"Hey, Charlie… Black Beard Charlie!"

Charlie (Black Beard) Melton
Photo credit:  Jim Otterstrom

  Melton and his doggies 2013

Most readers here will be familiar with the name "Charles Melton" aka "Black Beard Charlie", and where he fits into the TLB story (nightmare). But here's a recap anyway: He was a friend of Paul Watkins prior to either of them meeting the "Manson Family" et al. He is referred to as "Black Beard Charlie" in Paul Watkin's book, "My Life With Charles Manson". The book, a rare and usually expensive find in print form, is available online in its entirety courtesy of ColScott, at the Colonel's site:
www.tatelabianca.blogspot.com  (The Chapters begin in June 2006. Chapter 1 as well as Chapters 24 and 25 are relevant here.).

Though the following excerpt details Watkin's return to Topanga Canyon after a stay in Northern California; he and Melton had travelled to Northern California together, with stays in Big Sur and the Haight, among other stops. Melton was with Watkins when Watkins was arrested in Half Moon Bay, CA (for possession).

From Little Paul's book:

Black Beard [Charlie Melton] was another "runaway" from L.A. who had shined-on suburbia to take to the hills. He was nineteen, a full-on Kerouac “dharma bum” who could assume the full lotus at the drop of a hat and fall immediately into trancelike meditation. He was tall and slender with a gaunt, El Grecolike face which seemed compatible with his vagrant life-style. Brown, wide-set eyes highlighted his dark complexion. His hair hung to well below his shoulders and was tied at the base of his skull with a strip of rawhide. Black Beard was a student of Eastern religions and he taught me a lot about survival in the wilderness with a pack on my back. We had made camp at Hot Springs canyon, near Esalen, and were committed to the gypsy life, wandering through the forests and along the California coastline.

Melton, originally from Reseda, is listed as also residing during his lifetime in Agoura Hills, Malibu (Topanga), Big Sur, and Ukiah,CA.

Melton was living in the infamous area of Lower Topanga known as the "Snake Pit" when he first met Manson, etc. In "Helter Skelter", Bugliosi writes of Melton's self-professed first visit to Spahn Ranch as being in March of '69. Melton told the story of Tex admiring his beard, and allegedly saying: "Maybe one day Charlie will let me grow a beard.".

From "The Family" by Ed Sanders, 2002 Ed., Thunder's Mouth Press. Available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Family-Ed-Sanders/dp/1560253967

..."On July 4th, Gypsy, aka Yippie aka Cathy Share and aka Manon Minette, saw fit to take herself to Topanga Lane near the beach in Topanga Canyon to visit Charlie Melton, a bearded friend who lived in a canvas-covered stake truck notable in that it had an automobile seat perched atop its cab.

... Linda Kasabian, her husband Bob, Blackbeard Charles and Jim and Juli Otterstrom - all were living in the stake truck, preparing for that trip to South America. Charles Melton had inherited around $23,000. and some of that was going to pay for the trip. The rest he had been giving away, much to the delight of various Topanga residents.

Inside Melton's trailer, Gypsy picked up his guitar and began to sing "Cease to Exist. "Gypsy began to tell Linda about the Spahn Ranch and particularly about Charles Manson... The others in the trailer were shining Gypsy on, but Gypsy said that their ego wouldn't let them listen to the Truth. Mrs. Kasabian, though reconciled with him for only seven days, was having trouble with him. It seems that already he and Charles Melton had cut her out of the trip to South America. Gypsy invited her to come to the Spahn Ranch. Linda had been planning that day to go to the July 4th Love-In on Topanga beach but she went to the Spahn Ranch instead, taking her 16-month old (daughter) Tanya with her."

Once at Spahn, Linda hooked up with Tex Watson and told him about Melton's inheritance. He "convinced her" to go back and steal the money from Melton.

... "July 5th was a day of happiness for the Family. In the morning, Tanya, Linda, Gypsy, and Mary Brunner went to Topanga Canyon to go to the beach. They ran into Charles Melton and Bob Kasabian behind the Topanga Shopping Center by the creek. They smoked some hellweed and Bob and Charles went off to downtown L.A. to get their passports for their trip. Linda and the girls drove to Melton's canvas truck-house to get her possessions. She dug up a buried Bull Durham pouch full of thirty pink acid tabs. She packed up her gear... Then she went into Melton's duffle bag and removed a Velvet tobacco pouch containing fifty $100-dollar bills that she took to Chatsworth to give to the Wizard: $5,000.

