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The murder of Victor Weiss, the most bizarre incident yet featured in HBO's Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, was bound to raise some eyebrows.
Victor Weiss was assassinated in 1979 and his body was stuffed into his trunk after meeting with Jerry Buss to finalize a deal for his friend and client Jerry Tarkanian. The deal would have brought the Las Vegas basketball coach to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Authorities believe the assassination was carried out by the mob.
According to the HBO show, the hit was carried out in order to keep Tarkanian at UNLV. Commenting on the authenticity of the incident portrayed on screen, writer and executive producer Max Borenstein said,
“Our rule going in was, for the things that are going to make the audience’s jaws drop and think, ‘Wait, this couldn’t possibly have happened’ – those things had to be true one hundred percent and we followed that rule in the case of Vic Weiss.”
How was Victor Weiss killed?
Victor Weiss attended the same high school as Tarkanian in Pasadena, California. They became great friends and he took on the coach's negotiations as a side project. Victor also had some success in real estate and insurance before going on to become a sports promoter.
Victor met with Jerry Buss and Jack Kent Cooke on June 14, 1979, to discuss Tarkarian being the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. He was last seen leaving the hotel in his Rolls-Royce in Beverly Hills, California, where the conference took place that day. He was meant to go out for supper with his wife, Rose, but never showed up.
Victor's automobile was discovered in the parking lot of a hotel in North Hollywood, California, on June 17, 1979, after his wife reported him missing. He was discovered curled and wrapped in a blanket in the trunk of the car. His hands were bound behind his back and his body was deteriorating.
Victor Weiss's identity was established using fingerprints after officials discovered no other identification. No other hints or evidence were discovered in the car that could have led the authorities to the killer. Victor had one gunshot to the back of his head and another to his temple, indicating that he was executed.
Authorities were initially perplexed because, while Victor's wallet and briefcase were taken, his diamond ring and watch remained. As a result, robbery was ruled out as a possible motive. To this day, the authorities have not been able to solve the murder.
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is available exclusively on HBO Max.
