Life In The Fast Lane
Conrad “Nicky” Hilton Jr was born with every advantage in life, but with that came a darkness inside that would manifest in deplorable ways. Behind the façade of a charming and handsome man-about-town existed a deeply troubled and violent soul, and the many Hollywood starlets that crossed his path were the ones that ultimately had to deal with the consequences of Hilton’s unaddressed issues.
1. He Was From The South
Conrad Hilton Jr, known as “Hilton” for most of his life, was born on July 6, 1928, in Dallas, Texas. Everything is bigger in Texas, and that included Nicky’s personality: while he spent most of his adult life in Los Angeles and became almost synonymous with the City of Angels, he would always identify with the American southwest. Indeed, that’s where his family made their fortune.
2. He Had A Family Business
Hilton was the eldest son of Mary Adelaide Barron and Conrad Hilton Sr, the latter being the founder of the global hotel and resort brand, Hilton Hotels. The very first Hilton-branded hotel was, in fact, opened in the place of Hilton’s birth: Dallas. The franchise’s success would explode from there, and its meteoric rise meant a cushy life for the heir to the Hilton fortune.
3. He Was A Rich Kid
By the time Hilton came of age, his family was enormously wealthy, and the young man enjoyed all the pampering and privilege that came with such a socioeconomic status. The success of Hilton Hotels meant that Conrad Jr enjoyed only the finest things growing up, a fact which may have contributed to his entitled rich kid personality. It hadn’t always been smooth sailing, however.
4. His Family Faltered
Conrad Hilton Jr had experienced many ups and downs growing up when it came to his family’s finances. While the Hiltons’ hotel business was enormously successful by the time Hilton was an adult, it hadn’t always been that way: during the Depression, his father went broke and the Hilton hotel empire nearly collapsed entirely. Luckily, Hilton had plenty of company at home to get him through the tough times.
5. He Was The Eldest
Conrad Hilton Jr was the eldest of four children, and his three younger siblings would go on to have interesting lives in their own right. After Hilton came Barron, who would later become a business magnate, philanthropist, and sportsman; next was Eric, and he too became a hotelier and philanthropist; finally, the only Hilton daughter, Francesca, would go on to be an actress and comedian. Hilton has another interesting relative too.
6. He Preceded A Celebrity
Though the two would never meet (as he had passed by the time of her birth), Hilton was the granduncle of none other than socialite and late-1990s/early-2000s icon, Paris Hilton. Like her granduncle before her, Paris’ exploits around Hollywood attracted much tabloid attention, and from a young age too. Perhaps Hilton could’ve avoided this fate if he had been more focused.
7. He Flirted With Work
Upon coming of age, Conrad Hilton Jr did not immediately become the playboy philanderer most would later know him as. In fact, growing up, the eldest Hilton child took an interest in the family business, perhaps eyeing a takeover from his father someday. Being something akin to a modern American royal family, the Hiltons assumed the first son would eventually take over.
Indeed, Hilton seemed to be Conrad Sr’s preferred heir at first.
8. He Was The Pick Of The Litter
While we don’t know the dirty details of Hilton’s relationship with his father—and given his later troubles, it’s likely there was at least some friction there—we do know that Conrad Sr admired his eldest son’s business acumen, at least at first. Hilton was, reportedly, his father’s favorite, and though he seemed on track for success, he took a sudden life turn.
9. He Dropped Out
As a young man, Conrad Hilton Jr enrolled in Loyola University in Los Angeles to begin his studies, likely with an eye to taking over the family business. His studies coincided with the United States’ entry into WWII, however, and perhaps feeling some sense of duty, Hilton opted to drop out of college to join the Navy. He never saw action, however, and his stint serving did not last long.
10. He Seized The Day
Following his brief sojourn in the Naval service, Hilton returned to Los Angeles where he finally embraced the fun his privileged life afforded him. Donning only the finest suits, he gained a reputation as a highly social young man about town, attending parties and engaging in debauchery. The charming young Hilton heir attracted the eyes of many admirers.
11. He Was A Lady’s Man
Hilton’s womanizing was perhaps his defining feature. The young Hilton was dashing, charming, and well-dressed, and he was magnetic to women. The feeling was, indeed, mutual; as one writer put it, “the girls were crazy for him, and he was crazy for them”. Such was his infatuation, in fact, that his father may have viewed it as something of a distraction.
