Randall Sullivan | |
|---|---|
 Sullivan on the set of City of Lies in 2017 | |
| Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer, Producer, Actor |
| Education | University of Oregon (B.A.) Columbia University (M.F.A.) |
| Notable works | The Price of Experience LAbyrinth Untouchable |
Randall Sullivan is an American author and journalist [1] [2] who has also worked as a screenwriter, film and television producer and on-camera television personality. [3]
Sullivan was born in Los Angeles and grew up in North Bend, Oregon. When he was a teenager, his family moved to Portland, Oregon, where he attended Sunset High School. [1] [2] "In high school, I was a football jock who was always in trouble." [1] After high school, he enrolled at the University of Oregon and went on to graduate with a bachelor's degree in English (with honors) in 1974. [1] In 1976 he accepted a two-year writing fellowship at Columbia University; he left with a master's degree a few years later. While he was at Columbia he took courses at the Columbia School of Journalism. [1] [2] After graduating from Columbia University, he took his first journalist position at the New York Daily News "for ten months." [2] He later moved to Los Angeles to further his journalism career at the Herald Examiner and Rolling Stone . [2]
Randall Sullivan has “been making a living by writing since 1979." [1] Sullivan has written for a number of nationally recognized publications, including Esquire; The Washington Post; The Guardian; Rolling Stone; and Wired. [3] He "has written three books nominated for the Pulitzer Prize... [and] won a number of national awards." [3]
In 1986, Sullivan wrote an article for Esquire [4] detailing the corruption and criminal activities of the Billionaire Boys Club; the article “exposed the whole fascinating mess and briefly made Sullivan the brightest light in town [Los Angeles].” [1] Sullivan was paid $250,000 to write a book based on the article; and, according to Jeff Baker of The Oregonian, this was “at that time... the highest advance ever paid to a first-time author.” [2] The rights to the Esquire article were also used as a basis for the NBC television mini-series, Billionaire Boys Club . Although, the mini-series was nominated for two Golden Globe [5] awards and four Emmys, [6] it was considered "factually inaccurate" and did not stay true to the source material. [2]
In 1996 Sullivan published The Price of Experience: Money, Power, Image, and Murder in Los Angeles, his long-awaited book about the Billionaire Boys Club. He spent ten years researching and writing the book; a book that Dick Adler of the Los Angeles Times described as “monumental." [4] Sullivan's research included “hundreds of sources… eight former BBC members,” and personal jail-written letters from BBC ringleader Joe Hunt. [7] The Price of Experience received positive reviews from the Los Angeles Times ; The New Yorker ; [8] and The Boston Globe , [9] among others. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] However, the release of the book was not without controversy; Sullivan received an anonymous death threat before a scheduled public book reading (which was subsequently cancelled); it is speculated that the threat could have came from someone affiliated with former members of the BBC. [2] [17] [18]
In 2002, Sullivan published LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records' Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal. The book was met with controversy and acclaim, for it connected (former) Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight and the Los Angeles Police Department with the deaths of prominent rap artists Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie Smalls). [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] The book was based largely on Sullivan's interviews with retired LAPD detective Russell Poole, who was “convinced that Death Row Records impresario Suge Knight orchestrated the killing of both” [20] and that the LAPD helped cover up Suge Knight's association with the murders. Sullivan's book included “130 key players, a detailed timeline of events, and reference to 224 supporting documents,” making it one of the first detailed investigations of the murders available at the time of publishing. [21] The book helped raise “publicity” surrounding the unsolved murders. [21] Eric Boehlert, a former senior writer at Salon, argued that too much evidence was based on Poole's oral testimony, and that Sullivan's timeline of the events didn't matchup entirely. [19] "Poole left the LAPD in 1999 after growing disagreements with the police force on numerous homicides, including the B.I.G. murder," [26] but he continued to investigate the murders as a private detective. The FBI opened an investigation into the murder of Biggie in March 2003, [27] in part spurred on by Poole's theory, but the FBI closed the investigation eighteen months later. [28] In 2005, a key informant in the investigation "admitted hearsay... casting doubt" on the LAPDs involvement in covering up the murders. [29] Poole was preparing to re-open the investigation with the LAPD in 2015, but he died suddenly from a heart attack. [30] In 2016 it was announced that a film based on the book was in production. [31] City of Lies , starring Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker, was scheduled to be released in September 2018 but was later pushed back. [32] [33] Sullivan hinted in a 2017 interview that he is working on a follow-up book to re-examine the murders twenty years later. [20]
In April 2004, Sullivan publishedThe Miracle Detective, his book about his investigation into the apparition of 'Our Lady of Medjugorje' which is claimed to have appeared before six children in Medjugorgje, Bosnia, in 1981. [34] His book was not only an investigation into the history of the apparition—and how other villagers and visitors since, have had similar visions at Medjugorgje—but also about his personal experience there, where he claims he experienced a miracle. [35] The book has been called a "conversion narrative" by some, [36] and met with skeptical criticism by others, [37] however, it has also received positive reviews, [34] especially from the Christian community [38] [39] where it remains a top seller (currently ranked in the top 150 books on Amazon for the category Mariology).
