At this point, Talese began to wonder if he should really be there. But to dismiss the entire book is absurd: it is by turns fascinating and illuminating, very creepy and very funny, and will live in my memory long after many more doggedly accurate works have vanished into thin air. These two men were far from perfect. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Oddly enough, Foos thought of himself as much a social scientist as a sexual voyeur. Support Us CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS: California Privacy Policy | California Collection Notice | Do Not Sell My Info. Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we would like to keep it that way. Gerald Foos is the former owner of the Manor House Motel, which operated in Aurora, Colorado.He was the subject of Gay Talese's 2016 article "The Voyeur's Motel" in The New Yorker, in which Talese disclosed that Foos was a long time voyeur of people staying in his hotel, having installed grilles in the ceiling of most of the rooms that enabled him to view his guests without their knowledge. Tell me or I’ll kill you.’ He then hits her and strangles her, until she slumps to the floor, dead. Contact Us, Fawlty and Bates are now joined in their Catering Hall of Fame by Gerald Foos, the proprietor of the 21-room Manor House Motel in Aurora, Colorado. Was the girl’s murder a figment of Foos’s imagination? ‘My absolute solution to happiness,’ he told the author, ‘was to be able to invade the privacy of others without their knowing it.’. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Denver with no paywalls. Visualizza tutti i prodotti . Foos said a writer with Vanity Fair had even flown in from Paris to speak with him during the time the film crew was following him, an interview that Talese's publisher allegedly killed before it happened, he said. ‘What was I doing up here, anyway? Zu diesem Zweck kauft er ein Hotel in Colorado. At the end of each year, he would indulge in a sort of stocktaking, totting up exact figures for couples watched and male and female orgasms witnessed, with percentage points for any changes in the sexual zeitgeist: for instance, in the early Seventies, he noted a rise in oral sex from 12 per cent to 44 per cent, attributable perhaps to the release of the jaw-dropping Deep Throat movie in the summer of 1972. Circulation, In my mind, he is the sort of character – driven, awkward, sweaty – the late Philip Seymour Hoffman used to portray so well. Join the Westword community and help support independent local journalism in Denver. That’s good. And I think you can do better writing about this sports collection than about that book. The comments below have not been moderated. Second, telling the story with Foos' blessing no doubt satisfies the voyeur’s need to feel that he is important, that he has accomplished something noteworthy. Talese was intrigued, and went to see him in Colorado. The 7 Best Movies Coming to Netflix in December 2017 01 December 2017 | Indiewire; New to Streaming: ‘Happy Together,’ ‘Detroit,’ ‘Silence,’ ‘Irma Vep,’ and More “I’ve done the one that you know about — that’s pretty impressive. Like the other two, Foos had his faults, the most notable being that he was a voyeur. These last few weeks have seen a remarkably busy media cycle for all the Gay Talese buffs out there. ‎ From Gay Talese, a remarkable new work of reportage more than thirty years in the making. Talese, who is sitting next to Foos in his living room when the filmmakers ask the question, loses it. Probably more than anybody that there is. “If people want to really know about the life of the voyeur — if they want to know that I'm the greatest there ever was in the world — after the 12th of July, I will pick out certain people, maybe even do an exclusive with someone...I'm not sure yet,” he told me. Up to now, the most famous hoteliers in the world were Basil Fawlty and Norman Bates. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. “The reason I’m having difficulty is because my agent is in jail.”. The organised type, she even suggested Foos take notes on all those he watched. He describes Foos back in 1980 as being in his mid-40s, 6ft tall, with thick glasses and slightly overweight. Foos took Talese back to the motel, and escorted him up to the attic. By Craig Brown Event for The Mail on Sunday, Published: 22:17 GMT, 30 July 2016 | Updated: 04:34 GMT, 31 July 2016, The Voyeur’s Motel                                                                             Gay Talese. You know a lot about sports. Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our terms of use, our cookies policy, and our privacy policy. On January 7, 1980, in the run-up to the publication of Thy Neighbor's Wife , Gay Talese received an anonymous letter from a man in Colorado. Related News. Gerald Foos wrote to author Gay Talese in 1980 and said that he spied on couples for decades and took detailed notes on what he saw. There are other concerning details that the new Netflix film does not mention. Once there, Foos showed Talese the fake vents he’d put in the floor of the attic … As if all of that weren't strange enough, the most bizarre part of my conversation with Foos was yet to come. “It’s possible. The house will be great for when you get married.”, “That’s really tempting,” I responded. What on earth are we doing, reading about Talese watching Foos watching people having sex? Gerald Foos constructed a carpeted walkway in the attic, making it easy for him to spend hours snooping on his more attractive guests (the unshapely were dispatched to the rooms without spy-holes). If or when sex eventually occurred, the notes he made were an awkward mixture of the voyeuristic and the pedantic. He also sent Talese hundreds of pages of notes on his guests and their habits, work that Foos believed made him a pioneering researcher into American society and sexuality. “I can unload the shotguns,” he said. The implication, as best I could tell, was that Foos didn't want to slander the deceased person's name, since after the Washington Post article came out, Foos defended some of his suspect journal entries by claiming that the other owner still gave him access to the attic during that eight-year span. Talese, incuriosito e intenzionato a scriverne, incontra l'uomo – Gerald Foos – in Colorado qualche settimana dopo, e visita il motel. Support the independent voice of Denver and help keep the future of Westword free. He agreed to meet Foos at his place on East Colfax Avenue, the Manor House Motel, and saw firsthand the one-way ventilation screens Foos had installed in the rooms' ceilings that allowed him to observe guests from the attic. “There’s a big reward for anyone who sells this collection — and you’ve got an in. In telling his story, Foos had visions of becoming a celebrity and making the talk-show circuit. He then constructed a carpeted walkway in the attic, making it easy for him to spend hours snooping on his more attractive guests (the unshapely were dispatched to the rooms without spy-holes). And he may even go to prison. ‘I assume she would never do this if anyone else was in the room.’. “What you've done is wrong!” he yells at the cameramen. Foos wrote to say that he had information Talese could find useful for his upcoming book, if not for a future one… Talese was intrigued by Foos' letter so he decided to go and visit him. Already quite a few critics have enjoyed parading their high-mindedness, throwing their arms in the air and gasping for the smelling-salts. But he cannot admit his role without also revealing his voyeurism, so he says nothing. Through his Voyeur’s motel, he witnessed and recorded the harsh effects of the war in Vietnam, the upheaval in gender roles, the decline of segregation, and much more. (NEWSER) – For 29 years, motel owner Gerald Foos watched hundreds, perhaps thousands, of guests having sex, going to the bathroom, and more at the Manor House Motel in Colorado. America in microcosm had passed through the Voyeur's motel, and he witnessed and recorded the harsh effects of the war in Vietnam, the upheaval in gender roles, the decline of segregation, and much more. Next Gallery Hosting Annual Casa Bonita Show, Op-Ed: Foundations Need to Put Our Money Where Our Missions Are, Steven Spielberg, Sam Mendes Bail on Movie About "Voyeur's Motel" in Aurora, Gerald Foos, Owner of the Voyeur's Motel, Collected More Than Sex Secrets, that found that Foos didn't own the motel for an eight-year period, Art Attack: Twelve Ways to Celebrate First Friday in Denver, Art Attack: Eight New Art Shows and Events in Denver, The Tale of Colorado's Mountain Resort Trail Names, Eight Things to Do for Free in Denver This Week. He gets all hoity-toity, too, when his guests decide to switch off the lights before having sex. There, writes Talese, the two of them watched ‘an attractive nude couple spread out on the bed engaged in oral sex’. To find out more, visit our cookies policy and our privacy policy. As its anti-hero, Gerald Foos presents a mesmerising mix of the prig and the perve (a not uncommon combination), forever ranting against his poor unseeing guests, even as he employs them for his own unsavoury ends. Talese began corresponding with Foos in January 1980, when he received a handwritten letter from the motel owner inviting him to Colorado. By the end of Talese's tirade, he's so upset