Nearly a decade before Kim Richards' drug arrest and her shocking interview with Dr. Phil, author Jerry Oppenheimer, in his blockbuster book, House of Hilton, documented Kim's troubled early life, attributing much to her driven, ambitious, four-times married stage mother, Kathy Dugan. Oppenheimer's latest book, RFK Jr and the Dark Side of the Dream will be published in September.

 

When Kim Richards stormed out of a sit-down with Dr. Phil yesterday, she kept hidden from him shocking secrets about her turbulent life that led to her recent embarrassing alcohol arrest, according to the 2006 book 'House of Hilton'.

The Real Housewives star, who is Paris Hilton's aunt, claimed that one of the reasons for her drunkenness that resulted in the confrontation with police was the stress of caring for her first husband, Monty Brinson, who is dying of cancer.

But her relationship with Brinson, scion of a supermarket fortune, was more stormy than loving.

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Mommy dearest: Kathy Dugan, here with daughters Kyle and Kim, was always at one of the good restaurant bars, like the Polo Lounge, sitting out front and always seemed to be buzzed,  an actress friend told Jerry Oppenheimer for his book. 'You'd walk in and there she's be just hanging on the bar and she'd be trying to pick up any guy who had any money and who would pay her tab'

Rehab: Many of Kim's issues can be attributed to her upbringing by a driven, dysfunctional stage mother, the late Kathy Dugan, who drank heavily, had many men in her life, several marriages, and was considered a 'gold digger' who demanded that her daughters – Kim, Kathy and Kyle – marry rich men

Working girl: Kim was just a few months old, when her mother put her to work — in a TV commercial for a rug company, in which baby Kim was seen crawling around on one of the company's plush rugs. She went on to be a child actress

And many of Kim's issues can be attributed to her upbringing by a driven, dysfunctional stage mother, the late Kathy Dugan, who drank heavily, had many men in her life, several marriages, and was considered a 'gold digger' who demanded that her daughters – Kim, Kathy and Kyle – marry rich men.

Kim's arrest for being drunk and disorderly happened at the Polo Lounge in the posh Beverly Hills Hotel where she took a booth while intoxicated on vodka.

The 50-year-old told Dr. Phil, 'My mother sat in that booth since I was six-years-old.'

What she didn't tell him was that her mother was a habitué of the Polo Lounge and other upscale Beverly Hills bars, restaurants and discos that she prowled at night to drink, and search for high-rollers, hoping to find one to marry, according to Oppenheimer's book.

'She was always at one of the good restaurant bars, sitting out front and always seemed to be buzzed, ' the former actress Carole Wells Doheny told the author. 

'You'd walk in and there she's be just hanging on the bar and she'd be trying to pick up any guy who had any money and who would pay her tab. I always felt sorry for her because she seemed to try too hard. 

'She would glom on to you. You could never get past her at the bar. She would always tell you who she was, and who she was related to.'

At the Polo Lounge, people at the bar recalled Kim's mother sitting with the piano player singing 'Danny Boy,' or, 'My Funny Valentine'. One source recalled: 'She liked the schmaltzy stuff, and she was very dramatic, so she could pull it off.'

The marrying kind: Dugan, who died in 2002, demanded that her daughters Kim, Kathy and Kyle marry rich men. Dugan herself was married four times

Kim never had a real childhood because her mother constantly drove her to work. Here she stars in Nanny and the Professor with Richard Long

 Kim starred  as Ruthie Alder with Gary Coleman as Arnold Jackson in the megahit show Diff'rent Strokes 

To impress men, insiders told Oppenheimer, Kim's mother made it appear that she was a rich Hilton heiress looking for a long-term relationship. 

Kim's mother, born Kathy Dugan, was having an affair with married, father-of-two business executive Kenneth Edwin Richards. She got pregnant around January 1964, and used her pregnancy to force Richards to get a quickie Mexican divorce and marry her, Richards daughter, Diane, from his first marriage, told author Oppenheimer.

 To impress men Kim's mother made it appear that she was a rich Hilton heiress looking for a long-term relationship.

