Reclusive Heiress, Daughter of Vegas 'Founder' Subject of Book 'Empty Mansions'

Clark County Television sat down with authors Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr., about their fascinating book, "Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune." The book, according to its website, "is a rich mystery of wealth and loss, connecting the Gilded Age opulence of the nineteenth century with a twenty-first-century battle over a $300 million inheritance. At its heart is a reclusive heiress named Huguette Clark, a woman so secretive that, at the time of her death at age 104, no new photograph of her had been seen in decades. Though she owned palatial homes in California, New York, and Connecticut, why had she lived for twenty years in a simple hospital room, despite being in excellent health? Why were her valuables being sold off? Was she in control of her fortune, or controlled by those managing her money?" Huguette Clark is of interest to readers in Las Vegas and Clark County since she was the daughter of William Andrews Clark, for whom Clark County, Nevada, is named. Clark built the railroad that came through Las Vegas, effectively creating the city. There are numerous references to Clark County and Nevada in the book. Dedman is a Pulitzer Prize--winning journalist who works for NBC while Paul Clark Newell, Jr. is one of the few relatives to have had frequent conversations with Huguette. More information about CCTV may be found at www.ClarkCountyNV.gov.