Hamilton acknowledged receiving the money, but in his previously sealed deposition the actor denied knowing the money came from Mrs. Marcos. She had an insatiable desire for expensive things . In his 2008 memoir, Dont Mind If I Do, he called the experience my own sexual bar mitzvah. But now, post-#MeToo reckoning, theres no romance to molestation, and hell speak of the perpetrator only elliptically, if still sympathetically, as a discontented housewife, slightly off, quite beautiful too., (Though Hamilton is all for gender parity in the industry, he doesnt retreat from his past description of himself as an enlightened male chauvinist, the kind who once issued such wisdom in a self-help book as Women are like a fine violin: They just need to be appreciated and bowed properly.), Hamilton is hard to pin down on the least-fun scandal of his life, the Justice Departments accusation that he was a front for the 1980s looting of the Philippine treasury at the hands of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. According to Burt Reynolds' autobiography,[35] Hamilton has a healthy sense of humor, even when the humor is directed at him. 11,144, This story has been shared 60,144 times. Marcos ruled the Philippines from 1965 until he was deposed in 1986. Rich L.A. homeowners are snapping them up, The problem with Pablo Escobars hippos. He is a courtly Southern gentleman. "[2], Hamilton was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the middle of three boys with an older maternal half-brother and a younger full brother, and lived in Blytheville, Arkansas. He produced and appeared in Medusa (1973). George Hamilton age, height, weight, net worth 2023, wife, kids, gay Hamilton was great pals with the former first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos,. In 1990, Hamilton was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a federal fraud and racketeering case against the Marcoses involving the looting of government funds; Imelda was acquitted in the case. Privacy Notice A property like that brings you friends you dont want and relatives who come to stay and dont go, he says. Marketed as a secret formula, it included a self-tanning exfoliating scrub and bronzer. Hamilton moved into producing to give himself greater control over his career. It features anecdotes that Hamilton had told to Merv Griffin. Performed by George Hamilton Excerpt from . It was directed by Louis Malle who cast Hamilton on the strength of his performance in Two Weeks in Another Town. Marcos died before going to trial and Mrs. Marcos was acquitted in the case prosecuted by LaBella. Hamilton still resides in the hilltop estate. The leading men of "The Rogues" were David Niven, Gig Young and Charles Boyer, and they. He Blunted U.S. Blue Pencil Thomas, Kevin. Call This Couple, New Doc Explores Fatal Danger of Pacific Coast Highway, Tom Sizemore, Saving Private Ryan, Heat and Natural Born Killers Actor, Dies at 61, Diane Warren Performs Her 14 Oscar-Nominated Songs in Six Minutes (Exclusive Video), Feinberg Forecast: Updated Projections As Final Oscar Voting Gets Underway, Ted Donaldson, Young Actor in Father Knows Best and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Dies at 89, Hollywood Flashback: Catherine Martin Struck Gold With Moulin Rogue!. Why did Mrs. Marcos want money invested in Hamiltons house? When shooting a Kardashians-knockoff reality show for E! Philippine government sources said they discovered that both Hamilton and his mother had their own keys to the Olympic Tower home--which apparently caused some embarrassment, they said, when Hamilton tried to enter shortly after the Marcos regime collapsed. [28], In 1966, Hamilton had a relationship with Lynda Bird Johnson, the daughter of U.S. President Lyndon B. Floirendos first loan to Hamilton, made in April, 1982, at the request of Mrs. Marcos, was $600,000, he said. Like about how he got a look at Elvis Presley in his coffin before his funeral (the rockers manager, Col. Parker, was a close friend) and saved mourners a lamentable final impression by pointing out the tiny trickle of hair dye running down his forehead. LBJ, for his part, wasnt thrilled by his daughters relationship with the smooth man-about-town. Los Angeles lawyers Alan I. Bersin and Ronald L. Olson, representing the Aquino government in a civil fraud action against the Marcoses, are expected to deliver the deed to officials in Manila next week. Though she would go on to marry and divorce Rod Stewart, she and Hamilton remain close. Marcos and his wife, accused in pending civil cases of using sophisticated schemes to convert