Kim was born on September 19, 1964. She was her mother's second child. Kim's half-sister - Paris Hilton's mother, Kathy - was her first child from a previous marriage.

Kim was just a few months old, according to Oppenheimer's book, when her driven stage mother put her to work — in a TV commercial for a rug company, in which baby Kim was seen crawling around on one of the company's plush rugs,

Seeing a future star, Kim's mother convinced her husband to move to Hollywood so she could make Kim, her sister Kathy and her last-born, Kyle, into TV and movie stars.

Kim never had a real childhood because her mother constantly drove her to work.

Kim, according to sources, considered her mother, who died of cancer, her 'moral compass.'

Kim was 19-year-old when she began a relationship with Brinson whose formal name was George M. Brinson, known as Monty, whose family owned a supermarket chain in the South. He had left the Brinson family homestead in North Carolina to make his mark as a Hollywood producer.

Happy days: Actor C. Thomas Howell, actress Kyle Richards, Kathleen Richards,  Kim and groom Monty Brinson at their August 3, 1985 nuptials at the Beverly Hills Hotel 

Loving feeling: Kim was introduced to Brinson by a friend of her half-sister, Kathy Hilton. Kim and Brinson had a blind date at the chic Palms restaurant in Beverly Hills and, as Brinson told author Oppenheimer, they were 'basically together every day' after their first get-together

And baby makes three: Daughter Brooke was the only child she had with Brinson. With his new bride, Brinson bought a luxurious two-story apartment in a condo tower on fashionable Wilshire Boulevard

Kim told Dr Phil that one reason for her stress was caring for her cancer-ridden ex-husband Brinson

Kim was introduced to Brinson by a friend of her half-sister, Kathy Hilton, Paris's mother. (Kim and Kathy were from different husbands of their mother.) Kim and Brinson had a blind date at the chic Palms restaurant in Beverly Hills and, as Brinson told author Oppenheimer, they were 'basically together every day' after their first get-together.

But Brinson asserted that during their courtship, and while they were living together, Kim saw other men. One of them, he claimed, was John Davis, the son of billionaire oil and entertainment mogul Marvin Davis.

Claimed Brinson: 'Kim would say she had to go babysit Paris and Nicky and, really, she was being fixed up with John, and I found out about it. She was being influenced to do it. She was being pressured because of the billions of Davis dollars.'

Brinson believed that the pressure on Kim to become involved with Davis was coming from Kim's mother, 'who was looking for the best for her daughter and those guys [the Davis family] had mega-money.'

Kim married Brinson in what was a 'shotgun wedding' because she had become pregnant.

Stated Brinson: 'We found out [Kim was pregnant] and we did the right thing. It was Kim's choice to have the baby. They [Rick and Kathy Hilton, and Kim and Kathy's mother] didn't believe in abortion because they were Catholic. It wasn't even an option.'

Sister Kathy Hilton was with Kim when she had her intervention with Dr Phil. Kathy married rich as her mother wanted - to hotel magnate Rick

While the marriage arrangements were being put in motion, Brinson gave pregnant Kim an engagement ring, but her ambitious mother didn't think it was a big enough sparkler and 'told Kim to give it back to him,' a friend of Kim's mother, Mickey Catain, recalled. 

'She told me, 'I'm not letting her take that ring.' She made him give her a bigger one.'

In July 1985, Kim and Brinson were married at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, the same house of worship where Kim's half-sister, Kathy, married Hilton hotel scion, Rick Hilton.

A fan magazine, 'Teen Favorite Superstars,' had a big headline that read, 'Here Comes the Bride (At an All-Star Wedding!') Kim's 16-year-old sister, Kyle Richards, already a veteran of six years in show business – also pushed by her ambitious mother -- was one of Kim's bridesmaids, another was the original 'Valley Girl' Moon Unit Zappa.

Seven months after the nuptials, Kim gave birth to  daughter Brooke Ashley Brinson, the first of her four children, but only one with Brinson.

