I'm thoroughly disgusted with my present dire health condition and writing medical updates. While I take a much-needed break, instead of abandoning you completely, I'm going to post a series of old reruns.
This was posted many years ago on my old Texas blog Lone Star Concerto - - this month (in 2025) marks the 56th anniversary of actress Sharon Tate's murder (August, 1969).
It has nothing to do with ghosts - - but I still think it's fairly interesting and worthy of a "rerun" post, for those who have never read it.
It has nothing to do with ghosts - - but I still think it's fairly interesting and worthy of a "rerun" post, for those who have never read it.
Jon
Everybody has heard about the Sharon Tate murders. If you haven't, look it up and you'll find plenty to read. Here's a quick recap:
On the night of August 8/9, 1969, fledgling actress Sharon Tate was savagely murdered in her rented Beverly Hills house, along with four other people. Tate was twenty-six years old and nine months pregnant. She was due to give birth in two weeks.
Her husband, movie director Roman Polanski, was in London at the time and expected to arrive back in L.A. within a few days. Since Sharon didn't want to be alone during her husband's extended absence, she had invited three friends to stay with her:
Abigail Folger (the coffee heiress), Voytek Frykowski (Folger's lover), and hairdresser Jay Sebring.
A nineteen-year-old boy named Steven Parent was also murdered that night, simply because he happened to be visiting the caretaker of the house, who lived in a guest house on the premises. Steven Parent didn't know Sharon Tate.
The murders were committed by the hippie cult "family" members of Charles Manson.
To say that the murders caused a mega media frenzy would be a gross understatement. Sharon Tate and Charles Manson became household names and the L.A. news media feasted on the subject for years. The Manson murder trial was undoubtedly the biggest media event in Los Angeles history.
So why am I writing this? Because, about a decade after the murders occurred, I lived in a Beverly Hills house that was close to the house where Sharon Tate was murdered.
I lived on Benedict Canyon Rd. The house where the murders took place was on Cielo Drive, which was only a stone's throw away. Cielo Drive was a narrow road just off of Benedict Canyon, which wound into the nearby hills. The house where Tate and Polanski lived was secretly nestled in the hills. If you didn't know it was there, you'd never notice it.
I knew it was there, of course. I'd even heard rumors about resident ghosts and bad things that happened to people who lived in the vicinity of the murder house.
It might have only been a freak coincidence that I had an auto accident on Benedict Canyon - - directly in front of the cut-off to Cielo Drive and within walking distance to the Tate-Polanski house.
And it happened on the 9th of August - - the anniversary of Sharon Tate's death.
Major damage to my car, but miraculously I'm not seriously hurt.
Substantial damage to the Ferrari. The driver gets out. To my surprise, it's an elderly lady with a long cigarette dangling from her Max Factor red lips. Her face-lift was dragged down with a ferocious frown.
Long story short - -
the old buzzard tried to sue me. I had to make an appearance at the Beverly Hills Courthouse. I politely (and timidly) presented my case, then Miz Ferrari presented hers. The judge couldn't decide what to do. After thoughtful consideration he announced that he thought we were both very nice people and he called it a "draw". Nobody won anything. To this day I still maintain that the lady was sailing at a reckless speed.
At the time I was only twenty. I was a musician. I wasn't Perry Mason. I probably didn't present my case with enough passion or conviction.
A few months later, Miz Ferrari attempted to sue me again, but her efforts were denied.
In time I put the unpleasant incident in the distant realm of my memories - - but I always had the strange feeling that being near the Sharon Tate murder house had something to do with my accident and bad luck.
Especially since it happened on the anniversary of the murder.
Who knows..........?
The Tate-Polanski murder house on 10050 Cielo Drive was eventually purchased and subsequently torn down. A new mansion presently stands on the spot. The infamous address has also been changed. I think it was wise to expunge the old address and the horrible ghosts of memories.
A side note:
At the time of the Tate murders, Charles Manson and his drug-crazed cronies lived at the abandoned Spahn Movie Ranch in the Simi Hills near Chatsworth.
