Kirk Kerkorian’s life ended, geographically, not far from where it began. Born in Fresno, Calif., he died in Beverly Hills. But in every other way, he had traveled an incredible distance. Kerkorian was born into poverty in 1917. His father was a fruit merchant who had immigrated to the United States from Armenia. Kerkorian dropped out of school after eighth grade, but eventually made millions in the airlines industry, putting him on the path to becoming a billionaire. He bought and sold MGM Studios three times. He counted Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra among his good friends. By the time he died, at 98 in 2015, he owned many of the major hotels and casinos in Las Vegas. William C. Rempel, author of “The Gambler,” a new biography of Kerkorian, spent 36 years at The Los Angeles Times, many of them as an investigative reporter. Below, he talks about how he identified with Kerkorian’s background, the skills he drew on to learn about his deeply private subject and more.
When did you first get the idea to write this book?
I didn’t get the idea. What I got was Julia Cheiffetz, my editor at HarperCollins, who read Kerkorian’s obituary in The New York Times and called me. At that point, I only knew him as a name in the business pages. I had no knowledge of his background. Julia was so fascinated by the life that he lived, she asked if I would look at it to see if there was a book in it.
I pulled up coverage of Kirk over the years, and right away I found some intriguing elements. What really appealed to me was how far he had come, how modest and humble his beginnings were. And I identified with it. Kirk and I both have immigrant fathers, and they started as entrepreneurs who weren’t very successful financially. My father was from southern Ukraine; Kirk’s family came over from Armenia in the early 20th century. The boat that my folks came over on was full of Armenians, too.
Kirk and I both moved all the time, were evicted from time to time. He became a billionaire and I didn’t. Here’s a guy who started as far from the Forbes list of billionaires as possible. He was five when his family was evicted from a farm in the San Joaquin Valley in California. I know a story when I see one.
What’s the most surprising thing you learned while writing it?
I found things in his life that I didn’t know about: his heroics in World War II, pioneering the polar route with guys who were in the Royal Air Force Ferry Command. Five hundred of these ferry pilots didn’t come back, and he was risking everything. He also had a boxing career, as “Rifle Right Kerkorian.” How many of our present moguls and tycoons could you picture in the ring? He spent 20 years building up a charter airline, 20 years becoming an overnight success.
In what way is the book you wrote different from the book you set out to write?
The estate had protected Kerkorian’s privacy for so many years in life, and they were continuing to protect his privacy right into the grave. So I wasn’t going to have the official cooperation of the Kerkorian estate, which made it a greater challenge. My investigative reporting background came immediately into play. Defeating that privacy to find so much about him was the kind of challenge reporters like. I was able to get people who were very close to Kirk to trust me. His story is incredibly inspiring, and the people who loved him and knew him really well wanted to share that inspiration. His lawyers, his fitness guru, the range is wonderful. I talked to a lot of people who didn’t want their names used, and they’re not in the book but their stories are.
It’s the same thing in my investigative reporting career; it’s mostly about getting in front of people and being able to convey sincerity and competence and the ability to adequately tell their stories. It goes back to my father, who was a door-to-door vacuum salesman. Some of those skills, getting people to trust you and let you in, I probably inherited.
Who is a creative person (not a writer) who has influenced you and your work?
I’m a movie fan, and one of the things I’ve learned from my watching is how really great filmmakers, like David Lean, have the image in every frame of their movies carefully constructed, like a complete photograph. Filmmakers like Lean have given me ideas for how to tell stories with images. Even a word guy can learn from that. Part of my goal is to write cinematically.
Persuade someone to read “The Gambler” in 50 words or less.
This is one of those inspirational all-American tales of a poor immigrant’s son going from rags to riches with good old-fashioned hard work and sheer daring. In this era of anti-immigrant rhetoric, it’s a reminder of how important immigrants have been to all aspects of this country.
Follow John Williams on Twitter: @johnwilliamsnyt.
THE GAMBLER
How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History
By William C. Rempel
414 pages. Dey St./William Morrow. $28.99.
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