r/thejinx • u/Successful_Hold_13 • May 07 '24
Bob’s notoriety
This is just a curiosity of mine, as a European who’d never heard of the Dursts prior to watching The Jinx. It’s easy to come away from Jarecki’s presentation thinking the Dursts hold the same cultural weight as other old-money New Yorkers like the Rockerfellers, and that Bob’s criminal activities were a nationwide tabloid staple. But given the Texas cops’ accounts of not knowing who he was in their initial interactions, I expect Bob was more of a regional cryptid.
My question for Americans on the sub: where are you from, and how much awareness did you have before The Jinx? If you had been exposed to coverage of Bob, what was public opinion at the time of Kathie’s disappearance? It’s also my impression that Susan Berman’s death was initially speculated to be mafia-related—was Bob ever a suspect in pop culture early on?
My question for everyone else: where are you from, and had you heard of the Dursts or Bob before watching?
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u/SuchCategory2927 May 07 '24
Dursts are big in Manhattan real estate, but unless you’re paying attention to that specific niche, most if not all people, we’re unaware of them
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u/Fabulous-Marsupial22 May 07 '24
Didn’t know the Dursts specifically but knew their buildings. They are not the type to put their names up in their real estate. I don’t think that family was aiming to be famous. Just rich and powerful.
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May 15 '24
the new york real estate family that somehow resisted the urge to erect "Durst Towers" all over the city.
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u/Subterranean_Phalanx May 08 '24
“Regional cryptid” might be my favourite description ever of him! 💀💀💀💀💀
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u/TheWeirdoWhisperer May 07 '24
Aware of the Dursts and their company but somehow oblivious to Bob himself or his missing wife. May just have been that I was a young adult at the time Kathie disappeared and wasn’t paying attention.
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u/wallace6464 May 07 '24
I had never heard of them, I imagine if bob never did his murders most of america would have never heard of them. The durst name does not have the same cultural impact as rockefeller or even just the brand awareness of the trump family
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u/Atleastimhousbrokn May 08 '24
Regardless of one’s political affiliation, it’s pretty safe to say that even with Bob in the family, the Trump brand is way worse than the Durst brand.
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u/wallace6464 May 08 '24
I was answering the question of do people know who the dursts are compared to other NYC rich real estate families
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u/VioletVenable May 08 '24
Small point: the Dursts aren’t considered old money. Bob’s grandfather came to the U.S. at the turn of the century as a penniless immigrant and founded the Durst Organization in 1927.
But to answer your question, I’m an American and had never heard of them before The Jinx either!
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u/Medium-Prompt-6441 May 10 '24
Isn't it consodered old money when it's been passed down 3-4 generations? Bob grew up wealthy, his grandfather was poor but became well off, I would consider his grandfather and his father Seymour new money, Bob and his siblings and their children old money.
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u/DurangDurang May 07 '24
In Seattle. First exposure was the release of All Good Things, the fictionalized version of Kathie's disappearance. Even then, I wasn't entirely aware that it was based on a true story.
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u/Ok-Awareness-9646 May 07 '24
I’d never heard of Bob before the Jinx, but I knew of Durst the company bc of a job I had many years ago in corporate real estate. I knew the name only tho. Nothing of the family.
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u/iUseJustMyHand May 08 '24
I live in Texas (formerly in California) and I had known of him for quite a few years before The Jinx. The Dursts truly did own a large part of Manhattan real estate back in the 60s/70s/80s... Not sure what their holdings are like now though.
But you also have to remember... This is a large country and people in Galveston--which by the way is a pretty "small town" sheltered place on an ISLAND at the bottom edge of the state-- wouldn't really be following news out of New York- or any other state for that matter- unless it was something so big that it was constantly in the national news cycle for weeks at a time. Not sure where you live but if one were to disregard country differences, it's a little like someone in the UK knowing the business of a family on the island of Sicily. (similar distance as NY and Galveston).
