So, this is not pornography because of the intent of the artist? Surely there are those out there who get their rocks off on innocent stuff like this. But we accept this as art nonetheless. Interesting, no?
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Spanking: art, or pornography, or both?
Patty had the opportunity to check out a cool retrospective on artist Norman Rockwell this past week. She could not help but notice after all the recent hullabaloo about Bobby and his pervy wife that Rockwell has several paintings depicting children being spanked or with their pants down:
So, this is not pornography because of the intent of the artist? Surely there are those out there who get their rocks off on innocent stuff like this. But we accept this as art nonetheless. Interesting, no?
So, this is not pornography because of the intent of the artist? Surely there are those out there who get their rocks off on innocent stuff like this. But we accept this as art nonetheless. Interesting, no?
Saturday, January 26, 2013
TEX WATSON IS A PAIN IN THE ASS
“Just When I Thought I Dropped My Last Egg.”
From the chapter titled One Degree of Separation Anxiety.
It’s become a joke in the hair and makeup room at the Today Show that I have about one degree of separation from pretty much anything on the planet.
Something will come up on the t.v monitor, and I’ll say, “Well back in ’62 I was….” and inevitably there’s some weird linkage. We’ll, I’ll take weird linkage any day over weird leakage, but that’s another essay.
Anyway it’s well established among my colleagues that I have lived along time, met a lot of awful interesting people, and found myself in way too many strange situations.
The other day we were all getting ready for the show when suddenly someone being interview mentioned the possibility that there were yet more victims of the Charles Manson family, long buried somewhere at his ranch in the desert. Everyone looked at me and waited. At first I pretended I hadn’t heard the t.v.
“Well?” Hoda goaded. I hesitated.
“Finally!” Somebody laughed. “No degree of separation.”
I cleared my throat. “Actually….”
“NO!” They all screamed. They couldn’t believe I could somehow have a connection to Charles Manson.
I can’t believe it myself but I do.
Let me take you back in time….
I’m not exactly sure what year it was, but it was definitely sometime in the late seventies.
Michie (her sister) and I did a lot of gospel singing back then. One day I got a call from a wonderful man, Chaplin Ray, who had a very successful prison ministry. He told me that he and Pat Boone were going to tape a television special at the Men’s Penal Colony in San Luis Obispo, California. He asked if Michie and I would want to join them and perform a few songs.
I checked with Mich, we checked our calendars, and I called Chaplin Ray and accepted his invitation.
Michie got there first. I was scheduled to fly in the next day.
So I was anxious to hear how it was going. She took a long time calling to give me an update, and I began to worry.
Finally the phone rang. It was Michie.
“Okay, there’s good news and bad news,” she said.
“What’s the good news?” I asked.
“I went through the worst thunder storms you can possibly imagine. The plane almost crashed and I almost died.”
“Wow.” I said. “What’s the bad news?”
Michie hesitated.
“The bad news is I lived and now Tex Watson is my bodyguard.”
‘WHAT!” I SCREAMED. “Tex Watson, the Texas kid who is actually the one who butchered every single victim in the Manson murders.”
I couldn’t believe it.
“Yep.”
I still couldn’t believe it.
“Oh my God, Mich- are you all right?”
“Oh yeah,” she answered. “He’s really nice.”
“NICE?” I am getting on the next plane out and I am coming to get you right now.”
I hung up the phone and busted my butt getting to the airport, praying the whole way.
How could this have happened? I mean, Chaplain Ray had mentioned Pat Boone, whom some people find scary, but he had somehow neglected to mention that one of the worst mass murders in the history of the world was going to be our bodyguard?
I mean, Tex Watson is no Kevin Costner. That’s who I think of when the word “bodyguard” comes to mind.
Now I was losing my mind. But the worst was yet to come. When my plane touched down in San Luis Obispo, it was 114 degrees Fahrenheit. Michie and I had been asked to wear clothes that were in no way provocative- heaven forbid we look enticing to any of the twenty four hundred maximum security inmates.
