Apologies if you've seen this one before. It's new to me.

Ruth Ann Moorehouse

The year she marries Edward Heuvelhorst at age sixteen. 

Babies.

That you, Donkey?

I was searching for a Danny DeCarlo birthdate on Google using "Danny DeCarlo birthdate" as my query terms. Bupkis. After eleven hours of Cielo boxes yesterday, I lacked the courage to hop back in. Fortunately, cielodrive.com had Danny's birthday on his dedicated page. 

The story told across the Internet is Danny was born in Canada and became an American citizen after serving in the US Coast Guard. I took that to mean Danny arrived in the States as an adult, but always wondered how he ended up in a bike club in Venice, CA. 

Two public records exist for DeCarlo that I am comfy believing are correct. A marriage and subsequent divorce in Oregon. And not to Sherry Cooper. 

Searching Canadian records, I left empty handed. No birth. City directories. Nuthin. 

All of this is probably minutia but I'd like to remove my questions from my mind. I'm wondering if someone here might point me to a record of Danny's early life in Canada? Anything detailing his arrival in the US would be greatly appreciated. A photo in a Coast Guard uniform would be collector level. 

That kid up top looks like Danny to me. They share the same name, and I can't trace the kid beyond his 8th/9th grade photo. Orville Wright middle school feeds students into Westchester and Crenshaw High Schools. 

Danny's high school class would've graduated in 1962 or 1963. I'm guessing Westchester but also not sure Danny attended high school. Perhaps hence the Coast Guard. The Satans' Venice Beach HQ was a short drive from the neighborhoods surrounding the middle school. 

Do we have any early Sixties Westchester grads in the house? Crenshaw where you at? Somebody please help the green. 

Places I liked in LA...

Before diving into something more demanding from the anomalies list, I thought I'd share some of the places I liked when in LA. Others may recognize these, and share with us their own favorites.

 Hopefully, it may give others a more detailed view of LA as it was, and to a degree, still is.

Many of these places I just drove by, was never inside of...

1) Pan Pacific Auditorium

This burned down in the 80's, I think. It was on Beverley Blvd, between Fairfax and La Brea.

2) Cinerama Dome

This is at the Hollywood end of Sunset, as I recall. Never  in it.

3) Farmers' Market

Near Fairfax and the CBS studios, as I recall. WRT Fairfax, the thing to understand is that it was the heart of LA's Jewish community, and the street, itself, had lots of delis.

So this is real close to that district.

4) Castle Argyle

This is interesting. You can see it from 101, as I recall, and in the mid-70s they were remodeling it and I snuck in with the workmen (easy to do; no one gave a damn) and took a lot of photos of the old interiors, which are now lost, like the secret for making Greek fire.

This is in Hollywood, as I recall.

5) Capital Records Building

Also visible from the Hollywood Freeway (101). 

For those few too young to get the visual symbolism, this was a stack of records as they would appear on a turntable.

6) Chateau Marmont

This is really imposing, visually, when you drive by it. On Sunset near Laurel Canyon.

7) Santa Monica Pier

It was more fun to see it while riding bikes up from Playa del Rey. Imposing, for sure.

8) Brown Derby, Wilshire

Never went there, but drove by it every weekday the year I went to Southwestern Law School, also on Wilshire.

9) Greek Theater

It is much better to go here than the Hollywood Bowl--which itself is a fun place to attend a concert.

10) Yamashiro

This was/is a Japanese restaurant. It was once a private residence, which is mind-boggling when you consider that it's located just off Franklin. It is just about as Hollywood as you can get.

Pix...

Yamashiro

11) Lawry's Beverley Hills

This is the very best place for prime rib I've ever been to! Near the old Beverley 14 Cineplex, as I recall.

12) Randy's Donuts

This is actually visible from 405, in Inglewood. The sign completely boggled my mind when I first saw it when I was about 9 or so.

Never been the same, since...

13) Hotel Hell

Ah, lucky 13. How appropriate!

Very strange place. When I first saw it in the 70s it was very run-down. Later it was abandoned and reputedly druggies and their ilk lived in it. Someone inside started a fire in it and it burned down in the 80s, I think.

Very, very spooky place to drive by--it was HUGE, right in the middle of Hollywood, on Hollywood Blvd, I think. Visually imposing, even when it was a wreck.

