Claus von Bulow Dies at 92; Society Figure in High-Profile Case
Source: New York Times
Claus von Blow, the Danish-born man-about-society who in two trials was convicted and later acquitted of twice trying to murder his heiress wife, placing him at the center of one of the most sensational social dramas of the 1980s, died on Saturday at his home in London. He was 92.
His death was confirmed by Riccardo Pavoncelli, his son-in-law.
Mr. von Blow was charged with the attempted murder of his wife, Martha von Blow, known as Sunny, by injecting her with insulin to aggravate her hypoglycemia, a low-blood-sugar condition. Mrs. von Blow, the heiress to a $75 million utilities fortune, went into a coma in December 1979, from which she recovered, and a second, irreversible coma in December 1980. She remained in a vegetative state until her death in 2008.
A jury in Newport, R.I., found Mr. von Blow guilty of attempting to induce his wife's death, and he was sentenced in 1982 to a 30-year prison term. He continued to maintain his innocence and was freed on $1 million bail. An appeal, masterminded by the Harvard law professor Alan M. Dershowitz, was successful and paved the way for a new trial. Mr. von Blow was represented at his second trial, in Providence, R.I., by Thomas Puccio, a former United States attorney, and acquitted of all charges in 1985.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/obituaries/claus-von-bulow-dead.html
BeyondGeography
(39,399 posts)Funny. Im sure he was called that over the years.
Lose the umlaut if you want to get that thread title right.
RedParrot
(112 posts)I forgot the name of the actor that play Dershowitz.
Dersh was a good guy back then. Not anymore!
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)Aristus
(66,531 posts)Another good one who went bad...
RedParrot
(112 posts)I believe you are right, it was Ron Silver playing Dershowitz. Glen Close played Sunny Von Bulow. I probably misspelled the names.
NYC Liberal
(20,140 posts)http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2009/03/ron_silver_rip.html
sandensea
(21,738 posts)Who, unfortunately, drank the whole bowl of post 9/11 Bush Kool-aid, going so far as to endorse the Midland Idiot, narrate the anti-Michael Moore propaganda piece FahrenHYPE 911, and speak at the 2004 GOP convention.
But though he was a middling actor at best, his performance as Bullshowitz in Reversal of Fortune stole the show, I think.
BigmanPigman
(51,675 posts)why am I not surprised?
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Harker
(14,143 posts)in a vegetative state is a crime.
Gore1FL
(21,185 posts)I don't know why I know that.
RedParrot
(112 posts)Jonathan Frid (sic) who played Barnabas Collins, and was Sherlock Holmes in a BBC series, played Audrey Hepburns boyfriend Freddy in My Fair Lady.
Gore1FL
(21,185 posts)I've never seen any of the others in anything else that I am aware of.
I loved that show. I didn't see any of the first season, and I don't know where I dropped off. I wish someone would do a credible remake.
It moved at a snail's pace, but part of that really added to the suspense when they worked it right. I can still picture the waves crashing into the rocks with that eerie theme music.
maddiemom
(5,106 posts)Hela
(442 posts)Jeremy Brett played Sherlock Holmes and Freddy Eynsford-Hill.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0107950/
RedParrot
(112 posts)Thank you.
LenaBaby61
(6,979 posts)Basically got away with murder, yet he lived a lavish, fun, wealthy, party-going lifestyle overseas. NO ONE said one word about him.
BumRushDaShow
(130,142 posts)I remember the whole mess back then and it was huge continuing news story.