E.J. Mannix - Biography

New Jersey-born Eddie Mannix was a long-time studio executive at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 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 was suspected by authorities on both the East and West coasts of having connections to many high-profile gangsters and organized crime figures. In addition, he was accused of having killed his first wife in a phony car accident and was suspected of being involved in the deaths 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 Superman (1952); Reees had been having a long-time affair with Toni, although with Mannix's blessings. 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.