... He (Charlie) was told about the probability that Charles Melton and friends would be coming to the ranch to get back the money. Manson then decided to send Linda to the cave down the creek behind the ranch, to hide from the wrath of her husband.

... All the next day, high up the hill by the cave, the young ladies scanned the dirt driveway of the Spahn Ranch below with binoculars. And, just as predicted, Mr. Melton, Bob Kasabian, and Jim Otterstrom pulled into the drive in their stake-bed truck. Charles Melton asked someone by the boardwalk to locate Gypsy and Linda. The person left and returned with Manson, who rewarded Melton with a kill me/ kill you routine. According to Melton, Charlie said: "Who are Linda and Gypsy? I can't even remember their names."

Melton replied: "They took $5,000 from me."

Manson said: "What's money? Nothing is yours. "Then Charlie took out his knife and handed it to Melton, urging him to kill Charlie with Charlie's own knife. Mr. Melton refused the proffered knife. Manson said: "Then maybe I should kill you to show you that there's no such thing as death."

At this point, Melton and company were quick to drive away into the wind."

Otterstrom worked, during this time frame, as a cook and dishwasher at the Topanga Kitchen, a restaurant located at the Topanga Shopping Center (at the junction of Topanga Cyn Blvd and Old (Topanga) Cyn Rd. The Market that Sadie walked to to get supplies and soup during the Hinman killing is still there. The Canyon Kitchen, long gone, was owned by Susan Acevedo, Neil Young's first wife. "Manson Family" members frequented the Kitchen often.

Melton and Bob Kasabian, alleged by some to have been lovers, remained close friends and were photographed attending the TLB trial together in 1970.

Also early in 1970, during the fire/attempt on Paul Watkin's life, Paul was in a camper (microbus?) belonging to Mark Ross, parked outside of Melton's place.

Charlie Melton and Robert Kasabian at Tate-LaBianca trial (Melton opening door)

Bugliosi wanted to use Melton on the witness stand to testify as to Tex's alleged remark about growing a beard, but says by that time Melton was unreachable, having gone off with Bob Kasabian to Hawaii to "meditate in a cave".

Melton and Jim Otterstrom remained lifelong friends, according to Jim Otterstrom. They are those rare people who lived their "hippie ideal" (beautifully idealistic and participatory) beliefs throughout their lives. I really admire that. Jim Otterstrom wrote in his blog that he and Melton both attended the same school in Reseda albeit several years apart, became friends, and through the years continued to get together a couple of times a year.

 The late Jim Otterstrom and Melton

at a party celebrating Otterstrom's retirement from the Postal Service (1971-2001)

Photo credit:  Jim Otterstrom

I'm sad to say Jim Otterstrom has passed away. His blog tells of his love for the earth, animals, and nature, and his family and friends.You can read it at:
homeearthgarden.blogspot.com

Here is an obituary that really captures his essence and legacy:
http://www.bigbeargrizzly.net/obituaries/article_83e005d6-1dcf-5bdc-9c51-98590bb80016.html

Another thing I really dislike about Manson:  I don't believe, and yes, to state the obvious, it's just
my opinion, that he has ever had an original thought in his head. We can ask the philosophical question: "Does anyone really ever have an 'original' thought, or is there truly 'nothing new on heaven or earth...'"? But while Manson and his "band of merry humpers", as Phil Kaufman referred to them, were polluting the gorgeous wilderness around Spahn with oil pans, tires, and hulks of stolen Volkswagons that remain there to this day while he milks the whole ATWA schtick; Melton and Otterstrom and others like them were living to make the world a better place. Idealistic, maybe. But nevertheless wonderful. And man, it sure would be a great time to sit down and hang out with Blackbeard Charlie, who now goes by the nickname: "Tower Charlie". Smoke some hellweed, and see where the conversation takes us...

