Jean Russell Larson

I had no idea this book had been published until a friend in the States sent me it as a surprise gift.

Co-authored by Jean Russell Larson and Garry McGee, the book is an in-depth look into how the actress Jean Seberg became the subject of a secret FBI investigation due to her financial support of various black empowerment groups in the late 1960s including the Black Panthers.

This culminated in the FBI leaking a "Guess Who Don't Sue" story to Hollywood gossip columnist Joyce Haber that the father of Jean's upcoming baby in 1970 was not husband Romain Gary but one of the Panthers. When Newsweek magazine printed the story only this time naming Seberg, her troubled pregnancy suddenly took a downturn and she miscarried a baby girl who lived for two days.

This tragedy was the catalyst for Jean's subsequent mental breakdowns, alcohol & drug problems and subsequent suicide attempts. Distanced from the Panthers and not-employable in Hollywood Jean carried on a fitful career in Europe until being found dead in August 1979, an apparent suicide.

The book is a fairly dry read - most of it consists of FBI transcripts - but it's re-telling of an abuse of power and the woman destroyed by it still provoke sadness and anger.… (plus d'informations)