An ambulance arrived at the famed Beverly Hills Hotel in the wee hours of June 8, 1966, to ferry an unconscious man to the hospital. A day later, when the patient was rushed into surgery for a skull fracture, a full investigation was launched to find the people responsible for putting his life in danger.

The new book, Beverly Hills Noir: Crime, Sin & Scandal in 90210 (out October 1), shared stories of Hollywood’s bad behavior – including the time police questioned Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin about the incident at the Polo Lounge that landed Frederick Weisman, a businessman, in the ICU. “Frank and Dean were at the height of their careers,” author Scott Huver tells Closer. “They were as famous and popular as anyone has ever been.” They also had a lot to lose. 

The friends arrived at the Polo Lounge as part of their celebration of Dean’s 49th birthday. They were sitting in a booth with friends – including Frank’s buddy Jilly Rizzo and three women, two of whom were Black – when Weisman dropped in for a nightcap. Seated at the next table, he took offense at the rude language and loud laughter from the entertainers. Weisman leaned over and asked them to quiet down – and chaos erupted. “Ethnic slurs were tossed around,” says Huver. “An altercation came out of that.”

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No one seemed to remember who threw the first punch. “Somebody clobber Weisman,” says Huver. “There were these boothside telephones – so agents and producers could make deals – somebody picked up one of those phones and cracked Weisman across the skull. He went down and crashed into a glass table.”

Dean, a family man who once called the police and complained about his own party so he could go to bed, didn’t often find himself at the center of a criminal investigation. “Dean didn’t want any trouble,” says Huver. “He didn’t like all the drama that came with being Frank’s friend.” But he also wasn’t a snitch. When the police questioned him a day later, the performer said he didn’t see what happened. 

Privately, though, he told his daughter that “Frank lost his temper,” says Huver, “but he didn’t say Frank cracked the guy over the head.”

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Frank’s anger may have been understandable. “Hearing an ethnic slur – aimed at him or the women at their table – wasn’t just a personal insult, it offended him deeply on principle,” says Huver. Some have theorized that Weisman was responsible for the black eye Frank received in the fracas, but in truth it was Jilly, the singer’s de facto bodyguard, who hurt Weisman. “Paul Anka, who ran in that circle, said Jilly did it,” says Huver. “But Frank never pointed a finger.”

In the end, neither did the victim, who survived the ordeal and told police he couldn’t remember what happened. “A further investigation as to whether he was hit, pushed or fell is not necessary,” Weisman’s lawyer told the press. By the end of the month, the police dropped the investigation.