While most people use Thanksgiving to relax at home and escape the spotlight, for Zsa Zsa Gabor, it always brought back memories of the strange incident that became her most famous story.
In 1989, Gabor received a community service sentence for slapping a police officer in Beverly Hills. As part of her sentence, she donated 200 turkeys each year to a local homeless shelter.
The trial quickly became a sensational and chaotic media event. Zsa Zsa delivered witty and sharp remarks while dressed to the nines, and supporters calling for her release protested outside the court.
She was jailed for three days after voicing her anxiety about being around female inmates, specifically lesbians. She worried aloud, ‘It’s frightening to think about being in prison with so many women!’
Okay, so after she had that little run-in with the law, she had to do community service at a homeless shelter out in Venice. And honestly? That’s when everything changed. It wasn’t just fulfilling a requirement; she genuinely connected with people there. From that moment on, every single Thanksgiving – Turkey Day, as she calls it – she’s been back, bringing food and support. It’s become this incredible annual tradition, and it all started with that court-ordered service. It’s just…amazing to see how much she cares and how it all came about!
This Thanksgiving, the Daily Mail revisits the fascinating and dramatic story behind how a beloved holiday tradition began.
Gabor’s troubles started on June 14, 1989, when a Beverly Hills police officer stopped her Rolls Royce because her vehicle registration had expired.
The officer involved was Paul Kramer, who became known for his striking good looks. Even Gabor reluctantly acknowledged this on television, famously saying, ‘He’s too good-looking, that son of a gun.’
Paul Kramer stopped Gabor and began looking into her activities, eventually discovering a series of unlawful actions that led to a dramatic and complicated legal battle.
Her driver’s license was outdated and had been altered with a pen. Someone had changed her birth year from 1923 to 1928, even though she was actually born in 1917.
She also found a silver flask of vodka hidden in the glove compartment, a leftover from her ninth husband, Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt. He’d sometimes mix it with his Diet Pepsi.
According to Gabor, Officer Kramer’s investigation took so long that the woman asked if she was free to leave. He reportedly replied with a curse word, which she mistakenly understood as permission to go.
She drove away in her Rolls Royce, which immediately triggered a high-speed chase with sirens wailing. The pursuit ended when he finally reached her, leading to a physical confrontation.
Accounts of what happened next differ, but Sam Staggs’ biography, Finding Zsa Zsa, claims Officer Kramer physically removed Zsa Zsa Gabor from her car, causing her to become so upset that she slapped him.
Gabor later claimed he verbally abused her with offensive language and restrained her so forcefully that she was left with bruises for weeks.
She said he wouldn’t loosen her handcuffs, even to allow her to adjust her skirt which had ridden up her leg.
Gabor was arrested and charged with several offenses, including simple battery against a police officer, possession of an open alcoholic beverage in her vehicle, failure to comply with police instructions, driving with an expired license, and operating a vehicle with an expired registration.
Zsa Zsa Gabor’s trial, officially titled ‘The People vs. Zsa Zsa Gabor,’ received huge media attention, with many reporters and supporters rallying outside the court building.
I was shocked to hear about the charges against her – up to two years in prison and a $4,000 fine! She immediately pleaded not guilty, and honestly, she made a really good point. She explained that this guy, Kramer, has a history of going after celebrities, so it seemed like she was being unfairly targeted. I really hope she gets justice.
She arrived at court dramatically, always dressed in high-fashion clothes and sporting a new, sparkling cross necklace for each trial. She famously quipped that if you’re going to have troubles, you might as well accessorize with diamonds.
Despite being legally prohibited from speaking about the case, she publicly criticized a witness, calling him immature and mocking his appearance. She then awkwardly attempted to connect with him by mentioning she spoke Turkish, only to discover he was Persian.
‘Well, that’s close,’ she said.
She held dramatic press conferences outside the court and insultingly referred to a female reporter who challenged her as ‘just another jealous blonde’.
