James Ellroy
. The novels, set in the late 1940s through the late 1950s in Los Angeles
, are:
Several characters from the L.A. Quartet, most notably Dudley Smith, were introduced in Ellroy's 1983 novel Clandestine
, which takes place between 1951 and 1955 and makes reference to the Black Dahlia killings and Smith's investigation into them.
, the first novel in the series follows a brutal murder in the late '40s. January 15, 1947, is the date Elizabeth Short's body is discovered in a vacant lot. Officers Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert and Leland "Lee" Blanchard, partners and local celebrities from their boxing days, aid the investigation.
The next novel, The Big Nowhere
, takes place in the early 1950s amidst the Red Scare
in Hollywood. Former LAPD detective Buzz Meeks, who now works as an enforcer for Mickey Cohen
and a pimp for Howard Hughes
, gets caught up in a communist investigation that has ties to a series of homosexual murders that are being investigated by a Sheriff's deputy named Danny Upshaw. The work of Meeks and Upshaw also crosses paths with the investigations of Mal Considine and Dudley Smith, who are working on a communist case of their own.
The third novel, L.A. Confidential
spans the length of about eight years- from early 1950 to about April 1958. The story begins on February 21, 1950, with Buzz Meeks being found at an abandoned auto court
where he is hiding out. Meeks is killed by Dudley Smith, and the eighteen pounds of heroin Meeks stole from a Jack Dragna
-Mickey Cohen
truce meeting, is subsequently retrieved by Smith. A year later, 1951, Bloody Christmas
occurs: the beating of unarmed suspects by LAPD officers on Christmas Day. Ed Exley, Bud White, and Jack Vincennes are the main officers caught in the scandal. On April 16, 1953, the Nite Owl Massacre becomes the focus of the LAPD. The Massacre was the killing of civilians in an all-night restaurant. Three African-Americans are the suspects. While resisting arrest, they are gunned down by Exley, who is made a hero. Years pass, but new evidence emerges that the African-American youths were innocent of the Nite Owl killings. The Nite Owl case is reopened. Ultimately, between Exley, White, and Vincennes, a giant criminal conspiracy
is uncovered. The plot involved Mickey Cohen, the drug rackets, pornography, the stolen heroin from the mob meeting years back, a chemist trying to alter the chemical compound of the heroin to improve it, framing the Negro kids, and at the center of all this: Dudley Smith. However, in the end, Smith escapes prosecution for the plot. The Nite Owl gunmen are killed, as well as other conspirators in Smith's scheme. The three protagonists' lives are the ones that are affected the most. Bud White ends up a cripple, but wins Lynn Bracken's heart. Jack Vincennes is killed in the line of duty
while trying to stop prisoners from escaping. Ed Exley, despite becoming a Chief of Detectives, loses his father who commits suicide. While despising each other at first, Exley and White become friends. Exley swears to White he will bring Dudley Smith down.
The fourth and final novel in the L.A. Quartet is White Jazz
. Told from corrupt LAPD officer Dave Klein's point of view. Despite being a policeman, Klein has broken the law numerous times, beat suspects, stolen, bribed, worked for the mob, and had people killed, as well as being a murderer himself. In late 1958, Klein, the commander of Administrative Vice, is assigned a burglary of the sanctioned drug dealing family, the Kafesjians. Despite not seeing the case as a priority, the Narcotics Division commander Dan Wilhite and Deputy Chief Ed Exley want the case solved. He takes a sideline job from Howard Hughes
who wants Klein to find evidence that would violate an actress's contract. Klein takes the job, but falls in love with his target: Glenda Bledsoe. All while working the Kafesjian burglary, Klein discovers that Exley is still trying to prosecute Dudley Smith. Klein begins working with Exley when he figures it out, who tells him all about Dudley. When Klein meets an undercover officer, Johnny Duhamel, who is working Smith on behalf of Exley, Klein is shot up with drugs. Being coerced, Klein murders Duhamel with his Marines sword. He is also taped committing the murder. Klein is also arrested by the FBI the following day for possession of heroin. Klein becomes a federal witness, but is given 48 hours before he is taken into custody. Klein and Exley discover another Dudley Smith plot. Selling heroin exclusively to the Southside Negro population, keeping crime in that area, "contained," gambling
, and voyeuristic pornography tapes. Klein and Exley find the Kafesjians' burglar, Wylie Bullock. When asked by Klein to guard Bullock. Later that night, everything hits Klein: all his crimes and everything that is happening. He decides to meet Smith later that night, who offered Klein a deal earlier. Unbeknown to Smith, Klein brings Wylie Bullock, who has a grudge against Smith. When the two meet, Bullock attacks Smith, ripping out his eye and slashing his face ear to ear. Klein shoots Bullock and runs off. an APB is issued on Klein and he is caught. A custody battle ensues between the FBI and the LAPD for Klein, the FBI win. While in federal custody, Klein writes a full confession of everything he has done, and everything that has happened. Six legal pads, ninety-four pages of confessions. He has copies sent to Hush-Hush, the L. A. Times, and the State Attorney General's Office. However, Klein escapes custody. He hides out with Pete Bondurant (a character who reappears in the Underworld USA Trilogy series' American Tabloid
and The Cold Six Thousand
). After his escape, Klein's confessions fall on deaf ears, with only Hush-Hush magazine, willing to print it, but they are silenced by legal action and preventing from printing it. A confession that would've quote, "brought the LAPD to its knees." Howard Hughes feels betrayed by Dave Klein because of the Bledsoe job. He has Bondurant beat him up bad enough to require hospital attention. Exley sends Klein a package in the hospital, which includes a blank passport and a gun. Exley says in his note that Smith is neutralized, but says he will allow Klein to kill Smith if he feels justice has not been absolute regarding Dudley Smith. Instead, Klein murders J. C. Kafesjian, and Tommy Kafesjian. Klein spends one last night with Glenda Bledsoe, takes pictures of her to remember her by, and leaves for the airport. Around late January, 1959, Klein leaves the U. S. According to the epilogue, many years later, it is at least 1976. Klein says he plans to return to Los Angeles, with the intentions of making gubernatorial candidate Exley confess to the manipulative deals he made, murder Dick Carlisle and Dudley Smith, and find his lover Glenda Bledsoe.
in 1905, and later immigrated to the United States
, where he joined the LAPD
in 1928. Smith was the clandestine protector of two rival criminal families, the Herricks and the Kafesjians, in the 1930s and in 1942 he murdered José Diaz in the infamous Sleepy Lagoon murder
case. He is first mentioned in Clandestine, which is set in 1951, and again in 1950 in The Big Nowhere, where he is recruited by Deputy D.A.