I met Mich at the hotel. She seemed okay and informed me that Tex Watson had been raised in a deeply devout home in Texas, but had gotten into all kinds of crazy drugs when he’d come to California to “find himself.” Instead, he’d found Charles Manson and had found himself serving multiple life sentences for seven horrendous murders.
Apparently in prison he’d also found God. As Mich and I entered the security gate, I was praying that this part was at least partially true. We were searched and were asked to leave everything we’d brought (purse, etc.) at the entrance. No lip gloss allowed.
I cannot describe the suffocating heat, made worse by the polygamy-cult style dresses Mich and I were wearing.
It turns out that meeting Tex Watson was the easiest part of the day. The worst came a few hours later when Chaplain Ray, Pat Boone, Tex Watson, and Michie and I were standing on stage for the finale.
The warden and his wife were sitting in the front row, and twenty four hundred of the unhappiest men you can imagine were screaming (Eviliz almost peed her pretty pink panties after reading this-).
‘SING HELTER SKELTER’! in the bleachers. (AHHHHHHH---LMAO)
By now it had been close to 120 degrees inside the prison.
Most of the inmates had taken of much of their clothing and were either fanning themselves or masturbating in front of us. (Wtf?) I guess those dresses turned them on. Who knew?
Anyway, it was almost over, when suddenly the unthinkable happened : (How could it possibly get any worse?)
THE POWER WENT OFF!
We were completely in the dark, and the only thing I wasn’t afraid of was Tex Watson.
You sort of go into a weird Twilight Zone mode when something like this happens. I looked at the warden and suddenly realized how truly precarious the situation was. He was terrified. His wife was apoplectic. I actually squeezed Tex’s hand for support! I looked at Michie, and she looked at me. We were both thinking the same thing. “I don’t want to die in this dress.”
Now for one hour that was a distinct possibility.
So you ask, what did we do? Well, I’ll tell you what we did. We all stood there on the stage, hand in hand, soaked in fear and sweat, (No miss fired semen? I am surprised.) and sang “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”
That’s exactly what we did.
It had never been my favorite hymn before, but it became my favorite hymn that very day, I promise.
Suddenly as quick as the power went out, the power came back on.
The warden and his wife were rushed out of the auditorium, and so, somehow, were we. I can’t remember what happened next, nor do I want to.
But I do recall Tex wrote me several times afterward, asking me to speak for him when he came up for parole. He deserved to stay in prison for the rest of his life for the terrible suffering he’d cause.
He finally stopped asking, got married, had conjugal visits with his wife, and ended up fathering several children. He still works in the Chaplain ministry and by all accounts has been a model prisoner.
Pat Boone went out to enjoy a long and illustrious career.
Chaplain Ray continued his magical mystery tour through America’s prisons.
Michie moved out of California.
And me?
I got out of gospel music.
It’s just too dangerous.
P.S. They should change the name of the prison to the Men’s Penile Colony.
And Eviliz? Well she still can’t stop laughing after picturing/reading the whole ordeal.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Robert Evans writes about Sharon Tate's murder
I am currently reading Robert Evans autobiography entitled "The Kid Stays In The Picture." He writes about being close friends with Roman Polanski, and explains, in detail how he found out about the murders on Cielo Drive. Here is an excerpt:
"Bob," said Sharon Tate, "the baby is kicking!"
"How does it feel?"
"It's the best feeling in the world."
"I'll tell Roman."
"While you're at it, tell him he'd better be home for his birthday. Remember, it's the eighteenth."
"He'll be here, baby."
(Robert Evans talks about traveling back to L.A. from London)
Before I took off for L.A., Roman said, "Look after Sharon for me, will you Bob?" "Tell her I love her." "I'll be home in a few days."
