Zsa Zsa Conquers Fear, Re-Enacts the Infamous Slap

The long-awaited showdown between Zsa Zsa Gabor and Beverly Hills Police Officer Paul Kramer unfolded dramatically--and even theatrically--Thursday as the motorcycle officer stepped down from a courtroom witness stand so the actress could re-enact her world-famous slap of his face.

In his first public comments on the arrest, Kramer testified in a packed Beverly Hills Municipal courtroom, saying that Gabor called him an “asshole,” sped away from a routine traffic stop and swerved her $215,000 Rolls-Royce at his motorcycle when he gave chase on a hot June afternoon.

Under cross-examination, Kramer was then asked to step down from the witness stand, apparently so the jury could see the size difference between the 6-foot-4-inch policeman and the 5-foot-5-inch actress.

With cameras clicking, Gabor’s attorney, William Graysen, asked his client to approach the officer, who was in his uniform and wearing his motorcycle helmet and sun glasses for the demonstration.

“I’m afraid of him,” she protested.

Graysen asked Kramer to promise not to strike her. The officer so agreed. Still, Gabor resisted, repeating, “I’m afraid of him.”

“Zsa Zsa . . . ,” the attorney pleaded.

Finally, the former Miss Hungary approached the officer and, smiling suddenly, raised her right hand to show how she reached Kramer’s face.

She repeated the motion with her attorney’s assistance. “Let the record show I’m taking Ms. Gabor’s hand and extending it toward Officer Kramer’s cheek,” Graysen said.

The scene had spectators buzzing on a day dominated by Kramer’s testimony about the arrest and his treatment of Gabor, who faces misdemeanor charges of striking an officer, disobeying an officer and driving with an expired license.

Kramer told the court that after pulling over Gabor’s Rolls-Royce for expired registration tags, he had difficulty checking out her expired driver’s license, in part because the birth date had been altered, from 1923 to 1928. The weight also had been altered. Despite the confusion, Kramer said, he cited her for less-serious infractions--enabling her to avoid fines by renewing her driver’s license and registration--rather than for more serious misdemeanors.

Asked by Deputy Dist. Atty. Elden Fox why he did not issue a misdemeanor citation for the expired license because of the alteration, Kramer answered: “It was an amateur job of alteration.”

Kramer repeatedly denied being abusive, saying he cursed the actress only after she resisted being handcuffed. “I told her to quit ------- around,” he said.

Asked why he had spoken that way, despite a police policy against using obscenity, Kramer said, “Because I couldn’t get her attention.”

Cursing Alleged

In his opening statement, Graysen said he would present evidence to show that Kramer cursed repeatedly at Gabor during the altercation. Graysen said the actress at one point protested that Kramer was hurting her wrists.

“He said to her, ‘I don’t care if I break your ------- arms,’ ” Graysen said.

Under oath, Kramer denied the assertion.

Meanwhile, Gabor, 60-something, eluded her lawyer during a lunch break, thus also eluding the court-imposed gag order on the case.

“This is so ridiculous in my life,” she said. “This is aggravating. He (Kramer) should have apologized and kissed my hand. . . . That’s what a European gentleman would have done.”

Referring to Kramer’s testimony, in which he glanced several times at police reports, Gabor said: “He has to read what he said, because he forgot what he lied.”

Gabor also said she was surprised at Kramer’s height, adding: “Did you see his arms? He’s very gorgeous. But I don’t think he’s very brainy.”