Ellis Loew to investigate communist
influence in Hollywood
. He and his partner Mal Considine pursue this assignment with vigor. It was in this book that the extent of his personal corruption was revealed; as well as Jose Diaz, Dudley and his men were involved in other criminal activities, and in February 1950 Dudley personally tracked down and killed protagonist Buzz Meeks as is stated in the prologue to L.A. Confidential. By 1950 Dudley had reached the rank of Lieutenant, and he would remain there throughout the 1950s, until his promotion to Captain in 1958. By this time, his personal rivalry with fellow LAPD Captain Edmund Exley resulted in a power struggle between both men, which Edmund Exley won when Smith was attacked by a man named Wylie Bullock. This attack left him with brain damage that rendered him essentially insane, and only semi-lucid. It is unknown when Dudley died; however, he is apparently still alive—albeit confined to a nursing home—in 1976, as is revealed in the epilogue to White Jazz.
Smith was thoroughly unscrupulous, ruthless, and evil. He had a large list of crimes that he had committed, including theft, pornography distribution, murder, and most disturbingly, infanticide - Dudley personally strangled the two-day old baby of the Herrick family in 1937. He was a hard line anti-communist, declaring that he hated the "Red filth worse than Satan." Dudley's racism
was also well known, particularly in regards to Jews, and he was a notable proponent of "containment
;" as he explained it, keeping the "nigger filth" in African-American areas.
Smith is portrayed by James Cromwell
in the film adaptation of L.A. Confidential
. In a departure from the novel, Smith is killed by Exley at the end of a shootout.
Ed Exley is one of the three protagonists in L.A. Confidential, and a major supporting character in White Jazz. He is the son of Preston Exley, former cop turned construction
tycoon. The brother of Thomas Exley, also a cop who was gunned down by an unknown purse snatcher (known as "Rollo Tomasi" in the film). Ed is relentlessly ambitious, politically savant, and highly intelligent, trying to surpass his father as a policemen and live out late Thomas's dreams. He is instilled with a belief in "absolute justice" from his father.
He has come from a family of cops, stated in the novel Exley men have been police since the formation of the Scotland Yard
. A summa cum laude graduate of UCLA at nineteen in 1941, Exley joined the war effort
shortly after joining the LAPD in 1943. He served in the Pacific Theater
and toward the end of his tour of duty experienced the variation and possible ways of manipulating the truth to one's benefit. Anticipating an attack, Exley volunteers for a scout run. As predicted, the Japanese forces assault with a bayonet charge. When Exley returns, his platoon is dead and a patrol is approaching. He hides under the bodies of his former brothers in arms. After the patrol passes he decides to head to battalion headquarters. On the way, he passes a shinto shrine of soldiers who committed suicide over capture or death by disease. He finds a weaponry and a flamethrower nearby. He lays the guns out around the dead. With the flamethrower, he torches the bodies, knowing his cowardice would be evident and would be rotated to another platoon if he didn't commit this act. Recon finds Exley having "fought off" twenty nine enemies. He is awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
and his story in the Examiner
.
Exley's next brush with opportunity, chance, and "truth" occurs Christmas Eve during the Bloody Christmas
Scandal of 1951. A rise in rank and glory come with his testifying against his brother officers, but not without the stigma of becoming a pariah and rat among them. He develops a hate relationship with Bud White, because of his testimony and the fact White's partner, Dick Stensland, is incarcerated, and later goes to the gas chamber. Exley was the arresting officer in the crimes which led to Stensland receiving the death penalty, and was in attendance (as was White) when Stensland was executed.
However, the Nite Owl slayings bring him acceptance. Several patrons of an all night coffee shop are brutally shotgunned to death. Although in custody, the suspects escape and Exley guns down the three suspects in the Nite Owl case (despite the fact they were unarmed). As the years pass, Exley is given captaincy over Internal Affairs
and also makes other numerous cases with a conviction rate in the upper ninety percent. When the Nite Owl case is reopened due to the circumstantial evidence of two witnesses, Exley and the rest of the LAPD must solve the case all over again before the Attorney General's Office
takes over the investigation and makes the LAPD look incompetent. As the evidence emerges and connections are established between the suspects in an web of complex conspiracies stretching back decades, it becomes clear that his father himself didn't properly clear his own famous case, The Loren Atherton case. With the aid of Bud White and Jack Vincennes, the trio ultimately solve the Nite Owl Case. Following a botched raid on a prison break via train, White is critically wounded. Exley visits him and finds evidence White built for his own case against a serial killer of prostitutes. When Exley finds the evidence, he learns the true meaning of absolute justice: anonymous, humble, no rank or glory. While conventional justice is not meted out, with Exley entrusting the second murderer of the Loren Atherton case to a known doctor, Dr. Terry Lux, and the ultimate mastermind behind the Nite Owl and other crimes, Dudley Smith cannot be convicted due to lack of evidence, Exley vows he will take down Dudley Smith if it's the last thing he ever does.