Now Sharon was on the phone from the house they were renting on Cielo Drive, up in Benedict Canyon. She loved feeling the baby kick, but she felt cooped up. How about joining her, and a few friends on Friday night? It would just be her house guests, Gibby Folger, of the San Francisco coffee family, and Gibby's boyfriend, Wojiciech "Voytek" Frykowski, a Polish rogue, and great friend of Roman's. Dinner at a nothing place like El Coyote on Beverly.
"Sounds great, baby. I'm working in the editing room. I might be a little late." At nine o'clock on Friday, August 8, 1969, I was still in the editing room. I called Sharon. "I'm stuck, baby. Count me out. Sorry."
"Don't be silly, Bob. I can always get Jay." Jay was the star hairdresser Jay Sebring, an ex-boyfriend who was still devoted to her. "Sweet dreams." "You too."
(He then goes on about having a meeting the next morning at his house with the head of Paramount Studios, Charlie Bluhdorn.)
When we returned to my house on Woodland Drive, David, my major domo, was standing at the door. Joyce Haber, the L.A. Times columnist, was on the phone. Bluhdorn frowned.
"I thought I said no calls this morning, David."
"She said it's urgent, Mr. Evans. She sounds terrible."
I took the call in my bedroom. When she heard my voice, Joyce started wailing. "You aren't dead!"
"You aren't dead!" "Joyce, what are you talking about? Of course I'm not dead!"
"You didn't hear?" "Hear what?" "It's on the radio. Last night at Sharon and Roman's house on Cielo.
They're all dead....."
"What are you talking about?"
"They're all dead."
"Joyce, what is this?"
"Sharon, Jay Sebring, Gibby Folger, that Polish Voytek what's-his-name...."
"I know. I was supposed to be there."
"They've all been killed!"
My body went numb. "A landslide?" "No, they were murdered-some kind of massacre."
"Joyce, are you making this up? From the sound of her voice, I knew she wasn't. "What about the baby?"
She couldn't go on. Charlie Bluhdorn had been pacing my living room impatiently, "Come on, Evans," he said when I walked in. "Let's go outside and get started." "I can't, I can't, Charlie." I started to cry.
He came over, and put his arm around me. "What is it, Bob?" "What happened?"
I told him what happened, and we went out to sit under the tree. When Roman arrived from London, I arranged for him to be driven to Paramount, and installed in the suite that had recently been Julie Andrew's dressing room for Darling Lili. There, he hibernated for a few days, heavily sedated by a Paramount doctor. Not wanting to leave him alone at Paramount, Roman moved into my guest house. Sounds simple; it wasn't. Every crackpot in the state wanted to get a jab in. It necessitated having around-the-clock guards for the duration of his stay. The LAPD put their own tap on my phone, which became an integral instrument in their investigation. How I remember cradling Roman as if he were a child. I loved him. I felt his pain Even though criticized, I went the extra nine yards, doing whatever I could, whatever to ease his suffering. Though I could do little, at least I was there.
The horrific murders of Sharon, and her friends by the insane followers of Charles Manson sent a shock wave through Hollywood that is still felt today. What made them even uglier was the media orgy of lies, all of which came down to one outrageous innuendo: because of their "decadence," the victims had somehow brought it on themselves. Typical was a Newsweek story calling the massacre not a tragedy, but a "fascinating whodunit" and reporting, among other ridiculous speculations, that the murders might have "resulted from a ritual mock execution that got out of hand in the glare of hallucinogens." The press even implicated Roman. It didn't matter that he was six thousand miles away when the tragedy occurred. Somehow the "master of the macabre" had to have been involved.
Roman's good friends-Warren Beatty, Richard Sylbert, I and a few others-took turns keeping him company. Roman threw himself into helping the police investigation, and with incredible strength he got through it. Many of the biggest names in Hollywood turned out for Sharon's funeral. Later, Roman wrote that "it was like some ghastly movie premiere."
