Saturday, December 14, 2024

Ronni Chasen, One of the “Good Guys,” Murdered

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In the last couple of hours all I’ve done is listen to people on the phone crying. Our friend–everyone’s friend–Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen was brutally murdered last night in Beverly Hills. It seems like it was a car jacking but there are a lot of questions. She was shot, according to the police, five times in her Mercedes at the corner of Sunset and Whittier. If you don’t know the area, that corner at 12 midnight is desolate. It’s really the suburbs. Ronni was on her way home from the “Burlesque” premiere in Hollywood.

The shocking part of it is that Ronni was one of those rare people in Hollywood who everyone liked and admired, and many loved. She was so hard working, and so earnest, and loved what she did who she represented. The last few years at her own agency, Ronni and her associate Jeff Sanderson did a wonderful job promoting the composers of soundtracks for films. This year, she was also working with Michael Douglas and on a couple of films for Best Picture. But mainly she was busy touting the likes of Alexandre Desplat or Hans Zimmer. They’d never gotten so much attention before Ronni got to them.

What’s happened is a tragedy and a shock. We all accept random violence when we see it on the news. But when it’s one of your own, it’s unfathomable. Ronni, your family has endured a great loss. But your other family has too. You will be sorely missed.

Pictured: that’s Ronni in between Dev Patel and Freida Pinto, from working on “Slumdog Millionaire.” Jeff Sanderson is at left.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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