{{Short description|American novelist (1942–2026)}} {{Infobox person | name = Robert K. Tanenbaum | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1942|12|17}} | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2026|01|03|1942|12|17}} | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | other_names = | known_for = | education = [[University of California, Berkeley]] | employer = | occupation = {{flatlist| * Attorney * politician * novelist }} | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | spouse = {{marriage|Patti Tyre Tanenbaum|1967}} | children = 3 | parents = | relatives = [[Michael Gruber (author)|Michael Gruber]] (cousin) }}
'''Robert Karl Tanenbaum''' (December 17, 1942 – January 3, 2026) was an American [[trial attorney]] and novelist who was the mayor of [[Beverly Hills, California]].
==Early life and education== Robert Karl Tanenbaum was born in [[Brooklyn, New York]], on December 17, 1942. He attended the [[University of California, Berkeley]] on a basketball scholarship where he earned a B.A. Tanenbaum received his [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] from [[Boalt Hall School of Law]] at the University of California, Berkeley.<ref name="robertktanenbaumbooks.com">{{cite web|url=http://robertktanenbaumbooks.com/about/|title=About the Author|publisher=|accessdate=19 January 2016}}</ref>
==Legal career== Under the leadership of District Attorney [[Frank Hogan]], Tanenbaum learned about trial preparedness and presenting evidence to a jury as an Assistant [[New York County District Attorney]] in Manhattan. Later, Tanenbaum became head of the Homicide Bureau, served as Chief of the Criminal Courts, and was in charge of the D.A.'s legal staff training program. During his time in the D.A.'s office, Tanenbaum never lost a felony case.<ref name="authors.simonandschuster.com">{{cite web|url=http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Robert-K-Tanenbaum/16158707|title=Robert K. Tanenbaum|work=Simon & Schuster|accessdate=21 October 2017}}</ref>
After his tenure in Manhattan's D.A.'s office, Tanenbaum served as Deputy Chief Counsel for the [[House Select Committee on Assassinations]] to investigate the [[John F. Kennedy assassination]] and the [[Martin Luther King Jr. assassination]]. He later resigned from the post shortly after being named.<ref name="Probe interview"> {{cite web |url=http://www.ctka.net/pr796-bti.html |title=The Probe Interview: Bob Tanenbaum |date=July–August 1996 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702092119/http://www.ctka.net/pr796-bti.html |archivedate=July 2, 2007 }}</ref> In 1988 he appeared in the documentary ''[[The Men Who Killed Kennedy]]'' and on 17 September 1996 he testified at a public hearing of the [[Assassination Records Review Board]] in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite book |title=Final Report of the Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board |date=1999 |publisher=DIANE Publishing Company |page=208}}</ref> He wrote the introduction to [[Mark Lane (author)|Mark Lane]]'s 2011 book ''Last Word: My Indictment of the CIA in the Murder of JFK''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Last Word: My Indictment of the CIA in the Murder of JFK |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781616084288 |work=Publishers Weekly}}</ref> He was interviewed for the 2023 documentary ''JFK: What the Doctors Saw''.<ref>{{cite news |title=JFK's E.R. doctors share new assassination details |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jfk-assassination-john-f-kennedy-doctors/ |work=CBS}}</ref> In 2025 he published the book ''That Day in Dallas'', featuring an introduction by [[Robert J. Groden]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tanenbaum |first1=Robert K. |title=That Day in Dallas |date=2025 |publisher=Regnery}}</ref>
In private practice, he was a special prosecution consultant on the [[Hillside Strangler]] case in Los Angeles; defended [[Amy Grossberg]] in her sensationalized baby death case; and represented eight black plaintiffs in a significant racial profiling case against the [[Beverly Hills]] Police Department.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20020527/34406-pw-talks-with-robert-k-tanenbaum.html|title=PW Talks with Robert K. Tanenbaum|work=Publishers Weekly|accessdate=19 January 2016}}</ref> He taught Advanced Criminal Procedure for four years at Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He conducts continuing legal education seminars for practicing lawyers in [[California]], [[New York (state)|New York]] and [[Pennsylvania]].<ref name="Probe interview" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=473 |title=Robert K. Tanenbaum author biography |website=www.bookbrowse.com |access-date=2008-08-01}}</ref> He was a member of the State Bars of New York, Pennsylvania and California.
