LAT reports that Judith Regan's sudden firing late Friday afternoon came right after a phone conversation with a HarperCollins attorney that included comments described by a Times source as "offensive." Regan's imprint is part of HarperCollins, which is a unit of News Corp. The lawyer was apparently working out problems related to an upcoming Regan book on a fictional "reimagineering" of Micky Mantle's life, which includes suggestions that the Yankee star and Marilyn Monroe were having an affair. The Times doesn't provide details of Regan's comments to the lawyer, but they must have been choice because she was fired soon after. (After the O.J. mess, I wouldn't be surprised if News Corp. - or at least HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman - were just waiting for one more transgression before giving her the boot.) All this was happening just as Rupert Murdoch's News Corp was having its holiday party at the New York Hilton. Most of the 4,000 folks attending were unaware of the Regan drama. From the LAT:

Regan was informed of her dismissal by a letter faxed to her office late Friday, according to the source. Regan apparently packed up her office and left that evening, even as some of her colleagues attended News Corp.'s annual holiday party at the New York Hilton, where executives and the rank and file — more than 4,000 people, some dressed in ball gowns — crammed into various halls, each decorated in the theme of a different continent.

The Times, which had four reporters working the story, also reported that Regan's imprint will be run by Editorial Director Cal Morgan, although without Regan herself at the helm, it's unclear how long that might last.

Previously:
Judith Regan gets the ax
Judith Regan gets pink slip
Look who's coming to town

http://www.laobserved.com/biz/2006/12/judith_regan_gets_th.php