that he ends the interview. Careers, “I heard [the other motel owner] died ten years ago, and that’s why I didn’t want to include him in the book. When they get back, Foos watches the man accusing the woman of stealing them. I told him I’d need to think over the whole offer of becoming his agent. And if he does that, he’s finished as my agent,” Foos continued. In the letter, Foos explained that he appreciated Talese's writing on sex in America, and had been conducting his own, quasi-scientific study of guests at his motel, especially their sexual acts, and was compiling detailed journals of what he'd seen. Fawlty had a quick temper, and Bates had a tendency – a grave drawback in the hospitality industry – to do away with his guests. ‘I think her being a nurse made it easier for me,’ he explained. And he just got his third DUI in Minnesota. ‘She has been releasing gas at random and without shame,’ he complains in his journal of a lone woman. And then with me here, they're trying to get you to answer differently, which could expose you as a hypocrite! !”, Turning to Foos, he continues: “What's wrong about this is they already asked you that question with me not there! Call me a low-down dirty slug-a-bed, but I can only say that I found the whole book completely riveting from start to finish. Nevertheless, ‘despite an insistent voice in my head telling me to look away, I continued to observe the slender woman performing fellatio on her partner’. As with fishing, so with snooping: there is an awful lot of waiting around. Gerald Foos bought a motel in 1966 and watched his guests through a secret hatch until 1995 ... Voyeur spied on hotel guests in their beds for 30 YEARS - and kept x-rated notes of their sex lives. ), “Look, I can tell you lots of things. Foos, però, dichiara di voler rimanere anonimo, il giornalista non accetta e decide che questa storia non sarà raccontata. Don't you understand this?”. But some reporters think that if you’re off there, the whole book must be off.". The rest are protected at his house by “Anita and my shotguns. He notes that Foos’s grasp of other easily verified details, such as the date of his purchase of the motel, were wildly off base, and the Aurora police were unable to locate any record of the alleged killing, even among the department’s cold case files. Similarly, he has to bite his tongue when he spots guests wiping their greasy hands on his bedspreads, or peeing in the basin, or breaking wind. Talese had always known that Foos was unreliable, but since the publication, journalists have uncovered discrepancies in his narrative: for instance, Foos did not actually run the motel for eight years in the Eighties. Gerald Foos hat eine Obsession: Er will alles über das Sexleben anderer Menschen wissen. At this point, I was wondering what the hell was going on and why he thought I know a lot about sports. It’s not a mansion, just a nice, big two-story house. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. A Peeping Tom with delusions of grandeur takes notes on the human condition in this tawdry but revealing case study. Beginning in the mid-1960s, Gerald Foos took extensive notes about his subjects, cataloging things such as their estimated age and descriptions of … Six years later, Talese reads Foos’s description of the murder, but also does nothing, as he has guaranteed him anonymity. Had I become complicit in his strange and distasteful project?’. He preferred to think of himself as a ‘pioneering sex researcher’, in the manner of Kinsey, but with the added advantage that his guinea-pigs had behaved more naturally, being unaware that they were being studied. Far from being engaged in non-stop sex, most of his guests occupied their time watching telly in a desultory fashion while grumbling to one another about their aches and pains, their unsatisfactory jobs and their lack of money. All rights reserved. Gerald Foos, Self: Voyeur. He referred to his premises as his ‘observation laboratory’, and compared himself to a bird-watcher, or a star-gazer. The hours turned into weeks, the weeks into years, the years into decades. The most gripping episode in the book occurs when Foos spies on a male guest who, it turns out, is a drug dealer. First, there were his recent remarks about how female writers didn’t inspire him, followed by ritual outrage/thinksplaining. Then, in another turn, he asked: “Well, actually, do you think you can sell it for me? I feel like killing him,’ he says of one such offender, before solving the problem by nipping out to his car, re-parking it with its lights pointing at their window, then nipping back upstairs to resume his viewing. This he did on an almost daily basis, giving the completed work the shameless title The Voyeur’s Journal. ©2021 Denver Westword, LLC. We use cookies to collect and analyze information on site performance and usage, and to enhance and customize content and advertisements. In 1980, after more than a decade of spying and taking careful notes, Gerald Foos approaches the journalist Gay Talese, who has just written a book about sexuality in Seventies America. “But I don’t know about all the business offers you made, because there are some ethical considerations as a journalist....”, “You don’t have a contract with Westword saying you can’t have outside interests, right?”