10 Questions with Dr. Ava Cadell, editor of Blood & Justice on the Sunset Strip and widow of the late Peter Knecht
1) Your late husband Peter Knecht was quite a character! Who was he and what did he do?
Professionally, Peter Knecht served as the District Attorney for Beverly Hills and Malibu before going into private practice, when he opened the Law Offices of Peter L. Knecht on the Sunset Strip in 1966. He became a renowned Criminal Defense Attorney who represented many Hollywood celebrities, and he appeared as a TV analyst on criminal justice for major media outlets, such as Good Morning America, The Today Show, and Celebrity Justice. He also appeared as a legal expert on numerous television networks, including CNN, FOX NEWS, MSNBC, ABC, CBS and NBC.
In his personal life, Peter was compassionate and empathetic, refusing to kill a fly or a spider. He would save the lives of insects by catching them in a glass, then releasing them outside. He was a wonderful husband, who supported my passions and career choices, and he was a devoted son to his parents. However, he admits that he wasn’t a particularly good father to Chance, who is now a great father to his children, Aaron and Claire. Those kids call me Glamma, and I love having a family that will continue Peter’s name and legacy.
2) Peter worked with dozens of Hollywood's biggest celebrities in his line of work. How did he feel about working in Hollywood and who were some of his favorite clients?
In his book, Peter has sensational tales to tell about his celebrity client base, but his favorites were The Beverly Hills Madam, who was not only a madam but served for twenty years as a highly valued informant for the intelligence division of the LAPD, with Peter representing her. She was also a friend of ours, and we were with her at her deathbed. Gary Busey was another friend – he would attend Peter’s birthday parties and play his guitar while singing Happy Birthday to him. We awarded Gary an Award at our Celebration of Life, Hope and Inspiration event for his near-death experience after crashing his motorbike.
Another of Peter’s pals was Dan Haggerty, aka Grizzly Adams, who was a client of Peter’s and mine, and was always fun to be around. He joined us at charity events for Ahead with Horses, a charity for special needs children in which equine therapy is used - Dan helped give out sports medals to the disabled children. Peter was fond of Robert Downey Jr., who lived across from us in the house where Peter was attacked and later moved to Malibu, where we would bump into him in restaurants. Robert would always tell everyone what a great lawyer Peter was. Peter was so proud of how Robert kicked his drug habit and revived his career to become a mega superstar!
Peter made all his clients feel like stars, and not just the famous and infamous ones, such as Sly Stone, David Crosby, Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Ike Turner, Ryan and Tatum O'Neal, Robert Blake, Charles Bronson, Andy Garcia, John Barrymore Jr., Jason Priestly, Rob Lowe, Heidi Fleiss and Tom Sizemore, among others.
3) Peter had a near death experience in 1998. Please tell us about that!
On May 15th, 1998, Peter suffered a horrific, near-death experience that added new meaning to the phrase “Cutthroat Lawyer.” At our home, one block North of the Sunset Strip, men attacked him on our property. He had his throat slit from ear to ear, ironically falling victim to the kinds of men whose rights he often upheld in court. Peter’s bravery was unparalleled, as he stopped the assailants from cord-cuffing his hands, while saying to himself, “I just couldn’t allow myself to give in to them, knowing my wife and mother were inside the house.”
After saving the lives of his mother and myself by not allowing the assailants to enter our home, Peter literally rose from a pool of his own blood into a life of chastened values. It is from that humbling vantage that he looked back on a storied legal career that spanned five tumultuous decades in Los Angeles. But, for both of us, it was a situation that allowed our love to blossom beautifully.
4) Peter wrote Blood & Justice years before he passed away in 2014. How did you go about getting his memoir published posthumously?
Peter finished his book just before he died, and I promised him that I would get it published, so I’m grateful to have it published by BearManor Media during the Fall of 2024, and in conjunction with the 10th Anniversary of his death. This book is a true testament to his strong love of the law, where he practiced in LA and said, “Justice is in short supply, and anything but impartial, whether the defendants are hardcore criminals or paparazzi-stalked celebrities.”