Years later, I was at the Spahn Movie Ranch, on location, to watch a movie being filmed (it was an "underground" flick).
All the movie sets had been destroyed in a 1970 wildfire, but the surrounding area was still intriguing enough to be used for "location" shots.
The area is now an historic park.
So much for my adventurous Beverly Hills days.........
The house on Benedict Canyon in Beverly Hills where
I (temporarily) lived as a young musician. It was located near
the house where Sharon Tate was murdered.
I (temporarily) lived as a young musician. It was located near
the house where Sharon Tate was murdered.
Everybody has heard about the Sharon Tate murders. If you haven't, look it up and you'll find plenty to read. Here's a quick recap:
On the night of August 8/9, 1969, fledgling actress Sharon Tate was savagely murdered in her rented Beverly Hills house, along with four other people. Tate was twenty-six years old and nine months pregnant. She was due to give birth in two weeks.
Her husband, movie director Roman Polanski, was in London at the time and expected to arrive back in L.A. within a few days. Since Sharon didn't want to be alone during her husband's extended absence, she had invited three friends to stay with her:
Abigail Folger (the coffee heiress), Voytek Frykowski (Folger's lover), and hairdresser Jay Sebring.
A nineteen-year-old boy named Steven Parent was also murdered that night, simply because he happened to be visiting the caretaker of the house, who lived in a guest house on the premises. Steven Parent didn't know Sharon Tate.
The murders were committed by the hippie cult "family" members of Charles Manson.
To say that the murders caused a mega media frenzy would be a gross understatement. Sharon Tate and Charles Manson became household names and the L.A. news media feasted on the subject for years. The Manson murder trial was undoubtedly the biggest media event in Los Angeles history.
Ill- fated Sharon Tate
So why am I writing this? Because, about a decade after the murders occurred, I lived in a Beverly Hills house that was close to the house where Sharon Tate was murdered.
Sharon Tate and her husband Roman Polanski
I lived on Benedict Canyon Rd. The house where the murders took place was on Cielo Drive, which was only a stone's throw away. Cielo Drive was a narrow road just off of Benedict Canyon, which wound into the nearby hills. The house where Tate and Polanski lived was secretly nestled in the hills. If you didn't know it was there, you'd never notice it.
I knew it was there, of course. I'd even heard rumors about resident ghosts and bad things that happened to people who lived in the vicinity of the murder house.
It might have only been a freak coincidence that I had an auto accident on Benedict Canyon - - directly in front of the cut-off to Cielo Drive and within walking distance to the Tate-Polanski house.
And it happened on the 9th of August - - the anniversary of Sharon Tate's death.
The exact spot on Benedict Canyon
where my accident took place.
where my accident took place.
The 30 MPH sign is in plain view.
I'm pulling out of my driveway on Benedict Canyon late one afternoon. There's a curve in the road and the view is blocked by large juniper trees. As I slowly emerge I'm immediately hit by a speeding Ferrari. The speed limit on the Benedict Canyon curve is 30 MPH. The Ferrari was going at least 65 MPH. The force of the crash was enough to send my modest Ford spinning. Major damage to my car, but miraculously I'm not seriously hurt.
Substantial damage to the Ferrari. The driver gets out. To my surprise, it's an elderly lady with a long cigarette dangling from her Max Factor red lips. Her face-lift was dragged down with a ferocious frown.
Long story short - -
the old buzzard tried to sue me. I had to make an appearance at the Beverly Hills Courthouse. I politely (and timidly) presented my case, then Miz Ferrari presented hers. The judge couldn't decide what to do. After thoughtful consideration he announced that he thought we were both very nice people and he called it a "draw". Nobody won anything. To this day I still maintain that the lady was sailing at a reckless speed.
At the time I was only twenty. I was a musician. I wasn't Perry Mason. I probably didn't present my case with enough passion or conviction.
A few months later, Miz Ferrari attempted to sue me again, but her efforts were denied.
In time I put the unpleasant incident in the distant realm of my memories - - but I always had the strange feeling that being near the Sharon Tate murder house had something to do with my accident and bad luck.
