Sidney Roy Korshak (June 6, 1907 – January 20, 1996) was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

and " fixer" for businessmen in the upper echelons of power and the

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. His reputation as the Chicago mob's man in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

made him one of

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

's most fabled and influential fixers. His partnership with

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

mobsters led him to be named "...the most powerful lawyer in the world" by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

Early life

Sidney was born into a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish family, with four siblings, in Chicago's West Side Lawndale neighborhood, on June 6, 1907. His parents were Harry Korshak (January 15, 1876 – January 29, 1931) and Rebecca Beatrice Lashkovitz (1883–November 4, 1963), who were married on July 15, 1902 in Chicago. Sidney's father, Harry, was a wealthy Chicago contractor. Sidney's younger brother, Morris Jerome "Marshall" Korshak (February 6, 1910 – January 19, 1996), became a longtime Chicago politician, city treasurer and

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 ...

. Sidney attended Herzl Elementary School, the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

and obtained his law degree from the

DePaul University College of Law The DePaul University College of Law is the professional graduate law school of DePaul University in Chicago. The College of Law’s facilities encompass nine floors across two buildings, with features such as the Vincent G. Rinn Law Library and ...

Career

Korshak's law practice brought him into contact with many

mobsters A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix ''-ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and r ...

, such as

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

Frank Nitti Frank Ralph Nitto (born Francesco Raffaele Nitto, ; January 27, 1886 – March 19, 1943), known as Frank Nitti, was an Italian-American organized crime figure based in Chicago. The first cousin and bodyguard of Al Capone, Nitti was in charge of ...

Sam Giancana Salvatore Mooney Giancana (; born Gilormo Giangana; ; May 24, 1908 – June 19, 1975) was an American mobster who was boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957 to 1966. Giancana was born in Chicago to Italian immigrant parents. He joined the 42 ...

Tony Accardo Anthony Joseph Accardo (; born Antonino Leonardo Accardo, ; April 28, 1906 – May 22, 1992), also known as "Joe Batters" and "Big Tuna", was an American longtime mobster. In a criminal career that spanned eight decades, he rose from small-time ho ...

and

Moe Dalitz Morris Barney Dalitz (December 25, 1899 – August 31, 1989) was an American gangster, businessman, casino owner, and philanthropist. He was one of the major figures who shaped Las Vegas in the 20th century. He was often referred to as "Mr. Las V ...

. His services were used by the upper ranks of both legitimate and illegitimate business in the United States. Korshak numbered among his friends many Hollywood celebrities and leading figures in the entertainment industry, including

MCA/Universal MCA Inc. (originally an initialism for Music Corporation of America) was an American media conglomerate founded in 1924. Originally a talent agency with artists in the music business as clients, the company became a major force in the film ind ...

chiefs

Jules C. Stein Jules C. Stein (April 26, 1896 – April 29, 1981) was an American physician and businessman who co-founded Music Corporation of America (MCA). Early life and education Stein was born in South Bend, Indiana, to Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, one ...

and

Lew Wasserman Lewis Robert Wasserman (March 22, 1913 – June 3, 2002) was an American talent agent and studio executive, described as "the last of the legendary movie moguls" and "arguably the most powerful and influential Hollywood titan in the four decades ...

, entertainment lawyer Paul Ziffren (the driving force behind bringing the 1984

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

chief

Kirk Kerkorian Kerkor Kerkorian ( hy, Գրիգոր Գրիգորեան; June 6, 1917 – June 15, 2015) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the president and CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Bever ...

Gulf+Western Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. (stylized as Gulf+Western) was an American conglomerate. Originally, the company focused on manufacturing and resource extraction. Beginning in 1966, and continuing throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the company ...

founder

Charles Bluhdorn Charles George Bluhdorn (born Karl Georg Blühdorn; September 20, 1926 – February 19, 1983) was an Austrian-born American industrialist. Early life Bluhdorn was born in Vienna, Austria, to an Austrian Jewish mother Rosa Fuchs and father Paul ...

, Frank Sinatra, Ronald Reagan,

William French Smith William French Smith II (August 26, 1917 – October 29, 1990) was an American lawyer and the 74th United States Attorney General. After attaining his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1942, Smith went on to join the law firm of Gibson, Dun ...

(labor attorney and future

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

governor Edmund "Pat" Brown and his son, California governor Edmund "Jerry" Brown, Governor of California

Gray Davis Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and remov ...