In White Jazz Exley is a Deputy Chief as a result of solving the Nite Owl. He has become colder and more determined in achieving his goals. He unwillingly allows Dave Klein to keep his job, despite Klein's obvious corruption. Exley continues his crusade in attempting to take down Dudley Smith. He uses an undercover police cadet and Klein to attain this goal. During a burglary into Exley's house by Klein for monetary gain, he finds numerous photos of Dudley Smith. Klein coins the photos "Exley hate fuel." During an earlier meeting at Exley's house, Klein mentions that as evil as Dudley is, Exley is a hypocrite in the way he uses people like Dudley. White Jazz sees the end of the corrupt Narcotics Division and its sanctioned dealers, the Kafesjians. Due to severe brain damage and wounds, Dudley remains in hospital care his whole life and a special pension fund approved by Exley himself, since the revelations about the LAPD's blatant corruption would "bring the LAPD to its knees," as stated in Hush-Hush. With Klein a fugitive, Exley gets word to him in a package. It states he will not pursue Klein for his burglary because he used Klein to accomplish his mission. His package also includes a blank passport and a .38
revolver
with a silencer
in case Klein feels absolute justice has not been achieved regarding Dudley. He also states Dudley has cost him enough as it is.
According to White Jazz's epilogue told by Klein, Exley ascends to the rank of Chief of Police
. He also develops a political career, from congressman, Lieutenant Governor
and a candidate for Governor
. However Klein plans to make Exley confess all his deals he has ever cut.
In the L.A. Confidential film adaptation
, he is portrayed by Guy Pearce
.
Appearances in: The Big Nowhere
, L.A. Confidential, White Jazz
Bud White was one of the major protagonists in L.A. Confidential. In the book he begins as an incredibly violent cop, who takes out his anger on wife beaters. This is shown to be because of his violent father who killed his mother in a drunken rage. Because of his quick temper and brutality Bud became the most feared cop on the force with nobody wishing to feel the brunt of his anger. However he is shown to be sensitive with women and goes out of his way to help them. This is shown when he becomes obsessed with tracking down a serial killer targeting young prostitutes. During the course of the book Bud has a long standing feud with Ed Exley, due to Exley informing the D.A. of Bud's involvement in the Bloody Christmas fiasco. This almost makes Bud lose his job until Dudley Smith recruits him into the homicide division, which Dudley operates. However Bud's partner Dick Stensland is left as a scapegoat for the investigative D.A. and is imprisoned, this only fuels Buds vendetta against Exley. Dudley recruited Bud because of his brutal strength and uses him as an enforcer. However when it becomes clear that Dudley is corrupt and is using him for his own nefarious schemes, Bud drops his conflict with Exley and joins forces with him and Jack Vincennes to take Dudley Smith down. However during the investigation he is gravely wounded and is forced to retire. Before he leaves, the newly promoted Ed Exley promises him that he won't let Dudley get away with his crimes. Russell Crowe
portrayed Bud in the 1997 adaptation of L.A. Confidential
.
One of the major characters in L.A. Confidential. Known for being flashy and colorful, as well as taking cases which get the most publicity. However over the course of the book his actions cause an amount of guilt and throws his life into turmoil, such as the loss of his marriage. He allies himself with Bud White and Ed Exley in a way to redeem himself, however he dies in the book's climax. He is portrayed by Kevin Spacey
in the film
, who received top billing, despite his secondary role.
Appearances in: White Jazz
The protagonist of White Jazz. The novel is told through Dave Klein's stream of consciousness, as well as articles and newspaper headlines that accompany many of Ellroy's books. He is an immoral cop who, moonlights as a hitman, enforcer, slumlord and lawyer working for people such as Howard Hughes and the mob. He is portrayed as charismatic and cunning, however over the book begins to lose his edge with various problems such as Noonan trying to prosecute him, Exley blackmailing him causes is his life to fall apart.
Appearances in: The Black Dahlia
, L.A. Confidential
Appearances in: The Black Dahlia
The main protagonist of The Black Dahlia. An LAPD officer and former light-heavy boxer. The partner of Lee Blanchard, and eventual husband of Kay Lake. He, like his partner, becomes obsessed with the Elizabeth Short murder case. Bucky was portrayed by Josh Hartnett
in the film adaption
.
Buzz Meeks was once a cop who was known for his extreme corruption and bad performance reports. This bad reputation would eventually cause his dismissal from the LAPD. He would later find work as an enforcer and bodyguard for various figures within L.A.s underworld. He was murdered by Dudley Smith. In the film
, he is portrayed by Darrell Sandeen
.
Lieutenant Mal Considine of the Los Angeles District Attorney's Criminal Investigation Bureau was an intelligent, well-intentioned cop, undone by ambition in The Big Nowhere
. Bent on making the rank of Captain with the Bureau, he joined Ellis Loew and Dudley Smith on an investigation of Communists in Hollywood. In the course of that investigation, he recruited Danny Upshaw and became his handler while the latter did double-duty on investigations of Communists and a serial killer. His ambition and desire to impress the divorce court resulted in his death at the hands of the serial killer.
Detective Deputy Danny Upshaw of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
was a brilliant cop who investigated a horrific string of mutilation murders in The Big Nowhere
. When he stumbles upon evidence linking Dudley Smith with an old murder, Smith manipulates him psychologically until he kills himself, allowing Smith to breathe free but the serial killer to remain at large.
Rollo Tomasi is the made up name of the purse snatcher who killed Ed Exley's brother in the novel, and in the film version of L.A. Confidential
, his father. His identity is unknown in both novel and film.
The film states that Exley gave him the name for personality. This becomes a vital piece of information when as Jack Vincennes is dying, his last words are Rollo Tomasi, the name that Exley shared with him. It will also give Exley a clue to his killer when Dudley Smith questions Exley about the name. Rollo Tomasi is also a metaphor
for the criminal who gets away with the crime, like the purse snatcher. When Dudley is about to kill Exley, he asks who Rollo Tomasi is, and Exley says Dudley is, for the reasons mentioned before.
Appearance: White Jazz
The LAPD's sanctioned drug dealer.
