BBC Confirms ‘Doctor Who’ Season 8 
‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ $22M Friday For Lower … 
Finally, Cannes Dealing! Radius-TWC Nabs Director’s … 
Hammond On Cannes: Wet Fest’s Official Competition … 
‘Vampire Academy’ Adds ‘Modern … 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Shark Tank’ Finale Up, … 
Cannes: Worldview Options Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn … 
UPFRONTS 2013: The Overachievers 
‘Mike & Molly’ Creator Mark Roberts To … 
Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts Set For … 
Hammond On Cannes: Weinstein Brings Out Stars For 2013 … 
Cannes: Fake Gunshots Interrupt Canal Plus Live Broadcast … 
‘The Great Gatsby’ Starts With $5.4M … 
Cannes: Music Box Snags Competition’s ‘Michael … 
UPDATE: Amazon Studios Begins Pilot Pickups; … 
Bruce Rosenblum Bids Classy Goodbye 
RATINGS RAT RACE UPDATE: ‘American Idol’ Hits … 
UPDATE: ‘Iron Man 3′ Box Office Crosses $1B … 
Upfront Market: Will Auto Makers Subsidize TV … 
Cannes: Thief Makes Off With $1M+ In Chopard Jewelry Meant … 
‘Scandal’ Finale On Small Screen And Onstage At … 
Hollywood journalist Allison Hope Weiner has an update on the Ronni Chasen murder case and emails Deadline the following details:
A police source close to the investigation into the murder of Ronni Chasen says that police have a fairly good idea as to who employed a Hollywood hit man to shoot the longtime publicist. Although the alleged hit man killed himself last night before police could take him into custody, authorities are still making progress in their investigation of Chasen’s murder. Several sources confirm that police have a working theory that Chasen’s murder was related to a business deal gone bad.
First Police Action In Ronni Chasen Murder Results In Another Death: As a detective said last night if the 
probe into popular publicist Ronni Chasen’s slaying was concluded after last night’s suicide of the person of interest: ”It’s not over yet.” Police served a search warrant on a man at the Harvey Apartments in a seedy part of Los Angeles at 5640 Santa Monica Boulevard between N Wilton and Western Ave near Hollywood. [UPDATE: The Beverly Hills Courier just reported he's been identified as Harold Smith.] He’d been under police surveillance in connection with the case and fatally shot himself after 6 PM with his handgun own just as the police were approaching in the lobby. He died of a “self-inflicted” gunshot and was pronounced dead at the scene. Chasen, 64, was reportedly shot five times in the chest in the early morning hours of November 16th as she was driving her late model Mercedes Benz west on Sunset Blvd towards her Westwood condo after attending a premiere and party for the Screen Gems film Burlesque. Her shocking death hit Hollywood hard because so many liked Chasen, a petite and hardworking PR-woman who specialized in Oscar campaigns.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
Loading ...
As sad as the whole thing is, it seems there will be some resolve to this AND we don’t have to listen to the Randy Quaid quacks and their theories anymore.
This is incredible and really scary. Hits on people? What decade are we in?
of all the people to put a hit on in Hollywood Ronni Chasen is chosen? She isn’t even in the top 1000.
Whoa! In her particular line of work, being a publicist to big time writers, lyricists – Ms. Chasen was most definitely in the “top 1,000.” She was as big behind the scenes as any top actor center stage.
I’ ve commented on several posts here and now I’ll write what I really believe with regard to why someone would be a target. If, in FACT, this was a “hit”, Ms. Chasen may in fact have done nothing wrong/illegal/seedy/underhanded whatsoever. She may have been killed as a warning to someone else.
Incident report and review for “Harold”, see:
Homicide: RONNI SUE CHASEN
Out of respect for the deceased I’ll refrain from speculating about a motive. Initially, I thought mistaken identity was a strong possibility given the deluge of favorable comments on Deadline but this is getting seedier by the day.
The last movie she saw was Burlesque? Oof.
Ironic. Harold Smith was the name of a noted investigator into fine art theft—
I also find that detail a little depressing. Couldn’t it have been Black Swan or something?
So it WAS a hit….holy shit. The big question is – WHY?
read above.. a biz deal gone bad. people have killed for less
Shouldn’t you wait to post these leaks until after the police arrest all suspects? Won’t the perps be tipped off and leave town if they read a post like “the police are closing in”?
Money, sex, or love…one of those…it always is.
…add drugs to that list.
And WHO ordered the hit?
If you work in the business the big question is WHO not why! There’s a hundred reasons a day in Hollywood to want someone dead, but who’s going to act!! WHO?
Per the link posted above – labeled Ronni Sue Chasen – the hit was because of a potential Oscar contender or win. It’s hard to read the linked prose so I can not say for certain.
All of this for 10K.
Wow…
This is partly what I posted up-thread, in the last RC story –
So I read last night — somewhere, me forgets — an interesting theory. Supposedly, Chasen was very involved in the art world (makes sense, see classy) and was approached to do some kind of scheme whereby her clients (or friends like Robert Wagner) would sell a piece of art (perhaps fake?) and that the sheen from said celeb would hopefully up the ante in the sale. Chasen could have first been intrigued but then sensing something dangerous, passed OR she could have worked w the LAPD as a sort of informant (art forgery has been in the news of late and I’m almost sure that LAPD has an active dept).