During the trial, the prosecutor claimed she was using the case to gain publicity and didn’t understand what it meant to tell the truth. Upset, she left the courtroom in tears.
She testified that the officer she slapped was attractive, but also incredibly frightening. She said she could see hatred in his eyes.
Gabor recalled being terrified when someone chased her, reminding her of the Gestapo. She had escaped Hungary by marrying before the Nazis took over, but sadly, her Jewish grandmother and uncle perished in the Holocaust.
She testified, with tears in her eyes, that while she’d experienced the horrors of both Nazi occupation and Soviet tanks in Hungary, she felt even more fear at the intersection of Olympic and La Cienega.
She further claimed the officer was gay, telling the court that a gay man wouldn’t be attracted to someone like Zsa Zsa Gabor. She reasoned, ‘He wouldn’t want her, and I’m marrying all the men he would be interested in.’
However, things became more complicated when she later appeared on the Phil Donahue show and claimed Kramer’s actions were motivated by sexual desire.
Following a three-week trial and extensive jury discussions lasting 14 hours, Gabor was found guilty and received a jail sentence, along with community service, fines, a period of probation, and mandatory therapy.
Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, she expressed her disbelief and disappointment, saying she couldn’t fathom how a police officer could assault a much smaller woman and use abusive language. She questioned how such a thing could happen in a country like the United States, suggesting it was comparable to conditions in places like Russia or communist Hungary.
Right after she finished speaking, a bomb threat forced everyone to evacuate the area.
Gabor received a three-day jail sentence after previously expressing her fear about being around lesbian inmates.
Right before the trial started, she expressed her fear, saying, ‘Everyone in jail is gay, and I’m really scared of them. The thought of being locked up with all those women terrifies me.’
After leaving prison, her career experienced a surprising comeback. She started volunteering at a homeless shelter in Venice, California, managed by Vera Davis.
While serving her sentence in November 1989, she started a heartwarming Thanksgiving tradition by bringing turkeys to the shelter’s residents, and continued this each year.
In 1990, she described the work as unfulfilling, saying she accomplished far more in a single year doing what she loved. She even shared a touching story about feeding the homeless one Thanksgiving, where they expressed their gratitude by kissing her and telling her she was the only one who truly understood them.
Even Gabor’s community service became problematic when it was discovered she hadn’t completed the full amount of hours she was required to do.
Vera Davis was willing to be flexible with Gabor, even bending the rules a little. For instance, she credited Gabor with five hours of community service simply for doing her makeup while preparing for a TV appearance to promote the animal shelter.
However, even Davis admitted that Gabor had only worked around 50 hours, while she was expected to have completed 120 hours by that point.
I was absolutely shocked when the judge added another 60 hours to Gabor’s sentence! She was furious, and I could see her muttering something under her breath – it was a pretty harsh insult, calling the judge a really awful name right there in court. It was a tense moment, to say the least.
Despite everything, Gabor and Vera stayed friends, and Vera started a tradition of donating 200 frozen turkeys to the shelter every Thanksgiving.
In 1997, the facility was officially renamed the Vera Davis McClendon Youth & Family Center, and Gabor continued to donate turkeys each year.
As Gabor’s health failed and she withdrew from public life, her tradition of lavish displays continued with her ninth and final husband, Frédéric. He wasn’t a prince by birth, however; he purchased the title after paying a German princess to legally adopt him.
He explained to NBC in 2009 that they started celebrating Thanksgiving with the residents after Zsa Zsa helped provide turkeys for everyone that year.
Although Vera is no longer with us, we’ve kept up her tradition of donating turkeys to the families helped by the center, ensuring they can enjoy a happy Thanksgiving.
Gabor passed away in 2016 at the age of 99. Then, in 2019, the Vera Davis McClendon Youth & Family Center shut its doors for renovations, but unfortunately never reopened.
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2025-11-28 02:05