Especially since it happened on the anniversary of the murder.
Who knows..........?
The Tate-Polanski murder house on 10050 Cielo Drive was eventually purchased and subsequently torn down. A new mansion presently stands on the spot. The infamous address has also been changed. I think it was wise to expunge the old address and the horrible ghosts of memories.
A side note:
At the time of the Tate murders, Charles Manson and his drug-crazed cronies lived at the abandoned Spahn Movie Ranch in the Simi Hills near Chatsworth.
Years later, I was at the Spahn Movie Ranch, on location, to watch a movie being filmed (it was an "underground" flick).
All the movie sets had been destroyed in a 1970 wildfire, but the surrounding area was still intriguing enough to be used for "location" shots.
The area is now an historic park.
So much for my adventurous Beverly Hills days.........
The house on Cielo Drive in Beverly Hills where the murders occurred in August, 1969.
It has since been torn down.
56 years, wow. I still remember this tragedy. Even tho' I wasn't a fan, I was so appalled. Grief-stricken even for that poor unborn baby.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't seem like 56 years. I suppose not many people are interested in this nowadays (very obviously). Way back then in L.A. the murders were a HUGE sensation.
DeleteThis story seems familiar to me, I guess from you previously posting it, but it was just as interesting the second time.. Thank you for sharing! It's good to be reading your posts!! Thank you for continuing to blog. Hugs- Louise
ReplyDeleteThank you, Louise. I'll be posting reruns for awhile. Blogging continuously about my health issues is extremely annoying.
DeleteTake care.
I remember this well Jon. So sad. What a small world that you lived so close to this evil.
ReplyDeleteRon
I never thought much about the close evil back then, until the accident on the date she was murdered. Sad and chilling.
DeleteI well remember the Tate-Labianca murders in that fateful summer of 69 even though I was just a kid. All the neighbors in our apartments on Esplanade Street in Orange were talking about it and I remember the news stories on our tv.
ReplyDeleteI can remember when they finally showed Manson and how one of our neighbors (who had been a drug addict, her three toddlers were afflicted with birth defects from her addiction) told us not to look at the tv as she believed that Manson could hypnotize people and have them do his murderous bidding through it ! Everyone in So Cal was on edge, and people in the area of the murders were buying guns, guard dogs and security services.
Those roads in the Hollywood hills are treacherous as hell, they always have accidents on them because they are narrow with sharp turns and blind spots galore. Made worse these days by all the parked cars that turn them into one way streets.
One of my aunts and her husband rented a house in Westwood right off the 405 freeway and Sunset Blvd back in 1962. Their driveway was steep as the house was on a hillside, it was dangerous as they had to back their cars out onto Sunset Blvd as other cars came racing around the corner. One of them would have to stand on the sidewalk and make sure no cars were coming so the other could safely back their car out onto the street. They then had to hit the gas to avoid being rear ended ! :(
The only good thing about the house was that my aunt had celebrities for neighbors. Many celebrities were renting houses in the area because they lost their homes in the Bel Air fire of 1961.
(as Bel Air is just north of Westwood)
Among their neighbors was actor Burt Lancaster and his family. My aunt’s daughter would play with his kids and went to school with some of them.
One day my grandmother visited and didn’t believe it. My aunt was making lunch when the doorbell rang and she asked my grandmother to answer the door. There standing in the doorway with his million dollar smile was Burt Lancaster ! My grandmother was floored as she was a great fan of his. More was to come when my aunt would take her to lunch and for shopping in Bev Hills and Hollywood. :)
-Rj
Well, we were both living in Orange County back then in the summer of 69. My parents had a house in Anaheim about five miles from Disneyland. I used to ride my bike there. Things were so different back then.
DeleteYes, those roads in the Hollywood Hills are treacherous. They were dangerous when I was 20. I can only imagine how bad they are now. I'd never want to go back.
Wow - - imagine Burt Lancaster showing up at your aunt's door! Now that's really a story to tell. Thanks for sharing it.