Many people come to Hollywood seeking to change their fortunes. The hopeful stars are often poor and see the City of Angels as their ticket from rags to riches. A privileged son of the Hollywood elite, however, may have done the reverse.

Twenty-three-year-old Adam Hecht was living a life that would have been most people’s dream. Born into Tinseltown wealth, he grew up with a plentiful supply of money and expensive toys. But in early 1989, following a random encounter with a man from a completely different background, he seemed to become disenchanted with his privileged status. By midyear Adam Hecht may have said to heck with the high life.

On June 7, 1989, Adam was seen leaving his plush Beverly Hills residence, never to return. Whether his disappearance was by choice is still the subject of conjecture.

After not hearing from Adam from several days, his mother reported him missing. A police investigation found no evidence or suggestion of foul play, leading investigators to conclude the privileged son of wealth, for reasons known only to himself, had likely chosen to go from riches to rags, spurning his life of luxury for a life on the streets.

 

 

Adam Hecht

Adam Hecht is the middle child of British model-actress Martine Milner, the widow of Academy Award-winning film producer Harold Hecht.

Left to Right: Adam, Sister Rebecca, Brother Harold, Jr., Mother Martine

On the morning of January 10, 1989, Adam met his older brother Harold for breakfast at a Los Angeles deli. As they entered, a vagrant named Tony was loitering outside and made eye contact with Adam.

As the Hecht brothers ate their breakfasts, Harold noticed Adam repeatedly glancing out the window at Tony. When the brothers exited the deli, Adam approached the vagrant, chatted with him for approximately a minute, and gave him money.

This seemingly small bit of charity changed Adam Hecht’s life and may have led to his disappearance.

Innocuous Encounter at the Deli

Over the following few weeks, as Adam spent increasingly more time socializing with Tony, his friends and family noticed a change in his behavior. He seemed to become disillusioned with what he called his “pampered life,” and became interested in mysticism and meditation.

Adam told friends he partook in several mystical rites of Tony’s devising. During a “test of endurance” involving fire, he severely burned his right hand.

Adam Burns His Hand

On June 7, 1989, after being unable to reach Adam for three days, Harold went to his brother’s apartment. When he arrived, Tony answered the door but refused to let Harold inside.

Tony told Harold Adam was not there and that he did not know where he was.

Harold Hect, Jr. Adam’s Brother

Two days later, Tony again answered the door when Martine arrived at Adam’s apartment; he again said he did not know Adam’s whereabouts, but he allowed her inside.

After not finding Adam there, Martine contacted the Beverly Hills Police to report her son missing.

Martine Miller, Adam’s Mother

On July 9, one month after Adam was last seen, Tony was evicted from the apartment. After interviewing him, police concluded he had anything to do with Adam’s disappearance and had no knowledge of his whereabouts.

One month later, Adam’s car was found abandoned along a Beverly Hills street a few miles from his apartment. On the seat lay his jacket and his wallet containing $600 in cash and all of his credit cards. The keys were in the ignition, and several parking tickets were on the car’s windshield, indicating it had been parked there for some time.

A search of the car showed no signs of robbery or foul play and failed to produce any indication of Adam’s whereabouts.

Car Found, But No Adam

The Hecht family insisted Adam did not willingly disappear and that Tony knew more than he claimed. Authorities, however, cleared Tony as a suspect in Adam’s disappearance and say there is no evidence that Adam was murdered by a street person.

While searching Skid Row for clues to Adam’s whereabouts one year after his disappearance, Harold said he encountered Tony and again pressed him for information. Harold said Tony cryptically answered that if he (Harold) stayed on the streets long enough, he would find the answer.

Does Tony Know Adam’s Fate?

Adam Arthur Hecht has been missing since June 7, 1989. At the time of his disappearance he was twenty-three-years-old, five-feet-eleven-inches tall, and weighed one-hundred-sixty pounds. He had black hair, hazel eyes, and he may still have burn scars on his right hand. He would today be fifty-eight-years-old.

Adam is classified as a “Missing Person,” as opposed to an “Endangered Missing Person” because there is no evidence of foul play in his disappearance. Police believe he disappeared voluntarily, spurning his riches for the streets of Skid Row. His family disagrees.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of Adam Hecht, please contact the Beverly Hills Police Department 310-550-4951.

Did Adam Hecht Say ‘the Hecht with the High Life’?

These photos of Tony was taken in 2019. He is apparently still living on the Skid Rows streets of Los Angeles.

Photo from lostnfoundblogs.

Tony

Adam Hecht’s father, Harold Sr., died in 1985, four years before Adam’s disappearance. He and Martine Milner, twenty-nine-years his junior, were married from 1962 to 1974.

Harold Hecht was a prominent Hollywood film producer and dance director. He produced the 1955 Oscar-winning film Marty and the 1958 Oscar-nominated film Separate Tables.  He was also often the business partner and manager of actor Burt Lancaster.

Martine had a cameo in Hecht’s 1962 film Taras Bulba.

 

Adam’s parents, Harold Hecht, Sr. and Martine Miller

Adam’s older brother, Harold Hecht, Jr. has worked as a television sports producer.

Younger sister Rebecca owns a baking business.

 

Successful Siblings

SOURCES:

• Charley Project
• Doe Network
• Los Angeles Times
• Unsolved Mysteries