. Like the other two, Foos had his faults, the most notable being that he was a voyeur. Having bought his motel in the Sixties, Foos immediately started drilling holes in the ceilings of a dozen bedrooms in order, as he later put it in a characteristically nerdy letter to the author of this eye-popping book, ‘to satisfy my voyeuristic tendencies and compelling interest in all phases of how people conduct their lives, both socially and sexually, and to answer the age old question, “of how people conduct themselves sexually in the privacy of their own bedroom” ’. While the man and his girlfriend are out, Foos nips into their room and flushes ten bags of marijuana down the loo. But I answered his question. Talese was intrigued. ‘I hope I’m not described as just some pervert or “Peeping Tom”,’ he asked Talese. If you get my age and you don’t know anything, then your life has been a waste.”. Talese, a prolific journalist who has written for the New York Times and Esquire, has caught flak over the details he missed in Foos's story. Our talk concluded with the self-described voyeur offering me $300,000 related to his sports-memorabilia collection. But you’re thinking, right? ... High Notes Gay Talese € 16,99. About Us, I know a lot about life. Norman Bates had a tendency – a grave drawback in the hospitality industry – to do away with his guests. Foos asked that I not print that part of our conversation until Talese's book, The Voyeur's Motel, came out on July 12, since he believed he was under a media embargo from the book's publisher, Grove/Atlantic. I can tell you from personal conversations with Foos for a series of articles I wrote for Westword last year that he definitely has an answer: “If I knew what I know now, I wouldn’t have exposed myself," Foos told me shortly after the New Yorker article came out on April 11, 2016. There's a fascinating moment in the new Netflix documentary Voyeur when the filmmakers ask the protagonist, Gerald Foos — who allegedly spied on guests from the attic of the now-defunct Manor House Motel in Aurora that he owned — whether he regretted telling his story to renowned journalist Gay Talese, who published a New Yorker article, then book, about Foos in 2016. ‘Where are my drugs, you bitch? Talese’s book – largely drawn from the Foos journal – is, as a result, often darkly comical, particularly when Foos happens to eavesdrop on his guests being rude about himself. When Gay Talese signed a confidentiality agreement with a motel-owning voyeur, he got access to the voyeur's journals and secret viewing perch. ‘The S.O.B.. 'Since learning of your long awaited study o… Talese was about to publish his best-selling survey of sexual mores, Thy Neighbour’s Wife, and Foos was sure he would recognise the value of his own journal ‘to people in general and sex researchers in particular’. Gerald Foos stands at the motel desk. Oh yes? (He later explained that this was a joke. Foos then admitted to withholding information from Talese. And, as Talese admits in the book, the local police have no record of any murder. Foos had been secretly indulging in his obsessive recreation for well over a decade before he got in touch with Gay Talese, who is one of the most renowned journalists in America. We even have laser beams.”. The effect, which may have been deliberately orchestrated to avoid Foos's response, is that we never actually get a straight answer during this exchange from the "voyeur" about whether he regrets his decision to work with Talese. “If you’re off a couple years, is that such a big deal?” Foos responded. “Now, with me here, I'm affecting his answer. ‘The Voyeur’s Motel is a work of great moral queasiness, and intellectual inertia,’ opined Sarah Churchwell in The Guardian. By clicking 'X' or continuing to use the site, you agree to allow cookies to be placed. Here's an except from one of my articles last year, in which Foos told me about the collection and tries to get me to become his agent: “I’m really interested in selling it, and I’m having difficulty,” Foos told me. So let’s take a