The Library will be closed on Thursday, December 25, 2025, in observance of Christmas.

Author Talk: The Alaskan Blonde

notebook and pen with paper shaped into a heart

Date(s):

Monday, March 10, 2025

Time:

6:30 p.m.

Type:

In Person

Audience:

Category:

Language:

English

Description:

James T. Bartlett discusses his award-winning true crime book The Alaskan Blonde , which looks at the unsolved murder of Cecil Wells in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1953, by searching the FBI and police files—and some unpublished diaries—to reexamine the case against his wife, Diane. Blonde, glamorous, and 20 years younger than Cecil, Diane said two men had broken into their downtown apartment and killed Cecil before attacking her—but police were immediately suspicious, and an anonymous tip-off led the investigation toward her alleged lover, Black musician Johnny Warren. In the book, interviews with the people close to Cecil, Diane, Johnny, and the mysterious "Third Suspect," Guatemalan dance instructor William Colombany, finally reveal "the most notorious and baffling murder in the history of Fairbanks"—and the tragic Hollywood ending to the case.

 

For ADA accommodations, call (213) 228-7430 at least 72 hours prior to the event.

Para ajustes razonables según la ley de ADA, llama al (213) 228-7430 al menos 72 horas antes del evento.

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