Published in November 2012, was Sullivan's book on the life and death of pop star Michael Jackson: Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson. The book was met with some controversy, [40] [41] mainly because Sullivan argued that Jackson was not a "child molester" and rather, that he was "pre-sexual" having never engaged in sexual intercourse at all. The book also detailed much of Jackson's drug abuse in his later years, [42] money trouble, and "spending habits" [43] —which upset many of Jackson's diehard fans. Some fans started an online campaign against the book's sale on Amazon. [44] [45] However, as Guardian columnist Deborah Orr points out: many of Jackson's more fanatic followers tend to criticize any negative press about Jackson's life, regardless of evidence or argument. [46] Others called into question Sullivan's source material, and though Sullivan "does an adequate job of chronicling Jackson’s over-the-top fame," he relies on too few verifiable sources to draw his conclusions. [41] [47] [48] Nonetheless, Jackson's long time attorney, Tom Mesereau, who was also one of Sullivan's main sources for his research on Jackson, came to Sullivan's defense and praised the book for its insight and accuracy. [44] Still others praised the book; for example, there was "a glowing recommendation from broadcaster and journalist Danny Baker" who called it the "best" book about Jackson; [49] and The New Yorker praised the book's in-depth research, viz., for bringing to light the "financial profligacy and wrongheadedness" of Jackson's life and business choices. [50]
Sullivan is a long time member of the Writers Guild of America. He was co-writer on the made-for-TV movie, A Friend to Die For (based on Sullivan's article, "Death of a Cheerleader"). [51] As a producer, he co-produced the documentary Reckless Indifference, [52] and he was an executive producer on the Oprah Winfrey Network mini-series, Miracle Detectives. [53] [54] Sullivan also appears on the History Channel reality-TV show, The Curse of Oak Island . [55] He produced the film, City of Lies starring Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker.
Sullivan lives in Portland, Oregon. [20] For most of his life Sullivan identified as an atheist, but in 1995 he underwent a spiritual conversion to Catholicism while he was in Medjugorje reporting on the Bosnian War. [56] This experience was influential to his research, writing, and co-hosting of the Oprah Winfrey Network show, Miracle Detectives. [54] Sullivan is married to fashion model turned social activist Delores Sullivan (formerly Delores Teller) whom he met while writing a profile of her for RollingStone magazine. [57]
Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. is an American record executive and convicted felon who is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight was a central figure in gangsta rap's commercial success in the 1990s. This feat is attributed to the record label's first two album releases: Dr. Dre's The Chronic in 1992 and Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle in 1993. Knight is currently serving a 28-year sentence in prison for a fatal hit-and-run in 2015.
Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg (Doggystyle) and 2Pac during the 1990s. At its peak, Death Row was making over US $150 million a year.
Orlando Tive "Baby Lane" Anderson was an American Crips gang member suspected in the murder of Tupac Shakur. Anderson belonged to the California-based gang known as the South Side Compton Crips. Detective Tim Brennan of the Compton Police Department filed an affidavit naming Anderson as a suspect; he denied involvement and was never charged. Anderson's uncle, Duane Keith Davis, was charged with Shakur's murder on September 29, 2023.
Biggie & Tupac is a 2002 feature-length documentary film about the murdered American rappers Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace and Tupac Shakur by Nick Broomfield.
The Rampart scandal was a police corruption scandal which unfolded in Los Angeles, California, United States, during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The scandal concerned widespread criminal activity within the Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) anti-gang unit of the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart Division. More than 70 police officers were initially implicated in various forms of misconduct, including unprovoked shootings and beatings, planting of false evidence, stealing and dealing narcotics, bank robbery, perjury and cover-ups thereof.