billions of public dollars into private wealth during two decades in the presidential palace, funneled more than $12 million through Hamiltons personal accounts before they were ousted, according to court documents from Los Angeles and New York. It was on his first trip to Manila that Hamilton also met two prominent Filipino business figures: Antonio O. Floirendo and Gliceria (Glecy) Tantoco, the latter regarded as the most intimate of Mrs. Marcos inner circle known as the Blue Ladies. (The name came from the color of the dresses they wore as volunteers in Marcos election campaigns.). In Summer 2016, Hamilton appeared in television commercials for KFC as the "Extra Crispy Colonel", a deeply tanned version of the company's mascot Colonel Sanders, a role which he returned to in Spring 2018. He starred in the TV movie The Dead Don't Die (1975) and had a supporting role in Once Is Not Enough (1975). It was his world. (Both Khashoggi and Marcos were later acquitted.) 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All Rights Reserved, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2017, All the celebs at Paris Fashion Week February-March 2023: Halsey and more, Billboard Women in Music Awards 2023 red carpet: Lana Del Rey, more, Costume Designers Guild Awards 2023 red carpet: Cate Blanchett, more, All the celebrities at Milan Fashion Week February 2023: Dua Lipa, more. [8] Hamilton's draft deferment was highly controversial at the time because it was thought that his relationship with the president's daughter gave him preferential treatment. Marcos became the first lady of the Philippines in 1965. . . He portrayed a trouble shooter for the U.S. State Department in Paris. Hamilton had another good role in Act One (1963), playing Moss Hart, but the movie was poorly received. Thats not the purpose of being here. A major sticking point: Hamilton was in trouble with the press over his Vietnam War deferment. He has been in the sun for years and years and years, and has managed to escape sun damage. (He knew he was going to inherit the earth; I only knew I was going to pretend I was going to do it.), Friend of six decades Joan Collins doesnt think its all a put-on. He was in competition with me (to be) an investment adviser to Imelda, said Joseph Bernstein, former property manager of the Marcoses once-secret real estate holdings in New York. Tantoco, who today lives in Morocco as a fugitive from federal fraud charges in New York and bail-jumping charges in Rome, traveled virtually everywhere with Mrs. Marcos and acted as her agent in purchases of art, jewelry and real estate, court records confirm. She looked at it, Hamilton recalls, looked at it sideways, and said, Well, this looks rather good. Johnson and Chuck Robbs wedding at the White House, December 9, 1967. A lot of young actors do it and they shouldnt. His vitamin intake includes 40 pills a day. The Method-trained thespian replied that, actually, he was an actor. He replaced his totaled Continental GT with an identical model: That car was elegant in a fistfight, and I liked that.. It was an arms length transaction. Imelda was funding him, said the prosecutor, who continues to investigate the flow of Marcos funds around the world. He was a semi-regular celebrity guest on the 1998-1999 syndicated version of Match Game. Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer ordered the papers released last June, and a federal appeals court, calling the actor a noted man-about-town who should expect to be the object of publicity, rejected Hamiltons appeal. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. The movie was not widely seen, and Hamilton's performance received some praise. [34] According to Burt Reynolds ' autobiography, [35] Hamilton has a healthy sense of humor, even when the humor is directed at him. Although the money went to Hamilton from Mrs. Tantocos account, prosecutor LaBella said it was really a transaction involving Imelda Marcos. Theyre thought to be an extravagance, but, as my mother said, those are the kind of shoes they make out of a material to match the dress: not the greatest shoes on Earth., Another longtime party pal, arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, was indicted in the same transaction. [30][31] In December 1999, Kimberly gave birth to their son, George Thomas Hamilton (nicknamed "GT"[32] or George Jr.). It was all above board.. Hamilton lobbied hard for the role of the Italian husband in Light in the Piazza (1962), with Olivia de Havilland. We always thought that it was really a Marcos house--that maybe it was some sort of joint venture, one Philippine investigator said. 