Appearances: White Jazz
Unknown serial killer murdering the homeless in White Jazz.
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s by James Ellroy
James Ellroy
Lee Earle "James" Ellroy is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a so-called "telegraphic" prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences, and in particular for the novels The Black...
. The novels, set in the late 1940s through the late 1950s in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, are:
- (1987) The Black DahliaThe Black Dahlia (novel)The Black Dahlia is a neo-noir crime novel by American author James Ellroy, taking inspiration from the true story of the murder of Elizabeth Short. It is widely considered to be the book that elevated Ellroy out of typical genre fiction status, and with which he started to garner critical...
- (1988) The Big NowhereThe Big NowhereThe Big Nowhere is a 1988 crime fiction novel by James Ellroy, the second of the L.A. Quartet, a series of novels set in 1940s and 1950s Los Angeles.-Plot:...
- (1990) L.A. ConfidentialL.A. ConfidentialL.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity...
- (1992) White JazzWhite JazzWhite Jazz is a 1992 crime fiction novel by James Ellroy. It is the fourth in his L.A. Quartet, preceded by The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, and L.A. Confidential....
Several characters from the L.A. Quartet, most notably Dudley Smith, were introduced in Ellroy's 1983 novel Clandestine
Clandestine (novel)
Clandestine is an 1983 crime novel by American author James Ellroy set in the 1950s. The protagonist is an ambitious LA Cop, Fred Underhill....
, which takes place between 1951 and 1955 and makes reference to the Black Dahlia killings and Smith's investigation into them.
L.A. Quartet Summary
The Black DahliaThe Black Dahlia (novel)
The Black Dahlia is a neo-noir crime novel by American author James Ellroy, taking inspiration from the true story of the murder of Elizabeth Short. It is widely considered to be the book that elevated Ellroy out of typical genre fiction status, and with which he started to garner critical...
, the first novel in the series follows a brutal murder in the late '40s. January 15, 1947, is the date Elizabeth Short's body is discovered in a vacant lot. Officers Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert and Leland "Lee" Blanchard, partners and local celebrities from their boxing days, aid the investigation.
The next novel, The Big Nowhere
The Big Nowhere
The Big Nowhere is a 1988 crime fiction novel by James Ellroy, the second of the L.A. Quartet, a series of novels set in 1940s and 1950s Los Angeles.-Plot:...
, takes place in the early 1950s amidst the Red Scare
Red Scare
Durrell Blackwell Durrell Blackwell The term Red Scare denotes two distinct periods of strong Anti-Communism in the United States: the First Red Scare, from 1919 to 1920, and the Second Red Scare, from 1947 to 1957. The First Red Scare was about worker revolution and...
in Hollywood. Former LAPD detective Buzz Meeks, who now works as an enforcer for Mickey Cohen
Mickey Cohen
Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen was a gangster based in Los Angeles and part of the Jewish Mafia, and also had strong ties to the American Mafia from the 1930s through 1960s.-Early life:...
and a pimp for Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
, gets caught up in a communist investigation that has ties to a series of homosexual murders that are being investigated by a Sheriff's deputy named Danny Upshaw. The work of Meeks and Upshaw also crosses paths with the investigations of Mal Considine and Dudley Smith, who are working on a communist case of their own.
The third novel, L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity...
spans the length of about eight years- from early 1950 to about April 1958. The story begins on February 21, 1950, with Buzz Meeks being found at an abandoned auto court
Motel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
where he is hiding out. Meeks is killed by Dudley Smith, and the eighteen pounds of heroin Meeks stole from a Jack Dragna
Jack Dragna
Jack Ignatius Dragna was an American Mafia member and Black Hander who was active in both Italy and the United States in the 1900s. He was active in bootlegging in California during the Prohibition Era in the United States...
-Mickey Cohen
Mickey Cohen
Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen was a gangster based in Los Angeles and part of the Jewish Mafia, and also had strong ties to the American Mafia from the 1930s through 1960s.-Early life:...
truce meeting, is subsequently retrieved by Smith. A year later, 1951, Bloody Christmas
Bloody Christmas
Bloody Christmas was the name given to the severe beating of seven men by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department on December 25, 1951. The attacks, which left five Latino and two White young men with broken bones and ruptured organs, was only properly investigated after lobbying from the...
occurs: the beating of unarmed suspects by LAPD officers on Christmas Day. Ed Exley, Bud White, and Jack Vincennes are the main officers caught in the scandal. On April 16, 1953, the Nite Owl Massacre becomes the focus of the LAPD. The Massacre was the killing of civilians in an all-night restaurant. Three African-Americans are the suspects. While resisting arrest, they are gunned down by Exley, who is made a hero. Years pass, but new evidence emerges that the African-American youths were innocent of the Nite Owl killings. The Nite Owl case is reopened. Ultimately, between Exley, White, and Vincennes, a giant criminal conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
is uncovered. The plot involved Mickey Cohen, the drug rackets, pornography, the stolen heroin from the mob meeting years back, a chemist trying to alter the chemical compound of the heroin to improve it, framing the Negro kids, and at the center of all this: Dudley Smith. However, in the end, Smith escapes prosecution for the plot. The Nite Owl gunmen are killed, as well as other conspirators in Smith's scheme. The three protagonists' lives are the ones that are affected the most. Bud White ends up a cripple, but wins Lynn Bracken's heart. Jack Vincennes is killed in the line of duty
Line of Duty Death
A line of duty death is a death in the fire service while on duty at an emergency or drill. On average, there are more than 100 LODDs in the United States per year...
while trying to stop prisoners from escaping. Ed Exley, despite becoming a Chief of Detectives, loses his father who commits suicide. While despising each other at first, Exley and White become friends. Exley swears to White he will bring Dudley Smith down.
The fourth and final novel in the L.A. Quartet is White Jazz
White Jazz
White Jazz is a 1992 crime fiction novel by James Ellroy. It is the fourth in his L.A. Quartet, preceded by The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, and L.A. Confidential....
