I was driving, in between interviews this morning, when I got the tragic news of Ronni Chasen’s random, senseless death. Deadline followed up on an initial Radar Online report and the news spread from there.
Ronni was a long-time publicist who worked with just about everyone in town at one point or another. She was a driven, persistent professional, amazing at her job but also a truly sweet person. I considered her a friend, and to know she experienced such a horrific death is nearly too much to bear.
The sad reality is this business, the business she had such a hand in shaping, will take a moment to grieve and then it’ll be taking calls and business as usual. But part of me thinks Ronni, who never slowed down, wouldn’t have it any other way.
Nevertheless, this is a truly sad day. As readers, you may not have known Ronni, but you certainly felt her effort in our coverage and others’ whether you knew it or not.
My heart goes out to her family and the team at Chasen & Co. Pete Hammond remembers her here. Anne Thompson here. David Poland here. Jeff Wells here. Patrick Goldstein writes Ronni up quite perfectly here. And Sharon Waxman collects reactions and remembrances here.
[Photo: Deadline]
Comments
12 responses to “Goodbye Ronni”
This is so heartbreaking ! !
My heart goes out to Jeff, Alana and the gang at Chasen PR. Heartbreaking.
I can’t say that I’d ever heard of her before this, but nevertheless how tragic, senseless and just bizarre. How can something like that happen where it did? It’s not like she was in a rough neighbourhood.
Rest in peace.
There has been a rash of crime in West Hollywood lately. Lots of break-ins and car-jackings. This sounds like a car-jacking gone bad but who can be sure? I hope resolve comes swiftly.
According to a story on CNN, shots were fired into the car and struck her. I’m betting she was the victim of mistaken identity.
Whatever the reason was it’s not going to make any sense, that’s for sure.
I just read on New York Times that she was a member of AMPAS, so hopefully she will be honoured at the Oscars.
Just awful. Never heard of her, but this is tragic news. It especially gives a bad taste in my mouth that it had to be a woman who was lost. I don’t know. Just find that unsettling.
Something needs to be done about crime in L.A. This is senseless. Absolutely senseless. I hope they find the coward who did this and bring him to justice.
I’ve been scared to share my suspicion but someone hired a person / persons to murder her. Nothing about this sounds like a damn carjacking gone wrong.
Yeah, I’ve heard people say that it was not an accident. But what would a motive be for this?
From the photos on yahoo news, the passenger window looks busted out. There is a handicap permit hanging from the rearview mirror, was she physically handicapped that she could have been targeted? 5 shots is not an accident, some meant business or was enraged. It just doesn’t make sense.
“Yeah, I’ve heard people say that it was not an accident. But what would a motive be for this?”
Some powerful person’s personal vendetta is the theory I’m holding onto.