Ronni Chasen
Encyclopedia
Ronni Sue Chasen was an American
publicist
, who once represented such actors as Michael Douglas
, as well as musicians such as Hans Zimmer
and Mark Isham
, among others. Chasen directed the Academy Award campaigns for more than 100 films during her career, including Driving Miss Daisy
in 1989 and The Hurt Locker
in 2009.
Chasen was shot and killed November 16, 2010 while driving home from the premiere of the film Burlesque
. Police concluded that unemployed felon Harold Martin Smith killed her during a random robbery.
in 1946. She was raised in both the Riverdale
neighborhood of the Bronx and the Washington Heights
section of Manhattan
. She won a series of Duncan Toys Company
yo-yo
contests held in Morningside Heights as a child.
Chasen began her early career as a publicist for her brother, film director
Larry Cohen
, who hired her as a publicist for his 1973 blaxploitation
film, Hell Up in Harlem
, which became one of her earliest jobs in the industry.
Chasen became known in Hollywood for her PR
work on such films as On Golden Pond
, and the second film in the Oliver Stone
/Michael Douglas
Wall Street movie franchise, Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps
. She was pushing for Oscar recognition for Douglas in his role as the money hungry, risk averse character Gordon Gekko
. Chasen successfully directed the Oscar campaign
for the 1989 film Driving Miss Daisy
, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture
the following year.
In addition to being named the Senior Vice President for Publicity at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
in 1993, Chasen owned the PR firm Chasen & Co., in which she focused on artists who composed film music, such as Trevor Horn
, Mark Isham
, Hans Zimmer
, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, and brothers David
and Thomas Newman
. Laura Dunn of the Society of Composers and Lyricists said of Chasen, "She laid the groundwork for so many others on how to be a top publicist in the film music industry representing top composers and songwriters."
According to Los Angeles Times
film critic Patrick Goldstein
, Chasen reminisced about her early years while working with George Burns
on the hit 1970s film The Sunshine Boys
and coaching the budding star John Travolta
on how to handle his first interview after his fame first broke during Welcome Back Kotter.
Chasen was working with Richard D. Zanuck
and Lili Zanuck for the Oscar campaign of the 2010 film, Alice in Wonderland
, at the time of her death. Following her murder, Chasen was called "Hollywood's ultimate old-school publicist" by Patrick Goldstein.
.
Neighbors near the intersection of Whittier Drive and Sunset Boulevard
in the city of Beverly Hills originally reported hearing gunshots in front of their homes, but more calls came in to the 911 call center a few moments later stating that a late model, black Mercedes-Benz had run a curb, then hit and toppled a concrete street light. When police crews arrived, they found Chasen slumped in the driver's seat, the steering wheel airbag inflated, with blood emanating from her nose and chest area, in and out of consciousness with the front passenger side window shattered. Chasen was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
.
Chasen was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
in Culver City, California
. She is survived by her brother, film director Larry Cohen
.
sources stated that Chasen received approximately five gunshot wounds to the chest, which caused her to lose control of the vehicle just after turning from Sunset Boulevard
onto Whittier Drive. Police surmised that Chasen's killer was an expert marksman
and likely shot her from an SUV
or truck that pulled alongside her car. A leaked coroner
's report noted that hollow-point bullets might have been used by the gunman.
On December 1, 2010 the Los Angeles Times
reported that a man believed to be involved with Chasen's murder committed suicide after being confronted by police at the Harvey Apartments on Santa Monica Boulevard in East Hollywood and that the suspect in Ronni Chasen's slaying had been under police surveillance before he killed himself. The Los Angeles Times
reported the man, a convicted felon named Harold Martin Smith, was approached by police in the apartment lobby, at which point he pulled out a pistol and shot himself in the head. On December 6, 2010 it was reported that the man was no longer considered a person of interest
in the murder. However, on December 8, 2010 the Beverly Hills Police Department declared its preliminary conclusion that Chasen's murder had been a random act of violence, a robbery attempt turned violent. According to the police, the gun the suspect used to kill himself was the same one used to murder Chasen. Police said they believed the man acted alone and it was in no way connected with road rage – an operating theory the previous week. The big break in the case was a tip through "America's Most Wanted
" – after the suspect began bragging to neighbors that he shot Chasen and got $10,000 for it. The "AMW" tipster – who wants to remain anonymous – stands to collect a $125,000 reward.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
publicist
Publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
, who once represented such actors as Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
, as well as musicians such as Hans Zimmer
Hans Zimmer
Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...
and Mark Isham
Mark Isham
Mark Isham is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and film composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.-Life and career:...
