In a time before cable news and the Internet, people got their news from bold, tough-as-nails journalists. These brave souls would go to extraordinary lengths to get the truth to the public, often putting their lives at risk for a scoop.
The Gangster's Butler is a memoir from a bona fide newspaperman, Howard Scott Williams. From 1948 to 1976, he covered some of the most incredible stories in Los Angeles and beyond. His subjects included Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Robert F. Kennedy's assassin, and notorious gangster Mickey Cohen, for whom Williams posed as a butler in a particularly complex and fascinating story.
Williams's stories are so amazing that you might not believe them if you read them in a newspaper, which may be why many of the details were never printed-until now. However, every story is true and presented with the dignity and sobriety befitting an honorable newspaperman.
Whether you work in journalism, are interested in juicy stories of old Los Angeles, or just enjoy a good read, you'll find plenty to love in this insider's look at journalism during an extraordinary time in American history.
About the Author: Howard Scott Williams was discharged as an aviation cadet when World War II ended. He studied journalism at the University of Southern California and took his first job at United Press in 1948. He spent the next twenty-five years working for two Los Angeles newspapers and one television station, covering everything from Skid Row to Berlin.
Howard retired in 1989 at the age of sixty-six, at which time he began serving in various public capacities in San Diego. He and his wife were married for nearly seventy years before she passed away in 2014. Howard, now ninety-three, has one son and two granddaughters.