==Political career== Tanenbaum served two terms as Mayor of [[Beverly Hills]] and was a City Councilmember for eight years, from 1986 to 1994. He ran unsuccessfully for [[Los Angeles County District Attorney]] in 1992. He was defeated for re-election to the City Council in 1994.<ref name="robertktanenbaumbooks.com"/><ref>"Bob's Back: (And He's Better Than Ever)", Beverly Hills Weekly, Issue #281, February 17, 2005, Pages 17-19</ref><ref name="mathischazanov">Mathis Chazanov, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-04-20-we-2505-story.html Victory Vow : Beverly Hills Mayor Says He'll Finish Civic Center, 'Even If I Have to Do It Myself'], ''The Los Angeles Times'', April 20, 1989.</ref> He also ran D.A. [[Frank Hogan]]'s re-election campaign for District Attorney in 1973.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/profiles/article/57602-a-resonant-crime-robert-k-tanenbaum.html|title=A Resonant Crime: Robert K. Tanenbaum|work=Publishers Weekly|accessdate=19 January 2016}}</ref>
==Literary career== His byline appears on 33 books; 29 novels and 4 nonfiction works. His cousin [[Michael Gruber (author)|Michael Gruber]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Weinman|first1=Sarah|title=Ghostwriting, Part I: The Ballad of Michael Gruber|url=http://www.sarahweinman.com/confessions/2004/10/the_ballad_of_m.html|website=Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind Crime fiction, and more.|accessdate=21 April 2016}}</ref> was the ghostwriter of the first part of the popular Butch Karp -Marlene Ciampi series of novels, starting with No Lesser Plea and ending with Resolved.<ref> {{cite web |last = Snyder |first = Diane |title = A Killer Debut: Former Ghostwriter Michael Gruber Dredges Up Demons for Debut Thriller |work = Book Reviews |publisher = Romantic Times |date = March 2003 |url = http://www.rtbookreviews.com/message/tropic-night |accessdate = 2008-06-02 |url-status = dead |archiveurl = https://archive.today/20130201233605/http://www.rtbookreviews.com/message/tropic-night |archivedate = 2013-02-01 }} </ref> After the partnership with Tanenbaum ended, Gruber began publishing novels using his own name.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Done|first1=Norelle|title=Seattle Author Michael Gruber: What's In A Name?|url=http://www.seattlewrote.com/2011/03/seattle-author-whats-in-name.html|website=Seattle Wrote. Featuring Seattle's authors and writers.|accessdate=21 April 2016}}</ref>
Tanenbaum's ''The Piano Teacher '', co-written with Peter S. Greenberg, is the true story of a psychotic killer, ''Badge of the Assassin'' recalls the true account of Tanenbaum's investigation and trial of self-proclaimed members of the [[Black Liberation Army]] who assassinated two [[NYPD]] police officers, Waverly Jones and Joseph Piagentini. It was later adapted into a movie titled [[Badge of the Assassin]], starring [[James Woods]] as Tanenbaum.
Tanenbaum's signature work, ''Echoes of My Soul'' was published in May 2013 by [[Kensington Books]] and was named 'Pick of the Week' by ''Publishers Weekly'' in its April 22, 2013 edition. It is about ''[[Miranda v. Arizona]]'', the United States Supreme Court decision that laid the groundwork for [[Miranda rights]].