, among others. Chasen directed the Academy Award campaigns for more than 100 films during her career, including Driving Miss Daisy
Driving Miss Daisy
Driving Miss Daisy is a 1989 American comedy-drama film adapted from the Alfred Uhry play of the same name. The film was directed by Bruce Beresford, with Morgan Freeman reprising his role as Hoke Colburn and Jessica Tandy playing Miss Daisy...
in 1989 and The Hurt Locker
The Hurt Locker
The Hurt Locker is a 2009 American war film about a three-man United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team during the Iraq War. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and the screenplay was written by Mark Boal, a freelance writer who was embedded as a journalist in 2004 with a US bomb...
in 2009.
Chasen was shot and killed November 16, 2010 while driving home from the premiere of the film Burlesque
Burlesque (film)
Burlesque is a 2010 musical film directed and written by Steven Antin and starring Christina Aguilera and Cher. The film was released on November 24, 2010 in North America....
. Police concluded that unemployed felon Harold Martin Smith killed her during a random robbery.
Biography
Chasen was born Veronica Cohen in Kingston, New YorkKingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
in 1946. She was raised in both the Riverdale
Riverdale, Bronx
Riverdale is an affluent residential neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Bronx in New York City. Riverdale contains the northernmost point in New York City.-History:...
neighborhood of the Bronx and the Washington Heights
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
section of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. She won a series of Duncan Toys Company
Duncan Toys Company
The Duncan Toys Company is an American toy manufacturer based in Middlefield, Ohio, best known for its Yo-yo line. The company was founded in 1929 by Donald Duncan. In 1968, it became a division of Flambeau, Inc..- Yo-yo Product Line :...
yo-yo
Yo-yo
The yo-yo in its simplest form is an object consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a length of twine looped around the axle, similar to a slender spool...
contests held in Morningside Heights as a child.
Chasen began her early career as a publicist for her brother, film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Larry Cohen
Larry Cohen
Lawrence G. "Larry" Cohen is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is best known as a B-Movie auteur of horror and science fiction films - often containing a police procedural element - during 1970s and 1980s...
, who hired her as a publicist for his 1973 blaxploitation
Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
film, Hell Up in Harlem
Hell Up in Harlem
Hell Up in Harlem is a 1973 blaxploitation film, starring Fred Williamson and Gloria Hendry. The film was written and directed by Larry Cohen...
, which became one of her earliest jobs in the industry.
Chasen became known in Hollywood for her PR
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
work on such films as On Golden Pond
On Golden Pond (1981 film)
On Golden Pond is a 1981 American drama film directed by Mark Rydell. The screenplay by Ernest Thompson was adapted from his 1979 play of the same title. Henry Fonda won the Academy Award in what was his final film role. Co-star Katharine Hepburn also received an Oscar, as did Thompson for his...
, and the second film in the Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
/Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
Wall Street movie franchise, Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps
Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, also known as Wall Street 2, is a 2010 American drama film directed by Oliver Stone, a sequel to Wall Street . Michael Douglas reprises his role as Gordon Gekko with Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, and Frank Langella also starring in the film. The...
. She was pushing for Oscar recognition for Douglas in his role as the money hungry, risk averse character Gordon Gekko
Gordon Gekko
Gordon Gekko is the main antagonist of the 1987 film Wall Street and the antihero of the 2010 film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, both by director Oliver Stone...
. Chasen successfully directed the Oscar campaign
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for the 1989 film Driving Miss Daisy
Driving Miss Daisy
Driving Miss Daisy is a 1989 American comedy-drama film adapted from the Alfred Uhry play of the same name. The film was directed by Bruce Beresford, with Morgan Freeman reprising his role as Hoke Colburn and Jessica Tandy playing Miss Daisy...
, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
the following year.
In addition to being named the Senior Vice President for Publicity at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
in 1993, Chasen owned the PR firm Chasen & Co., in which she focused on artists who composed film music, such as Trevor Horn
Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn CBE is an English pop music record producer, songwriter, musician and singer. He was born in Houghton-le-Spring in north-east England....
, Mark Isham
Mark Isham
Mark Isham is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and film composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.-Life and career:...
, Hans Zimmer
Hans Zimmer
Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...
, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, and brothers David
David Newman (composer)
David Louis Newman is an American composer and conductor known particularly for his film scores. In a career spanning nearly forty years, he has composed music for nearly 100 feature films.-Life and career:...
and Thomas Newman
Thomas Newman
Thomas Montgomery Newman is an American composer and conductor, best known for his many film scores. He is one of the more respected and recognized composers for modern film and has scored over fifty feature films in a career which spans nearly three decades.Newman has received a total of ten...
. Laura Dunn of the Society of Composers and Lyricists said of Chasen, "She laid the groundwork for so many others on how to be a top publicist in the film music industry representing top composers and songwriters."
