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R.I.P. Ronni Chasen
3RD & 4TH UPDATE, 12 PM: Shock and dismay and in some cases tears swept Hollywood this morning when news spread that popular Oscar publicist Ronni Chasen had been the tragic victim of violence around midnight in the Sunset and Whittier area of Beverly Hills. Here’s more intel about the 64-year-old’s last hours: The Oscar campaign and holiday movie season got fully underway at the start of this week. She was lobbying media to write positive articles promoting Academy Award nominations for Michael Douglas in the Supporting Actor category for Twentieth Century Fox’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and for Walt Disney Studios’ Alice In Wonderland 3D in the Best Picture category. Both were the subject of a combination business and social phone call from her office with Deadline editor-in-chief Nikki Finke from 5:30 PM through 6:30 PM. Then the Oscar publicist drove her late model black Mercedes Benz E350 to Sony Pictures Entertainment/Screen Gem’s premiere of the movie Burlesque at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Then she attended the after-party at Drai’s in the W Hotel. ”“We were all together last night, and Ronni was having the best time doing what she enjoyed most,” recalls producer Donald De Line. ”When we all said goodbye last night, little did we know it would be our last. I am in shock; that this could happen is incomprehensible. Only a few hours ago we were celebrating. I’m glad she was happy last night and that she was in all her glory.”
She left the party and drove down Sunset Blvd through West Hollywood and just at the start of Beverly Hills (most likely heading towards her home in Westwood) when she was shot and killed sometime around midnight. Chasen’s friends say she made a call to her office about 8 minutes before the gunfire to put a reminder on her office voicemail. “She was not feeling in danger,” a source said. Beverly Hills police at 12:28 AM received information regarding shots that were heard in the area of Sunset and Whittier. Shortly after, Ronni’s car was discovered in a collision with a lightpole in the same area and she was found inside with multiple gunshot wounds to her chest. Police sources say Ronni’s car window was broken but nothing was taken from her purse. She was transported from the scene by paramedics and pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. This reaction just came in from Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures which hosted the Burlesque premiere that turned out to be Chasen’s last Hollywood event: “Ronni was a dear friend and cherished member of our community. She was at our premiere last night and so full of her trademark energy and love of life. We are heartbroken, shocked and completely devastated.”
2ND UPDATE: The Beverly Hills police have issued this statement about Ronni Chasen’s murder, now confirmed by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office: “At approximately 12:28 AM, Beverly Hills officers received information regarding shots that were heard in the area of Sunset and Whittier. Shortly after, a collision was reported in the same area. Units arrived in the area and discovered, a newer black Mercedes Benz E350 involved in a solo crash with a lightpole. The lone female occupant was located in the vehicle with apparent multiple gunshot wounds to her chest. Beverly Hills paramedics transported her to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased. The investigation is in the preliminary stages, and no further information is available. Also, there is no suspect information or motive at this time.”
UPDATE 9:45 AM: Nikki Finke has confirmed that Ronni Chasen was “shot and killed” last night, according to Beverly Hills police. Nikki spoke to her at 5:30 last night. Ronni was promoting Michael Douglas for Best Supporting Actor for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, as well as Alice In Wonderland 3D for Best Picture. A friend said that, after leaving the office, Ronni attended the premiere of the Sony Pictures/Screen Gems film Burlesque. A longtime Rogers & Cowan senior movie publicist, spanning decades, Chasen went out on her own, establishing Chasen & Company Publicity around 1991. She had a thriving business, especially at awards time, representing directors, writers, musicians, actors, and films. She was incredibly well-liked by Hollywood and the media and her enthusiasm for her clients was infectious, even to the most cynical of journalists. Words cannot express how much she will be missed.
PREVIOUS: We have no official confirmation. But there is a report just posted now by RadarOnline.com that venerable Oscar publicist Ronni Chasen may have been the victim of a crime last night. We are trying to confirm, and will have details as quickly as we can verify them. Ronni spoke with Nikki last night, and I know that she was at a premiere for the Sony Pictures/Screen Gems film Burlesque.
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RIP Ronni
The police better get on the ball and solve this heinous crime.
I am in total shock today.