Thomas Arthur Mesereau Jr. is an American attorney known for defending Michael Jackson in his 2005 child molestation trial, as well as Mike Tyson, Bill Cosby and, in 2023, Danny Masterson, a case in which Mesereau was sanctioned by the judge.
Russell Wayne Poole was a Los Angeles Police Department detective who investigated the murder of the Notorious B.I.G., a rapper also known as Biggie Smalls. Poole also investigated the killing of LAPD Officer Kevin Gaines by LAPD Officer Frank Lyga on March 18, 1997. After retiring in 1999, he formed a private detective agency.
Michael Christopher Tracy, known as Tracy 168, was an American graffiti artist. He pioneered the art form known as wildstyle. Tracy 168 came to be known as one of the most influential graffiti and street artists of all time, as variations of wildstyle writing spread around the world. He is acknowledged to have been a seminal figure in the development of street art. Books about 1970s graffiti feature his car-long paintings with their characteristic kinetic script embellished with flames, arrows as well as cartoon characters and the "Tracy face," a grinning shaggy-haired visage in wrap-around shades.
David Anthony Mack is a former professional runner and Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer involved in the Rampart Division's Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) unit. He was one of the central figures in the LAPD Rampart police corruption scandal. Mack was arrested in December 1997 for robbery of $722,000 from a South Central Los Angeles branch of the Bank of America. He was sentenced to fourteen years and three months in federal prison. Mack has never revealed the whereabouts of the money.
Kevin Lee Gaines was an American police officer assigned to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums unit implicated in the Rampart scandal.
Charles Alan Philips was an American writer and journalist. He was best known for his investigative reporting in the Los Angeles Times on the culture, corruption, and crime in the music industry during the 1990s and 2000s, which garnered both awards and controversy. In 1999, Philips won a Pulitzer Prize, with Michael A. Hiltzik, for their co-authored series exposing corruption in the entertainment industry.
Gregory James Kading is an American author and former Los Angeles Police Department detective best known for working on a multi law-enforcement task force that investigated the murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls in the mid-2000s. Many credit Kading and his LAPD task force for the 2023 arrest of Duane ‘Keefe D’ Davis for the September 1996 murder of Tupac.
The American rapper Christopher Wallace, better known as the Notorious B.I.G., was murdered in a drive-by shooting in the early hours of March 9, 1997, in Los Angeles, California. He was 24 years old. Prior to the event, Wallace promoted his second studio album Life After Death, and attended an after-party in Los Angeles instead of traveling to London.
Jacques "Haitian Jack" Agnant is a Haitian-born music executive and promoter in the rap music industry as well as a convicted felon and accused rapist. He has worked with several popular artists including Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Justin Rose, and Wyclef Jean. In 2007, he was deported from the United States.
City of Lies is a 2018 crime thriller film about the investigations by the Los Angeles Police Department of the murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. It is directed by Brad Furman, with a screenplay by Christian Contreras based on the non-fiction book LAbyrinth by Randall Sullivan. The film stars Johnny Depp as retired LAPD detective Russell Poole and Forest Whitaker as journalist Jack Jackson, with Rockmond Dunbar and Neil Brown Jr. also starring.
Unsolved is an American true crime drama anthology television miniseries. The miniseries is based on the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur and the 1997 murder of The Notorious B.I.G.. It premiered February 27, 2018 on USA Network. The 10-episode miniseries chronicles the dual police investigations of Detective Greg Kading and Detective Russell Poole into the controversial murders of two of the rap industry's most legendary players, Tupac and Biggie.
Duane Keith "Keefe D" Davis is an American gangster. In 2023, he was charged with involvement in the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur.
Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson is a 2012 biographical book written by Randall Sullivan. The book talks about the life and death of American entertainer Michael Jackson.
Wardell Fouse, also known by his aliases Darnell Bolton and Poochie, was an American Bloods gang member who was implicated in the murder of the Notorious B.I.G. Fouse belonged to the California-based gang known as the Mob Piru Bloods. Since Fouse was deceased by the time his alleged involvement became known to the investigating police, no charges were filed against him.
The Lueders Park Piru are a "set" of the Piru gang alliance, which itself is part of the larger Bloods alliance. The Lueders Park Piru has its origins in the Lueders Park Hustlers, an independent street gang which was instrumental in the formation of the Bloods gang alliance in 1972.
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