The Secret History of FRISCO
Join us on a cinematic journey through the last wild years when San Francisco was still wide-open. The cops ran the town in the Thirties and Bones Remmer ran the town in the Forties.
Battles raged between the factions of dark and light in the hidden realms of San Francisco’s power elite, behind the headlines, from the celestial dominions of Nob Hill eateries and private clubs down to the nether depths of the dive bars in the heart of the Tenderloin, up to the Barbary Coast and jazz joints of North Beach and over to the banks and brokerages in the Financial District …
FRISCO will bring alive that wild and bygone era of the Cool Grey City of Love that seduced the world.
The Secret History of FRISCO
Ep. 5—Jimmie Tarantino Part 1: When Frank Sinatra and Mickey Cohen Invested in His Hollywood Nite Life Magazine
This episode of "The Secret History of Frisco" podcast introduces listeners to Jimmie Tarantino, a man described as a "louse, a blowhard, a barely literate, anti-Communist shake-down artist." The episode delves into Tarantino's early life in East Orange, New Jersey, and his eventual move to Hollywood where he became a peripheral member of Frank Sinatra's inner circle, "The Varsity."
I discuss Sinatra's deep and complicated ties to organized crime and he used those connections to get out of his contract with bandleader Tommy Dorsey. It involved a pistol jammed in Dorsey's mouth.
The podcast then details how Tarantino, with financial backing from Sinatra and mobster Mickey Cohen, started a tabloid called Hollywood Nite Life to extort celebrities. This venture eventually led to Tarantino double-crossing Sinatra, fleeing to San Francisco, and joining forces with crime boss Bones Remmer. The podcast also shares a moving story about Sinatra's courage as a champion of civil rights and the remarkable life of boxing champion and war hero Barney Ross, who was also involved with Tarantino's magazine.
The "Secret History of Frisco" podcast, hosted by Knox Bronson, introduces listeners to Jimmie Tarantino, a man described as a "louse, a blowhard, a barely literate, anti-Communist shake-down artist." The episode delves into Tarantino's early life in East Orange, New Jersey, and his eventual move to Hollywood where he became a peripheral member of Frank Sinatra's inner circle, "The Varsity." The host explains Sinatra's deep and complicated ties to organized crime, including his godfather being a mob underboss and how he used those connections to get out of his contract with bandleader Tommy Dorsey. The podcast then details how Tarantino, with financial backing from Sinatra and mobster Mickey Cohen, started a tabloid called Hollywood Nite Life to extort celebrities. This venture eventually led to Tarantino double-crossing Sinatra, fleeing to San Francisco, and joining forces with crime boss Bones Remmer, a story promised to be continued in the next episode. The podcast also shares a moving story about Sinatra's courage as a champion of civil rights and the remarkable life of boxing champion and war hero Barney Ross, who was also involved with Tarantino's magazine.