'The statements are untrue,' Hamilton said Thursday through his spokesman, Michael Sherman, who also made a point of denying as 'categorically untrue' rumors linking the actor and Mrs. Marcos. Kristina M. Luz, a Philippine journalist, reported from New York. LOS ANGELES -- Actor George Hamilton, who recently sold his lavish Beverly Hills estate for $6 million, denies that exiled Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos or his wife owned the property or gained from the sale. Hamilton has hosted the live stage adaptation of the show The Price Is Right Live! Early on, he cashed in on his nickname, The Tanned One, with the George Hamilton Sun Care System during the late 1980s that at one point was sold exclusively at Neiman Marcus. March 3 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts library said a book was recently returned with a note apologizing for the tome being 56 years overdue. Just a year earlier, in 1982, Hamilton had paid $1.5 million for the property. 13,816, 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved But a committee of the U.S. Congress investigating the flight of billions of dollars from the Philippines prior to Marcos's ouster said it has no plans to investigate the financial transactions surrounding Hamilton's estate. The thing to remember about George is hes the best-connected actor in the history of the film business, said William Stadiem, co-author of Hamiltons memoir, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Terms of Use Bernstein said in an interview, however: I was totally directed by Imelda in this. LaBella characterized the Floirendo loans and elements of the 1986 house sale as strange transactions that appeared to disguise the transfer of Marcos funds out of the Philippines via the Beverly Hills property. He summoned beauty expert extraordinaire, George Masters, to his home to oversee Johnsons hair and makeup for the big event, knowing the cameras would be zeroing in on the couple. Luckily, they were unscathed. in 2015 called Stewarts & Hamiltons (it lasted a single season), he found that his grown sons Ashley, an actor, musician and comedian, and George Jr., a college student didnt share his equanimity about self-caricature. The first witness called to testify today was Carmen Gomez, an accountant who was a long-time employee of Mrs. Marcos friend, Gliceria Tantoco. Unlike Tantocos supposed movie investment, the $6 million from Floirendo was regarded as a loan. Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos with U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson while sporting her iconic bouffant hairstyle, 1966. Hamiltons draft deferment had in fact been granted on the grounds that he was the sole financial provider for Teeny which prompted an outcry when the public learned he was dating Lynda Bird Johnson in 1966. He and his wife fled to Hawaii, where Marcos died last year. Now one of the last remaining products of the old studio system still actively working, he offers a singular perspective on a transforming industry. . Or, at any rate, he became who he was feigning to be. Actor George Hamilton Granted Immunity to Testify in Marcos Trial Florida woman runs ultra-marathon distances for 23 consecutive days. Hamilton found the card hilarious and showed it to everybody. Johnson.[29]. Newsweek magazine dubbed him the Sultan of suntan.. No film was ever made. In 2015 George and his ex-wife, Alana Hamilton appeared in Season 4/Episode 10 of Celebrity Wife Swap. Hamilton's next film was far more popular, the beach party comedy Where the Boys Are (1960). His notable films include Home from the Hill (1960), By Love Possessed (1961), Light in the Piazza (1962), Your Cheatin' Heart (1964), Once Is Not Enough (1975), Love at First Bite (1979), Zorro, The Gay Blade (1981), The Godfather Part III (1990), Doc Hollywood (1991), 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997), Hollywood Ending (2002), and The Congressman (2016). He did Two Fathers: Justice for the Innocent (1994), Vanished (1995), and Playback (1996); and guest-starred on the shows Bonnie, Hart to Hart, and The Guilt. Very elegantly dressed and able to make you laugh: You cant say that of many people., Hamiltons no crank about the good old days. Hamilton, who played a vampire in the movie comedy Love at First Bite, is a friend of the former Philippine first lady. Hes clearly pleased to have so many tales to tell. In public testimony and in his previously sealed deposition, taken in 1987 as part of a Philippine government lawsuit against the Marcoses, the actor