Here's the story, with pix:

Hotel Hell

Pictures

In conclusion, seeing these again, one of the main things to stress about LA, and what made it so much fun for me, was that it was whimsical as hell. Did not really give a damn what you might think of it; it seemed happy being LA.

Who Drove to Gary's?

via law.justia.com

Ella Jo Bailey testified for the People that she had known Manson since 1967 and travelled extensively throughout the southwestern United States with him, Mary Brunner, Patricia Krenwinkel and Lynne Fromme, and that they moved to the Spahn Ranch in 1968 where she met Davis and Beausoleil. 

Several times during May and June 1969, Manson talked to Bailey and others about "going out" to get money to buy dune buggies to go to the desert to live. In July of 1969 Manson talked to several members of the family about the need to get money and names were discussed of various persons from whom they could get money. Hinman's name was discussed and the fact that he owned a house and stocks and bonds. 

On July 26, 1969, Manson told Bailey and Bill Vance that he wanted them to go to Hinman's house and persuade him to join the "family" or sign over all of his property and automobiles. Vance said he had better things to do and walked away. That night at about 6 p.m. Bailey saw Manson talking to Beausoleil and Davis. Beausoleil had a knife (People's exh. 18) and Davis had a nine millimeter Radom gun (People's exh. 30). Subsequent investigation by officers established that Davis had purchased the gun under an assumed name. Bailey saw Brunner and Atkins dressed in dark clothes. Bailey saw Brunner, Atkins, Beausoleil and a fourth unidentified person drive off in [71 Cal. App. 3d 14] a ranch hand's car which was driven by the fourth person. Davis was still in the parking lot.

Channels Nukes Schreck - Book Review

Michael Channels 

Friday, Grim called Nikolas Schreck's The Manson File Myth and Reality of an Outlaw Shaman a "modern day fairy tale." Yesterday, Michael Channels discussed Schreck in this video. My ears perked up when Channels echoed Grim. 

"This book is like Alice in Wonderland to me."

Before I got going on the video, I noticed a pinned comment identifying a Harry Martin as the originator of the drug burn theory circa 1992 in Martin's Napa Sentinel. The weekly paper did not begin publishing until 8 Jan 1993 but I gave commenter Jack Tatum a pass since he was so good at Ohio State and also because three decades have passed since the info was fresh. 

Unfortunately, I was unable to find the original article. Channels linked his viewers to a reprint of Martin's piece. 

- Martin's Napa Sentinel Wikipedia page. 

- Here's an article on Martin from Bohemian.com in May 2005.  

Of course, I want you to make your own decisions but imo Martin looks like he wants to sell me a Mercury Cougar that blows white smoke out of the exhaust pipe if I even dream of driving on the highway.   

C'mon down to Honest Harry's today and drive home tonight in style!

I jest. Honest Harry Martin was a tabloid journalist and not a used car salesman. Same career as Tom O'Neill now that I think about it. I wonder if Tom also enjoys denim shirts? I bet he dresses better. My brain keeps telling me parallels exist between the two writers but I can't put it all together. 

Anyway. I watched Channels' assassination of Schreck. Channels give sources like he's supposed to and makes interesting points throughout the presentation. I expected some factional, he-said-she-said kinda stuff, but instead walked away wondering for the first time if Schreck's book was cut out of whole cloth. Not saying I'm trying to go full weR7 with you, but I did find myself recently canceled as a podcast guest because I'm from the mean and clueless Manson Blog. 

Manson Blog. Former home of filmmaker Robert Hendrickson. RIP.

Channels' account of the Schreck/Channels meeting with Robby Krieger blew my mind. I'm not sure I'll ever forget it. What are your thoughts on Channels' views on Schreck and his book, neo-Nazi claims included? 

As for the Manson File, I suppose I'll err on the side of that Epimenides dude while I wait. Someday, maybe my book will arrive and allow me to verify things myself. +ggw

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*don't eat too much candy today. get a good workout in tomorrow if you do. 

The Mystery Man of Spahn Ranch Part One - H. Allegra Lansing

The Who at Monterey 1967

Bon soir, friends. I'm watching the Mr. X saga unfold on Allegra Lansing's YouTube channel. Mr. X mentions he was the drummer in a band that played at The Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967. 

Here is a link to the festival performances. I enjoyed watching the groups and listening to the commentary between songs. Dare I dream one of our community was in that crowd and is willing to paint the picture for me? 