. Told from corrupt LAPD officer Dave Klein's point of view. Despite being a policeman, Klein has broken the law numerous times, beat suspects, stolen, bribed, worked for the mob, and had people killed, as well as being a murderer himself. In late 1958, Klein, the commander of Administrative Vice, is assigned a burglary of the sanctioned drug dealing family, the Kafesjians. Despite not seeing the case as a priority, the Narcotics Division commander Dan Wilhite and Deputy Chief Ed Exley want the case solved. He takes a sideline job from Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
who wants Klein to find evidence that would violate an actress's contract. Klein takes the job, but falls in love with his target: Glenda Bledsoe. All while working the Kafesjian burglary, Klein discovers that Exley is still trying to prosecute Dudley Smith. Klein begins working with Exley when he figures it out, who tells him all about Dudley. When Klein meets an undercover officer, Johnny Duhamel, who is working Smith on behalf of Exley, Klein is shot up with drugs. Being coerced, Klein murders Duhamel with his Marines sword. He is also taped committing the murder. Klein is also arrested by the FBI the following day for possession of heroin. Klein becomes a federal witness, but is given 48 hours before he is taken into custody. Klein and Exley discover another Dudley Smith plot. Selling heroin exclusively to the Southside Negro population, keeping crime in that area, "contained," gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, and voyeuristic pornography tapes. Klein and Exley find the Kafesjians' burglar, Wylie Bullock. When asked by Klein to guard Bullock. Later that night, everything hits Klein: all his crimes and everything that is happening. He decides to meet Smith later that night, who offered Klein a deal earlier. Unbeknown to Smith, Klein brings Wylie Bullock, who has a grudge against Smith. When the two meet, Bullock attacks Smith, ripping out his eye and slashing his face ear to ear. Klein shoots Bullock and runs off. an APB is issued on Klein and he is caught. A custody battle ensues between the FBI and the LAPD for Klein, the FBI win. While in federal custody, Klein writes a full confession of everything he has done, and everything that has happened. Six legal pads, ninety-four pages of confessions. He has copies sent to Hush-Hush, the L. A. Times, and the State Attorney General's Office. However, Klein escapes custody. He hides out with Pete Bondurant (a character who reappears in the Underworld USA Trilogy series' American Tabloid
American Tabloid
American Tabloid is a 1995 novel by James Ellroy. The novel chronicles three rogue American law enforcement officers from November 22, 1958 through November 22, 1963. Each becomes entangled in a web of interconnecting associations between the FBI, CIA, and the Mafia, which eventually leads to their...
and The Cold Six Thousand
The Cold Six Thousand
The Cold Six Thousand is a 2001 crime fiction novel by James Ellroy. It is the first sequel to American Tabloid in the Underworld USA Trilogy and continues many of the earlier novel's characters and plotlines...
). After his escape, Klein's confessions fall on deaf ears, with only Hush-Hush magazine, willing to print it, but they are silenced by legal action and preventing from printing it. A confession that would've quote, "brought the LAPD to its knees." Howard Hughes feels betrayed by Dave Klein because of the Bledsoe job. He has Bondurant beat him up bad enough to require hospital attention. Exley sends Klein a package in the hospital, which includes a blank passport and a gun. Exley says in his note that Smith is neutralized, but says he will allow Klein to kill Smith if he feels justice has not been absolute regarding Dudley Smith. Instead, Klein murders J. C. Kafesjian, and Tommy Kafesjian. Klein spends one last night with Glenda Bledsoe, takes pictures of her to remember her by, and leaves for the airport. Around late January, 1959, Klein leaves the U. S. According to the epilogue, many years later, it is at least 1976. Klein says he plans to return to Los Angeles, with the intentions of making gubernatorial candidate Exley confess to the manipulative deals he made, murder Dick Carlisle and Dudley Smith, and find his lover Glenda Bledsoe.
Dudley Liam Smith
Smith was born in Dublin, IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1905, and later immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he joined the LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
in 1928. Smith was the clandestine protector of two rival criminal families, the Herricks and the Kafesjians, in the 1930s and in 1942 he murdered José Diaz in the infamous Sleepy Lagoon murder
Sleepy Lagoon murder
Sleepy Lagoon murder was the name that newspapers and radio commentators used to describe the alleged murder of Jose Diaz, whose body was found on the Williams Ranch near a lagoon in southeast Los Angeles, California, on August 2, 1942...
case. He is first mentioned in Clandestine, which is set in 1951, and again in 1950 in The Big Nowhere, where he is recruited by Deputy D.A.
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
Ellis Loew to investigate communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
influence in Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
. He and his partner Mal Considine pursue this assignment with vigor. It was in this book that the extent of his personal corruption was revealed; as well as Jose Diaz, Dudley and his men were involved in other criminal activities, and in February 1950 Dudley personally tracked down and killed protagonist Buzz Meeks as is stated in the prologue to L.A. Confidential. By 1950 Dudley had reached the rank of Lieutenant, and he would remain there throughout the 1950s, until his promotion to Captain in 1958. By this time, his personal rivalry with fellow LAPD Captain Edmund Exley resulted in a power struggle between both men, which Edmund Exley won when Smith was attacked by a man named Wylie Bullock. This attack left him with brain damage that rendered him essentially insane, and only semi-lucid. It is unknown when Dudley died; however, he is apparently still alive—albeit confined to a nursing home—in 1976, as is revealed in the epilogue to White Jazz.
Smith was thoroughly unscrupulous, ruthless, and evil. He had a large list of crimes that he had committed, including theft, pornography distribution, murder, and most disturbingly, infanticide - Dudley personally strangled the two-day old baby of the Herrick family in 1937. He was a hard line anti-communist, declaring that he hated the "Red filth worse than Satan." Dudley's racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
was also well known, particularly in regards to Jews, and he was a notable proponent of "containment
Containment
Containment was a United States policy using military, economic, and diplomatic strategies to stall the spread of communism, enhance America’s security and influence abroad, and prevent a "domino effect". A component of the Cold War, this policy was a response to a series of moves by the Soviet...