, producer

Robert Evans Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera; June 29, 1930October 26, 2019) was an American film producer, studio executive, and actor, best known for his work on '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), ''Love Story'' (1970), ''The Godfather'' (1972), and '' Ch ...

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty ( né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director ...

Barron Hilton William Barron Hilton (October 23, 1927 – September 19, 2019) was an American business magnate, philanthropist and sportsman. The second son and successor of hotelier Conrad Hilton, he was the chairman, president and chief executive officer of ...

and

Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles which provoked charges of obsc ...

. Korshak was highly successful in the field of labor consulting and negotiations, and his client list included

Hilton Hotel 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. The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...

Hyatt Hotel Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vaca ...

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

, and

Diners Club International Diners Club International (DCI), founded as Diners Club, is a charge card company owned by Discover Financial Services. Formed in 1950 by Frank X. McNamara, Ralph Schneider, Matty Simmons, and Alfred S. Bloomingdale, it was the first independent ...

. One of his clients was

Jimmy Hoffa James Riddle Hoffa (born February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975; declared dead July 30, 1982) was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1957 until 1971. F ...

, notorious head of the

International Brotherhood of Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the ...

; Korshak was heavily involved in the Teamsters' west coast operations during a time when organized labor was at the peak of its activity. Korshak was an attorney for various elements of the

. Korshak bought the J.P.

Seeburg Corporation Seeburg was an American design and manufacturing company of automated musical equipment, such as orchestrions, jukeboxes, and vending equipment. Prior to manufacturing their signature jukebox suite of products, Seeburg was considered to be one ...

and immediately before the company stock rose from $35 to $141.50 a share. He then sold 143,000 shares to pivotal figures in the stock market including

Bernard Cornfeld Bernard "Bernie" Cornfeld (17 August 1927 – 27 February 1995) was a prominent businessman and international financier who sold investments in US mutual funds, and who was tried and acquitted for mismanagement of the Investors Overseas Servi ...

, who owned the FOF Property Fund, in Switzerland. Korshak received $5 million from the deal.

Personal life

On August 17, 1943, Korshak married Bernice "Bee" Stewart (August 7, 1919 – September 29, 2017), daughter of Omar Stewart (May 31, 1884 – June 26, 1957) and Ethel (Granger) Stewart (August 23, 1887–January 1983). The couple had three children: * Harry Stuart Korshak (born April 24, 1945) who married Victoria Olson (Schmidlapp) Frederickson (born 1951) on May 2, 1975 in Los Angeles. * Stuart Rand Korshak (born March 6, 1947) who married Louise A. Hendricks on April 19, 1980 in Los Angeles. * Kathryn "Katy" Korshak (granddaughter whom Sidney and Bee adopted at age 5).

Other

Sidney Korshak suggested actress

Jill St. John Jill St. John (born Jill Arlyn Oppenheim; August 19, 1940) is a retired American actress. She may be best known for playing Tiffany Case, the first American Bond girl of the 007 franchise, in '' Diamonds Are Forever''. Additional performances ...

Eon Productions Eon Productions Ltd. is a British film production company that primarily produces the ''James Bond'' film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the UK. ''Bond'' films Eon was starte ...

for the ''

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

'' film, '' Diamonds Are Forever''. Korshak had simultaneous affairs with St. John and actress

Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born Estelle Eggleston; October 1, 1938) is a American former actress. She began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as ''Girls! Girls! Girls!'' (1962), '' The Nutty Professor'' (1963), '' The Courtship of ...

Death

Sidney Korshak died on January 20, 1996, without ever having a

criminal conviction In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is ...

against him (or even an

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

, according to his ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' obituary). He was buried at the

Hillside Memorial Park The Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Jewish cemetery located at 6001 West Centinela Avenue, in Culver City, California. Many Jews from the entertainment industry are buried here. The cemetery is known for Al Jolson's elaborate tomb (design ...

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. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

. Marshall Korshak predeceased his brother by one day.

References

;Notes ;Sources * Russo, Gus;'' Supermob, how Sidney Korshak and his criminal associates became America's hidden power brokers-'' Bloomsbury, 2006 *''The Kid Stays in the Picture'' a film about

*DeMaris, Ovid; ''The Last Mafioso: Jimmy "The Weasel" Fratianno'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Korshak, Sidney 1907 births 1996 deaths People from Beverly Hills, California University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Lawyers from Chicago Lawyers from Los Angeles American consultants Jewish American attorneys Illinois lawyers American labor lawyers DePaul University College of Law alumni Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery 20th-century American lawyers Chicago Outfit Chicago Outfit mobsters 20th-century American Jews American people of Italian descent