Fred Otash

Biography

Fred Otash was a Los Angeles police officer and private investigator who became a Hollywood fixer, operating as its most infamous detective. His reputation inspired Jack Nicholson's character Jake Gittes in the film Chinatown, and he was also featured as a fictionalized narrator in James Ellroy's books. Otash's investigative work included cases involving Peter Lawford and Marilyn Monroe. He passed away on October 5, 1992.