Geraldine (Geri) McGee Rosenthal (May 16, 1936 - November 9, 1982) was the second wife of Las Vegas sports handicapper Frank Rosenthal. She provided the basis for the character of "Ginger McKenna," portrayed by Sharon Stone in the 1995 movie Casino.

Early life

Geraldine and her sister, Barbara, grew up in the Sherman Oaks community of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley and went to Van Nuys High School with Robert Redford and Don Drysdale. She started going out with Lenny Marmor in high school. Their daughter, Robin L Marmor, was born December 27, 1957, in Los Angeles and, although he never married her, Marmor talked her into moving to Las Vegas.

Relationships

She met Anthony Spilotro while at a convention in Atlantic City, and later had an affair with him which would resume after marrying Frank Rosenthal. When Frank met Geri, she had been hustling in Las Vegas for close to eight years. She owned her own house and was raising her 11-year-old daughter Robin. She supported her ailing mother, Alice Pollock McGee, and her sister, Barbara Stokich (b. February 6 1934, d. May 7, 2000), whose husband had abandoned her with their two young sons. In 1954, her aunt received a large inheritance and offered to send her to Woodbury Business School, but Rosenthal wanted to go to UCLA or USC. Instead she got a job at Thrifty Drugs, then as a teller for Bank of America.

Marmor would visit Rosenthal and their daughter, usually for two or three days, often with the intention to borrow money. Occasionally, her father, Roy McGee, who was long separated from her mother, would visit. Besides Marmor and Rosenthal, she was also seeing John Hicks, who was 10 years her senior. His parents, who owned the Algiers Hotel and the Thunderbird Casino, disapproved of the relationship, threatening to take away Hicks' trust fund if he married Rosenthal.

Frank and Geri Rosenthal were married on May 1, 1969. They had two children, Steven and Stephanie. Their divorce was final January 16, 1981.

Death

Geraldine Rosenthal died from a drug overdose on November 9, 1982, and was buried at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Frank Rosenthal spent $50,000 to have a private autopsy conducted. Her death was determined to have been caused by a combination of alcohol, valium, and cocaine.

External links

• A photo of Geraldine Rosenthal during her youth
• Her Grave

References