Stories of celebrity excess are the stuff of legend, with the music heroes of the 1970s and 80s thinking nothing of causing havoc in the name of rock and roll, while an endless list of notorious crimes have been committed within the sanctity of a hotel room. With that in mind, we’ve taken a look back through history and compiled a list of five of the most infamous hotel stories of all time!
5. John Belushi’s overdose (Chateau Marmont, Los Angeles)
John Belushi’s star was very much on the rise in 1982. The controversial comic had followed up appearances on the popular US sketch show Saturday Night Live with acclaimed performances in hit films Animal House and The Blues Brothers, and seemed destined for super-stardom when disaster struck. The hard-living comedian accidentally overdosed on heroin and cocaine after a night out with Robin Williams and Roberto De Niro, and his body was found in room 3 of the Chateau Marmont hotel in Hollywood. His sudden death was a huge loss to both the comedy and movie industries.
4. The ghost of Marilyn Monroe (Hollywood Roosevelt, Los Angeles)
During her short life, Marilyn Monroe was a regular guest at the Hollywood Roosevelt in Los Angeles, which hosted the first ever Academy Awards in 1929 – and, if you believe the rumours, her ghost continues to haunt the famous hotel to this day, with numerous sightings of a mysterious blonde lady bearing a striking similarity to Monroe every year. The hotel’s infamy as a haunting hotspot doesn’t stop with Norma Jean, though – a number of other supernatural happenings have occurred over the years, with the ghosts of actors Errol Flynn and Montgomery Clift also said to roam the premises.
3. The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy (Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles)
Just five years after the president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated during a motorcade in Dallas, his brother endured an eerily similar fate. Bobby Kennedy had just won the California primary, making him the Democratic presidential candidate, and was celebrating with supporters in the ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel when he was shot three times by Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian who claimed his attack was revenge for Kennedy’s support of Israel’s attack on Palestine. The hotel itself was demolished in 2006, although schools and a park near the site bear Robert F. Kennedy’s name in memorial to the politician.
2. Led Zeppelin’s takeover (Andaz West Hollywood, Los Angeles)
Pioneering rock band Led Zeppelin were known for their larger than life tours, and their wild behaviour didn’t end on stage. The group were known for taking over hotels with their roadies and groupies, often booking up to six floors at Sunset Boulevard’s Andaz West Hollywood hotel, where they were known to ride motorbikes around the hallways and throw bottles of champagne from the balconies – gaining the hotel the nickname ‘Riot House’ in the process! The Andaz seems to enjoy its notoriety – a photo of the group’s singer Robert Plant takes pride of place on the second floor of the hotel.
1. Keith Moon, the king of room-trashing (Holiday Inn, Michigan)
While he wasn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last rock star to trash a hotel room, the antics of The Who’s Keith Moon might just be the most controversial of all. The world-famous drummer’s most notorious display was on the date of his 21st birthday at the Holiday Inn in Michigan, when Moon’s crime sheet included starting a food fight in the hotel restaurant and, most famously of all, blowing up the toilets with explosives. The spree caused damage in excess of £75,000 in today’s money, and ended when Moon tripped over his own birthday cake, knocking his front teeth out and leading to his arrest.
Copy & images: Www.expedia.co.uk.
