The Montana identity

A Whitefish doctor’s

soon-to-be-released book on spy-novel writer Robert Ludlum has

already caused quite a stir around the world, with hints of

intrigue in the life and death of one of the world’s most renowned

authors.

Kenneth Kearns, a nationally-recognized

oncologist who moved to Whitefish to raise his family and is

Ludlum’s nephew, says the intrigue extends to Montana, and local

police have been spurred on to investigate a possible attempt on

the prolific writer’s life.

“This story is so intriguing to so many

people,” Kearns said. “Ultimately a lot more will come to light as

justice is served.”

Kearns and co-author Jeffrey Campbell,

the founder and CEO of Tau Publishing, spent 10 years researching

Ludlum’s life for “The Ludlum Identity.” Their research culminated

in an investigation by forensic accountants, doctors and former FBI

agents.

Ludlum’s extensive literary output

includes 25 thrillers published in 33 languages and 40 countries,

with up to 500 million copies in print, some under the pseudonyms

Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd. His books typically feature a

heroic man in a struggle against a powerful conspiracy drawn from

real life. “The Matarese Circle,” for example, published in 1979,

was inspired by the Trilateral Commission. The details in his

stories inspired rumors about Ludlum’s possible connection with

intelligence agencies, a point he publicly denied.

The “Ludlum industry” could be worth $1

billion now, Kearns told the Pilot, considering the success of the

three Jason Bourne movies. “The Bourne Identity” garnered three

Academy Awards in 2008. At least nine of Ludlum’s works have been

made into films or a TV miniseries. Leonardo DiCaprio and Denzel

Washington are reportedly working on two more blockbuster movies

based on Ludlum’s writings.

After Ludlum died at 73 in Naples,

Fla., on March 12, 2001, Forbes magazine rated him the 13th

best-earning dead celebrity, with earnings of $5 million. According

to his federal estate-tax return, Ludlum’s literary copyrights and

licensing fees alone were valued at $7.65 million, and his

beach-front condominium in Naples was assessed at more than $3.2

million. But the money kept on rolling in — 13 more “Ludlum novels”

were released in the six years after his death, completed by other

authors or written using his name.

A court battle over the estate ensued.

Ludlum’s 17-page will stated that $1.8 million was to be

distributed among family members within 30 days, but Kearns wrote

the probate judge in Naples with concerns about his share. Ludlum

had lived in Naples since the 1980s, but he had requested that the

probate case be adjudicated in New York, tying the court’s hands,

the judge told Kearns.

Kearns grew up in Fairfield, Conn., and

his uncle owned a home in nearby Southport, where parties

“sometimes resembled an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel,” he said. Kearns

went on to medical school, becoming the first gynecologic

oncologist to graduate from Yale University’s School of Medicine.

He also served as Ludlum’s personal physician and helped his uncle

with research for his novels, providing medical information and

describing places he had seen while traveling in Europe.

Kearns knew that Ludlum had been

drinking heavily in the months before his death and had heart

problems. He also knew that the reported cause of his uncle’s death

was a “heart attack,” but the actual circumstances of Ludlum’s

death shocked him.

On Jan. 24, 2001, Ludlum revised his

will, naming his second wife, Karen Ludlum, among his principal

beneficiaries. Sixeen days later, while reclining in an armchair

enjoying his beach-front view, Ludlum suddenly became engulfed in

flames. Karen was the only other person at the Naples home, and she

reportedly told firemen, “Leave me the f*** alone. I’m having a

drink.”

Ludlum recovered from the fire but died

within a month. Kearns said the trauma of his burns could have

triggered the subsequent heart attack, but Ludlum’s body was

cremated before an autopsy could be conducted. Karen died in 2008

without providing information about her four-year marriage to the

author.

Ludlum’s Montana connection goes back

to 1998, when Ludlum bought a home in Bigfork. Kearns said his

uncle maintained a low-profile life there and loved Flathead Lake.

Kearns’ investigations uncovered that, contrary to numerous

newspaper accounts, Ludlum’s ashes were not taken to New York —

they ended up on a mantlepiece at the Bigfork home until local

friends encouraged the caretaker to follow Ludlum’s request to

spread the ashes on Flathead Lake.

But there’s more to the story — Kearns

and Campbell have uncovered evidence of a possible previous attempt

on Ludlum’s life in Montana. They were assisted by former FBI

agents and people who worked on high-profile murder cases such as

Kennedy-Moxley in 1975 and JonBenét Ramsey in 1996.

“The evidence of a possible attempt on

his life has prompted an investigation by local authorities in

Montana,” Kearns said.

Kearns and Campbell’s investigations

have also uncovered unpublished manuscripts that mysteriously

disappeared from a warehouse in Connecticut and a

never-before-published short manuscript that will be included in

their new book.

The co-authors have been promoting “The

Ludlum Identity” on radio and the Web. Kearns said he recently

completed an hour-and-a-half long video for a major TV network, and

he says a well-known crime-investigation show will video him in the

next few weeks.

“The book also appeared on the Times

Square marquee three times last week,” Campbell noted.

“The Ludlum Identity” will be available

online at www.theludlumidentity.com or at the Barnes and Noble Web

site on March 12. The 225-page softcover sells for $18.95 and has

more than two dozen black-and-white photos.