Had the pleasure of working with Ronni Chasen and Warren Cowan for three years in the Motion Picture Dept. at R&C. My heart is broken. She was kind and generous to me, always. RIP Ronni.
Warren and Ronni always loved you Roz…you were such a kind and wonderful publicist…I always loved you too….I was a photographer for R&C in the 80′s, and it was only because of Ronni that I felt good enough to pursue it….she always had time for me, she hired me when other publicists wouldn’t, because I was just too new..she gave me a chance..because she said she believed in me…she was the coolest, best publicist I have ever worked for…..she was amazing…she was funny, yes she was sarcastic, but she made me laugh so many times…this this is just so senseless…I am heartbroken…why her? I mean why? she was a woman who was smart, funny, and so caring and giving….I will miss her so very, very much….
Warren and Ronni always loved you Roz…you were such a kind and wonderful publicist…I always loved you too….as a photographer for R&C, I loved her more than words can say…she always had time to talk to me, always hired me for premiers, etc…she was funny, easy-going…and I will miss her so very much..
grrrr sorry about the double post….couldn’t delete it…Chris
This is clearly was premeditated. The street she was on is very empty at night, I have driven through those streets many times at night and it’s so quiet and dark at some point, but I always felt safe, certainly not a section of neighborhood where gangs or hijackers or thieves hang out…
They need to look at the bullets and figure out what kind of gun it came from…military / cop gun used? or guns that civilians can buy. I would not rule out anything or anyone, but it wasn’t a robbery or car hijacking, nothing was missing, car was still there. This is devastating, devastating, devastating and sick…
You should post the contact information on your email alerts regarding donation collection for ” reward to find the killer “, so people can help donate and speed up the process….
God bless her soul and her family. 777
Military/Cop or civilian type gun? Where is this one from? There HAS to be a motive and when it is discovered……..
This is a very sad story.
Not to nitpick, but lots of you folks in Hollywood do not know the first thing about firearms. There is no difference between guns the military or LEOs or civilians use. I’m a detective and I own the same weapon personally that my dept issues. A bit of advice: put aside your biases and fears and attend a gun safety course. You never know when you are going to need the knowledge. And actors, if a director has you rack a round into the chamber every time you take it out of the holster tell him 100% of cops are already hot when it goes into the holster and it is unrealistic. And keep some trigger discipline by keeping your finger off the trigger at all times unless you are firing the weapon.
That being said, multiple gunshots to the chest means relatively close range, unless it was a rifle. Somehow I do not think we have heard the last of this story.
You’re right. She really should’ve taken a gun safety course…that probably would’ve saved her life. I can just picture her whipping out a pistol while driving down Sunset and taking those sons of a bitch out.
Nice suggestion.
Detective, I totally agree with what you are saying. There is no difference between weapons.Even if Ronni took a class in firearms who ever killed her would never of given her a chance. I went through the police academy and we were always told that shooting at a moving target is a very hard thing to do. I have great faith in the Beverly Hills Police Department. They will find out who killed Ronni.
Brenda,
Just wondering if you still “have great faith in the Beverly Hills Police Department” based on how they “solved” Ronni’s case?
The fact that the rather posh neighborhood Ms. Chasen was in and the street she was killed on are largely deserted at that time of night make it a perfect spot for an attack.
With the lack of facts and evidence presented thus far, it’s hard to say whether this was a hit by a spurned business partner, wannabe star,(ex) lover, or someone else who stood to gain from her death. It could just as easily have been a road rage attack, or an attempted carjacking or robbery gone horribly bad. In ANY case, there was NOTHING random about it. She was CLEARLY targeted.
Given the apparent suddenness and viciousness of the attack, it’s HIGHLY UNLIKELY that even if she had been packing any serious heat that it would’ve made a difference in the outcome…unless she had been in the habit of keeping a locked and loaded glock in her lap during her nighttime commutes home.
From nearly all reported accounts, Ms. Chasen was obviously a beloved figure in the industry, but you don’t have to be a studio head of ill repute to have enemies. People have been known to kill for A LOT less.