12. He Got Shipped Off
After dropping out of college, leaving the Navy, and spending most of his time chasing women in LA, Hilton’s father grew concerned that his son had lost his previous focus on the family business. To that end, Conrad Sr enrolled his eldest son in the Swiss hospitality school, École hôtelière de Lausanne. It did not go well for Hilton.
13. He Got The Boot
In perhaps a preview of the questionable behavior that would worsen later in his life, Conrad Hilton Jr only lasted six months in the Swiss hotelier school before getting suspended. He maintained his party-hard lifestyle even in Europe, and his studies suffered as a result. Arriving home in shame, the young Hilton picked up right where he left off.
14. He Got Noticed
Upon his return, Hilton resumed his Los Angeles womanizing, and his exploits began attracting the attention of the tabloids. He quickly gained a reputation as a playboy, and his dating became the subject of many gossip columns. As a young heir, he made for a fascinating subject.
15. He Got Pampered
Being the son of an enormously wealthy hotel magnate, Conrad Hilton Jr was irresistible to gossip mags. Columns painted a picture of a good-looking socialite who grew up pampered, and perhaps overly accustomed to a life of luxury; Hilton would sometimes throw tantrums if he didn’t get what he wanted. But more than any of that, the tabloids obsessed over his latest squeeze.
16. He Had Famous Arm-Candy
One of the most notable things about Hilton’s dating life was the notoriety of his dates themselves. At almost all times, the young hotelier was dating one Hollywood starlet or another. The list of these women is head-spinning, but for Hilton, it all started with one of the biggest stars of them all.
17. He Developed An Obsession
Conrad Hilton Jr had eyes for one of the biggest actresses of the time: Elizabeth Taylor. The young Hilton heir had observed the starlet many times from afar, both onscreen and at social events to which both were in attendance. Taylor positively mesmerized the charming lothario; in fact, his infatuation bordered on (or perhaps crossed into) obsession.
18. He Staked Her Out
Hilton’s obsessive stalking of Elizabeth Taylor led him to find out that she was friends with actress Jane Powell, a mutual acquaintance. When Powell announced her engagement in 1949, Hilton saw his chance: that November, he attended her bridal party at Mocambo, a glamourous LA night club, hoping to catch Taylor there. And while he failed to make contact at that event, the two did eventually cross paths.
19. He Met His Crush
Conrad Hilton Jr did not have to wait long to meet the subject of his infatuation. By the end of the year, he had finally met Elizabeth Taylor in a chance encounter at Paramount Studios. The two hit it off immediately, with Taylor none the wiser that he had been hunting her over the past few months. Hilton immediately turned on the charm.
20. He Made A Move
Hilton was something of a romantic, at least when he was courting women. Taylor was no different in this regard, and he pulled out all the stops for his crush: the day after their meeting, the Hollywood starlet arrived home to find three dozen yellow roses from the Hilton heir. It was enough for her to give him a shot.
21. He Love Bombed
After Hilton’s grand gesture, he and Taylor started dating, and the honeymoon phase proceeded at a clip. In the weeks following his initial courtship, Hilton lavished the starlet with gifts, phone calls, and nights on the town. One author described their early relationship as a time of “nonstop attention, adulation, and adoration”. But Hilton was not the only Hilton who felt charmed by the actress.
22. His Parents Approved
It wasn’t long, of course, before Conrad Hilton Jr introduced his new squeeze to his folks. The Hilton parents were immediately fond of Taylor, with Conrad Sr, in particular, reportedly immensely charmed by the young actress. Things didn’t go quite as well with the other set of parents, however.
23. He Had His Doubters
Hilton’s meeting with the Taylor parents did not go as smoothly for the playboy hotelier. All in all, it was a mixed response: Elizabeth’s mother, Sara Taylor, was over the moon that her daughter had hitched her wagon to such a fabulously wealthy and charming young gentleman.
Francis Taylor, however, was not so sure about his daughter’s new man: to him, Hilton was a spoiled rich kid who was used to being indulged and, on top of all that, Mr Taylor was concerned about the age gap, with Hilton in his early twenties while Elizabeth was still a teenager. Still, in the end, the Taylors gave their approval, and soon, wedding bells rang.
