The Alaskan Blonde
Sex, Secrets, and the Hollywood Story that Shocked America
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The Alaskan Blonde
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Narrated by:
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Tom Lennon
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Written by:
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James T. Bartlett
About this listen
Anthony Awards - Nominee, Best NonFiction 2023
National Indie Excellence Awards - Winner, True Crime 2023
Next Generation Indie Book Awards - Finalist, True Crime 2023
Nicknamed “the most beautiful woman in Alaska”, 31-year-old Diane Wells was bruised and bloodied when she screamed for help in the early hours of October 17, 1953. Her husband Cecil, a wealthy Fairbanks businessman, had been shot dead, and she claimed they were the victims of a brutal home invasion.
Blonde, glamorous, and 20 years younger than Cecil, police were immediately suspicious of Diane's account, and the investigation soon turned toward her alleged lover, Black musician Johnny Warren, who had left town the night of the murder.
The scandal hit the pages of Newsweek, Life, Ebony, Jet, and the pulp detective magazines, and nearly 70 years later, journalist James T. Bartlett uncovers new evidence including an unpublished memoir, unseen photographs, and re-examines the FBI files. He tracks down and interviews the people close to Cecil, Diane, Johnny, and the mysterious “Third Suspect”, dance instructor William Colombany, to reveal the story of “the most notorious and baffling murder in the history of Fairbanks".
©2023 James Taran Bartlett (P)2023 James Taran BartlettWhat the critics say
"[W]hile Bartlett's writing style is more reportorial than literary—he is a reporter after all—he tells that story well." (Anchorage Daily News)
"[W]ell worth your time if you're a true crime aficionado." (Charles Salzberg, author of Devil in the Hole)
"An interesting prowl through pills and pistols; drummers and dead men." (Glynn Martin, co-author with James Ellroy of best-selling L.A.P.D.'53)