A little known fact about him is that he owned 3 Hollywood film studios in the late 1920s just as the talkies were taking off. I read about his ventures in a book about the early years of the movie industry in LA. He doesn't come across as a very pleasant individual and some 'strongarm' tactics are hinted at when it comes to dealing with rival studios.
like what he did to alexander pantages, who owned a chain of movie theatres that ole joe wanted, so, what did he do?
he gave 10.000 dollars to a woman who had a ten year old daughter, who claimed that pantages raped her, it was a lie.
the girl later admitted her mother was given 10,ooo dollars by joe kennedy. the accusation ruined pantages, he also stole money from Gloria swanson she tells her story in her book.
the pantages story comes from "sins of the father" by Ronald Kessler. and that's just the tip of the iceberg with this guy.
