Publicist’s slaying stuns Hollywood

Associated Press

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.

The slaying of a prominent movie publicist shortly after she left a film premiere stunned Hollywood colleagues and residents of this tiny community.

Ronni Chasen had attended the premiere of the new Cher film “Burlesque,” whose soundtrack she was pushing for an Oscar nomination.

She was shot multiple times in the chest about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, and her Mercedes-Benz crashed into a light pole on a street of multimillion-dollar homes south of Sunset Boulevard.

Police had no motive or suspects and said no threats had been reported against the 64-year-old Chasen.

The killing rocked the Hollywood community, where Chasen was a revered figure after promoting the Oscar-winning film “Driving Miss Daisy” and other major movies and stars over the years.

Chasen had been working with 20th Century Fox on a supporting-actor Oscar campaign for Michael Douglas in “Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps.”

“I had the extreme pleasure of working with Ronni on ‘Driving Miss Daisy,’” Morgan Freeman, who was nominated for an Oscar for the film, said in a statement.

“We’ve been friends ever since. She is someone I greatly admired.”

Fellow publicist Howard Bragman called the killing bizarre. “It’s a small community, and she was one of the fixtures in it,” he said.