Rouge-gorge

1969 · 112322 — Boston: Little Brown and Company 1969. First edition of this account of New York detectives Sonny Grosso and Eddie Egan and their pursuit of an international heroin smuggling ring basis for the William Friedkin Academy Award-winning film. Octavo original half cloth cartographic endpapers illustrated. Lengthily signed by Sonny Grosso on the half-title page "Roses are red I don't wanna' sound silly But you and I go to heaven we both survived Billy!! Love Sonny Grosso." Although not named the recipient is writer Nat Segaloff whose Friedkin biography Hurricane Billy was published in 1990. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Martha Lehtola. First editions are uncommon scarce and desirable signed by Grosso. The true absorbing and sometimes frightening documentary of the world's most successful narcotics investigation The French Connection is one of the most fascinating crime accounts of our time. When New York City detectives Eddie "Popeye" Egan and his partner Sonny Grosso routinely tail Pasquale "Patsy" Fuca after observing some wild spending at the Copacabana they quickly realize that they are on to something really big. Patsy is not only the nephew of a mob boss on the lam but also a key negotiator in an impending delivery of narcotics from abroad. His incongruous connections are with several distinguished Frenchmen including Jean Jehan the director of the world's largest heroin network and Jacques Angelvin a star of French television. It is the basis for the 1971 film directed by William Friedkin with the screenplay written by Ernest Tidyman starring Gene Hackman Roy Scheider and Fernando Rey. At the 44th Academy Awards it won the Oscars for Best Picture Best Actor Hackman Best Director Friedkin Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay Tidyman. It was nominated for Best Supporting Actor Scheider Best Cinematography and Best Sound Mixing. Tidyman also received a Golden Globe Award nomination a Writers Guild of America Award and an Edgar Award for his screenplay. A sequel French Connection II followed in 1975 with Gene Hackman and Fernando Rey reprising their roles. Little, Brown and Company hardcover books