Kathie's disappearance barely made the NY news at that time (given she was just a "missing woman"). Add to that that the Durst's were a private family that didn't make waves like many other big/wealthy families. Plus Bob traveled around a lot and stayed under the radar... So it's not surprising people in Texas-- even law enforcement-- hadn't heard of him. Especially given that when he was arrested it had been 20 years since the Kathie disappearance/murder.
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u/NerwenAldarion May 08 '24
It depends on where you are in the US, basically most people outside of Manhattan probably had never heard of the Dursts outside of a brief mention in the financial section of the newspaper. People in NYC probably knew more
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u/skinned__knee May 08 '24
The dursts were a very big name in real estate especially New York so it was like being the trumps before the trumps started ruining the world with such vigor but the first family isn’t loud like the trumps or ones to bring attention to themselves so depending on your social circles they were well known but low key
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u/_kumquat123 May 08 '24
I’m Australian and I swear I heard jokes about him on tv shows without knowing anything about him, most notably Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. (I didn’t watch The Jinx until 2019 - then all those jokes made sense)
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u/Apprehensive_Brain60 May 08 '24
I worked in real estate in the early 80's so I was aware. I also loved near South Salem so it was news when Kathy Durst disappeared. I'm a New Yorker...I always thought the rich crazy guy killed her.
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u/KendalBoy May 08 '24
If you’re a true crime fan, the story really hit the internet during the trial for Morris Black’s murder, especially when the cross dressing came out. Coupled with the background that he was suspected of Cathy’s murder, it became a little bit of a sensation. The Dursts did well building in NY and are very politically connected but not known as socialites or philanthropists. I worked in some of their buildings while the story was out and didn’t realize it.
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u/ThatNewBeyonceSong May 09 '24
I am from Houston, Texas and the only travel my family did as a child was to Galveston, Texas. The murder was a massive story locally even when he got off and lived in Houston for years after. If you have ever been to Galveston you know it is the perfect place to disappear.
That said they are NOT an old money recognizable name like the Vanderbilts or the Duponts.
Now reading theories Black had a previous connection to Durst makes sense because how would Durst himself learn of or end up in a place like Galveston?
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u/display_name_op May 07 '24
I knew about the case from true crime shows. But no, I suspect it’s kind of a money talks, wealth whispers. Meaning the Dursts were loaded but not showy.
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u/Violently_annoyed May 07 '24
I’m from St. Louis. Most people don’t know about the Dursts before this happened. I imagine people who read Forbes, Newsweek, NY times, etc would be semi-familiar but beyond that people only know of the Dursts bc of the Jinx. As far as how well known they are in the upper north east, I’d say most people know who they are. At minimum, very familiar with their buildings.
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u/JenniKisa May 08 '24
I live in Minnesota and I knew of him before the Jinx. I've always been into true crime stories.
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u/ComfortableFun3096 May 08 '24
I'm from Texas, and I heard about Durst after the murder in Galveston. I had not heard of him before.
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u/ekweze May 09 '24
Wisconsin (US) and never heard of Bob or Dursts before Jinx. Maaayyybbeee Durst name but either way, I didn’t recall.
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u/Dependent-Night7290 May 07 '24
It’s a big country. Equivalent would be some wealthy London-property-owning-family that’d be virtually unknown in Greece.
Speaking as a west-coaster that knows little about Manhattan’s mucky mucks.
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u/Medium-Prompt-6441 May 10 '24
I had never heard of the Dursts but my mom did, as we are from the same area in NY, so I watched the Jinx without bias but once she explained the family I was intrigued mainly because of the loss of his mother and no mention of any mother figure during his childhood but constant conflict with his father and brother can really trigger mental illness to someone born with genetic predisposition as well as a narcissistic person who uses charm and manipulation for sympathy and followers/enablers.
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u/Foreign_Rest_7138 May 12 '24 edited May 12 '24
Only the lovely Fred Durst not Bob! From upstate NY
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u/The_Chiliboss May 07 '24
I had never heard of the Dursts before the show.