Publishing his book posthumously ensures that Peter’s thoughts, words, and legacy will live on, making him immortal in the hearts and minds of readers. This book is a powerful way by which I got one final chance to express how Peter’s influence and spirit will continue to impact others, well into the future.
5) Peter changed the "Search and Seizure" Laws in California. How did he go about doing that?
Peter attended the University of Southern California and Southwestern College of Law, and later taught “Search and Seizure” at the LA Sheriff’s Academy. He is credited with forever changing California’s search and seizure laws by taking adverse rulings to the Appellate and Supreme Courts of California.
6) How and when did you meet Peter? How did your own career meld in with his career?
We met when I was a writer for the Tolucan Newspaper in the San Fernando Valley – I wrote human interest profiles for them, and a friend introduced me to Peter on his birthday. The article I wrote was called, The Nobel Advocate, and I was instantly attracted to his intellectual mind and sense of humor. He was smitten with me for writing that he was the reincarnation of Napoleon! And that the age I reported on about him was actually 10 years younger than it really was!
7) After Peter survived his near-death experience in 1998, you and he presented annual Celebration of Life parties. What were those all about and who were some of the people that attended those events?
We started our Celebration of Life Annual Party after Peter recovered. At those annual events, he and I gave out awards to people who had had near death experiences, like veteran TV reporter Adrienne Alpert, who was severely burned when a mast antenna from a news van touched a power line, sending 35,000 volts of electricity surging through her body. Her accident led to several surgeries and resulted in the amputation of her left arm and right leg, as well as fingers on her right hand and toes on her left food. She was still recovering, so her husband and their son came to pick up her award that year.
Actor Gary Busey was also a recipient of our award. He was severely injured in a motorcycle accident when he was hit by an oncoming car. He was not wearing a helmet, so his skull was fractured, and he suffered permanent brain damage. To that event, we invited Dr. Jordan Goodstein, the doctor who saved Peter’s life at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, the police officers who arrived at Peter’s near-death crime scene, plus 500 additional family, friends and clients.
8) In the book, Peter writes about he, as an infant, and his parents escaped from the Nazis in Austria during WWII. How do you think that experience affected him becoming an attorney?
Peter was born in Vienna, and Nazi’s stomped on his crib while he was an infant, leaving him for dead. While still an infant, he and his family fled to the U.S. during World War II, eventually landing in Los Angeles.
Peter said that from day one his dad instilled in him that he should be his own boss. He said, “Being Jewish or from any minority, you’re going to have a hard time in life, especially if you don’t have a universal profession, like being a doctor or even a hairdresser. They can all get along if they are forced to escape, no matter where they may emigrate. They have a talent that’s needed everywhere.” To this, Peter replied, “I want to practice the kind of law that would prevent what happened to us in Vienna – that would prevent the government from kicking in our door and stealing from us and killing us.”
He went on to attend the University of Southern California and Southwestern College of Law, and later taught “Search and Seizure” at the LA Sheriff’s Academy. As a young lawyer, his liberal idealism was founded on lessons learned from his Austrian parents and their experience as Jews persecuted by the Nazi’s during the Holocaust.
9) Ava, your own career has been quite remarkable - you went from being a model, to an actress, to a therapist, to an author, to an entrepreneur, to a teacher, to a global lecturer, to now the owner of a spiritual retreat in California. What are you focusing your energies on mostly today?
Today I am focusing on helping people to heal with my Certified Healing Program for Coaches. People can learn more about that here: https://www.loveuniv.com/certified-healing-coach And I’m also spending much of my time at my spiritual retreat, fulfilling a long-held dream of mine. The retreat features a Buddhist Temple that I purchased from monks who lived there for 23 years. People can learn more about the retreat here: www.loveologyretreat.com
10) This year marks the 10-year anniversary of Peter's passing. What do you think he would have thought about having his book come out in 2024?
I think that Peter would be pleased to know that the book he worked so tirelessly on had finally been published. His office was on the famous Hollywood Sunset Strip for over five decades. I have a feeling that his spirit will be present during our book launch event on Oct. 18, 2024, when we will present Blood & Justice at the famed Book Soup store on the Sunset Strip. Not so coincidentally, that store just happens to be located a few blocks from Peter’s longtime office building!