According to Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
film critic Patrick Goldstein
Patrick Goldstein
Patrick Goldstein is a film critic and columnist for the Los Angeles Times, writing about movies in a column titled The Big Picture. Colleague Tom O'Neill describes him as the newspaper's "chief Oscarologist" as his column focuses largely on the doings of the Academy Awards.-Rob Schneider...
, Chasen reminisced about her early years while working with George Burns
George Burns
George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
on the hit 1970s film The Sunshine Boys
The Sunshine Boys
The Sunshine Boys is a play by Neil Simon that was produced on Broadway in 1972 and later adapted for film and television.-Plot:The play focuses on aging Al Lewis and Willy Clark, a one-time vaudevillian team known as "Lewis and Clark" who, over the course of forty-odd years, not only grew to hate...
and coaching the budding star John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
on how to handle his first interview after his fame first broke during Welcome Back Kotter.
Chasen was working with Richard D. Zanuck
Richard D. Zanuck
Richard Darryl Zanuck is an American film producer. He iscredited for producing famous movies of the 1970's, 80's, 90's and the 21 century.-Life and career:...
and Lili Zanuck for the Oscar campaign of the 2010 film, Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American computer-animated/live action fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton, written by Linda Woolverton, and released by Walt Disney Pictures...
, at the time of her death. Following her murder, Chasen was called "Hollywood's ultimate old-school publicist" by Patrick Goldstein.
Death
Chasen was shot in Beverly Hills on November 16, 2010, at approximately 12:28 a.m. PST, as she was driving home from the Hollywood premiere of the film BurlesqueBurlesque (film)
Burlesque is a 2010 musical film directed and written by Steven Antin and starring Christina Aguilera and Cher. The film was released on November 24, 2010 in North America....
.
Neighbors near the intersection of Whittier Drive and Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
in the city of Beverly Hills originally reported hearing gunshots in front of their homes, but more calls came in to the 911 call center a few moments later stating that a late model, black Mercedes-Benz had run a curb, then hit and toppled a concrete street light. When police crews arrived, they found Chasen slumped in the driver's seat, the steering wheel airbag inflated, with blood emanating from her nose and chest area, in and out of consciousness with the front passenger side window shattered. Chasen was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Originally established as Kaspare Cohn Hospital in 1902, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, tertiary 958-bed hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre located in Los Angeles, California, US. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over...
.
Chasen was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
The Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Jewish cemetery located at 6001 West Centinela Avenue, in Culver City, California, USA. Many Jewish people from the entertainment industry are buried here.-Notable interments:*Irving Aaronson, composer...
in Culver City, California
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
. She is survived by her brother, film director Larry Cohen
Larry Cohen
Lawrence G. "Larry" Cohen is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is best known as a B-Movie auteur of horror and science fiction films - often containing a police procedural element - during 1970s and 1980s...
.
Investigation
Beverly Hills Police DepartmentBeverly Hills Police Department
The Beverly Hills Police Department is the police department of the City of Beverly Hills, California. The current police chief of the BHPD is David L. Snowden.-History:...
sources stated that Chasen received approximately five gunshot wounds to the chest, which caused her to lose control of the vehicle just after turning from Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
onto Whittier Drive. Police surmised that Chasen's killer was an expert marksman
Marksman
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...
and likely shot her from an SUV
Sport utility vehicle
A sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel...
or truck that pulled alongside her car. A leaked coroner
Coroner
A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
's report noted that hollow-point bullets might have been used by the gunman.
On December 1, 2010 the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
reported that a man believed to be involved with Chasen's murder committed suicide after being confronted by police at the Harvey Apartments on Santa Monica Boulevard in East Hollywood and that the suspect in Ronni Chasen's slaying had been under police surveillance before he killed himself. The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
reported the man, a convicted felon named Harold Martin Smith, was approached by police in the apartment lobby, at which point he pulled out a pistol and shot himself in the head. On December 6, 2010 it was reported that the man was no longer considered a person of interest
Person of interest
"Person of interest" is a phrase used by law enforcement when announcing the name of someone involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. The phrase was adopted by the media and widely disseminated, thus most law enforcement agencies have picked up...
in the murder. However, on December 8, 2010 the Beverly Hills Police Department declared its preliminary conclusion that Chasen's murder had been a random act of violence, a robbery attempt turned violent. According to the police, the gun the suspect used to kill himself was the same one used to murder Chasen. Police said they believed the man acted alone and it was in no way connected with road rage – an operating theory the previous week. The big break in the case was a tip through "America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
" – after the suspect began bragging to neighbors that he shot Chasen and got $10,000 for it. The "AMW" tipster – who wants to remain anonymous – stands to collect a $125,000 reward.