E.J. Mannix

New Jersey-born Eddie Mannix was a long-time studio executive at MGM. Known as "The Fixer", he had a reputation as someone who could take care of any problems caused by recalcitrant or wayward studio employees and major stars that might embarrass the company. Mannix had a rather unsavory past, and it was known that he associated with many organized-crime figures while he was in the New York/New Jersey area. Authorities on both coasts suspected that he was more than just an "associate"; when East Coast organized-crime figures tried to take over the unions representing film studio workers in Hollywood--so they could extort money from the studios in exchange for avoiding "labor trouble"--Mannix was suspected of helping to pave the way for them. In addition, he was accused of having killed his first wife in a phony car accident and was suspected of being involved in the death of MGM executive Paul Bern, husband of MGM star Jean Harlow. Years later, some speculated that he or his wife, Toni Lanier, might have murdered actor George Reeves, star of the hit TV series Adventures of Superman (1952) (Reeves had been engaged in a long-time affair with Toni, although with Mannix's blessing). While no credible evidence has ever surfaced to support such a theory, much evidence credibly undermines it. Mannix was never charged in any of the above cases, and died in Beverly Hills in 1963.