When Hollywood madam Jody "Babydol" Gibson was busted eight years ago, word that police had seized her list of celebrity clients stirred intense curiosity in Hollywood -- and not a little worry.
The much-anticipated disclosure of famous names never occurred, however. The evidence presented to the jury that convicted Gibson in 2000 of operating an international prostitution ring included phone books and other records in which, prosecutors said, she listed her customers. But authorities blacked out the names in publicly available court records.
Now, their identities are entering the public domain.
In "Secrets of a Hollywood SuperMadam," an autobiography due in bookstores Thursday, Gibson names two dozen celebrities she says patronized her call-girl service.
Many of the names also appear in her phone books, a payment log and other records from the case that have been unsealed by Los Angeles Superior Court and can now be viewed in unredacted form.
A review of the court file shows that Gibson listed actor Bruce Willis; former Dodgers Manager Tom Lasorda; Steve Jones, the Sex Pistols guitarist and KDLE-FM (103.1) radio jock; and the late film producer Don Simpson, among others.
Willis and Lasorda said through their lawyers that they never used Gibson's service and had no idea why their names appeared in her records. They accused Gibson of exploiting their fame to boost her book sales.
"I have never heard of this woman and don't know why she would accuse me of something like this," Lasorda said in a statement issued by his attorney, Tony Capozzola. "But if she prints these lies, I intend to sue."
Willis' attorney, Marty Singer, said: "The story is a complete fabrication. [Willis] doesn't know this woman. He's never even spoken to her."
A former lawyer for Simpson said the producer, who died in 1996, never patronized Gibson's business.
Jones said he might have used Gibson's escort service. "It's possible," he said. "I crossed paths with her back then. She was a madam, but if I remember right, she wanted to be a singer in a band."
Authorities never prosecuted any of Gibson's clients, and there is no independent evidence that the men she listed actually patronized her service.
A political figure whose name appears is Ben Barnes, a former lieutenant governor of Texas, who drew attention during the 2004 presidential campaign by saying that he helped a young George W. Bush enter the Air National Guard to avoid the Vietnam-era draft.