Defending the indefensible? Lawyers on representing clients accused of nightmarish crimes

Rory Carroll and Simon Hattenstone talk to the lawyers who've taken on some of the toughest cases
Rory Carroll and Simon Hattenstone   
The Guardian, Friday 27 June 2014 10.00 EDT   

Irving Kanarek, 94, practiced law in California from 1957-1989. He represented Charles Manson, who was convicted in 1971 of conspiracy to murder actor Sharon Tate and six other people. He also defended Jimmy Lee Smith, convicted of abducting and murdering an LA police officer in 1963, a case immortalized in the book The Onion Field.

Irving Kanarek: ‘I don’t dream or even think much about Charlie.'
Photograph: Felix Clay for the Guardian

I would defend a client who I knew was guilty of horrific crimes. They have to be proved guilty. I've had cases where people were guilty as hell but they couldn't prove it. And if they can't prove it, he's not guilty. In that case, the person walks free. That's American justice.

I got a reversal of Jimmy Lee's death sentence, and he had been accused of killing a police officer. That made me the victim of police non-objectivity. They pulled me over, gave me tickets undeservedly.

It wasn't a difficult decision to take the Manson case. My purpose was to fight legally admissible evidence, and the amount of that was scant. His guilt was based on a few hearsay words, inadmissible in court, that he supposedly told this guy to do a number on the Tate residence. No question he was legally innocent. And, more than that, he was actually innocent. There was no evidence connecting him to those murders.

The newspapers, the magazines, the motion pictures got people all excited – Manson as the embodiment of human evil. Charlie wasn't a monster. When you look at the legally admissible evidence, you come to a very different conclusion. Just looking at him from objective considerations, he's a personable person.

I've thought a lot about the case in terms of the legalities. I haven't dwelt much on the human tragedy of it. There's a lot of myth, for example that the baby was taken out of Tate's body. Not so. The wounds were not in the abdomen. The wounds were primarily in the breast area.

I didn't spend much time [thinking about Tate and the other victims], because they were victims of disputes that Charlie had nothing to do with. I think his direct involvement has been woefully extrapolated.

By the time I visited the house, the bodies were gone. The scene was what I'd call mechanical. Nothing about it was gruesome, per se. They'd marked where they were in chalk. So it isn't as overwhelming as some people may feel. None of it stayed with me. The tools of the courtroom make such scenes less than human. I didn't think about it emotionally. The victims are part of the case, but are not that tangible. I lost sleep on other cases, but not on this one.

People ask me, have I ever felt in the presence of evil, I don't know how to respond to that. I don't dream or even think much about Charlie.

I have regrets about every case where someone is killed or injured. Murder is unappetizing. But I've never defended anyone who's been accused of horrible criminal acts on children.

Hat tip to Emily, a regular reader of the blog (or something like that).

George Stimson has a newly released book.

Goodbye Helter Skelter

A New Look at the Tate-LaBianca Murders

"There's an image and a person that the District Attorney created called 'Manson Helter Skelter.' And there's an image that's in the press that you've been reading and watching and looking at for years. And that's built up in your mind. That's an image that somebody else made up. It's got nothing, really, to do with me personally. I am not that guy. But yet that guy is built up in your mind and you think that that guy is me. You think that I'm that fire-breathing, seven-foot-tall, no good hippie cult leader bullshit bunkum punk shit that they put on me, you know. And then sometimes I think you guys get to believing that shit.

"That's not me.

"I might be worse than that, in some ways." -- Charles Manson

In August of 1969 the spectacular Tate-LaBianca murders rocked Los Angeles, the country, and the world. But even more shocking than those murders was the story behind them: the story of a homicidal maniac named Charles Manson, how he turned the sons and daughters of middle-class America into a "Family" of murderous slaves, and an insane plan to achieve world domination by sparking a race war called "Helter Skelter."

But what if it was just a story?

Here is the first realistic and reasonable examination of the Tate-LaBianca murders and the true reasons behind them. Based on years of research and exclusive information from Charles Manson and many of his former and present friends, Goodbye Helter Skelter presents the conclusions of a long-time Manson associate -- conclusions that will likely change everything you think you know about Charles Manson, his "Family," and some of the most infamous murders in the history of American crime.