;" as he explained it, keeping the "nigger filth" in African-American areas.
Smith is portrayed by James Cromwell
James Cromwell
James Oliver Cromwell is an American film and television actor. Some of his more notable roles are in Babe , for which he earned Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, Star Trek: First Contact , L.A...
in the film adaptation of L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential (film)
L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity...
. In a departure from the novel, Smith is killed by Exley at the end of a shootout.
Edmund Jennings Exley
Appearances in: L.A. Confidential, White JazzEd Exley is one of the three protagonists in L.A. Confidential, and a major supporting character in White Jazz. He is the son of Preston Exley, former cop turned construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
tycoon. The brother of Thomas Exley, also a cop who was gunned down by an unknown purse snatcher (known as "Rollo Tomasi" in the film). Ed is relentlessly ambitious, politically savant, and highly intelligent, trying to surpass his father as a policemen and live out late Thomas's dreams. He is instilled with a belief in "absolute justice" from his father.
He has come from a family of cops, stated in the novel Exley men have been police since the formation of the Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
. A summa cum laude graduate of UCLA at nineteen in 1941, Exley joined the war effort
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
shortly after joining the LAPD in 1943. He served in the Pacific Theater
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
and toward the end of his tour of duty experienced the variation and possible ways of manipulating the truth to one's benefit. Anticipating an attack, Exley volunteers for a scout run. As predicted, the Japanese forces assault with a bayonet charge. When Exley returns, his platoon is dead and a patrol is approaching. He hides under the bodies of his former brothers in arms. After the patrol passes he decides to head to battalion headquarters. On the way, he passes a shinto shrine of soldiers who committed suicide over capture or death by disease. He finds a weaponry and a flamethrower nearby. He lays the guns out around the dead. With the flamethrower, he torches the bodies, knowing his cowardice would be evident and would be rotated to another platoon if he didn't commit this act. Recon finds Exley having "fought off" twenty nine enemies. He is awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
and his story in the Examiner
Examiner
The Examiner was a weekly paper founded by Leigh and John Hunt in 1808. For the first fifty years it was a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles, but from 1865 it repeatedly changed hands and political allegiance, resulting in a rapid decline in readership and loss of...
.
Exley's next brush with opportunity, chance, and "truth" occurs Christmas Eve during the Bloody Christmas
Bloody Christmas
Bloody Christmas was the name given to the severe beating of seven men by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department on December 25, 1951. The attacks, which left five Latino and two White young men with broken bones and ruptured organs, was only properly investigated after lobbying from the...
Scandal of 1951. A rise in rank and glory come with his testifying against his brother officers, but not without the stigma of becoming a pariah and rat among them. He develops a hate relationship with Bud White, because of his testimony and the fact White's partner, Dick Stensland, is incarcerated, and later goes to the gas chamber. Exley was the arresting officer in the crimes which led to Stensland receiving the death penalty, and was in attendance (as was White) when Stensland was executed.
However, the Nite Owl slayings bring him acceptance. Several patrons of an all night coffee shop are brutally shotgunned to death. Although in custody, the suspects escape and Exley guns down the three suspects in the Nite Owl case (despite the fact they were unarmed). As the years pass, Exley is given captaincy over Internal Affairs
Internal affairs (law enforcement)
The internal affairs division of a law enforcement agency investigates incidents and plausible suspicions of lawbreaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force...
and also makes other numerous cases with a conviction rate in the upper ninety percent. When the Nite Owl case is reopened due to the circumstantial evidence of two witnesses, Exley and the rest of the LAPD must solve the case all over again before the Attorney General's Office
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
takes over the investigation and makes the LAPD look incompetent. As the evidence emerges and connections are established between the suspects in an web of complex conspiracies stretching back decades, it becomes clear that his father himself didn't properly clear his own famous case, The Loren Atherton case. With the aid of Bud White and Jack Vincennes, the trio ultimately solve the Nite Owl Case. Following a botched raid on a prison break via train, White is critically wounded. Exley visits him and finds evidence White built for his own case against a serial killer of prostitutes. When Exley finds the evidence, he learns the true meaning of absolute justice: anonymous, humble, no rank or glory. While conventional justice is not meted out, with Exley entrusting the second murderer of the Loren Atherton case to a known doctor, Dr. Terry Lux, and the ultimate mastermind behind the Nite Owl and other crimes, Dudley Smith cannot be convicted due to lack of evidence, Exley vows he will take down Dudley Smith if it's the last thing he ever does.
In White Jazz Exley is a Deputy Chief as a result of solving the Nite Owl. He has become colder and more determined in achieving his goals. He unwillingly allows Dave Klein to keep his job, despite Klein's obvious corruption. Exley continues his crusade in attempting to take down Dudley Smith. He uses an undercover police cadet and Klein to attain this goal. During a burglary into Exley's house by Klein for monetary gain, he finds numerous photos of Dudley Smith. Klein coins the photos "Exley hate fuel." During an earlier meeting at Exley's house, Klein mentions that as evil as Dudley is, Exley is a hypocrite in the way he uses people like Dudley. White Jazz sees the end of the corrupt Narcotics Division and its sanctioned dealers, the Kafesjians. Due to severe brain damage and wounds, Dudley remains in hospital care his whole life and a special pension fund approved by Exley himself, since the revelations about the LAPD's blatant corruption would "bring the LAPD to its knees," as stated in Hush-Hush. With Klein a fugitive, Exley gets word to him in a package. It states he will not pursue Klein for his burglary because he used Klein to accomplish his mission. His package also includes a blank passport and a .38
.38
.38 refers to the type of firearm and firearm cartridges.The .38 is considered a large caliber firearm cartridge; Anything larger than .32 is considered a large caliber, and one of the most common handguns manufactured in the United States...
revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
with a silencer
Suppressor
A suppressor, sound suppressor, sound moderator, or silencer, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon....
in case Klein feels absolute justice has not been achieved regarding Dudley. He also states Dudley has cost him enough as it is.
