During the 1980s and 1990s, anyone who was anyone in Hollywood probably knew about the upscale escort service Jody “Babydol” Gibson ran. However, the former Hollywood madam was arrested and spent nearly two years behind bars in prison after it was revealed that her escort business had accumulated as many as 400 customers, including famous people like Bruce Willis. Now, Gibson has passed away in bed at her home in Yucca Valley, California, according to the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office.
A family member called the police on Sunday. The cops arrived at the former madam’s home around 11 am to find her passed away. Her husband, Eric Markel, claimed that Gibson died from “exhaustion,” which he told TMZ. Although she did not have any known illnesses, her weight had recently dropped to just eighty-seven pounds as she went through a stressful situation involving a lawsuit in connection to the sale of their home.
In May 2000, Gibson became an infamous madam after it was revealed that she was convicted on three counts of pimping and was sentenced to three years behind bars. Although her large Rolodex had the 400 names blacked out by police, it was later revealed that she helped connect famous people, including actor Bruce Willis, former Dodgers Manager Tom Lasorda, Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, and film producer Don Simpson to sexy women who were available for hire.
TMZ reported that Gibson moved to the Los Angeles area in the early 1980s. She sought to start a career as a model and a country and western singer but ended up starting an agency that transformed into a high-end escort service. Los Angeles’s vice squad caught up with her in 1999, arresting her for running the international prostitution ring for her high-caliber clients like Bruce Willis.
A report from the Associated Press claimed that Gibson only worked with clients through referral, and they would have to pay between $500 and $3000 for services from Gibson’s stable of attractive women available for hire.
“Authorities have described the blonde-haired, flashy-dressing Gibson as a one-time rival of Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss who once provided high-priced call girls to celebrities and other well-heeled clients,” the report read.
After a grueling trial, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lloyd M. Nash sentenced Gibson to three years in prison. However, she would serve just twenty-two months. The judge had refused to release the Hollywood madam on her $100,000 bail because she was considered a flight risk. Her prostitution ring had been operating in sixteen states and internationally, so she certainly had the contacts to get out of the country if she had wanted to do so.
At the time of her conviction, Judge Nash said, “This is a tragedy. The women appear to be tragic and pathetic individuals, and Ms. Gibson appears to be tragic and pathetic.”
Meanwhile, her defense attorney Gerald Scotti pointed out that the men involved in the scheme were not punished while the madam was.
“The bottom line is, when you put it in a pot and boil it all down, this was a case that was put on the books by men, investigated by men, crimes committed by men and a conviction and jail term served only by a woman,” Scotti said.