Leaving Holy Cross Cemetery, he said something that would come back to haunt me: "The only one of Sharon's good friends who didn't come, Bob, is Steve McQueen. Sharon loved that cold son of a bitch."
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Justices Deny Van Houten's Habeas Corpus Petition
newsfeed.time.com
"In other
conference action, the justices:
•Denied review of
the summary denial, by this district’s Div. One, of the most recent habeas
corpus petition by Manson family member Leslie Van Houten. Van Houten, now 63,
was 19—the youngest of the defendants—at the time of what have become known as
the Tate/LaBianca murders.
Van Houten
admitted her involvement in the August 1969 murders of Leno and Rosemary La
Bianca in their Cielo Drive
home. One day earlier, actress Sharon Tate and four others were murdered at the
home Tate rented with her husband, director Roman Polanski, who was in
Europe at the
time.
Van Houten was
convicted of the La Bianca murders. She was not present during the Tate murders
but was convicted of conspiracy to commit them.
Rosemary La
Bianca was stabbed a total of 42 times, and Van Houten said at various times
that she had herself stabbed the woman 14 or 16 times. Another Manson Family
member testified that Van Houten admitted stabbing La Bianca after she was
already dead and said “the more she did it the more fun it was.”
She has now been
denied parole 19 times."
Bizarre 'Nomads' Held in Slaying
San Francisco Chronicle December 2, 1969 - front page
United PressLos Angeles
Police Chief Edward Davis told newsmen that the suspects were part of a "roving band of hippies" who also allegedly killed a middle-aged couple one day later across town from the luxurious home of Miss Tate in Benedict Canyon.
Warrants were issued for Charles D. Watson, 24, now in custody in McKinney, Tex., and two women suspects. Patricia Kernwinkel, 21, was arrested yesterday in Mobile, Ala., and Linda Kasabian, age unknown, is being hunted in New Mexico.
Watson was taken into custody Sunday night. Sheriff Tom Montgomery of Collin county at McKinney said, "You could kinda say he walked in and gave himself up." The suspect was described in Texas as clean-shaven and neat, although Los Angeles police said he was long-haired and bearded while living in the desert commune.
Davis said it is expected that four or five other persons will be indicted for the murders next week.
The other suspects are said to be in custody in Inyo county, where 26 young men and women accused of living a roving life of thievery were rounded up by a sheriff's posse.
Davis confirmed that the Tate murders were linked to the slayings of a wealthy owner of a small grocery chain and his wife in the Silverlake district of Los Angeles a day later.
There were gruesome similarities between the two cases. The word "pig" was smeared in blood on the front door of the Tate residence. The words "death to pigs" were written in blood on a refrigerator door at the home of Leon and Rosemary La Bianca. The word "war" was carved on La Bianca's chest.
Davis said members of the commune were living at the Spawn movie ranch, and abandoned movie set northwest of Los Angeles, at the time of the murders. Then they moved to the Barker ranch in Death Valley.
Deputies said the group seemed to operate as an updated Indian-type raiding party - traveling in dune buggies, living in abandoned mining shacks, stealing as they went.
They roamed by night and posted lookouts equipped with walkie-talkies during the day. The men wore shoulder-length hair. At the time of the raids, some of the girls were clad only in bikini bottoms and others were nude.
Sheriff's deputies, guided by a spotter plane, picked up 15 youths near Badwater October 10. Six more women and five more men were arrested October 12 in a raid on the same camp.
Two babies were taken to Inyo county hospital for treatment for malnutrition. At the time, the suspects were booked on suspicion of auto theft, receiving stolen property, possession of a sawed-off shotgun and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Davis said the names of additional suspects in custody in Inyo county, site of Death Valley, will be given to the county grand jury sometime before December 9.
The motive for the slayings remains a mystery. Davis said the victims did not know the suspects, although evidence indicated that the killers had visited the home leased by Miss Tate and her husband, Roman Polanski, before the killings.
