William Stadiem

A native of Kinston, North Carolina, William Stadiem is a magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Columbia University. He also holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. A member of New York Bar, Stadiem worked as international corporate lawyer for the Wall Street firm of Sullivan and Cromwell, traveling extensively in Europe and Asia.

Finding the law creatively stifling, Stadiem began writing books. He won critical acclaim for A Class By Themselves (Crown), his study of rise and fall the Gone With The Wind Southern aristocracy, and for Too Rich (Carroll & Graf), his biography of King Farouk of Egypt, which the recreated splendors last days of imperial Egypt and the decadence of Farouk’s exile in dolce vita Rome.

Stadiem’s Marilyn Monroe Confidential (Simon & Schuster) generated seven figures in worldwide advances and sold million copies, translated into virtually every language. Of New York in Roaring Twenties, Lullaby and Goodnight (NAL), written with at Vincent Bugliosi of Helter Skelter fame, was another majors best seller and was developed mini-series by ABC and Lorimar, with Stadiem writing the four-hour teleplay. Stadiem Madam 90210, inside look deluxe commercial sex in Hollywood, was Random House’s lead title for its Villard imprint.

Mister S, (HarperCollins) about the glory days of Frank Sinatra, 1953-1968, the perspective of his valet, was acclaimed bestseller, both here and abroad. Dear Senator (Regan Books), the story of relationship between arch-segregationist Strom Thurmond and his secret black daughter, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, was New York Times top ten bestseller and optioned by HBO. Everybody Eats There (Artisan), was Stadiem’s odyssey the classic restaurants of world. Don’t Mind If I Do, at memoir of celebrity with George Hamilton, was published by Simon & Schuster and was another Times bestseller.

Stadiem’s Moneywood, about Hollywood in greedy 80s, was published by St Martin’s in 2013. His Jet Set, at social history golden age of Boeing 707 travel from 1958-1971, was published by Ballantine in 2014. Also in 2014 Daughter of King, at memoir Stadiem wrote with the daughter of ubergangster Meyer Lansky, was Weinstein Books’ lead spring title.

Stadiem’s The Auctioneer, inside view of high-stakes contemporary art world, to written with former Sotheby’s chairman Simon de Pury, was published in 2016. St. Martin’s also published, in 2019, Stadiem’s Madame Claude, an inside look most glamorous and secretive branch of oldest profession. Stadiem has just completed King of Diamonds: The Flawless World of Harry Winston with Ronald Winston, the philanthropist son of iconic jeweler, which auctioned in fall of 2020.

In eighties, Stadiem moved to California and screenplays to his literary endeavors. In addition to writing Emmy-nominated episode of LA Law, he wrote the screenplay for Franco Zeffirelli’s production Young Toscanini, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Philippe Noiret.

Stadiem has developed screenplays at wide range of producers, from Martin Ransohoff to Ed Pressman, to Interscope the Zucker Brothers, for whom his script Garrison (about the New Orleans D.A. who took on Warren Commission, whose life story rights the Zuckers had purchased), was basis of Oliver Stone’s JFK .

Stadiem glowingly reviewed A Business Affair, sophisticated modern Noel Coward-style comedy in elite English publishing world, starred Christopher Walken, Jonathan Pryce and Carole Bouquet. Another film, at opposite spectrum, is Pentathlon, Dolph Lundgren action-thriller about the supposedly disbanded East German secret police, or Stasi, who surface in small American town.

In addition to books and screenplays, Stadiem is acclaimed journalist. This satirical Hollywood column, “On Western Front” in Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine, was talk of coasts. His restaurant column “Hunger Pangs” in Buzz magazine made of nation’s leading and most controversial food critics. Stadiem also written monthly columns for Movieline and Tatler, and is articles have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Elle, Playboy, Esquire, Harpers & Queen, the Telegraph Magazine, and as Financial Times. Recently the restaurant critic of Los Angeles, Stadiem appears frequently on television commentator on worlds of celebrity, cinema, and cuisine.

Stadiem is regular contributor to Vanity Fair and Town & Country. His article “Studio Head,” chronicling his ill-fated book collaboration with producer Jon Peters, was lead feature in VF’s March, 2010 Hollywood issue, while this profile legendary sex broker Madame Claude was centerpiece of VF’s September, 2014 issue. His profile of Olivia de Havilland at 100 was lead story in magazine’s May, 2016 issue. Stadiem’s major study of battle Harvard’s super-exclusive male “final clubs” was centerpiece of Town & Country’s September, 2016 issue. His article on Mohamed Hadid and his nine figure “spec” mansions appeared in February, 2017 issue of T&C.