24. He Got Hitched
It wasn’t long before Conrad Hilton Jr proposed to Elizabeth Taylor, and the two wasted no time in tying the knot. The wedding took place on May 6, 1950, at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. The ceremony was a highly publicized one, with droves of paparazzi snapping photos of the happy couple. They would not stay that way for long, however, as a darkness grew in Hilton…
25. He Had Problems
By the time of his marriage, Hilton’s behavior had taken a dark turn. The young party boy began overindulging in vices, developing addictions to gambling, booze, and even harder substances. Taylor had no idea what she was getting herself into, and it soon became a huge problem for the poor young actress.
26. He Got Violent
With so many vices and a darkness building inside him, Conrad Hilton Jr soon became a nightmare to live with. His moods grew increasingly erratic and his behavior towards Taylor became more abusive, eventually turning violent. As the starlet later grimly put it, “Nick kind of got a kick out of beating the [tar] out of me”. Elizabeth found herself in a bad situation, and one incident in particular illustrated just how far off the deep end her husband had gone.
27. He Was A Disgrace
Conrad Hilton Jr was reportedly resentful of his wife’s success, and of the fact that she had greater fame and celebrity than he did. That resentment made him drink, and drinking made him violent. In one particularly deplorable incident, the spoiled rich kid reportedly kicked Taylor in the stomach during a violent outburst, causing her to miscarry their unborn child. That was the last straw for the actress, and she finally took action.
28. His Wife Left
Taylor left Hilton in December 1950, publicly announcing their separation. Their intense, tempestuous, and abusive marriage had lasted just eight months, but it must have felt like much longer for the beleaguered actress. The entitled rich kid she had married had disgraced himself, and the courts saw it Elizabeth’s way.
29. He Got Dumped
The courts granted Elizabeth Taylor a divorce from Conrad Hilton Jr in January 1951, on the grounds of mental cruelty—and that doesn't even cover the adultery (but more on that later). The actress remained steadfast in court, standing up for herself admirably, refusing alimony from her wealthy ex, and taking back her maiden name. Newly single and disgraced,
Hilton turned to his family for solace, and like many men of his day, got rewarded for his deplorable behavior.
30. He Failed Upward
After his whirlwind “romance” and marriage ended, Hilton found himself adrift, still struggling with substance misuse and lost as to where to go next. Of course, being a rich man in mid-century America, the world was his oyster, and a few months after his divorce, the family business made the disgraced heir vice president of the Hilton Corporation. He still lacked experience, however, so his father set him up with a cushy, on-the-ground job.
31. He Became The Boss
Along with his new role as Vice President, Hilton Hotels also handed Conrad Hilton Jr the manager position at the boutique Bel Air Hotel. A luxurious property that saw many famous stars occupy its rooms over the years. Hilton’s stature in Hollywood only improved as he worked there, and he accumulated an impressive contact list. This list featured, of course, many more Hollywood starlets.
32. He Engaged Royalty
One of the many famous guests that stayed at Hilton’s hotel was Betsy von Furstenberg. Betsy was a successful Hollywood actress and originated from German nobility. The pair immediately hit it off and, by September 1951, they had announced their engagement. The wedding would never come to pass, however.
33. He Lost Another One
Hilton and Betsy made plans to marry during the spring following their engagement. The wedding never happened in the end, however, with the couple ending their relationship. We know little about the circumstances surrounding their breakup, but with Hilton’s track record, we can make reasonable assumptions. Betsy would not be the last starlet he would liaise with.
34. He Had A List
Throughout the 1950s, Hilton would date a who’s who of Hollywood actresses, and his list included some of the biggest names of the era. At various points, tabloids linked him with Arlene Solof, Jeanne Carmen, Mamie Van Doren, and Terry Moore. None of these relationships lasted long, however, and Hilton’s demons likely played a big part in that fact.
35. He Got Nabbed
Hilton’s downward spiral continued throughout the 1950s as his substance misuse worsened by the day. This all culminated in 1954 when the hotelier got arrested for public drunkenness. His belligerent behavior might have been his final downfall, but as we know all too well, different laws exist for the rich.
36. He Got A Slap On The Wrist
While the punishment may have been severe for the average person, the heir to Hilton Hotels got off pretty lightly, all things considered. Conrad Hilton Jr received a fine and two years’ probation for his transgression. Now more or less free, the hotelier could resume his degeneracy in peace.
37. He Was A Player
As the 50s wore on, Hilton continued to add Hollywood starlets to his hit list. The debaucherous hotelier started getting overconfident too. In 1957, he dated two actresses—Joan Collins and Natalie Wood—at the same time! Neither of these relationships lasted either, of course, so Hilton cast his net wider.
