11 episodes
HeidiWorld: The Heidi Fleiss Story iHeartPodcasts
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- True Crime
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4.0 • 368 Ratings
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How ambitious LA girl Heidi Fleiss rose to become a “Hollywood Madam” in the early 90s, and how she fell at the hands of American sexual hypocrisy. A kaleidoscopic look at sex, drugs, glamour and corruption in Los Angeles.
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Chapter 10: The Desert And Beyond: Heidi Moves To Pahrump, Nevada To Start A Stud Farm And Starts A Bird Sanctuary Instead
Chapter 10: The Desert And Beyond: Heidi Moves To Pahrump, Nevada To Start A Stud Farm And Starts A Bird Sanctuary Instead
After prison, Heidi Fleiss tries to hustle up some new work by starting a Stud Farm in Nevada and ends up on Celebrity Rehab instead. She also discovers a new passion: taking care of tropical birds. Dr. Paul Fleiss is embroiled in a new scandal unrelated to his daughter. Charlie Sheen becomes a sitcom star but encounters further complications. Heidi gets caught up in a cryptocurrency scam. And what happened to everyone in Heidiworld.
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Chapter 9: Reality Television: How Heidi Invented Reality Star Fame And Her Cousin Mike Fleiss Invented The Bachelor (late 90s/early 2000s)
Chapter 9: Reality Television: How Heidi Invented Reality Star Fame And Her Cousin Mike Fleiss Invented The Bachelor (late 90s/early 2000s)
Heidi Fleiss gets sentenced and goes to jail, doing 37 months in Dublin, California. Meanwhile, her second cousin Mike Fleiss climbs the ranks of early 2000s reality television and invents huge hit The Bachelor. And Don Simpson has one last box office mega-hit and then vanishes from the mortal plane forever.
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Chapter 8: Heidi Wear: The Mid 90s Heidi Pioneers Personal branding And Cashes In With Her Own Line Of Branded Sleepwear
Chapter 8: Heidi Wear: The Mid 90s Heidi Pioneers Personal branding And Cashes In With Her Own Line Of Branded Sleepwear
Heidi Fleiss goes to trial with the eyes of the world on her, and the Fleiss family’s close bonds are tested as they are asked to turn against each other in court. But Heidi Fleiss mania has already peaked as the OJ trial begins and takes focus. The jurors deliberate and then have second thoughts. Plus the story of Charlie “Good Time,” the Malibu music promoter with a Heidi connection.
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Chapter 7: The Trial Of The Century: 1995 How Court TV revolutionized the 24 hour news cycle and how Heidi Fleiss redefined tabloid celebrity with it
Chapter 7: The Trial Of The Century: 1995 How Court TV revolutionized the 24 hour news cycle and how Heidi Fleiss redefined tabloid celebrity with it
While awaiting her trials Heidi sits for another big magazine profile, this time with Vanity Fair. Her lawyer Anthony Brooklier makes a case against the johns, and we tell you about his father Dominic Brooklier the last mob don of Southern California. Ivan “Mackdaddy” Nagy returns to terrorize Heidi’s employees and get sentimental about Heidi. And Heidi Fleiss finds herself in the world spotlight and isolated from everyone.
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Chapter 6: Media Frenzy (1993, 1994): The Heidi Fleiss scandal breaks wide in the media, making Heidi the most famous woman and sending her clients into a panic
Chapter 6: Media Frenzy (1993, 1994): The Heidi Fleiss scandal breaks wide in the media, making Heidi the most famous woman and sending her clients into a panic
Everybody wants a cut of the Heidi Fleiss story, and some of the people in Heidi’s orbit are selling her out to get theirs. Plus a rabbit hole into how Pretty Woman connects to illegal arms dealing, the stories of call girls “Marilyn” and “Leann,” and how women in Hollywood (and Adrian Lyne) reacted to what the scandal said about the men in their industry in the 90s.
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Chapter 5: Heidi’s Empire: From The Peak Of The Hollywood Hills To The Pits Of Despair (1992) Heidi’s madaming business takes off and crashes
Chapter 5: Heidi’s Empire: From The Peak Of The Hollywood Hills To The Pits Of Despair (1992) Heidi’s madaming business takes off and crashes
Heidi’s empire peaks as she gets overconfident running her mouth around town. The stories of producers Don Simpson, Robert Evans and Jon Peters. The saga of JJ The Beeper King, Cookie Orgad and the LA ecstasy trade. And Heidi’s downfall at the hands of former Heidi girl Alexandra Datig and Beverly Hills cop Sammy Lee II.
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Customer Reviews
Narration didn’t do this story any favors
Luckily, I read some reviews after the first episode. The content was so great, and I wanted to keep listening, but I couldn’t stand the cadence of the narrator. Another reviewer suggested something up the speed to 1.5. That was a huge help! I am always amazed, that narrators are not giving feedback early on to prevent this type of thing from happening. Also, the narrator says she grew up in California in the same parts of town as Heidi. This is baffling to me because if you grow up in California, shouldn’t you be able to pronounce the name of the state that you share a border with? I don’t mean to be nitpicky and cruel, but again, where is the editing with pronunciation and cadence. Please pronounce NEVADA correctly!
On a positive note- the story and information were very well done and laid out in a chronological way that was easy to follow and full of interesting facts.
Fascinating story!
I can’t remember where I heard about this podcast, but I added it to my queue a while ago, and I finally got around to giving it a try. I was a bit skeptical that what seemed like a relatively straightforward (and very specific to L. A.) story could justify 10 episodes, but I was hooked from the jump! Lots of larger-than-life characters, frequently funny, with fascinating (relevant) side quests, and the host was honest about the foibles of the people involved, but she talked about them with a lot of empathy, too. Great listen!
Keep up the good work, Molly
Molly Lambert is an incredible journalist that I’ve followed since her luminous mad men recaps on Grantland through Nightcall and her almost fated introduction for Eve Babitz’s NYRB reprint. A wealth of California intel and millennial cool, I’m so thrilled she’s debuting a new podcast this year.