Former Hollywood starlet who was sentenced to 22 months for managing a sophisticated agency that handled escorts in the 80s and 1990s, with up to 400 clients, reportedly died on Sunday in her sleep.
Jody ‘Babydol’ Gibson, 64, was found dead at her home in Yucca Valley, California, law enforcement sources told TMZ. The family called at 11 AM Sunday and officers arrived on the scene.
Her husband Eric Markel confirmed her death and blamed it on ‘exhaustion’ as they fight a lawsuit involving the sale of their home. She had not been diagnosed with any illnesses but she was 87lbs lighter.
According to Los Angeles Times reports, she was sentenced to three-years in prison for three counts felony pimping.
Her ‘Rolodex’ included 400 names that were blacked out by police at the time of the trial, but were later unsealed to reveal the names of actor Bruce Willis, former Dodgers Manager Tom Lasorda, Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, and film producer Don Simpson.
Jody “Babydoll”, 64, died in California after she had lost 87 lbs. Gibson, in an image posted on Facebook in September
Three years was given to the ex-Hollywood madam for felony pimping in 2000. She served only two years.
It contained 400 names and was used by Bruce Willis as well as Steve Jones, Sex Pistols guitarist (right). Jones acknowledged that she had used her services ‘possibly’ in 2007.
Gibson arrived in Los Angeles to pursue a singing and modeling career. He then started an agency which turned into an escort company, TMZ reports.
She was arrested in 1999 by Los Angeles’ vice squad for running an international prostitution ring, according to a Los Angeles Times report on her conviction published in the Guardian.
She had hoped to make it in Hollywood as a country and western singer, the newspaper reported.
California Dreamin’, her prostitution ring was active in 16 U.S. states, as well in Europe. According to the LA Times, it used porn stars and Playboy model women.
An Associated Press report about her conviction stated that the prosecution said she accepted her clients through referrals, and they were paid $500 to $3,000 each.
Eric Markel, Gibson’s husband, claimed that she died from exhaustion after a case involving the sale their home. Gibson in the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, above.
Gibson’s husband claimed that she was healthy, but her weight had dropped to as low as 87 pounds.
The report stated that Gibson was once described by authorities as an old rival to Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss. She used to provide high-priced calls girls to stars and wealthy clients.
Lloyd M. Nash, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, sentenced her in May 2000 to three years imprisonment. However, she served only 22 months.
Judge Nash denied her release on $100,000 bail in lieu of an appeal. She argued that she was a flight danger.
‘This is a tragedy,’ Nash said, according to a LA Times report on her conviction. According to a LA Times report on her conviction, “The women are tragic and pathetic and Ms. Gibson is tragic and pathetic.”
At the time of her sentencing, her defense attorney Gerald Scotti pointed out that the prominent men who sought Gibson’s services were not punished.
Scotti stated, “Bottom line, when it is boiled all the way, it was a case that was investigated by men, put on record by men, and then investigated by men. A conviction and sentence were served by only a woman.”
Gibson’s 2007 client list was not sealed and confirmed in Gibson’s book that year. It included Tom Lasorda (ex-Dodgers manager), who has denied using Gibson’s services.
“There are no victims.” You are not a bad person. No one can claim that “she’s hurt me” or “my whole life has been made worse by her.”
During her trial, the names of high-profile clients were not revealed.
They came to light when they were unsealed by the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2007, according to the LA Times.
Gibson herself revealed some of the names in her 264-page autobiography, Secrets of a Hollywood Super Madam, published that same year.
Court documents show Bruce Willis and Tom Lasorda as Dodgers Manager; Steve Jones as Sex Pisols guitarist; Don Simpson is a film producer.
Jones acknowledged that she may have used her services.
He told the LA Times that it was possible. “I met her when I was a teenager. Although she was a madam at the time, if my memory is correct, she wanted to sing in a band.
Marty Singer, Willis’ lawyer, stated to the LA Times that this story was a fabrication. [Willis] doesn’t know this woman. He’s never even spoken to her.’
Gibson was convicted of the three counts for felony pimping by Los Angeles Superior Court on April 2000. Above is Gibson with Gerald V. Scotti reading the verdict of the jury.
Scotti regretted that no one was punished for the services she rendered. Above Givson, a judge in Van Nuys (California), on March 31, 2000.
‘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 sent to the Times by his lawyer. “But, if she publishes these lies I will sue.”
The documents also included the contact information of Ben Barnes, a former Texas lieutenant governor.
He was reached by an LA Times reporter who called the number listed next to Gibson’s name.
Barnes said that she had not met and spoken with this many people in her entire life.
Gibson was featured in Evil Laugh, a B-movie horror movie. She also appeared on Up All Night. According to TMZ, she was featured on Larry King Live and The Playboy Morning Show, as well as other documentaries.
She was reportedly working at Studfarm in Nevada, a brothel that only served women. However, it has never been opened.