1947. This portrait of Virginia Hill may have been taken before 1947, when this copy of it was issued to the press. It has been trimmed, heavily annotated and retouched for newspaper reproduction.
Affixed to the back are a mimeographed slug and two newspaper cuttings. The slug reads:
(LA9) BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF., JUNE 21 –– ‘BUGSY’ KILLED IN HER HOME –– THE GANG-STYLE SLAYING OF BENJAMIN (BUGSY) SIEGEL LAST NIGHT TOOK PLACE IN A PALATIAL RESIDENCE LEASED BY WEALTHY AND ATTRACTIVE VIRGINIA HILL (ABOVE), 30, WELL KNOWN IN THE FILM COLONY FOR HER LAVISH PARTIES. SHE IS BELIEVED EN ROUTE TO PARIS OR ALREADY THERE. (AP WIREPHOTO) (SEE WIRE STORY) (RHS71230TS) 1947
The first of the two newspaper clippings is contemporary with the slug:
GAMBLER’S HOSTESS –– The gang-style slaying of Benjamin (Bugsy) Siegel took place Friday night in the palatial Beverly Hills residence of wealthy and attractive Virginia Hill, 30. She is believed to be in Paris.
The second clipping dates from the following year, when the photo was presumably reused:
VIRGINIA HILL, SLAIN GANGSTER’S GIRL FRIEND To Meet Lucky Luciano In Italy.
According to Wikipedia, mobster Charles “Lucky” Luciano arrived in Genoa on April 11, 1947. Italian police immediately arrested him and sent him to a jail in Palermo. On 11 May, a regional commission in Palermo warned Luciano to stay out of trouble and released him.
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