"It had all the earmarks of premeditation," Davis said.
He said all the suspects were members of what could be called a "commune," and the group might have been a religious one," depending on your definition of religion."
The Tate slayings appeared to be the outcome of a weird religious rite, police investigators said during the initial stages of the investigation. Later, they dropped that theory.
In addition to Miss Tate, 26, who was eight months pregnant, the victims were Abigail Folger, 26, San Francisco, heiress to the Folger coffee fortune; Jay Sebring, 35, Hollywood innovator of hair styling for men and once Miss Tate's fiance;
Voityck Frokowsky, 37, who worked with Polanski in Polish films, and Steven Earl Parent, 18, of suburban El Monte, who had been visiting a caretaker at the estate.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Update on Prettyface: The Movie
A couple of years ago, there were, like eight hundred moves about The Family in pre production, none of which have yet come to fruition. It appears that "Prettyface" may be gaining some traction with slick new movie posters, a website and facebook page though IMDB says it is still "in production:" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1188735/ Think it will happen? Go to http://www.prettyfacemovie.com/ and see what you think...
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Charles Manson Low Risk
"What do Scott Peterson, Sirhan Sirhan and Charles Manson have in common besides murder? They are all classified as "low risk" offenders by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation."
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Some-on-Death-Row-low-risk-for-parole-4189492.php
I think this article speaks to the very real possibility that Bruce Davis will be paroled. It also highlights the politics of the parole situation.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Steve McQueen A Biography Part 2 of 2
The final post from "Steve McQueen A Biography" by Marc Eliot.
I previously posted one write up at- http://www.eviliz.com/2012/11/steve-mcqueen.html.
Not being a big Steve McQueen fan I didn't read the entire book, just the chapters pertaining to the murders. I am sure everyone knows Steve and Jay were very tight friends. The book reflects on their friendship built on womanizing, drugs, plus a few hair cuts. Sharon and Voytek are mentioned in a few more other places as well. Also mentioned in the book is the "guest list" for the night of August 9th at Cielo Drive is mentioned.
I personally found nothing new or exciting in the book but wanted to share it with you all.
On the afternoon of Thursday August 7th, Sebring went to Steve’s house to give him a trim. Afterwards they went for some Mexican food at El Coyote in Hollywood. While they ate Sebring told him there was a little soiree planned for the next night at Sharon Tate’s rented house up at Cielo Drive and that Steve should come. Tate had since married film maker Roman Polanski but kept Jay and others from her single days close at hand. Polanski didn’t seem to mind. He wasn’t a very jealous man and believed that he and Sharon were so in love that nobody could possible pose a threat. Nonetheless everyone who knew Sebring and Tate believed they were still in love and still carrying on.
Tate’s acting career was moving along nicely; Polanski had used her in 1967’s The Fearless Vampire Killers and married her a year later, and her career as a magazine model was equally hot until her pregnancy began to show. She was in her eighth month which kept her more housebound then she would of liked. While Polanski was off in England scouting for locations for what he thought would be his next movie Day of the Dolphin with his friend Warren Beatty and production designer Richard Sulbert and the woman Polanski was having an affair with Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas. Tate had regular soirees at her home. The next one was scheduled for that Friday night. Steve happened to run into Robert Vaughn. The two chatted for awhile and Steve invited him to come along that night to Tate’s place up on Cielo Drive. Vaughn politely declined; he had other business he needed to take care of.
Still later Steve received a call from a young and beautiful blonde he had been seeing. He invited her as well but she told him she had a better idea for just the two of them. Early Saturday morning the mutilated bodies of Sharon Tate, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Voytek Frykowski and Jay Sebring were discovered by the housekeeper. Sebring had been stabbed seven times and shot in the head. The news spread through L.A. like a firestorm. When Steve heard about it he immediately arranged to have someone go to Sebring’s house and clean out all the drugs, sexual paraphernalia. And anything else he knew his friend would not of wanted anyone to find (of that could possibly tie Steve to Sebrings life style). Sebring was known as something on an S&M freak around town and Steve did not want any of that turned into fodder for the gossip mongers; it was bad enough that coke and pot had already been found in Sebring’s Porsche by the police at Cielo Drive that morning.
