The Montana identity
A Whitefish doctor’s
soon-to-be-released book on spy-novel writer Robert Ludlum has
already caused quite a stir around the world, with hints of
intrigue in the life and death of one of the world’s most renowned
authors.
Kenneth Kearns, a nationally-recognized
oncologist who moved to Whitefish to raise his family and is
Ludlum’s nephew, says the intrigue extends to Montana, and local
police have been spurred on to investigate a possible attempt on
the prolific writer’s life.
“This story is so intriguing to so many
people,” Kearns said. “Ultimately a lot more will come to light as
justice is served.”
Kearns and co-author Jeffrey Campbell,
the founder and CEO of Tau Publishing, spent 10 years researching
Ludlum’s life for “The Ludlum Identity.” Their research culminated
in an investigation by forensic accountants, doctors and former FBI
agents.
Ludlum’s extensive literary output
includes 25 thrillers published in 33 languages and 40 countries,
with up to 500 million copies in print, some under the pseudonyms
Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd. His books typically feature a
heroic man in a struggle against a powerful conspiracy drawn from
real life. “The Matarese Circle,” for example, published in 1979,
was inspired by the Trilateral Commission. The details in his
stories inspired rumors about Ludlum’s possible connection with
intelligence agencies, a point he publicly denied.
The “Ludlum industry” could be worth $1
billion now, Kearns told the Pilot, considering the success of the
three Jason Bourne movies. “The Bourne Identity” garnered three
Academy Awards in 2008. At least nine of Ludlum’s works have been
made into films or a TV miniseries. Leonardo DiCaprio and Denzel
Washington are reportedly working on two more blockbuster movies
based on Ludlum’s writings.
After Ludlum died at 73 in Naples,
Fla., on March 12, 2001, Forbes magazine rated him the 13th
best-earning dead celebrity, with earnings of $5 million. According
to his federal estate-tax return, Ludlum’s literary copyrights and
licensing fees alone were valued at $7.65 million, and his
beach-front condominium in Naples was assessed at more than $3.2
million. But the money kept on rolling in — 13 more “Ludlum novels”
were released in the six years after his death, completed by other
authors or written using his name.
A court battle over the estate ensued.
Ludlum’s 17-page will stated that $1.8 million was to be
distributed among family members within 30 days, but Kearns wrote
the probate judge in Naples with concerns about his share. Ludlum
had lived in Naples since the 1980s, but he had requested that the
probate case be adjudicated in New York, tying the court’s hands,
the judge told Kearns.
Kearns grew up in Fairfield, Conn., and
his uncle owned a home in nearby Southport, where parties
“sometimes resembled an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel,” he said. Kearns
went on to medical school, becoming the first gynecologic
oncologist to graduate from Yale University’s School of Medicine.
He also served as Ludlum’s personal physician and helped his uncle
with research for his novels, providing medical information and
describing places he had seen while traveling in Europe.
Kearns knew that Ludlum had been
drinking heavily in the months before his death and had heart
problems. He also knew that the reported cause of his uncle’s death
was a “heart attack,” but the actual circumstances of Ludlum’s
death shocked him.
On Jan. 24, 2001, Ludlum revised his
will, naming his second wife, Karen Ludlum, among his principal
beneficiaries. Sixeen days later, while reclining in an armchair
enjoying his beach-front view, Ludlum suddenly became engulfed in
flames. Karen was the only other person at the Naples home, and she
reportedly told firemen, “Leave me the f*** alone. I’m having a
drink.”
Ludlum recovered from the fire but died
within a month. Kearns said the trauma of his burns could have
triggered the subsequent heart attack, but Ludlum’s body was
cremated before an autopsy could be conducted. Karen died in 2008
without providing information about her four-year marriage to the
author.
Ludlum’s Montana connection goes back
to 1998, when Ludlum bought a home in Bigfork. Kearns said his
uncle maintained a low-profile life there and loved Flathead Lake.
Kearns’ investigations uncovered that, contrary to numerous
newspaper accounts, Ludlum’s ashes were not taken to New York —
they ended up on a mantlepiece at the Bigfork home until local
friends encouraged the caretaker to follow Ludlum’s request to
spread the ashes on Flathead Lake.
But there’s more to the story — Kearns
and Campbell have uncovered evidence of a possible previous attempt
on Ludlum’s life in Montana. They were assisted by former FBI
agents and people who worked on high-profile murder cases such as
Kennedy-Moxley in 1975 and JonBenét Ramsey in 1996.
“The evidence of a possible attempt on
his life has prompted an investigation by local authorities in
Montana,” Kearns said.
Kearns and Campbell’s investigations
have also uncovered unpublished manuscripts that mysteriously
disappeared from a warehouse in Connecticut and a
never-before-published short manuscript that will be included in
their new book.
The co-authors have been promoting “The
Ludlum Identity” on radio and the Web. Kearns said he recently
completed an hour-and-a-half long video for a major TV network, and
he says a well-known crime-investigation show will video him in the
next few weeks.
“The book also appeared on the Times
Square marquee three times last week,” Campbell noted.
“The Ludlum Identity” will be available
online at www.theludlumidentity.com or at the Barnes and Noble Web
site on March 12. The 225-page softcover sells for $18.95 and has
more than two dozen black-and-white photos.