The harrowing story of a movie producer who was murdered while making a Jeff Bridges movie
Throughout his remarkable career in the film industry, Jeff Bridges has undoubtedly seen it all, whether in the fictional narratives in which he’s starred or in the crazy stories of Hollywood’s excess. Being one of America’s acting heroes naturally comes with the territory of being privy to some of the industry’s most bizarre occurrences.
Bridges famously appeared in a wide range of motion pictures, from John Carpenter’s science fiction romance Starman to The Contender, True Grit, Crazy Heart, Hell or High Water and, of course, his magnificent turn and most iconic role in the Coen Brothers’ classic comedy The Big Lebowski.
Early into his career, after appearing in the likes of The Last Picture Show, The Last American Hero and Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Bridges performed alongside American cinema icon John Huston in the 1979 satirical black comedy thriller Winter Kills, based on the novel of the same name by Richard Condon.
Boasting a brilliant cast including Anthony Perkins, Elizabeth Taylor, Eli Wallach and even Toshiro Mifune, Winter Kills, directed by William Richert, focuses on the events surrounding the assassination of the fictional President Kegan, who had been based on John F. Kennedy, although the film really ramped up the comedy moments of the book.
Interestingly, the title of the film had some pertinence as one of the producers had actually been murdered shortly before Winter Kills had been set to premiere. Leonard Goldberg and Robert Sterling had optioned the book from Condon for $75,000 plus a percentage of proceeds and home video takings.
However, both Goldberg and Sterling were known for their criminal enterprising and had both been involved in the illegal drug trade. Neither actually had much experience as producers other than having worked on a series of French softcore porn movies for release in the United States, and as such, Winter Kills was heavily underfunded.
In fact, many of the cast and crew weren’t actually paid, and only a few received 20% of their escrow-held fee. Those who were paid reported that they had to visit a hotel room to receive an envelope of heavily used bills, and when union executives heard of Goldberg and Sterling’s dealings, the production of Winter Kills was temporarily shut down – until Richert himself later resumed work after raising funds from his next film, the aptly-named The American Success Company.
The shady business of Goldberg and Sterling quickly caught up with the pair, and by the time the film premiered in May 1979, Goldberg had been murdered. The movie-producing hopeful drug dealer was found handcuffed to his bed in his apartment in New York City, where he had been shot in the head (presumably by members of the Mafia).
Sterling, meanwhile, was sentenced to 40 years in prison after being found guilty of smuggling cannabis from Columbia to the East Coast of the United States for around a decade. Sterling was fined £225,000 and ordered to forfeit his two Florida homes, which were worth $1.5 million at the time, plus his Swiss bank account and all other assets.
Jeff Bridges might have seen it all when it comes to the movie industry, having been born into an acting family, but he was likely unprepared for the criminality involved in Winter Kills. The film was undermarketed upon release, so it earned a weak box office, but in subsequent years, it became a favourite of Quentin Tarantino, who re-released it on 35mm.
Check out the film’s trailer below.