Goodbye Helter Skelter includes material taken from hundreds of hours of tape-recorded conversations with Charles Manson. Never before has Manson's point of view been presented in such a complete and coherent format.

416 pages, including over thirty pages of color photographs
 

Goodbye Helter Skelter by George Stimson Available Now

Ordering Information

contact@goodbyehelterskelter.com  

Copyright © 2014 The Peasenhall Press

No Words...

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Who's that Girl?

Patty has seen this image before but she always assumed it was Photoshopped. Recently she noticed that Aes-Nihil has the original in his collection. Obviously it's Sandy and Lynn, but now Patty is wondering, "who's that girl?"

Anyone?

TRASH TALK

Okay, I will admit it, I have an affinity for these old trashy tabloids!  You know the stuff they write is totally blown out of proportion and sometimes outright made up but, damn, it is entertaining!

 

 

 

 

You rarely hear anything about Mike Armstrong and his wife Denise, I don't think they testified at the trial.  I have found a couple of articles about them though, here's one that Cielodrive has transcribed about a fire destroying their trailer at Spahn Ranch.

Claire Vaye Watkins

This summer as part of a summer workshop Claire will do a special reading at The Cabin, a literary center in Boise Idaho on June 22nd. 

An article in the Boise Weekly reveals the news that Claire is expecting her first child in a couple of months.

Rare old photo

This Charming Man

What exactly was it that made people want to spill their guts out (no pun intended) to a man named Charles Manson? How did Charlie become so skilled at reading people? Was it just something he was born with, or was it something he learned in reform schools/prisons? Was he always charming? Back in the days of yonder, when he was a pimple-faced teen, did he have the ability to charm the girls out of their poodle skirts? Did he purposely pick certain people he knew he could dominate? Is he a man, monster, or both? What do you think he is? I don't think the answer is all that complicated. In my opinion, and I am sure I am going to get reamed for saying so, he is an extremely dangerous, unstable man who was nothing more than a clever pimp. His ability to get people to do stuff on his command is what makes him dangerous. That, and his opinion that human beings other than himself had no rights to their own lives & money. Their money was his money, according to the Gospel of Charlie. He always talked against being materialistic, but he was always the first one reaping the benefits of other people's goods. Manson loved the benefits of money more than he has ever let on, and that, right there makes him more human than ever! You didn't ever see him turning his nose up against all of the material possessions, luxuries & comforts that Dennis Wilson's money provided, did you? Hell no! He's no fool. The following excerpt from Paul Watkins book is an extremely good description of CM:

Later people would ask me how a man like Charlie Manson could ever be considered Christlike. How could he ever get that close to people, so close that they spoke his rap, and thought his thoughts. The answer is simple, really. He listened to them, each of them. He concentrated on what they said. He sympathized with their problems, knew their idiosyncrasies. He allowed them to express all their fears, hopes, aspirations. Seemingly, he did not judge, he merely listened, and focused all his attention on them. He became friend, brother, lover, and father. He gave himself in a way that, perhaps no one else ever had, particularly in the beginning. Ironically, few people ever really pay attention on that level. He taught the girls not only to love their minds, but their bodies, and to use them without inhibition. What he had started at Spahn's, he continued at Gresham Street. He was always changing the motion, remaining unpredictable. 

He went on to write:

The girls in the Family adored Charlie; he knew each of them-their hang-ups, their likes, dislikes, phobias, their tastes in food, sex, music, their backgrounds-everything. Whenever someone appeared who might cause a problem to our scene-a narc, redneck, probation officer, anyone from the straight world-Charlie knew immediately which girl would be best suited to neutralize that person. He was masterful at this; to do it, he had to know his women well.

In closing, I would like to add that while I am sure Manson is a fascinating character to know, and to correspond with, he is just too damned unstable to let out. He couldn't just go out into the desert to disappear into anonymity, because every moron in town would be chasing after him, following him around, and trying to recreate "The Family." Of course, I am sure old Charlie wouldn't mind an assortment of groupies following him out there to cater to his every need, but we all know that isn't ever going to happen. While I think Tex Watson is a helluva lot more dangerous than Manson ever will be, I still don't think he is innocent.

Linda Kasabian

Linda Kasabian 2014

Linda Kasabian 1970