According to White Jazz's epilogue told by Klein, Exley ascends to the rank of Chief of Police
Chief of police
A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...
. He also develops a political career, from congressman, Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
and a candidate for Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
. However Klein plans to make Exley confess all his deals he has ever cut.
In the L.A. Confidential film adaptation
L.A. Confidential (film)
L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity...
, he is portrayed by Guy Pearce
Guy Pearce
Guy Edward Pearce is an English-born Australian actor and musician, known for his roles as Leonard Shelby in Christopher Nolan's Memento, Lieutenant Ed Exley in L.A...
.
- Meyer Harris "Mickey" CohenMickey CohenMeyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen was a gangster based in Los Angeles and part of the Jewish Mafia, and also had strong ties to the American Mafia from the 1930s through 1960s.-Early life:...
(September 4, 1913 – July 29, 1976)
Appearances in: The Big Nowhere
The Big Nowhere
The Big Nowhere is a 1988 crime fiction novel by James Ellroy, the second of the L.A. Quartet, a series of novels set in 1940s and 1950s Los Angeles.-Plot:...
, L.A. Confidential, White Jazz
White Jazz
White Jazz is a 1992 crime fiction novel by James Ellroy. It is the fourth in his L.A. Quartet, preceded by The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, and L.A. Confidential....
- Wendell "Bud" White
Bud White was one of the major protagonists in L.A. Confidential. In the book he begins as an incredibly violent cop, who takes out his anger on wife beaters. This is shown to be because of his violent father who killed his mother in a drunken rage. Because of his quick temper and brutality Bud became the most feared cop on the force with nobody wishing to feel the brunt of his anger. However he is shown to be sensitive with women and goes out of his way to help them. This is shown when he becomes obsessed with tracking down a serial killer targeting young prostitutes. During the course of the book Bud has a long standing feud with Ed Exley, due to Exley informing the D.A. of Bud's involvement in the Bloody Christmas fiasco. This almost makes Bud lose his job until Dudley Smith recruits him into the homicide division, which Dudley operates. However Bud's partner Dick Stensland is left as a scapegoat for the investigative D.A. and is imprisoned, this only fuels Buds vendetta against Exley. Dudley recruited Bud because of his brutal strength and uses him as an enforcer. However when it becomes clear that Dudley is corrupt and is using him for his own nefarious schemes, Bud drops his conflict with Exley and joins forces with him and Jack Vincennes to take Dudley Smith down. However during the investigation he is gravely wounded and is forced to retire. Before he leaves, the newly promoted Ed Exley promises him that he won't let Dudley get away with his crimes. Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe is a New Zealander Australian actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a...
portrayed Bud in the 1997 adaptation of L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential (film)
L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity...
.
- John "Jack" Vincennes
One of the major characters in L.A. Confidential. Known for being flashy and colorful, as well as taking cases which get the most publicity. However over the course of the book his actions cause an amount of guilt and throws his life into turmoil, such as the loss of his marriage. He allies himself with Bud White and Ed Exley in a way to redeem himself, however he dies in the book's climax. He is portrayed by Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
in the film
L.A. Confidential (film)
L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity...
, who received top billing, despite his secondary role.
- Lynn Bracken
- David Douglas "The Enforcer" Klein
Appearances in: White Jazz
White Jazz
White Jazz is a 1992 crime fiction novel by James Ellroy. It is the fourth in his L.A. Quartet, preceded by The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, and L.A. Confidential....
The protagonist of White Jazz. The novel is told through Dave Klein's stream of consciousness, as well as articles and newspaper headlines that accompany many of Ellroy's books. He is an immoral cop who, moonlights as a hitman, enforcer, slumlord and lawyer working for people such as Howard Hughes and the mob. He is portrayed as charismatic and cunning, however over the book begins to lose his edge with various problems such as Noonan trying to prosecute him, Exley blackmailing him causes is his life to fall apart.
- Glenda Bledsoe
- Russ Millard
Appearances in: The Black Dahlia
The Black Dahlia (novel)
The Black Dahlia is a neo-noir crime novel by American author James Ellroy, taking inspiration from the true story of the murder of Elizabeth Short. It is widely considered to be the book that elevated Ellroy out of typical genre fiction status, and with which he started to garner critical...
, L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity...
- Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert
Appearances in: The Black Dahlia
The Black Dahlia (novel)
The Black Dahlia is a neo-noir crime novel by American author James Ellroy, taking inspiration from the true story of the murder of Elizabeth Short. It is widely considered to be the book that elevated Ellroy out of typical genre fiction status, and with which he started to garner critical...
The main protagonist of The Black Dahlia. An LAPD officer and former light-heavy boxer. The partner of Lee Blanchard, and eventual husband of Kay Lake. He, like his partner, becomes obsessed with the Elizabeth Short murder case. Bucky was portrayed by Josh Hartnett
Josh Hartnett
Joshua Daniel "Josh" Hartnett is an American actor and aspiring producer. He first came to audiences' attention in 1997 as "Michael Fitzgerald" in the television series Cracker. He made his feature film debut in 1998, co-starring with Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later for Miramax...
in the film adaption
The Black Dahlia (film)
The Black Dahlia is a 2006 neo noir crime film directed by Brian De Palma. It is based on the novel of the same name by James Ellroy, writer of L.A. Confidential and starred Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank. The story is based on the murder of Elizabeth Short...
.
- Turner "Buzz" Meeks
Buzz Meeks was once a cop who was known for his extreme corruption and bad performance reports. This bad reputation would eventually cause his dismissal from the LAPD. He would later find work as an enforcer and bodyguard for various figures within L.A.s underworld. He was murdered by Dudley Smith. In the film
L.A. Confidential (film)
L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity...
