In Disney’s re-imagining (which skirted the espionage realities of the event), Khrushchev defied the State Department and visited Disneyland in secret, in various comical disguises, ducking both U.S. officials and anti-Russia demonstrators.
But it wasn’t till 1965 that the screenplay was in shape and Ustinov could make time in his schedule, and so, in the end, Walt Disney pulled the plug.
When his associates, knowing how keen Walt had been on this picture, asked why he had at this late date nixed the project, Disney had only shrugged and said, “Old news.”
Khrushchev, after all, was out of power.
In October of 1964, after a disastrous harvest had sent his popularity plummeting, the premier’s enemies finally brought him down, though without any Stalin-esque bloodshed. Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev resigned from office at the age of seventy, retiring to a dacha outside Moscow, where he wrote his memoirs, living peacefully until his death in 1971.
A Tip of the Coonskin Cap
Despite its extensive basis in history, Bombshell is a work of fiction, and liberties have been taken with the facts, though as few as possible, reflecting the needs of the narrative as well as conflicting source material.
This novel expands upon a short story by Barbara Collins, “Da Svidaniya, Khrushchev,” published in Marilyn: Shades of Blonde (1997), edited by Carole Nelson Douglas. The invitation to write this story — taking advantage of Barbara’s longtime interest in Marilyn Monroe — came from Ed Gorman and Marty Greenberg. Our thanks to Carole, Ed, and Marty.
Among the sources for the characterization of Nikita Khrushchev were: Khrushchev Remembers (1970), Nikita Khrushchev; The Space Race (1962), Donald W. Cox; Inside Russia Today (1958), John Gunther; Khrushchev: The Years in Power (1978), Roy A. Medvedev and Zhores A. Medvedev; and Life in Russia (1983), Michael Binyon. Contemporary accounts consulted regarding the Khrushchev visit included: Time magazine, September 28, 1959; Newsweek magazine, September 21, 1959, and September 28, 1959; and Life magazine, January 13, 1958, January 20, 1958, September 28, 1959, October 5, 1959, and October 19, 1959.
The authors have accumulated a large library of Marilyn Monroe material, and drew upon many books and periodicals for her characterization. The key books used were: The Unabridged Marilyn, Her Life from A to Z (1987), Randall Riese and Neal Hitchens; Marilyn Monroe, In Her Own Words (1983), Roger Taylor; Marilyn Monroe, The Biography (1993), Donald Spoto; Legend, The Life and Death of Marilyn Monroe (1984), Fred Lawrence Guiles; The Life and Curious Death of Marilyn Monroe (1974), Robert F. Slatzer; Goddess, The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe (1985), Anthony Summers; The Marilyn Encyclopedia (1999), Adam Victor; and Timebends (1987), Arthur Miller.
Background for Jack Harrigan was drawn from The United States Secret Service (1961), Walter S. Bowen and Harry Edward Neal; and The Death Dealers (1960), Phil Hirsch.
Sources for the characterization of Walt Disney and the depiction of Disneyland included numerous contemporary magazine accounts, various Internet web pages, and the following books: The Art of Walt Disney (1973), Christopher Finch; Disney’s World (1985), Leonard Mosley; and Walt Disney, Hollywood’s Dark Prince (1993), Marc Eliot. In addition, the DVD set Walt Disney Treasures: Disneyland USA (2001) — featuring documentaries hosted, produced, and written by Leonard Maltin — was particularly helpful, including interview material with Disney himself discussing the Khrushchev/Disneyland controversy. Walt Disney did have an apartment over the fire station in Disneyland, and was indeed planning a Khrushchev in Disneyland feature film; but certain liberties were taken here with the park and its geography, for storytelling purposes.
Other helpful sources included: His Way, The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra (1986), Kitty Kelley; Out With the Stars: Hollywood Nightlife in the Golden Era (1985), Jim Heimann; and Mental Hygiene: Classroom Films 1945–1970 (1999), Ken Smith.
The authors wish to thank their agent, Dominick Abel. This book has been a long time coming, and readers who have heard about the project have occasionally inquired about when it might arrive; we hope — as was the case when Marilyn Monroe finally walked onto a soundstage — it will have been worth the wait.
The Authors Are…
...MAX ALLAN Collins, two-time winner of the PWA “Shamus” Best Novel award for his historical thrillers True Detective (1983) and Stolen Away (1991), featuring Chicago P.I. Nate Heller. In 2002 he received the Herodotus “Lifetime Achievement” Award from the Historical Mystery Appreciation Society. An MW A Edgar nominee in both fiction and nonfiction categories, Max is a leading writer of movie and TV “tie-in” novels, including the New York Times bestseller, Saving Private Ryan (1998) and the CSI novels. In 1995, he wrote and directed the thriller, Mommy; a sequel, Mommy's Day followed; and his third indie feature, Real Time: Siege at Lucas Street Market, is on DVD. Max’s graphic novel, Road to Perdition (1998), is the basis of the 2002 DreamWorks motion picture starring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, and Jude Law, directed by Sam Mendes.
...and Barbara Collins, the author of numerous short stories, with appearances in such top anthologies as Murder Most Delicious, Women on the Edge, Murder for Mother, Murder for Father, and the bestselling Cat Crimes series. Her stories have been selected for inclusion in the first three volumes of The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. Her short story collection, Too Many Tomcats (2000), has been followed by a collection of stories with her husband Max, Murder His and Hers (2001), and she was co-editor of the anthology Lethal Ladies (1997). The Collins’s first collaborative novel, Regeneration (1999), was a paperback bestseller. Barbara worked as production manager on the Mommy movies and line producer on Real Time: Siege at Lucas Street Market.
Barbara and Max Collins live in Muscatine, Iowa; their son Nathan is a Computer Science major at the University of Iowa.