With his new bride, Brinson bought a luxurious two-story apartment in a condo tower on fashionable Wilshire Boulevard, and soon after Kim and Brinson formed Brinson/Richards Entertainment, with Kim's mother, who always dreamed of being a Hollywood mogul, playing an active role.

But only one film, 'Escape,' was produced, starring Kim, in 1990. It was made on a $1 million budget, a gift said to have come from Brinson's family.

Kim cheated on Brinson to date one Davis brother, and ended up marrying another - Gregg Davis .  Their 'elaborate and humongous' wedding was held on the Davis estate. They took their marriage vows under an enormous canopy. As a wedding gift, the groom's father gave the young marrieds a mansion of their own, the garage holding a couple of Ferraris and Mercedes-Benzes

Barbara and mogul Marvin Davis soured on Kim and eventually broke up her marriage to their son, according to the book. They were said to have given their son an ultimatum, either leave Kim or face being cut off from the family fortune

Like the film, which reportedly was a bust at the box office, Brinson's marriage to Kim was a flop.

The beginning of the end of what was to be a storybook Hollywood union was ignited one night when Kim told Brinson she was having a girls' night out with friends at a private Beverly Hills club. 

Around 2 a.m., Brinson revealed, he showed up at the club in his Ferrari and discovered Kim 'walking hand-in-hand' with John Davis, brother of Gregg Davis - who she would eventually marry -and son of wealthy Marvin Davis.

'It was,' Brinson told author Oppenheimer, 'the final straw.'

 Around 2 a.m., Brinson revealed, he showed up at the club in his Ferrari and discovered Kim walking hand-in-hand with Gregg Davis, another son of wealthy Marvin Davis

Not long before his hurtful discovery that his wife was allegedly going out on him, Brinson said he had been at a party at Marvin Davis's mansion and something happened that foreshadowed the end of his relationship with Kim.

'I actually lost my wedding ring because it was too big [for his finger,] he said. 'It just fell off my finger. So it's me, [actress] Britt Ekland, and her boyfriend, Slim Jim Phantom from the Stray Cats, crawling around on the floor looking for the ring. We never found it.'

Kim and Brinson soon got divorced and shared custody of Brooke who became friends with Kim's niece Paris Hilton, and the two cousins often travelled and partied together, and Brooke roomed for a time with Paris and sister Nicky in their home in West Hollywood.

After the divorce, Brinson remained close to the Hilton family.

After he became a professional poker player, Kim's half-sister, Kathy Hilton and her husband, Rick, supported Brinson in putting together the 2005 first annual Nicky Hilton's New Year's Eve Poker Tournament at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

As Daily Mail Online reported exclusively last week, Kim wouldn't take Dr. Phil's advise to possibly go out of state for a much needed alcohol rehab program because she was worried about being away from Brinson who she claimed is now battling stage 4 lung, brain and spine cancer, and has been living with Kim. She also didn't want to be in rehab when their daughter, Brooke, marries next month,

After her divorce from Brinson, Kim's mother pushed her to marry into the wealthy Marvin Davis family.

As Kay Rozario, a friend of Kim's mother told Oppenheimer, 'She was thrilled. And why not? She saw Kimmy marrying a son of one of the richest men in America.'

Marvin Davis was an oil baron who once owned 20th Century Fox, and the Beverly Hills Hotel, among other platinum enterprises. The hit TV series 'Dynasty' was loosely based on the Davis family royal lifestyle. In exclusive Holmby Hills, Marvin and Barbara Davis lived in a 45,000-square foot mansion called 'The Knoll,' and they had servants, expensive cars, private jets and yachts.

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They also had a son named Gregg who Kim targeted as her next husband.

Kim and Gregg's 'elaborate and humongous' wedding was held on the Davis estate. They took their marriage vows under an enormous canopy. As a wedding gift, the groom's father gave the young marrieds a mansion of their own, the garage holding a couple of Ferraris and Mercedes-Benzes, according to Oppenheimer's book.

Kim now lived like royalty.

At one high point in Kim's marriage, Brinson told Oppenheimer, 'Gregg gave her a check for a million dollars and told Kim to go out and buy whatever she wanted.' 