acknowledged only a social relationship with the Marcoses and repeatedly denied having any business links with the woman he commonly refers to as Madam Marcos.. But it was the couples appearance at the 1966 Oscars that really got tongues wagging. He did not explain in his testimony how or why his project could be so drastically transformed against his wishes. LaBella said the dollars given to Hamilton went for personal use . The place was terribly humid." Estrella, the family's helper who stayed with Remedios and her children in the garage, recounted that: Among the disputed items, estimated to be worth as much as $500,000, are pre-Columbian pottery, a painting of Rudolf Valentino and a red velvet Victorian tete-a-tete on lion paw supports. Awards Chatter Podcast Malala Yousafzai (Stranger at the Gate), Report: Feds Grilled Leonardo DiCaprio on Business Relationship With International Fugitive Fraudster, Need a Black Hawk on Set by Friday? Also mentioned in that song are Muammar Gaddafi, George Hamilton and Zedong Mao. It was in this transaction that the seeds of the Philippine governments successful claim to the 13,436-square-foot Beverly Hills house were sown. Baskin-Robbins adds a hint of waffle, and voila, Hidden, illegal casinos are booming in L.A., with organized crime reaping big profits, This fabled orchid breeder loves to chat just not about Trader Joes orchids, Look up: The 32 most spectacular ceilings in Los Angeles, Best coffee city in the world? $11.8 Million in Marcos Assets Frozen by Judge - Los Angeles Times First, the promissory note was canceled after Hamilton, at the request of Floirendos lawyers, endorsed a cashiers check for $2,027,068.49 to a man named Bernard White. The film's box-office success created a popularity surge for Hamilton, who also served as executive producer. Look up: The 32 most spectacular ceilings in Los Angeles, Best coffee city in the world? Hamilton, who has been named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the case, could testify as early as this afternoon. British bus driver stops to give loose sheep a lift. It doesnt make any sense, said Ted Laguatan, U.S.-based special counsel to President Corazon Aquinos Commission on Good Government. In 1964 George Hamilton appeared in a bit part on a television series about three suave con-men cousins. Hamilton has acknowledged publicly and privately that he received things of value from Mrs. Marcos, from free trips to Morocco and Europe to the use of Filipino laborers sent to help remodel his house to a white Rolls-Royce for his mother. Lynda Johnson Gets A Job at McCall's: LYNDA BIRD GETS A JOB AT M'CALL'S By TERENCE SMITH. But the newly released court documents and other related records trace the $12 million from secret Marcos accounts in the Philippines, through Hamilton investments in the United States, to foreign banks and offshore shell companies associated with the Marcoses. Imelda Marcos, in full Imelda Romuldez Marcos, ne Imelda Remedios Visitacion Romuldez, (born July 2, 1929, Manila, Philippines), public figure in the Philippines who wielded great power during the 20-year rule of her husband, Pres. [16] Hamilton appeared as a contestant on the UK edition of I'm a CelebrityGet Me Out of Here! a typical Marcos transaction, he said. At age 66 and recovering from knee injuries, Hamilton, unable to match the limber dance moves of his younger competitors, charmed the audience and judges with endearingly silly dances that used props, including a Zorro mask and the sword from Zorro, The Gay Blade. In March, 1983, Hamilton flew to Hong Kong to pick up personally $5.5 million from a Tantoco bank account. He guest-starred on episodes of Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre and Burke's Law. He admitted fronting for secret Marcos interests in a Long Island estate called Lindenmere and a posh 5th Avenue apartment suite in Olympic Tower. He deplores the cult of authenticity that has overtaken the town since his heyday. . New York Times (October 6, 1966: 1. George Hamilton Doesn't Bother Much With Discretion in His Memoir, 'Don (1965). Still, in that era, the budding romance was reckoned untenable because of the potential for scandal. At Columbia, he co-starred with Glenn Ford in A Time for Killing (1967), originally directed by Roger Corman, then by Phil Karlson. Report: Marcos Moved Funds Through Actor George Hamilton He appeared in the TV movie The Last of the Powerseekers (1973), and had a supporting role in The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing, starring Burt Reynolds (1973). In 1990, Hamilton was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a federal fraud and racketeering case against the Marcoses involving the looting of government funds; Imelda was acquitted in the case.