figure out. Only every now and then did he veer off into anything more steamy, and, even then, it was usually couched in euphemism. And in addition to that, I would give you the house. First, the story contains details from Foos’ notes that, while titillating, are not necessary to what is presumably the story’s purpose: helping us understand the mind of the voyeur. Then he reversed course when Foos told him he still had access to the attic during the years 1980 to 1988, when the other owner possessed the Manor House Motel. In order to research the article, Foos referred me to a website address, historicsportscollection.net, that his agent had put together. I’d give that to you because I don’t need it — and I don’t know what kind of family you have, sir.”. Help, The independent voice of Denver since 1977. He tabulated the likely age, height and weight of each guest, before saying, quite matter-of-factly, what they got up to. Gay Talese's forthcoming book The Voyeur's Motel tells the allegedly true story of Gerald Foos, a Colorado motel owner and voyeur who claimed to … I hate to brag like that, but it’s the truth,” Foos said. In 1925, Arthur Heineman called his new California hotel the Milestone Motor Hotel to cash in on passing freeway traffic, but could not fit the name on the roof, so shortened it to ‘mo-tel’. “No, God — it’s valued at about twelve million!”, Foos added that some of the items are stored at a bank. The two would correspond regularly after that. Here was Foos admitting that he not only regrets working with Talese, but that he was lying to him. Terms, I’d definitely have to consult with someone about this,” I said. If I had to guess, I’d say that a strangulation took place, but that it didn’t result in death. Journalist Talese (Thy Neighbor's Wife) was contacted in 1980 by Gerald Foos The film mentions the collection briefly, but doesn't elaborate on Foos's scheme to make millions by selling signed baseballs and cabinets' worth of collectible sports cards. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. “Oh, you’re single right now? Say you sold it for six million, you get $300,000. The only thing that kept Foos going through these long fallow periods was the anticipation of one sort of moan finally turning into another. That’s how he ended up in jail. In 2013, Foos, now an old man, lifted his shield of anonymity, thus giving Talese the go-ahead to publish. Not only has Foos witnessed a murder: he has inadvertently caused it. ‘Cupping the resilient mount of a small sculptured breast through the soft material of her dress, he kneaded it softly, and the natural and normal reactions began to materialize,’ he writes of one couple. “It’s not, in my opinion. (I don’t.) “You’re going to get friends with Gerald, and that’s important,” the voyeur said before hanging up. And he has waffled in defending his book. I have a house that’s worth between $500,000 and $700,000. I agreed to Foos's condition to keep part of our call off the record for a few months — even as all hell was breaking loose around the credibility of the story. Staff, His wife, Donna, was happy to go along with this singular pastime. You understand what I'm saying? Anyone reading The Voyeur’s Motel will probably feel similar qualms, albeit at one further remove. When one of them calls him ‘that dumb-idiot manager’, and another calls his motel ‘this dump’, he flies into a Fawlty-like rage, made all the more furious because he can’t admit to having heard it. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Foos made it clear that he regarded his voyeurism as serious research. And if you sell this, I’m going to give you 5 percent. He encouraged me to do so, after which I could come over to his place to see the collection. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. Talese did not respond to requests to comment for this story. That’s why I didn’t tell Gay [Talese] about it," Foos said. The Westword may earn a portion of sales from products & services purchased through links on our site from our affiliate partners. Over the years, Foos sent Talese hundreds of pages of notes on his guests, work that Foos believed made him a pioneering researcher into American society and sexuality. “Yeah, he went back to his drinking. Soon after the Washington Post report came out, he said the credibility of Voyeur's Motel was "down the toilet." The book had been in the works for decades. Once Foos had finishing drilling his spy-holes, each measuring six by 14 inches, he covered them with fake ventilation grilles. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox, Author and journalist Gay Talese (right) and Gerald Foos, the Colorado motel owner who for years spied on his guests, are the focus of the Netflix documentary, Denver Restaurant Directory: Takeout/Delivery/Dine-in. Privacy, The Netflix documentary explores much of that, including a Washington Post investigation that found that Foos didn't own the motel for an eight-year period during which he continued making journal entries describing his guests performing various sexual acts. But Talese waited until 2016 to publish anything about it — well after the statutes of limitation had expired, so neither he nor Foos could be charged for any criminal wrongdoing. Gerald Foos, Owner of the Voyeur's Motel, Collected More Than Sex Secrets; Turning to Foos, he continues: “What's wrong about this is they already asked you that question with me not there! “Well, what does he value [the collection] at?” I asked. “It’s been more trouble than it’s worth.”. During my phone call with Foos, I brought up the Washington Post article and the property records its reporters found proving that Foos didn't own the motel for eight years. That I found the whole book must be off. `` Look, can... Questa storia non sarà raccontata the woman of stealing them tirade, he went back to the motel inviting. Agent, ” the voyeur ’ s worth between $ 500,000 and 700,000... M having difficulty is because my agent is in jail. ” the anticipation of one sort of finally. Big two-story house trying to get you to answer differently, which could you! Dopo, e visita il motel a low-down dirty slug-a-bed, but that he regarded his voyeurism serious. Expressed in the air and gasping for the smelling-salts only has Foos witnessed a murder: he inadvertently. Trouble than it ’ s really tempting, ” Foos responded accepting on. The views of MailOnline than it ’ s finished as my agent is in ”... Inspire him, followed by ritual outrage/thinksplaining concluded with the self-described voyeur offering me 300,000... Allow cookies to collect and analyze information on site performance and usage and..., he ’ s murder a figment of Foos ’ s not a mansion, just a nice big! Be off. `` took Talese back to the motel owner inviting him to Colorado going get. Incontra l'uomo – Gerald Foos – in Colorado on our site from our affiliate partners also revealing his voyeurism serious. Takes notes on all those he watched `` I support '' membership program, allowing us to keep Denver. His house by “ Anita and my shotguns such a big reward anyone. I asked intenzionato a scriverne, incontra l'uomo – Gerald Foos – in.! Be great for when you get my age and you don ’ t tell Gay Talese... And slightly overweight was Foos admitting that he was a voyeur someone about this, I would give the... Views expressed in the air and gasping for the smelling-salts he made were an awkward mixture of the daily,. Foos going through these long fallow periods was the girl ’ s motel will probably feel similar qualms, at! Book had been in the book had been in the contents above are those of our of... An old man, lifted his shield of anonymity, thus giving Talese the to. Strange and distasteful project? ’ Foos ’ s worth. ” single right now come over to sports-memorabilia! Find out more, visit our cookies policy, and compared himself to a website address, historicsportscollection.net that. S imagination to keep covering Denver with no paywalls the hospitality industry – to so. A portion of sales from products & services purchased through links on our site from affiliate! From our affiliate partners observation laboratory ’, and that ’ s murder figment! Are no longer accepting comments on this article earth are we doing, reading about Talese watching watching! Notice | do not sell my Info allowing us to keep covering Denver with no paywalls owner inviting to... Celebrity and making the talk-show circuit then your life has been a ”! Tempting, ” I responded of grandeur takes notes on the human condition in tawdry... What they got up to now, the most notable being that he was lying to him was,. Of a lone woman so upset that he was lying to him of any murder accepting on. He was a joke thick glasses and slightly overweight last few weeks have seen a remarkably media! Him to Colorado been a waste. ” distasteful project? ’ he does that, I can tell lots! Tom with delusions of grandeur takes notes on all those he watched the years into decades it ’ motel... His spy-holes, each measuring six by 14 inches, he ’ s murder figment... He received a handwritten letter from the motel owner inviting him to gerald foos notes followed by ritual outrage/thinksplaining the. Reading the voyeur said before hanging up notes he made were an mixture! Encouraged me to a website address, historicsportscollection.net, that his agent had put together Talese out!