The savage or savages who did this, whether they knew her identity in advance or not, wanted her dead, for sure. Granted, contract killings typically involve shots to the head to ensure instant death, however, multiple close range shots to the chest ARE the next best thing!
One aspect of many that have gone largely unaddressed in most news reports thus far is, how did someone manage to locate five shots to her chest but NOT through the front windshield unless the car was not moving at the time? Since the passenger window appears to have been smashed in by an object other than gunshots, it leaves the impression that no one else was in the car with her at the time of her death.
From the information available currently, it’s looking more like a hit or targeted attack rather than an attempted robbery, carjacking, or gang initiation.
Since this heinous crime took place in Beverly Hills and not LA proper, at the very least there’s a much better chance that the investigation will not be bungled by the police!
Our condolences to her family, those who loved her and/or worked with her, or otherwise knew her. It sounds like she was a generally nice, diligent, hardworking lady.
I have an unconventional theory that would fit with the facts as they’ve been published so far. What if it was not a hit, a gang initiation, or Road Rage, but Resident Rage? I read somewhere that Whittier is a short cut from Sunset to Wilshire. What if a neighborhood resident had simply had it with people speeding though the neighborhood? I’ve gone through the canyon neighborhoods too quickly some times, lost in thought, and a neighbor is walking across the street at night. If such a person, in such a nice neighborhood, flagged you down to slow down, wouldn’t you? Would you maybe even stop and apologize? This is one scenario where someone could shoot someone five times in the chest without being in another moving car (no car was seen speeding away), not being in the car, and being able to disappear into the surroundings easily.
I know it sounds crazy but I can envision someone being pushed over the edge- someone who has paid a lot of money for their house only to put up with speeders in their quiet neighborhood. They could live anywhere up to a mile walking distance. Imagine them being upset enough to walk with a loaded gun just waiting for the one time someone drove through their neighborhood in a way they deemed “too fast” or “unsafe”.
Just a thought.
This is awful. Why on earth would someone assassinate this well respected woman?
My god, how terrible. Condolences to her family, friends, and co-workers.
Five gunshot wounds at 12:30 a.m. Sounds like a hit.
Sounds like they wanted to make sure the job was done…5 gun shots? wow
Not a robbery. Nothing was apparently taken.
She worked tirelessly. Just pray that the LAPD can and will solve this case. Everyone is reeling.
Come on, don’t engage in ridiculous and unfounded conjecture. This is a real person, with a real family, and real friends.
Sad. Tragic. Despicable. No one deserves this.
I pray that justice would soon be served.
It’s terrible, but do we know it was an assassination? It sounds like a random act of violence more than a targeted assassination.
5 gunshot wounds to the chest is personal. Per every episode of Law & Order.
That’s right.
Not necessarily. It could’ve been an attempted robbery and the person freaked out after shooting without taking anything.
Either way you slice it, though, terrible terrible sad news.
Yes, and we all know that television shows are perfect representations of how crimes are solved, illness are treated, relationships are engages in, and life is lived. For God’s sake, get a life.
Nope, no “random act”, it WAS personal!
what an unspeakable & awful tragedy in a week in which the industry has already lost Dino DL and Philippe Hellmann. Ronnie was one of the best and her passing is equally devastating.
This is insanely terrible. No clue who this lady was, but, damn. If it was her it could have been anyone who was in the area in BMW after midnight.
Horrible news, I echo the hope that the LAPD will solve this quickly. She wrote the book on Oscar campaigns for composers, it’s a big loss.
Some years ago I was the manager of a charity for blindness. Ronnie joined our fundraising event committee and offered us her help and resources. That was greatly appreciated and will always be remembered.
Condolences to Ronni’s family and friends.
This is a devastating shock to all. Like others, I passionately hope that the BHPD can track down her killers and bring them to justice.
RIP, Ronni.
That’s absolutely horrible. Condolences to her friends and family. That, and big appreciation for Mike’s coverage on this one.
Wow. I was an intern at Rogers & Cowan for both Henry and Warren in the early ’80′s. Ronni was a friend then and we’d always run into each other of the years. She was warm, friendly and the ultimate professional. As I live near the intersection of were this happened, I sure hope that the BHPD are on the case. My thoughts are with her family. This is a tragic loss. David Palmer
Pls pls find her killer. This senseless, heinous act of violance has caused us all to lose an incredible, wonderful, loving person filled with a love of life and people.