[34]. They have wined, dined, danced and sung Imeldas favorite song, Dont Fence Me In, together. New York Times October 7, 1966: 38. He had supporting roles in The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver (1977), The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (1977), Killer on Board (1977), Sextette (1978), The Users (1978), From Hell to Victory (1979), Institute for Revenge (1979), and Death Car on the Freeway (1979). In 2010 Hamilton was chosen as one of David Hasselhoff's roasters in the Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff. Well, kind of, Video shows Memphis jailers beating Black inmate before his death, Skin lesion removed from President Bidens chest last month was cancerous, doctor says, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Newsom, IRS give Californians until October to file tax returns, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs. Hamilton made That Man George (1965) and appeared in a production of A Farewell to Arms (1966) on TV. While hes the first to laugh about it explaining that his dermatologist long ago just gave up on convincing him to limit his solar exposure, and counting himself lucky not to have been felled by skin cancer he remains an evangelist for sunbathing, which he started because he didnt like wearing film makeup that melted in the heat. Hamilton's at his most forthright when describing the emotional bond he shares with his loved ones, such as ex-wife Stewart. Furthermore, the funds had been converted from Philippine pesos into U.S. dollars by siphoning hard currency away from the vital dollar reserves of the government-owned Philippine National Oil Co. Let him publish it. And she just handed it to him and everybody went, phew. . Shed say things like, Ill poison myself if I wish! ). Imelda | Imelda Marcos Biography | Independent Lens | PBS Hamilton and both of his sons attended military schools; GT attended Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Hamilton's first roles were in TV. [31], As a contestant in I'm A Celebrity in 2009, Hamilton revealed he had dated at least four Miss Worlds. Hes developing two films and a TV series as a producer out of a well-staffed office suite in Beverly Glen, where he first invites THR to meet him, taking a seat beneath a large chalk pastel portrait of his more youthful self. After making a cameo in Looking for Love (1964), Hamilton appeared in Your Cheatin' Heart (1964), playing Hank Williams. And while Hamilton, who dated the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Danielle Steel and Britt Ekland, isnt currently romantically attached, hes quick to qualify: I have dates. Indeed, it was on the way to a dinner rendezvous a few months ago at industry hangout Craigs a regular spot where he can often be found with pals Robert Wagner, Tom Jones, Sugar Ray Leonard and Sylvie Vartan that he and a companion ended up in a Bentley-on-Bentley wreck. In arguments outside the presence of jurors, Assistant U.S. Atty. In a previously sealed deposition, the actor testified that he got the money from associates of the Marcoses, that he paid it back and that he had no knowledge that the Marcoses were personally linked to the funds. Later, he would recall, I sensed that somewhere inside that bookworm was a babe trying to get out.. A "beyond the shoes" documentary on the former first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos. Philippine journalist Kristina M. Luz contributed to this story. Imelda Marcos Saved Mother, Hamilton Says - Los Angeles Times The 1966 Academy Awards were brimming with star power. As he embarks on his ninth decade he turns 80 on Aug. 12 the actor and avatar of ease knows that his hue is what has made him an icon. Mrs. Gomez said that Mrs. Tantocos son, Bienvenido Tantoco Jr., told her in the spring of 1984 that his mother was in charge of four New York buildings owned by F.L. She testified that F.L. stood for first lady and referred to Mrs. Marcos. But these days, as his life arcs through its final act, and so many of the fellow players who shared in those stories with him are gone, Hamilton acknowledges a certain wistfulness. The program starred 10 members from a traditional Italian-American family, each fighting for a prize of $1 million. Furthermore, The Times has learned, the former Hamilton house--a one-acre hillside estate in exclusive Benedict Canyon--is about to become property of the Philippine government.