Janelle Delabar passed away at the age of 69 following a heart attack. Though she spent only a short time around the girls, that brief period left a lasting impression on her and became a meaningful part of her life story.
Janelle held a deep admiration for them, especially Sandy, whose act of kindness meant so much that Janelle kept the shirt Sandy gave her for all those years. It was a simple gesture that became a lifelong keepsake, a tangible reminder of a moment she never forgot.
Her connection to that chapter of history continued long after her time with the girls. Janelle became an advocate for the release of Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel, maintaining her own convictions about their lives and futures.
In the years that followed, Janelle pursued a different path, appearing in B-movie horror and science-fiction films. She seemed to embrace the fun of making these productions, regardless of how cheesy, low-budget, or over-the-top they might have been. One of her later films was Attack of the 50 Foot Cam Girl, a fitting example of the wonderfully unconventional world she enjoyed being part of.
I also remember a conversation that revealed something endearing about Janelle. She told me about being around the girls outside the courthouse. When I sent her a photograph from that time, she was surprised and asked how I had obtained it. I explained that it was available on the internet, and she responded that the girl in the picture was her. She had not even realized that she appeared in photographs that had been published over the years. That moment offered a glimpse of someone who was not particularly internet-savvy, yet had unknowingly become part of the photographic record of a significant period in history.
Janelle's story reminds us that even a brief encounter can leave a lasting mark. History is made up not only of its most famous names, but also of the people who passed through those lives, carried their memories forward, and preserved their own connections to the past.
Janelle will be remembered for the kindness she received and never forgot, the causes she supported, the films she enjoyed making, and the unique experiences that made her story her own.
Rest in peace, Janelle Delabar. May she be remembered with warmth and affection by those who knew her and those who continue to discover her story.
Someone who sided for the release of LVH and PK - savage fucking murderers of human beings in a truly unfathomable way, should NOT be mourned . Wasted life
ReplyDeleteDid you find out the name of the other young girl that is behind her shoulder?. The other young girl also appeared in an earlier sidewalk photo.
ReplyDeleteAlmost has the look of Moorehouse about her, but hair a bit light. Or maybe just has a dirtier face than usual.
DeleteI believe that might be J. Gentry
DeleteWell, I got a severe sugar overload reading this glowing tribute. Anything in her life more honest form her about her Sandy Goode Salad days?? Regret for supporting murderers? No? Oh well...
ReplyDeleteThere isn't anything wrong with someone like Janelle who believed in reform.
ReplyDeleteI believe that to understand Janelle Delabar and others who gravitated toward the Manson Family, we must consider the extraordinary social and political upheaval of the late 1960s.
ReplyDeleteThe years 1968–1970 were particularly turbulent in American history. The Vietnam War, widespread antiwar protests, racial tensions, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, following President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, contributed to a generation’s growing disillusionment with traditional institutions and authority.
Many of those attracted to Charles Manson were troubled, alienated, and emotionally vulnerable young people searching for acceptance, identity, and a sense of belonging. In my view, the Family became a gathering of socially marginalized adolescents and young adults, some exhibiting antisocial behavior, who found validation in one another’s rejection of conventional society.
The psychological concept of folie à deux, or shared delusion, comes to mind, although perhaps folie à la famille is a more fitting metaphor. Within this insular group, individual judgment could become increasingly subordinate to collective beliefs, reinforced by Manson’s manipulation, charismatic authority, and psychological control.
What I find particularly troubling is the continued romanticization of membership in the Manson Family. While I can appreciate that some former associates remember feelings of companionship, freedom, or belonging, those memories cannot be separated entirely from the exploitation, violence, and devastating consequences associated with the group.
There is a distinction between understanding the circumstances that led vulnerable young people into Manson’s orbit and celebrating the experience itself.
Ultimately, I see the Manson Family less as an expression of the idealism of the 1960s and more as a tragic example of what can happen when alienation, emotional vulnerability, group conformity, and a manipulative leader converge during a period of profound social instability.
Sandra-What war and revolution other than the Beatles White album? You’ve never identified? Solely because you had a baby by the murderer father of Fary Hinman?
ReplyDeleteJanelle is kind of a mystery. She and the other girl, who is not Jenny, are photographed a couple of times with the girls on the sidewalk and its unclear if they met them on the sidewalk or before. I believe the photo was taken around January of 1971. Janelle would turn 14 in February. She married James Delabar, a graduate of Reseda HS, in February of 1972 at age 15 and gave birth to a daughter in August. James eventually remarried and had more kids. Don't know if Janelle knew Manson but she has indicated that she knew Grogan and Cappy.
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