Conrad Nicholson "Nicky" Hilton Jr. (July 6, 1926 – February 5, 1969) was an American

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

, hotel heir, and businessman. He was the eldest son of

Hilton Hotels Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton Worldwide. The original company was founded by Conrad Hi ...

founder

Conrad Hilton Conrad Nicholson Hilton (December 25, 1887 – January 3, 1979) was an American hotel magnate and politician who founded the Hilton Hotels chain. From 1912 to 1916, Hilton was a Republican representative in the first New Mexico Legislature ...

Life and career

Conrad Nicholson Hilton Jr. was born in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. His parents were

, the founder of

, and Mary Adelaide Barron. Hilton had three younger siblings: Barron,

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...

, and

Francesca Francesca is an Italian female given name, derived from the Latin male name ''Franciscus'' meaning 'the Frenchman' It is widely used in most Romance languages, including Italian, French and Catalan, and place of origin is Italy. It is derived ...

. He is a grand-uncle of

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, and socialite. Hilton was born in New York City and raised there partially; shuttling between Los Angeles and New York City; she is a great-grandda ...

and

Nicky Hilton Nicholai Olivia "Nicky" Rothschild ( Hilton; born October 5, 1983) is an American socialite, fashion designer and model. She is a member of the Hilton family by birth, and a member of the Rothschild family following her 2015 marriage to James ...

. Growing up he did not take interest in the family business and he dropped out of Loyola University in Los Angeles to join the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

. His father enrolled him at

École hôtelière de Lausanne EHL Hospitality Business School, formerly known as École hôtelière de Lausanne, is a hospitality management school in Switzerland. The school is often seen as one of the best of its kind in the world, training its students to obtain manager ...

Lausanne, Switzerland Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French-speaking canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and facing the ...

, but he was suspended after six months. In 1951, he became the vice president of the Hilton Corporation and manager of the Bel Air Hotel. In his later years, he was a director and chairman of the executive committee of the Hilton International Company. Hilton died at the age of 42 from a sudden heart attack due to

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

on February 5, 1969. His funeral was held at St. Paul's Church in Los Angeles. He is interred in Holy Cross Cemetery in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

Personal life

Hilton dated various Hollywood starlets and gained a reputation for being a

playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

. In October 1949, Hilton met Elizabeth Taylor at the Mocambo nightclub in Los Angeles. The couple were married in a highly publicized ceremony at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills on May 6, 1950. They had a tempestuous eight-month marriage due to his

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

, drinking,

heroin addiction Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a substance use disorder characterized by cravings for opioids, continued use despite physical and/or psychological deterioration, increased tolerance with use, and withdrawal symptoms after discontinuing opioids. ...

, and abusive behavior. During one of his violent outbursts, Hilton kicked Taylor in the stomach and caused her to have a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...

. Taylor announced their separation in December 1950; she was granted a divorce on grounds of mental cruelty on January 29, 1951. In September 1951, actress

Betsy von Furstenberg Elizabeth Caroline Maria Agatha Felicitas Therese, Graf, Gräfin von Fürstenberg-Herdringen (August 16, 1931 – April 21, 2015), known as Betsy von Furstenberg, was a German-born American actress who starred in several Broadway theatre, Broadw ...

announced her engagement to Hilton. They planned to marry the following spring but they were never married. In May 1954, Hilton was arrested on drunk charges and received two years of probation. In the 1950s, Hilton dated actresses Terry Moore,

Mamie Van Doren Mamie Van Doren (; born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and model. A Bombshell (slang), blonde bombshell, she is one of the "Three M's" along with Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield, who were friends and ...

, Arlene Solof, and

Jeanne Carmen Jeanne Laverne Carmen (August 4, 1930 – December 20, 2007) was an American model, actress and trick-shot golfer. Early life Carmen was born in Paragould, Arkansas. As a child, she picked cotton before running away from home at age 13. As ...

. In 1957, he dated actresses

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award f ...

and

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Awards, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime Emm ...

at the same time. Shortly after, he dated Mexican actress

Silvia Pinal Silvia Pinal Hidalgo (12September 193128November 2024) was a Mexican actress. She began her career in theatre before venturing into cinema in 1949. She became one of the greatest female stars of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and, with her p ...

, whom he met at the opening of a hotel in

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

. In 1958, Hilton married Patricia McClintock, an oil heiress from

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. They had two sons, Conrad Nicholson Hilton III and Michael Otis Hilton. Their marriage deteriorated as Hilton became addicted to the sleeping pill Seconal and mixed it with

hard liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. While the w ...

. McClintock sued for divorce on February 10, 1964. She charged Hilton with "causing her extreme mental and physical suffering" but they later reconciled. In August 1967, McClintock filed for divorce again, accusing Hilton of "repeated acts and threats of violence." The divorce was never granted but they were separated at the time of Hilton's death.

Life and career

Personal life

References

Further reading