38. He Took A Work Trip
Hilton Hotels began expanding their franchise, and as a result, so did Conrad Hilton Jr. At the opening of a new hotel in Acapulco on the Pacific Coast, Hilton met Mexican actress Silvia Pinal, and the two began dating for a period in 1957. Interestingly, however, it took a non-actress to finally lock the Hilton playboy down.
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39. He Married Money
The following year, Hilton met Patricia McClintock, and the two started a courtship. Unlike most of his previous squeezes, McClintock had no onscreen experience. In fact, she too was an heiress, from a powerful oil family in Oklahoma. Perhaps this commonality between the two inspired them to tie the knot that year. With a new wife in tow, Hilton began producing heirs of his own.
40. He Had Some Kids
Following their marriage, Conrad Hilton Jr and the new Mrs Hilton got to work building a family. They had two sons, Conrad Nicholson Hilton III and Michael Otis Hilton. The presence of children didn’t help things for Hilton, however, and the darkness returned quickly and intensely.
41. He Spiraled
Hilton’s second marriage quickly deteriorated alongside his mental state. His substance misuse got worse as he developed a dependency on Seconal, a sleeping pill, which he liked to mix with hard liquor. This combination would leave the hotelier despondent, and he would stay in bed for days on end. This took an inevitable toll on his marriage.
42. He Did It Again
Hilton’s despondency was the least of his wife Trish’s worries. On his “good” days, those where he got out of bed, the Hilton heir would continue his penchant for brutality. McClintock got fed up by 1964, and filed for divorce on February 10, charging her husband with “causing her extreme mental and physical suffering”. Hilton would convince her to stay, however.
43. He Saved His Marriage
Despite his long-suffering wife’s accusations, Conrad Hilton Jr somehow, someway, managed to convince Trish to stay. The two publicly reconciled shortly after her divorce filing, and Trish never went through with the split. Well, not on those grounds anyway.
44. He Lost His Love
Hilton’s behavior and substance misuse, unfortunately, did not improve, and Trish only had a few more years of tolerance left in her. She filed for divorce once again in 1967, accusing her husband of “repeated acts and threats of violence”, and this time she didn’t come back. She never got her dues, however.
45. He Remained Married
Interestingly, the courts never granted a divorce to Trish, and she and Hilton remained officially married. The relationship was unsalvageable, however, and despite their legal status, the two stayed separated for the remainder of Hilton’s life. That allowed him enough room for one more Hollywood affair, of course, and this one was a doozy.
46. He “Stepped” Up
The apple didn’t fall far from the tree for Hilton: in 1942, Conrad Hilton Sr had married Hollywood actress Zsa Zsa Gabor. The marriage lasted five years before they divorced, but years later, after Gabor published her autobiography, she made a shocking allegation: that she had engaged in an affair with her stepson, Hilton, while still married to his father. Even worse, the affair continued during Conrad Jr’s romance with Elizabeth Taylor.
If Conrad Sr ever found out, there were clearly no hard feelings, because Hilton eventually took his father’s place in the family business.
47. He Got The Top Spot
In the later years of his life, after his father took a step back from the family business, they promoted Hilton to director and chairman of the executive committee of the Hilton International Company. His tenure would be devastatingly short, however, because the party boy’s lifestyle finally caught up to him.
48. He Burned Out
On February 5, 1969, Conrad “Nicky” Hilton Jr perished suddenly from a heart attack. He was just 42 years old. After a wild and controversial life, Hilton’s bad habits got the better of him in the end. Indeed, one habit in particular was the leading causal theory for his early demise.
49. He Drank Himself To The Grave
For medical experts, the cause of Hilton’s heart attack at the age of just 42 was clear: his rampant alcoholism. Indeed, the hotelier had continued to drink heavily right up until his final days. It was a tragic end to a troubled life for a spoiled rich kid who never really got it together. At least Hilton could rest now.
50. He Got Laid To Rest
Hilton’s funeral took place at St Paul’s Church in the city he never stopped loving, Los Angeles. The family interred him just outside the city, however, in Culver City’s Holy Cross Cemetery. Hilton’s painful life had, in turn, inflicted a lot of pain on others, and he serves as a cautionary tale of how one’s demons can adversely affect others (particularly women, in this case) if left unchecked.
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