Crime, Sin and Scandal in 90210 (Exclusive)

A new true crime anthology from journalist and PEOPLE contributor Scott Huver explores both famous and hidden crimes in America’s most glamorous zip code

Think 90210 is all about glitz and glamour? Think again.

Veteran entertainment journalist and longtime PEOPLE contributor Scott Huver has used his industry experience, which began at a local newspaper in Beverly Hills, to write a new anthology of true crime stories Beverly Hills Noir: Crime, Sin and Scandal on 90210will be published on October 1 by Post Hill Press.

“I couldn’t help but draw on my own experiences as a local newspaper and magazine reporter to cover some truly unknown ‘only on 90210’ crimes that I covered in the 1990s and 2000s as an actor,” Huver says.

“There, writing about local crime, I discovered the gilded city’s rich history of criminal exploits, as unique and extravagant as 90210 itself, where the rich and famous – as perpetrators, victims or concerned bystanders – look back on all they have achieved and the accumulated slips disappear.”

Related: The best true crime documentaries you can watch right now

“It’s the dark side of having it all: stunning crime scenes, astronomically estimated losses, celebrity appearances at every turn and consequences that still reverberate,” he adds.

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The book examines some of Hollywood’s most notorious crime scandals, including the December 2001 arrest of Winona Ryder for stealing $5,500 worth of clothes from the Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills, California, but most importantly it addresses topics that may have slipped by unnoticed by readers. . .

“For the first volume Beverly Hills Noir, I wanted to delve deeper into less researched cases like the stories above,” he adds.

Below, exclusively for PEOPLE, Huver offers a taste of some of the crimes and characters readers will find Black Beverly Hills.

Related: Who Were the Menendez Brothers’ Parents? Inside the lives of José and Kitty Menendez before their 1989 murders

The arrest of Alfred Hitchock

Today, he continues to be one of the most acclaimed directors in Hollywood history, thanks to his classic thrillers such as Rear window, Dizziness AND Psycho, and known for his undercover appearances, was taken in handcuffs from a 1956 press luncheon for his television series Alfred Hitchcock presentswhile reporters were also detained for questioning. The story contains Hitchcock’s signature twist and reveals the seeds of one of his next triumphs, North by northwest.

Related: Tippi Hedren’s Alfred Hitchcock molestation allegations — find out more as Dakota Johnson’s claims resurface

Murder and suicide at Greystone Manor

The enduring mystery surrounding the 1929 murder-suicide at the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills is notable for its ties to one of the region’s wealthiest families – the Doheny name remains a fixture throughout Los Angeles – and for the country’s biggest political scandal before Watergate . The exclusive estate was later featured in numerous films and television shows, including The Big Lebowski, Bodyguard, X-Men AND Gilmore Girls,

The circumstances and characters have inspired popular storytellers from novelist Raymond Chandler to director Paul Thomas Anderson, and – with its theme of power and money triumphing over truth – the case is Chinatown– a story in the style of corruption and cover-up.

Related: The best true crime documentaries you can watch right now

Walter Wagner attacks Joan Bennett

Imagine the scandalous headlines that would appear today if one of Hollywood’s most successful and respected film producers came face to face with his glamorous movie star wife and her powerful talent agent over their affair – at gunpoint. In the agency parking lot. Directly across the street from the Beverly Hills Police Department. Aiming for the agent’s groin.

This was the worst-case scenario in 1951, when Walter Wanger, known for such all-time classics as Stagecoach AND Foreign correspondentattacked Joan Bennett, a femme fatale from film noir, today remembered for her roles in Father of the bride AND Dark shadowsand her agent-turned-lover, Jennings Lang, during trysts in an apartment rented for Lang agency client Marlon Brando. Then there was a master class in rotation control, the repercussions of which could later be felt on the screen, including: in classic movies I want to live!,Cleopatra and even Wilder Billy Apartment.

Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin bar fight

By 1966, still legendary Rat Packers Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin were as iconic as the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel – the “Pink Palace” that had embodied the city’s luxurious image for centuries and famously graced the cover of “Eagles.” ‘ Hotel California album – but they had to wonder whether their superstar careers would take a disastrous sour after a raucous late-night birthday celebration that escalated into a bar fight that left one of their millionaire adversaries falling unconscious to the floor. But who hit whom and how did it all affect Sinatra’s affair with Mia Farrow in May and December?

Related: The strange saga of ‘My Way’: How it revived Frank Sinatra, crushed David Bowie and sparked a murder spree

Standoff on Rodeo Drive

The 1980s were the height of Rodeo Drive’s popularity as one of the world’s most glamorous shopping streets – that fiery, designer-conscious, spending-crazy era of conspicuous consumption, as seen in films such as Beverly Hills Cop AND Pretty Woman. The Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry boutique was – and remains – one of the Avenue’s hallmarks.

But in 1986, when drifter Steven Livaditis tried to rob a store and suddenly found himself trapped in a nearly impregnable building, surrounded by rapidly arriving police, an all-day hostage standoff reminiscent of the movie ensued Dog afternoon occurred, and the human cost was higher than any price Rodeo Drive had ever seen.

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Beverly Hills Noir: Crime, Sin and Scandal on 90210 will hit shelves on October 1 and is now available for pre-order wherever books are sold.

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