I don’t think the guy who off’d himself was some obsessed lover living in a seedy apartment that we all drive by but only stare at when we’re stopped in traffic and think “gee, wonder who lives like that”(c’mon LA folk, it’s true!). Or that he’s a professional hitman (what, he picks now to off himself?). He’s most likely a low-level criminal (and an excellent shot) who didn’t want to go back to the pen and sadly murdered Ms. Chasen (for 10K, that’s nothing). I suspect he got hired to do the job by someone who doesn’t normally do this (murder people) otherwise they’d work w a real hit-man or “one of their own” (i.e. mobster), right?
Thoughts?
It seems to me that professional hitmen (or hitwomen – remember The Whole Nine Yards) would work for a hell of a lot more than $10,000. I don’t think that the dead guy was a professional hitman.
I agree. Part of my point. There was someone who posted down-thread who gave an excellent analysis of who would hire this type of person to do the hit.
How frightening….. and soooo sad. And what a coward to shoot himself. RIP Ronnie.
This is making less and less sense. Somebody better tie up all these lose ends. “Fairly good idea” is not very reassuring. You either know, or you don’t know. Period. Do the ballistics match?
“Fairly good idea” is cop-speak for “we know who did it”; they’re waiting for enough evidence to bring him in and that could take awhile. One bad move and it compromises the entire investigation. Were this about your family member, you’d want the police to do things right. Right?
I doff my hat to the los angeles-area cops and detectives in this case. they are under tremendous pressure in the hollywood fishbowl to solve this case. with lots of gumshoe — and a little luck — they will be able to bring justice to ms. ronni chasen’s family, friends, colleagues and loved ones. this case is bizarre, and seeing as how it is a suspected hit it is disturbing to think in this day and age people still resort to murder to deal with problems. insane and disgusting. rest in peace, ms. chasen.
Shows what a lot of people already know, Hollywood has turned into a cesspool of back door deals.
No, that would be West Hollywood.
I was going to post a speculative comment, but then I just thought twice about it, and it is best not to post such hearsay. Regardless of what led to Ronni’s tragic murder, it is just a terrible terrible thing and we should wait to hear what the police turn up in their investigation. My prayers are with her family and close friends.
Wait, I’m confused. I watch a lot of movies, and a a lot of them are about hit men, and hit men are always very dashing and brilliant types who look like George Clooney and live according to The Code and own lots of stylishly modern and spare pieces of real estate.
Wait, those guys don’t really exist, even though Hollywood insists on making movie after movie about them? So this guy, an actual hit man, is just some stupid piece of trash living in a derelict, low-rent shithole, and kills himself the second the cops show up???
Sigh. Real life is a bummer.
On the radio here in L.A. they’re saying “Harold” was just one of many people the police are interested in talking to about the murder. The story gets more interesting every day.
Wow. A hit job? Certainly looked like one but to see it in black and white here -wow.
“Money makes the world go around …
… the world go around …
… the world go around ….
Very interesting. The suicide of Harold Smith opens up a lot of questions. If he was a hitman, it shows the folly of hiring hitmen. This guy seemed to have bragged to every person he ran into that he killed a publicist. His incessant chattering about the murder may have lead the police right to him.
But the big question is who would have hired him. At this time, we don’t have any straight answers, just a lot of innuendo and gossip. I’ve read stories pinning the motive on such things as unpaid gambling debts, mysterious art dealer boyfriends, and some sort of Russian mafia connection. How Harold Smith fits into this puzzle is unknown.
No one, not even BHPD, knows for certain what “Harold’s” involvement was, if anything, in Ms. Chasen’s killing. This
guy may have been big talking. Nothing factual about his being
THE killer…
Just my opinion…
This guy wasn’t involved at all. And hit men don’t talk; they’re in, they’re out, they’re gone. This will be solved. The police know much more than they’re letting on, they always do.
Toldja it was a hit. Random shooting my ass.
I’m so sad for Ronni – what ugly, disturbing details of her death. She never deserved this – what a sorry day in our town.
We wonder why the police killed Harold?
???? “Harold” took his own life. How do compute his shooting himself with the police killing him? Huh? Stop the “wondering”; the police didn’t kill him. There were plenty of witnesses who saw it happen.
The police did not kill Mr. Smith. He shot himself in the head without saying a word.
Killed over something relating to the entertainment industry. Amazing! Looks like all her money and power was all for nothing. Let this be a lesson for those of you who are absolutely consumed by an industry that has gone off the tracks. Very sad. As the kid’s mother said in Almost Famous: “it’s not too late to become a person of substance”.
Follow the money.
There are probably millions of drivers every day saying to themselves when subject of road rage so happy I don’t carry a weapon or something that could be used as a weapon. Especially LA;
so sic of entitled thinking abusive westside drivers running everyone off the road w theiir SUVs; honking at drivers going the speed limit, tailgating dangerously trying to force illegal speeding or forcing cars out of lanes; who plans for road rage, and what is the test for a persons facilities.