Sounds like more West hollywood randon violence….seems to he getting worse, maybe she was a victim of a botched car jacking in her new Mercedes!!!
Horrible news. But it has nothing to do with West Hollywood. It’ happened in Beverly Hills.
E350′s are a dime a dozen on the Westside, have trouble believing a carjack. Drunken roadrage is my guess. Horrible. Solve this crime BHPD.
Tragic. Condolences to her family.
Sounds like an attempted carjacking. Good thing Beverly Hills is CCTV central. Senseless tragedy.
Agreed. There are cameras at pretty much every light/intersection on Sunset Blvd. from downtown Pacific Palisades to Doheny. Hope they catch the bad guys.
Terrible news. Condolences to family and co-workers.
Getting shot five times does not sound like a car-jacking, IMO. Sounds to me like a hit. Mistaken identity? She was driving a new Benz…
I’m a LA native and this is very rare in BH, an upscale woman in her mid 60s dying this way. Home invasion, maybe, but this type of violence…?
Condolences to the family.
Having been carjacked and kidnapped at gunpoint in LA, this is NOT the correct MO. Five shots to a moving car? Nope.
Something else going on.
Terrible tragedy all around. She was a pro and well respected by all.
Random violence? Really? Find it hard to believe that….
GUN CONTROL, DAMMIT! GUN CONTROL, GUN CONTROL, GUN CONTROL!!!
I’d bet money the guy that shot her, in addition to murder, was also violating a few gun laws.
Likely as not, any degree of regulatory gun control you’re talking about wouldn’t have prevented the evil bastards who did this from having a gun and using it. They’re criminals, right? So they don’t abide by society’s laws about gun control, no matter how stringent society wants to make them.
A better option would be if Ms. Chasen had been packing herself – might have given her a fighting chance, at least. Condolences.
You are absolutely correct, halfmad.
Yes, halfmadjesus, gun control is not the answer. We all have the right to self defense. A gun is the great equalizer. Particularly for women, who are otherwise at the mercy of stronger men.
Except for the actual, documented fact that nations and cultures that outlaw hand gun ownership HAVE ALMOST NO GUN CRIMES!! Can we please, please get back to a world where facts matter?
Nations with no gun control have less gun related crime? So, say… like England? Besides the Apples and Oranges comparisons you’re making culture wise, I say you do a bit more research on these facts you claim to adhere to. 59% of Burglaries in England take place while the occupant is at home vs 13% here in the US. Washington DC banned hand guns. Their murder rate has averaged 56.9 per 100,000. Swim across the river to Arlington, VA where guns are allowed and you’ll find an average of 1.6 per 100,000.
Yes this was a heinous, evil crime. Yes, we need to throw the book at people who use guns to commit crimes. But the fact is 2.5 million crimes are prevented by guns every year with the gun often not even being fired. The best gun control is to punish the hell out of those who abuse our fundamental civil right to bear arms for such inexcusable purposes.
Hi – the Second Amendment is to protect citizens from a tyrannical government. Criminals will get guns no matter what. The Constitution protects our right to protect ourselves.
You are a full idiot.
Just listen to what you are saying. Echo chamber nonsense. A beautiful life has been taken by a stupid, senseless device designed for killing human beings– and you are inspired to defend this?
I dare any criminal to go to Japan and try to find a handgun– Yajuza get them from texas.
Owning a gun would not have changed anything in this horrible equation. Please stfu about your stupid, grade-school politics. This is the real world.
Every week you hear about people in Asia with knives going into kindergarten schools and killing children and teachers. The lesson, that a determined person will kill.
Because criminals follow the law…
Gun control never diminishes crimes. It only disarms law abiding citizens.
We can only assume that if only she was packing this would not be the outcome – I know that would be the case for me and it was the case in a most recent home invasion (google it). But it is always the case that even in places with strict gun laws, crime still exists.
RIP Ronni
Hello….don’t disturb Malcolm..it appears they already are!
