Melvin Belli Biography

Melvin Mouron Belli (July 29, 1907 – July 9, 1996) was a prominent American lawyer known as "The King of Torts" and by insurance companies as "Melvin Bellicose." He had many celebrity clients, including Zsa Zsa Gabor, Errol Flynn, Chuck Berry, Muhammad Ali, The Rolling Stones, Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker, Martha Mitchell, Maureen Connolly, Lana Turner, Tony Curtis, and Mae West. He won over $600 million in judgments during his legal career. He was also the attorney for Jack Ruby, who shot Lee Harvey Oswald for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.