, he is portrayed by Darrell Sandeen
Darrell Sandeen
Darrell Sandeen was a character actor who specialized in playing menacing or offbeat people. Perhaps his best-known role was as corrupt cop "Buzz" Meeks in L.A...
.
- Ellis Loew
- Mal Considine
Lieutenant Mal Considine of the Los Angeles District Attorney's Criminal Investigation Bureau was an intelligent, well-intentioned cop, undone by ambition in The Big Nowhere
The Big Nowhere
The Big Nowhere is a 1988 crime fiction novel by James Ellroy, the second of the L.A. Quartet, a series of novels set in 1940s and 1950s Los Angeles.-Plot:...
. Bent on making the rank of Captain with the Bureau, he joined Ellis Loew and Dudley Smith on an investigation of Communists in Hollywood. In the course of that investigation, he recruited Danny Upshaw and became his handler while the latter did double-duty on investigations of Communists and a serial killer. His ambition and desire to impress the divorce court resulted in his death at the hands of the serial killer.
- Danny Upshaw
Detective Deputy Danny Upshaw of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is a local county law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. It is the fourth largest local policing agency in the United States, with the New York City Police Department being the first. The second largest is the Chicago Police...
was a brilliant cop who investigated a horrific string of mutilation murders in The Big Nowhere
The Big Nowhere
The Big Nowhere is a 1988 crime fiction novel by James Ellroy, the second of the L.A. Quartet, a series of novels set in 1940s and 1950s Los Angeles.-Plot:...
. When he stumbles upon evidence linking Dudley Smith with an old murder, Smith manipulates him psychologically until he kills himself, allowing Smith to breathe free but the serial killer to remain at large.
- "Rollo Tomasi"
Rollo Tomasi is the made up name of the purse snatcher who killed Ed Exley's brother in the novel, and in the film version of L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential (film)
L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity...
, his father. His identity is unknown in both novel and film.
The film states that Exley gave him the name for personality. This becomes a vital piece of information when as Jack Vincennes is dying, his last words are Rollo Tomasi, the name that Exley shared with him. It will also give Exley a clue to his killer when Dudley Smith questions Exley about the name. Rollo Tomasi is also a metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
for the criminal who gets away with the crime, like the purse snatcher. When Dudley is about to kill Exley, he asks who Rollo Tomasi is, and Exley says Dudley is, for the reasons mentioned before.
- William H. Parker
- Howard HughesHoward HughesHoward Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
- Sid Hudgens
- Deuce Perkins
- J.C. Kafesjian
Appearance: White Jazz
The LAPD's sanctioned drug dealer.
- Wylie Bullock
- Michael Breuning
- Richard Carlisle
- Pete Bondurant
- Raymond Dieterling (similarities to Walt DisneyWalt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
)
- Inez Soto
- Chick Vecchio
- Touch Vecchio
- Pierce Morehouse Patchett
- George "Junior" Stemmons
- Leland "Lee" Blanchard
- Johnny StompanatoJohnny StompanatoJohn "Johnny" Stompanato , also known as "Handsome Harry", "Johnny Stomp", "John Steele", and "Oscar", was a former United States Marine who became a bodyguard/enforcer for gangster Mickey Cohen...
- U.S. Attorney Welles Noonan
- Robert Gallaudet
- Johnny Duhamel
- Dan Wilhite
- Jack Woods
- Spade CooleySpade CooleyDonnell Clyde Cooley , better known as Spade Cooley, was an American Western swing musician, big band leader, actor, and television personality...
- WinoWinoWino is a slang term for a person, especially one who is homeless, who consumes large amounts of alcohol, usually in the form of low-end fortified wineWino may also refer to:* Wino , a subatomic particle...
Will-o-the-Wisp
Appearances: White Jazz
Unknown serial killer murdering the homeless in White Jazz.
- Elston Majeska (similarities to Bela LugosiBéla LugosiBéla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
)
- Jack DragnaJack DragnaJack Ignatius Dragna was an American Mafia member and Black Hander who was active in both Italy and the United States in the 1900s. He was active in bootlegging in California during the Prohibition Era in the United States...
- Will Shipstad
- Lester Lake
- Fred Turentine
Real life events
- The Black Dahlia murderBlack Dahlia"The Black Dahlia" was a nickname given to Elizabeth Short is an American woman and the victim of a gruesome and much-publicized murder. She acquired the moniker posthumously by newspapers in the habit of nicknaming crimes they found particularly colorful...
- Brenda Allen scandalBrenda AllenBrenda Allen was a madam based in Los Angeles, California whose arrest in 1948 triggered a scandal that led to the reform of the Los Angeles Police Department . Allen received police protection due to her relationship with Sergeant Elmer V...
- Sleepy Lagoon murderSleepy Lagoon murderSleepy Lagoon murder was the name that newspapers and radio commentators used to describe the alleged murder of Jose Diaz, whose body was found on the Williams Ranch near a lagoon in southeast Los Angeles, California, on August 2, 1942...
- Zoot Suit RiotsZoot Suit RiotsThe Zoot Suit Riots were a series of riots in 1943 during World War II that erupted in Los Angeles, California between white sailors and Marines stationed throughout thehi c mlc city and Latino youths, who were recognizable by the zoot suits they favored...
- Bloody ChristmasBloody ChristmasBloody Christmas was the name given to the severe beating of seven men by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department on December 25, 1951. The attacks, which left five Latino and two White young men with broken bones and ruptured organs, was only properly investigated after lobbying from the...
- Battle of Chavez RavineBattle of Chavez RavineThe Battle of Chavez Ravine refers to approximately ten years of racist violence over the Mexican American community of Los Angeles' Chavez Ravine. The eventual result was the forced removal of the entire population of Mexican Americans, living in the community to make way for Dodger Stadium...