hollywoodreporter

To quote the investigation: "she’s the locally raised daughter of Holocaust survivors, a Jew who has found refuge in shiksa drag."

I've interviewed thousands of people in my career, from all walks of life. Angelyne was notably combative and controlling. Emmy Rossum's portrayal is generous and big-hearted.

As I told LA Weekly when it posed the same question shortly after my investigation was published, Angelyne is a famous person who sought her notoriety. We journalists don't require permission to uncover truths about public figures.

Like many, I'd long been intrigued by the mystery of Angelyne, and wanted to better understand her. In Los Angeles, she'd long been perceived as a joke, but I believed she was worthy of serious consideration.

Beyond this, my beat at The Hollywood Reporter encompasses Los Angeles phenomena and landmarks. This has led me to write about coastal erosion at Malibu beaches, terrazzo degradation at the Walk of Fame and public access to the Hollywood Sign. Looking into Angelyne fit into my bailiwick.

For the 2015 profile, we met on a couple of occasions before she formally agreed to the piece, first at the since-shuttered French Market in West Hollywood (one of her haunts) and then at Canter's Deli in the Fairfax District. For that piece, we spent one day — from late morning to late evening — driving around the city in her Corvette Stingray 1LT.

For the 2017 investigation, she refused to engage with me, despite my many attempts over months to speak with her. Finally, one night at random, while at work on a separate story, I saw her car parked out front of the Rainbow Bar & Grill on Sunset Blvd., and as depicted in the piece, I confronted her.