Two months later the Manson gang was arrested and charged with the Tate murders and others that had taken place during their spree. Part of the evidence police found was a “hit list” that Manson had made of celebrities he wanted to kill. At the top of it was Frank Sinatra. Charlie was going to have Frank seduced by one of the pretty young Manson girls and killed while having sex with her. Liz Taylor and Richard Burton (they were going to be tied together and boiled alive), and Steve McQueen who’s death was to be made to look like a suicide. Presumably he made the list because Star had rejected hi manuscript.
To be on Nixon’s enemies list was one thing; to make Manson’s death list was quite another. Steve was freaked out. He wired and burglar proofed with all the latest security equipment. He was not alone. All over town celebrities were imprisoning themselves in their own homes.. Overnight the peaceful easy feeling that had permeated Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Brentwood and Malibu were gone, replaced by a giant paranoia that made it feel like one giant war zone.
Steve began carrying a loaded Magnum with him at all times. However no matter how safe and secure he had made himself and his family, he could not shake the dark feeling of having come so close to death.
A simple decision to get laid had saved his life. He would never again go out in public without a weapon.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
The Labiancas (band)
"New Spahn Ranch" writes-
I love your Manson Family blog and I just wanted to share something for possible inclusion.
There is an amazing new NY-based "Charles Manson concept band" that claims to be a new component of the Manson Family. They seem incredibly well versed in the intricacies of the case (going so far as to assert that they have "the little black book" that Leno LaBianca allegedly possessed, thereby hinting at their support of that theory/motive) and their songs are all centered around the events that transpired. I personally think it is some sort of postmodern performance art project but I can't speak for them; I suppose it is possible that they genuinely believe as it says on their site that "Charles Manson is Jesus Christ."
You can check out their blog and songs here: http://thelabiancasband.tumblr.com/
And then there is their first video, in which singer JJ Brine plays Manson and Lena Marquise appears to portray Sharon Tate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyhLBzOYwC0
Hope you guys get a kick out of this; I thought it was simply too good to go unnoticed!
Best,
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Manson Trial Jurors
Patty has been perusing a copy of "Trial by your Peers," by Manson juror William Zamora (pictured at left) that Grump sent her some time ago. The book details the goings on of the trial from Zamora's perspective which at times is truly comical. There are a lot of interesting tidbits in the book, which Patty will recount in other posts. One thing she found interesting was the list of jurors on the trial, and what Zamora thought of each of them. Zamora uses pseudonyms for each juror, presumably to keep from being sued (?):"Frank Welch" (described as "self educated," true name Alva Dawson, retired deputy sherriff, pictured above right)
"Genaro Swanson" ("popular," true name Anlee Sisto, pictured at right)
"Olivia Madison" ("a drunk:" true name Evelyn Hines, dictaphone operator)
"Betty Clark" ("solitary")
"Mr. Scalise" (dissatisfied: true name Walter Vietzelio, retired security guard)
"Martin Payne" (narrow minded: true name Herman Tubick, undertaker and foreman, pictured at left)"Marvin Connolly" (immature: true name William McBride, reactor operator)
"Violet Stokes" (insecure)
"Deborah Hart" (had affair with Tom Brooks, true name Jean Roseland, mother of three and secretary at TWA, pictured at right)
"Mildred Osborne"
Alternates:
"Ray Harris" (hostile, true name Larry Sheely)
"Ruth Collingwood" (searching for a husband)
"Daniel Jackson" (naive)
"George Kiefer, Jr." (simple)
"Edith Rayburn" (traveler)
"Tom Brooks" (had affair with Deborah Hart, true name Bob Douglass)
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