On a more focused note, I'm wondering if anyone else is following the Mr. X saga, or is interested in watching Lansing's video and sharing your thoughts on Mr. X's claims? +ggw

List of Cielo Crime Scene Anomalies: Major and Minor

I have no doubt that many of you who visit this forum find one of the most compelling things about the Cielo murders to be the remaining anomalies--the mismatches between the hard evidence and the testimony or related narrative. I would like to create a list of agreed-upon anomalies that is composed of two parts: major anomalies and minor anomalies. I then invite additions to the list. Once we've settled (more or less) on the items, I'd propose to create an article to deal with each one separately, in some level of depth, or maybe in logical groupings of a few that are closely related. We can then poke at the presented scenario(s) and try to create a hierarchy of the likelihood of each version of the scenario that evolves.

I expect that this will be a collaborative effort to help clear as much of the fog surrounding the events at Cielo as possible. I will not explore personalities other than how they might have directly affected the events.

We are never really going to know what happened, and we all know that, but I think that using a collaborative effort we may tighten things up a bit. 

I'm working from the following assumptions for this exercise: 

• The "official narrative" that the prosecutors used to convict the Cielo perpetrators is essentially correct in all aspects that it purports to account for; it is likely, however, to be a subset of the complete event. 
• All physical evidence is correct and reliable.

There are many incompatibilities between the two assumptions, and these create the anomalies I'm addressing. I'm seeking to narrowly define the possibilities, or even to resolve some of the anomalies to within perhaps 90% certainty. In some cases the narrative may have to give; in others, the evidence.

Here goes...

Major Anomalies

The items on this list are fundamental to the events and to the sequence described in the official narrative, but they directly contradict the narrative.

1) Blood evidence at the doorway/porch.

This is at odds with all testimony. 

2) Towel on Sebring's head.

At odds with all testimony.

3) Stab wounds on Tate's back.

No version of the narrative unambiguously describes a situation in which she was attacked from behind.

Minor Anomalies

The items on this list raise questions about variations from the official narrative, but are not in themselves contradictory.

1) Broken guard rail.

Explained as being done by Parent, but without much detail.

2) Marks on Tate's face.

Watson has mentioned at least twice that he inflicted cuts on Tate's face as the first wounds; the Noguchi autopsy report and testimony say they are rope burns.

3) Knife found at the scene with no blood evidence.

The knife found in the chair had no blood on it, but appeared to be coated with some unidentified substance.

4) Moving or rearranging some of the bodies.

Initial investigators state that they believed that Tate's body had been in some sense handled or moved.

5) Glasses near the trunks.

Unexplained in the official narrative.

6) Blood trail on the trunks.

On close inspection the blood trails on the trunks appear to have been made while the trunks were in a different position than in which they were found.

I'll look for replies and compile suggestions for about a week, then publish the resulting master list and get started soon thereafter. I'll construct and propose an initial hypothesis, and we can beat on it to see if we can make it stronger. Other readers, after viewing the list, may want to take one of the items and create a hypothesis to present: that would be great, so far as I'm concerned.

In creating these lists I'll be the final arbiter as to what is included. 

Some years ago, David did an excellent, in depth seven part series that explored the evidence at the Cielo crime scene. I recommend looking at it, or re-reading it. We'll cover some of his points, perhaps coming at them from different angles.

A Look at the Evidence, Part 1

Any suggested additions? If so, please reply.

Leslie, My Name is Evil

When I began the project of adding Manson films to our blog library, I didn't think I'd like many of them. Atrocious acting and Bugliosiite retellings were my presuppositions.

Bigger picture, try as I might, I've never figured out how to write reviews. My hero, Roger Ebert, kicks my ass from the grave every time I attempt to type something half as good as he published several times a week for decades. The man was a bona fide genius and a deserving Pulitzer Prize winner. 

But time passes and Ebert types no more. Your consolation prize is my hot takes on a movie I should've watched a decade ago. Late date notwithstanding, I will not be restrained today. 

Canadian filmmaker Reg Harkema blew my doors off with this one. His film is a visual experience that chronicles the times through the eyes of middle class suburban kids growing up in 1960's America. The soundtrack is offbeat and the editing is tight. What's up with film editors and the Manson thing anyway? Don't answer. I'm grateful. 

You can watch Harkema's film free of charge (with two commercials) on IMBd TV. Please tell me what you think afterward. Thanks to Jay for suggesting this film for discussion. 