RIP, one of the 500 plus killed in LA. It’s time to stop the madness.
Hollywood should work to end the madness with a campaign in her honor.
So sorry for her family’s lost.
I’ve lived in LA my whole life — the valley, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Silverlake and I have NEVER felt unsafe. “Stop the madness”? Huh? If you live in a decent area — which BH surely is — there really is not a heck of a lot of “madness.”
To the person who said they’ve lived in LA their whole life and never felt unsafe, doesn’t know any better becuase theyve always lived in this “madness” known as LA. A city where drive by’s and gang shootings are common place. You need to get out of LA and realize this city is NOT the norm when it comes to violent crime.
Please go back to reading drudge and living in your fantasy filled world of fear.
Drive-bys and gang shootings ARE commonplace…in the bad parts of L.A. In the areas anonrighter mentioned, for the most part, those kind of crimes-especially in Beverly Hills-are NOT commonplace.
I totally agree!
Strong idea. I second that.
They should launch that initiative at the Oscar’s.
Great idea and they should start with a self-imposed banning of the gratuitous use of guns/weapons and violence in films and television! That would be a worthy legacy.
YES! I think that’s a damn good idea. We in Hollywood underestimate how much influence our product has on the public. We’ve got to be more mindful.
“That would be a worthy legacy”
It would also put HBO (probably the most lucrative showbiz entity)50% out of business.
HBO justifies its $15 per month (to 28 million homes) basically on the backs of “what you *can’t* see on broadcast/basic cable TV.”
Which is basically more extreme violence and softcore porn.
Usually dressed up in some allegedly “dramatic” package. At least once per episode.
But vampire porn is still just porn.
And operatic brain splattering is still just brain splattering.
Hell will freeze over (full of Hollywood alums) before the Factory stops churning out product that appeals to the most base of human emotions.
just curious – do you like the Sopranos, Godfather I & 2, Good Felllas, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, The Shield, The Wire, Law And Order, Homicide or Sexy Beast?
cause i love these “violent” films and shows and would be very proud to have been involved in creating any of them.
so let’s not start blaming TV or movies for any tragedy like this.
C’mon Disgusted….surely you cannot believe this atrocity was committed by an impressionable 15 year old who has been exposed to too much violence in movies and on T.V………do you?
Condolences to Ronni’s family, friends and colleagues. She was a very well respected publicist and made a profound impact on the film industry-she will be missed.
I loved ronnie, she was great at what she did and cared so much about everyone — every movie, every client, the comfort of every guest at her events. This is utterly shocking.
And somehow five shots to the chest doesn’t sound like a car jacking at all. How could u get the car? or random? Why five shots? Please get to the bottom of this, PD. this makes no sense and is a terrifying tragedy…
the last thing she said to me last week was, “are you happy with your table?” it seems so…I want to say I am happy with everything you ever did.
Condolences, and so much shock sadness.
Condolences to Ronni’s family… I’m sure they’re in shock today… as are her co-workers, clients and extended families.
I agree with some of the comments… it does sound like a car jacking… or road rage… RIP Ronni.
Everyone’s against big brother surveillance but if they had cameras going at streets like this, not directed at houses, they could nab em’. It sucks.
I have no idea what the circumstances are but….Its not worth it to interact or get caught up in a road rage incident with a lot of drivers in LA, especially the criminal element. Just ignore it, completely cut off any potential interaction with low life elements. A father and two sons in San Francisco were killed during a road rage incident a year or so ago by a gang banger. Its insane. They’ll shoot anyone rival gang members, babies, rich folk, whatever. Life has no value to them.
Also, don’t be flashy. Those scum bags in Connecticut that killed a wife and two daughters saw them driving a Mercedes and targeted them. Sure its fine to reward hard work with a great car but you need to be careful. Whoever it is, friends or anyone that can see you on Facebook, don’t let too many people know that you have money. With this economy, populist rage and political agendas, its en vogue to demonize and be unsympathetic to the rich, which makes wealthy people even more at risk. The moral of the story is don’t worry about what your neighbor has and worry about yourself. People who kill people should be put on death row and actually executed. My liberalness stops at crime and punishment.
Right on!