8 Troubling Details About Armie Hammer’s Family History Of Murder, Forgery & Money Laundering
This family seems cursed.
Andre Luiz Moreira / Shutterstock With the release of "Death On The Nile," disgraced actor Armie Hammer has found himself in the news once again.
The "Call Me By Your Name" star was once a Hollywood favorite but with the emergence of several rape and sexual abuse allegation in January 2021, Hammer has been largely absent from public life.
Following the emergence of messages depicting disturbing sexual fetishes and cannibalism and a criminal rape case filed in March 2021, many were appalled by the alleged actions of the actor behind closed doors — all of which he claims were consensual.
However, for those familiar with Hammer's family history and the many dysfunctions in the family of one of America's richest oil tycoons, the allegations are part of a laundry list of criminal accusations.
Here are 8 details about Armie Hammer’s family’s troubling past.
1. Hammer’s great-great-great grandfather, Dr. Julius Hammer was charged with manslaughter in 1919.
The Hammer family's earliest scandal occurred when Dr. Julius Hammer had performed an abortion on a Russian diplomat’s wife, Marie Oganesoff.
She died a few days later from the procedure and Julius received a first-degree manslaughter charge. He received a sentence of 3.5-12 years in Sing Sing.
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Julius also reportedly had ties to the American Communist Party having moved from Russia to the Bronx.
2. Armand Hammer was accused of funding Soviet espionage and covering up Watergate.
Julius’ son Armand Hammer also shared ties with the communist party and left the U.S to live in Russia shortly after his father's imprisonment.
Vladimir Lenin had allegedly sent Joseph Stalin encouraging the dictator to build connections with Armand in order to find a pathway to the American business world.
He moved back to the U.S. in the 1950s after nearly a decade in Russia and tried to distance his reputation from Soviet associations.
However, after his death in the 1990s, the Occidental Petroleum chairman was accused of helping cover up Watergate by making an illegal contribution to Nixon's reelection campaign.
He also allegedly knocked off the jeweled Faberge eggs by the jewelry firm House of Faberge and faced accusations that he funded Soviet espionage through artwork.
When Armand passed away in 1990, Michael, Armie’s father, inherited the $180 million fortune.
3. Julian Hammer killed a man the day after his 26th birthday and sexually abused his daughter.
Julian, the son of Armand, allegedly killed a man in 1955 inside of his Los Angeles home because of gambling debts.
However, surprisingly all charges were dropped and Julian walked free.
Armand allegedly had someone deliver $50,000 to a lawyer and Julian claimed self-defense.
Julian’s daughter Casey also claimed in her book “Surviving my Birthright” that Julian abused her as a child along with others in the family.
4. Armie Hammer's grandfather allegedly threatened to kill his son over an inheritance battle.
When Micheal Hammer the estate inherited his grandfather, Armand, it drove a wedge between the already embattled family.
Within hours of Armand’s death, police officers summoned to his home observed Michael attempting to remove belongings and load them into five waiting cars — the battle over the estate continues to this day.
Armie Hammer's aunt, Casey Hammer, has been notoriously critical of her famous family and told Vanity Fair that Armand bypassed his son in order to pass on the majority of his empire to his slightly less scandalous grandson.
Casey and her father received $250,000 each.
Casey says that, the day after the will reading she had to sit with her father “so he doesn’t blow his brains out because now he’s threatening to kill me, he’s threatening to kill Michael, he’s threatening to kill everybody.”
5. Rumors that Micheal Hammer has hidden part of the Hammer fortune remain.
100 claims and lawsuits were made against Armand Hammer's estate from mistresses, family members and other who felt entitled to the multimillion dollar fortune.
However, rumors still linger that the fortune has been partially hidden by Armand — and is still hidden by Micheal. Some believe Armand stockpiled large sums in cash lockboxes and secret overseas bank accounts.
These rumors were only advanced when Michael's college friend, who he had appointed as vice president of the Armand Hammer Foundation was arrested after a flight back from London with $60,000 in undeclared cash.
An investigation reveal that he had made almost 12 trips abroad that only lasted 36 hours. Michael Hammer posted his bail and he was later acquitted.
6. The Hammer family's gallery was embroiled in a 2011 forgery scandal.
Armie's father, Micheal had inhertied the family's New York City Knoedler Gallery after Armand’s death but it wasn't the success he might have hoped for.
In 2011, the gallery shut suddenly as it faced a lawsuit from hedge fund executive Pierre Lagrange who alleged that he had been sold a forged Pollock painting for $17 million.
In the many lawsuits that followed, the gallery was accused of selling around $70 million worth of fake paintings in a con that allegedly stretched back to 1994.
The paintings were all allegedly painted by a little-known artist in Queens.
All of the 10 lawsuits were settled but not before a Knoedler accountant alleged, in court, that Micheal Hammer had used a company credit card to buy two luxury cars and a trip to Paris for over $1 million.
When Micheal sold one of the cars later, he kept the money from the sale and listed it on his W-2 as salary.
7. Armie Hammer’s father Michael Hammer reportedly owned a ‘sex throne’.
Among his many and varied high-profile scandals, there are also plenty of rumors about Micheal's private life.
Armie father is reported to have frequently bragged to people about owning a 7 foot “sex throne” which he keeps in the Armand Hammer Foundation headquarters in Carpinteria, California.
Micheal reportedly lived in the warehouse for several years after his divorce.
People familiar with the rumor claim the “naughty chair” was “about seven feet high, features a chair with a hole in the seat, a cage underneath, and a hook.”
The Hammer coat of arms is reportedly painted on the seat.
8. Armie Hammer spent a night in jail in 2011.
Before 2020’s allegations were common knowledge, Armie seemed to already have an arrest on his record.
After Armie had risen to fame, in spite of his family's sordid past, he told Conan O’Brien in 2018 how he had been arrested in 2011.
This was actually the same year his father had been pulled over for a DUI.
Armie and a friend had been transporting supplies to his and his wife Elizabeth Chambers bakery, Bird.
At a checkpoint, a dog sniffed marijuana in their truck. Armie then spent the night in jail. He said, “the inmates were great” according to Vanity Fair.
Armie Hammer’s family history is filled with a generational curse that seems to have had devastating impacts on people who've crossed their paths.
Sydney is a writer who focuses on News and Entertainment topics.