That's prostrate Sadie handing Leslie over to Charlie Jesus in case this is your first day in Manson. Mendocino was also mentioned. It's cool when a writer claims their spot at this gruesome table. Show us what you know.  

A quick pitch...

Let's address the 500 lb. elephant in the room. We all know it's time for a Hawthorne movie or cable series. A solid handful of people reading this post possess the abilities to make it happen. Double digits talent doesn't sound far-fetched. I am filled to the rim with ideas. Maybe we could talk on the phone. 

Max Frost must be given a role. Non negotiable. 

Picture the slow motion shootout. Brass and smoke hang in the air. Cool music with lyrics in not English language blasts and then abruptly cut off as Gypsy falls into a handsome young policeman's arms, whispers, "I'm sorry," and passes out from her fifteen gunshot wounds. Cut to Larry Bailey screaming and squeezing his shattered kneecap between two bloody hands. 

I don't know the actors and actresses anymore so you should pick who you like, but I'm your huckleberry if you need a socially anxious and talkative oddball to lurk in the background and agree with everything you say. From home of course. 

I might get sick if I leave my room. 

Let's get back to Reg Harkema while you chew on the idea. Leslie, My Name is Evil is also titled Manson, My Name is Evil. I'm not sure if the title was changed because of some crossing the border from Canada thing or what but the second title killed the first title's irony. Charlie acts more cartoon crazy than Evil with a big E, and Leslie is portrayed as a victim who mutilated Rosemary. 

Small potatoes. 

Like me, you probably see a Manson movie poster and say something like, "I'm going to be completely disappointed if I don't see any bloody sex ritual boobs." Rest assured, friends. Gory bosoms are included. This time in a dream sequence.

Love of brother. Vietnam. Nixon. The abortion. Harkema points out (something we talk about a lot here) that the Manson murders did not happen in a vacuum. 

A bit of license is taken. Rosemary is wrapped in the Cielo flag. 

The acting works in this film. Gregory Smith is Perry, a young juror who becomes infatuated with Leslie during the People vs Manson et al trial. Perry has a dirty dream about Leslie while sequestered in a hotel room. Kristen Hager plays Leslie. 

Charlie shows up in the dirty dream but Perry avoids Little Paul duties. Manson gives Perry the greenlight, albeit shirtless, and exits the scene. 

Ryan Robbins is Charlie. Robbins looks more like the Scots-Irish and English migratory blob that spawned Charlie than several of the actors who have played Manson over the years. I speak for all genealogy nerds when I say I appreciated Robbins' casting. He's also a more believable Charlie fwiw. 

Anjelica Scannura plays possibly the best Sadie I've seen on this journey. Same for Tiio Horn as Katie. Their scenes jump off the screen. 

Horn as Katie says she's from a Los Angeles suburb. Later, she pronounces "again" like a Canadian. I immediately wanted a pea meal bacon sandwich from Paddington's. I miss you, Toronto. 

I don't know how I'd classify this film. Dark camp comedy? I recommend it regardless. Bugs is great. Fitzgerald is hilarious. Perry's girlfriend and father possibly steal the show. 

I liked Leslie, My Name is Evil so much I ordered a copy from Amazon. This one might not be for the cadre dedicated to solving the cases in their own special ways and need everything historically accurate, but the film is a solid watch for everyone familiar with the tropes, facts, and myths surrounding the Manson milieu. 

The portrait of Nixon behind Judge Older's chair is massive. I laughed when Older asks Perry from beneath the watchful eyes of the man responsible for the headline if seeing the newspaper will prejudice his opinion of Charlie. Make sure you watch hang on through the credits to hear Nixon's speech to the youth of America. 

Overall, I got the feeling Reg Harkema looked at the U.S. during those times and used his film to asked a sobering question across time. How did we expect Manson not to happen? 

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Bonus materials:

A review I like where the reviewer says all the things I want to say but lack the skills. 

Rotten Tomatoes.

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We'll return to our regular scheduled programming Monday. I hope your weekend is swell. 

+ggw...Ohio

Let's Talk Stimson

My dear neighbor, Tobias, mentioned in another thread that a new episode was posted to George Stimson's Goodbye Helter Skelter Youtube channel. I thought I'd drop a link and see if anyone wants to share their exegesis with me.  

goodbyehelterskelter.com

Pigpen in a Strange Land