Once, at Kim's request, Gregg Davis loaned thousands of dollars to Brinson after he bet and lost $50,000 on a Los Angeles Lakers game.

With Davis, Kim had a daughter, Whitney, and a son, Chad.

Kim stormed out of her intervention with Dr Phil that aired yesterday but now she's in a Malibu rehab facility

Kim's children Brooke Brinson, right, with Chad Davis and Kimberly  Jackson were there to support their mom at the televised intervention

Whitney Davis with her cousin Paris Hilton, Kathy's daughter

She later was quoted as saying, 'I thought I'd have my baby [with Brinson] and go right back to work, but when I held her, I'm like, I'm not putting her down, she's mine –and then I had another one, and I had another one.'

Her mother, along with pushing her into show business, and marrying wealthy men, had often told her to have lots of children, too.

But Kim's marriage to Davis began to fall apart because, a source told Oppenheimer, 'Marvin and Barbara Davis broke that marriage up.'

An aircraft parts supplier by the name of John Jackson became the new man in Kim's life after she separated from Davis. Jackson also was the father of Kim's fourth child. He claimed that Davis' parents said 'enough is enough,' and to end it with Kim. They were said to have given their son an ultimatum, either leave Kim or face being cut off from the family fortune.

Kim's greedy mother was furious.

 He was talking on the phone to Kim in a booth outside a restaurant when someone walked up to him and popped a cap in his head.

Jackson described her as 'money-driven, amoral, and would in a moment backstab you…I heard plenty of stories about [Kim's mother] chastising Kim' for not keeping the marriage to the wealthy Davis scion intact.

In what was described as an acrimonious divorce and child custody action, Kim was said to have gotten a settlement and child support ranging from $20,000-a-month that was to continue until the year 2009, or $23,000-a-month that was to continue for life, or until she remarried.

For a time Kim dated a high roller named John Collett who figured in one of the country's biggest scams in which elderly investors lost millions of dollars. He was talking on the phone to Kim in a booth outside a restaurant when, as Jackson described it, 'someone walked up to him and popped a cap in his head.' He had been shot twice in the head at point-blank range by a hit man who had been paid $30,000.

After his death, his mother advertised his motorcycle for sale. Jackson answered the classified ad, bought the cycle and was told by Collett's mother that he should contact Kim 'because it was her favorite bike,' Jackson told Oppenheimer. 'I thought it was kind of morbid, but one night on a fluke I dialed her number, we met and then from about that day on we started dating.'

As Jackson stated, 'We were living in the fast lane. We were jet-setters and bounced all over – Paris, St. Tropez, Orlando. And we were taking the kids with us most places. Kim was always very kid-oriented.'

They never married, but Kim with Jackson had her fourth child, her third daughter and namesake, Kimberly.

Jackson blamed a lot of Kim's problems on her mother.

Kyle Richards, Brandi Glanville and Kim in Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

He told Oppenheimer: 'She was 100 percent the problem. Kim's a spitting image of her mother in every way. The amorality, and the drinking, the revolving door of men who she [Kim's mother] had in her life when Kim was with me, and just the conniving craziness about her, and the way she [Kim] spent money like water. [Kim's mother] was that typically frustrated mother of a child star who lived through her children.

'The way she controlled Kim was just unbelievable. Kim used to tell me stories of when she was twelve and thirteen and fourteen years old and how she'd drive the family car and go pick up her mom at different bars.

'Her mom would have men over all the time on different nights of the week and she'd make Kim perform for them – do her little skits and dance. Her mom would have her basically perform on cue.'

A close friend of Kim's mother, Kay Rozario, supported Jackson's claims. She told Oppenheimer, 'Kathleen was always having men to the house. One night she had some black man in her bed and Kim and Kyle went in and Kyle had a fit and ran him off.'

On March 2, 2002, about a month before her sixty-fourth birthday, Kim's mother – Paris Hilton's maternal grandmother who had four husbands – died of cancer that started in her breasts, spread to her lungs and then her brain.

She succumbed peacefully in Kim's home.

 

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