A later novel, ''Without Fear or Favor'', was published by [[Simon & Schuster]] Gallery Books in August 2017.<ref name="authors.simonandschuster.com"/>
==Death== Tanenbaum died from cancer on January 3, 2026, at the age of 83.<ref>{{cite web |last1=DiEugenio |first1=James |title=In Memory of Robert Tanenbaum |url=https://www.kennedysandking.com/john-f-kennedy-articles/in-memory-of-robert-tannenbaum |website=Kennedys and King |access-date=10 January 2026 |date=8 January 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ogilvie |first1=Jessica |title=Robert K. Tanenbaum, Former Mayor, Dies at 83 |url=https://beverlyhillscourier.com/2026/01/08/robert-k-tanenbaum-former-mayor-dies-at-83/ |access-date=10 January 2026 |publisher=Beverly Hills Courier |date=8 January 2026}}</ref>
==Bibliography== ===Non-fiction=== *(with [[Peter Greenberg|Peter S. Greenberg]]) {{cite book |title=The Piano Teacher: The True Story of a Psychotic Killer |date=1987 |publisher=[[Gallery Books]] |isbn=978-1501119255}} * (with Philip Rosenberg) {{cite book |title=Badge of the Assassin |date=1979 |publisher=E.P. Dutton |isbn=978-0525060703}} (1985 TV film adaption ''[[Badge of the Assassin]]'') * Introduction to {{cite book |title=Last Word: My Indictment of the CIA in the Murder of JFK |publisher= [[Skyhorse Publishing]] |date= 2011 |isbn=978-1616084288 |last=Lane |first=Mark |author-link= Mark Lane (author)}} * {{cite book |title=Echoes of My Soul |date=2013 |publisher=Kensington Publishing Corp. |isbn=978-0758285355}} * (with Steve Jackson) {{cite book |title= Coal Country Killing: A Culture, a Union, and the Murders That Changed It All |publisher= [[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn= 978-1637588499 |date=2023}} * {{cite book |title=That Day in Dallas |date=2025 |publisher=Regnery |author-link= Robert K. Tanenbaum |isbn=978-1510783669}}
===Fiction=== * 1987: ''No Lesser Plea'' * 1989: ''Depraved Indifference'' * 1991: ''Immoral Certainty'' * 1992: ''Reversible Error'' * 1993: ''Material Witness'' * 1994: ''Justice Denied'' * 1994: ''Corruption of Blood'' * 1996: ''Falsely Accused'' * 1997: ''Irresistible Impulse'' * 1998: ''Reckless Endangerment'' * 1999: ''Act of Revenge'' * 2000: ''True Justice'' * 2001: ''Enemy Within'' * 2002: ''Absolute Rage'' * 2003: ''Resolved'' * 2004: ''Hoax'' * 2005: ''Fury'' * 2006: ''Counterplay'' * 2007: ''Malice'' * 2008: ''Escape'' * 2009: ''Capture'' * 2010: ''Betrayed'' * 2011: ''Outrage'' * 2012: ''Bad Faith'' * 2013: ''Tragic'' * 2014: ''Fatal Conceit'' * 2015: ''Trap'' * 2016: ''Infamy'' * 2017: ''Without Fear or Favor''
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.c-span.org/person/robert-k-tanenbaum/72975/ Appearances] on [[C-SPAN]]. * Addresses to the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-KRVoJTPfI 2018] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2xvkzIniyc 2019] JFK Assassination Conference. * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR0pMVxxwfU Address] at the [[University of North Texas]] in 2023. * [http://robertktanenbaumbooks.com/ robertktanenbaumbooks.com] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s308-agvmz0 Interview with Len Osanic] on Black Op Radio (Ep. 731).
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanenbaum, Robert K.}} [[Category:1942 births]] [[Category:2026 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century people from California]] [[Category:20th-century people from New York (state)]] [[Category:20th-century mayors of places in California]] [[Category:20th-century American novelists]] [[Category:20th-century American lawyers]] [[Category:21st-century American novelists]] [[Category:20th-century American male writers]] [[Category:21st-century American male writers]] [[Category:UC Berkeley School of Law alumni]] [[Category:American crime fiction writers]] [[Category:Mayors of Beverly Hills, California]] [[Category:American male novelists]] [[Category:Researchers of the assassination of John F. Kennedy]] [[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]] [[Category:Writers from Brooklyn]] [[Category:Novelists from New York City]] [[Category:California city council members]] [[Category:UC Berkeley School of Law faculty]]