Introduction: In this fourth of a six-part series, James Pylant tells the saga of the Billingsley family in America, a tale involving genealogy, crime and Hollywood. James is an editor at GenealogyMagazine.com and author for JacobusBooks.com, is an award-winning historical true-crime writer, and authorized celebrity biographer.

Here is the fourth article about the Billingsley family. Touching on genealogy, crime, and celebrity, it traces the family connections from Barbara Billingsley of Leave It to Beaver to Peter Billingsley of A Christmas Story, as well as to the owners of the famous Stork Club.

In my article “L.A. Mystery: A Kidnapping in Hollywood,” I wrote about the headline-making kidnapping of Gladys Witherell in Hollywood, California, in January 1922. Erwing Witherell Investment Company was incorporated by the abducted woman’s husband, along with Fred Frank Erwing. The firm would receive its brokerage license from the State of California in the months to come. Fred told police he was approached by a strange white-haired man who claimed he had “important information” about the kidnapping. But when Fred called the police, the mysterious man fled.

Who Was Fred Erwing?

Curiously, classified ads were published in out-of-state newspapers during 1922 offering fortune-telling services from a Los Angeles post office box under the name Fred Erwing. (1) Was the businessman operating a shady side business or was it simply someone else with the same name?

In 1925, Fred served as secretary-treasurer of the California Hotel in Los Angeles. He had become an oilfield developer by 1929. The Erwings were listed in the 1930 federal census under a different surname: Sheridan. Fred was then self-employed as a real estate leasing agent.

Who Was Fred Sheridan?

What was the significance of the Sheridan name?

Before moving to the Golden State, the Erwings lived in Portland, Oregon, where Fred worked as a car salesman, as indicated in the 1920 federal census. The enumeration was made during the first week of January, less than a month after Frank F. Erwing and Carolyn Sheridan were married in Hood River, Oregon, on 8 December 1919.

He Was Really Fred Billingsley!

The couple’s marriage license stated that the 20-year-old bride was a native New Yorker. The groom, 25, was a Kentuckian by birth. It was his second marriage; his first wife had died. That information was accurate – except for his age. He was 28. And there was one other false statement: his surname. His real name was Frederick Franklin Billingsley. Born on 11 June 1891, he was one of the sons of Robert Wiley Billingsley and Emily Collingsworth. (2)

Fred’s first wife was Hazel Ewing. When their son, Fred Jr., was three, 25-year-old Hazel died during the flu epidemic, on 30 April 1919 in Toledo, Ohio, less than eight months before he remarried in Oregon.

Fred Kills His Doctor

While Fred avoided attention during the high-profile Witherell kidnapping frenzy, his true identity would surface a decade later. On 28 September 1932, Fred – seriously ill with influenza and bronchial pneumonia – was treated by Dr. Paul Rieger. The physician spent most of the day and all night at his patient’s home, fighting to save Fred’s life. When Dr. Rieger placed a hand on Fred’s forehead, a delirious Fred yelled, “Somebody’s going to get killed!” Grabbing a gun from under the mattress, Fred fired two shots: one went into a pillow and the other fatally struck Dr. Rieger.

The coroner’s inquest ended with a verdict that Dr. Rieger’s mortal wound was “inflicted by Fred Frank Erwing with homicidal intent while temporarily deranged.”

The Los Angeles Examiner’s coverage of the killing included this photo of Fred’s son from his first marriage, Fred Erwing Jr., as well as his current wife, Carolyn (Sheridan) Erwing.

Old Skeleton in Fred’s Closet

Fred “forcibly resisted” attempts to take his fingerprints, prompting the sheriff and deputy district attorney to investigate his past and learn Fred Erwing’s true identity.

This article reports:

Local officers say they learned that Erwing and his brother, Logan Billingsley, president of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, once were arrested in Seattle on a charge of murder but that they were cleared of the charges.

However, on October 7 the district attorney’s office indicated that “the murder charge would not be pressed.”

A dozen days later, charges were officially stricken from the record.

After the Reiger shooting, Fred resumed being a Billingsley and moved to New York. There, he was a Park Avenue restauranteur. In June 1937, he had four men arrested for attempting to rob him at gunpoint at his restaurant; however, police were unable to find a weapon. The accused insisted they only wanted a drink. (3)

Later, Fred lived a quieter life. He died on 12 November 1959 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, two years after moving there from New York City. (4)

Fred Erwing (Billingsley) Jr.

Frederick Franklin “Fred” Billingsley Jr., Fred’s son by his first wife Hazel Ewing, was born in Seattle, Washington, on 7 March 1916. In childhood, he was called Fred Erwing Jr. At age 16, following his father’s arrest in the Rieger shooting, Fred Jr. was severely cut and bruised in an auto accident in Los Angeles. Sometime within the next few years, he reclaimed his Billingsley name and attended the University of Southern California before graduating from the University of Miami.

He married Margaret Matheny in New York City on 8 May 1936. It was a short-lived marriage; Margaret sued for divorce in July 1938 in Florida. (5) Fred later married Mildred Lucille Cunningham, and they made their home in Hempstead, New York.

Retired as a metal products salesman, Fred died in Mesa, Arizona, on 21 June 1987. (6)

Actor Peter Billingsley

Gail Billingsley, Fred and Mildred’s daughter, was a model, as was her mother. She married Alwin Michaelsen, and they are the parents of child actors Neil and Peter Billingsley. (7) Peter acted in more than 100 commercials before landing the starring role of Ralphie Parker in the 1983 cult film classic A Christmas Story. The actor has enjoyed a long list of film credits from both sides of the camera, including an Emmy nomination as producer.

Peter Billingsley is the great-grandson of Fred Billingsley, alias Fred Erwing.

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Note on the header image: old photos and correspondence. Credit: https://depositphotos.com/home.html

Related Articles:

• The Billingsleys, Part I: ‘A Man of Good Character’
• The Billingsleys, Part II: ‘Beyond the Law’
• The Billingsleys, Part III: ‘A Journey to Respectability’

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(1) “Exchange Columns,” Star-Journal (Warrensburg, Mo.), 11 July 1922, p. 5.
(2) Fred Billingsley, no. 4375 (1942), “U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942,” Ancestry (www.ancestry.com: accessed 29 April 2025).
(3) “Billingsley’s Brother Balks Holdup Attempt,” Daily News (New York, N.Y.), 20 June 1937, p. 24.
(4) Fred K. Billingsley Sr. obituary, Fort Lauderdale News (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 14 November 1959, p. 6.
(5) “Divorce Decrees,” Miami Herald (Miami, Florida), 8 July 1938, p. 10-B. Fred Billingsley/Margaret H. Billingsley, no. 4549 (1938), “Florida, U.S., Divorce Index, 1927-2001,” online database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com: accessed 10 March 2025).
(6) Fred Billingsley obituary, Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Ariz.), 25 June 1987, p. D18.
(7) Jonathan Mandell, “Just a Normal, Fun Life,” Sunday News Magazine (Daily News), 31 May 1981, p. 12.