Inside The LC: The Strange but Mostly True Story of Laurel Canyon and the

Birth of the Hippie Generation

Part 1
Theres something happening here
What it is aint exactly clear
Join e no!" if you ha#e the tie" as !e ta$e a stroll do!n eory lane to a tie nearly four%
and%a%half de&ades ago % a tie !hen 'eri&a last had unifored ground troops fighting a
sustained and bloody battle to ipose" uh" (deo&ra&y( on a so#ereign nation)
Admiral Morrison
It is the first week of August, 1964, and U.S. warships under the ommand of U.S. !a"# Admiral
$eorge Stephen Morrison ha"e allegedl# ome under attak while patrolling %ietnam&s 'onkin
$ulf. 'his e"ent, su(se)uentl# du((ed the &'onkin $ulf Inident,& will result in the immediate
passing (# the U.S. *ongress of the o("iousl# pre+drafted 'onkin $ulf ,esolution, whih will, in
turn, )uikl# lead to Ameria&s deep immersion into the (lood# %ietnam )uagmire. -efore it is o"er,
well o"er fift# thousand Amerian (odies + along with literall# millions of Southeast Asian (odies +
will litter the (attlefields of %ietnam, .aos and *am(odia.
/or the reord, the 'onkin $ulf Inident appears to differ somewhat from other alleged
pro"oations that ha"e dri"en this ountr# to war. 'his was not, as we ha"e seen so man# times
(efore, a &false flag& operation 0whih is to sa#, an operation that in"ol"es Unle Sam attaking
himself and then pointing an ausator# finger at someone else1. It was also not, as we ha"e also
seen on more than one oasion, an attak that was )uite deli(eratel# pro"oked. !o, what the
'onkin $ulf inident atuall# was, as it turns out, is an &attak& that ne"er took plae at all. 'he
entire inident, as has (een all (ut offiiall# aknowledged, was spun from whole loth. 0It is )uite
possi(le, howe"er, that the intent was to pro"oke a defensi"e response, whih ould then (e ast as
an unpro"oked attak on U.S ships. 'he ships in )uestion were on an intelligene mission and were
operating in a deidedl# pro"oati"e manner. It is )uite possi(le that when %ietnamese fores failed
to respond as antiipated, Unle Sam deided to 2ust pretend as though the# had.1
!e"ertheless, (# earl# /e(ruar# 1963, the U.S. will + without a delaration of war and with no "alid
reason to wage one + (egin indisriminatel# (om(ing !orth %ietnam. -# Marh of that same #ear,
the infamous 45peration ,olling 'hunder4 will ha"e ommened. 5"er the ourse of the ne6t three+
and+a+half #ears, millions of tons of (om(s, missiles, rokets, inendiar# de"ies and hemial
warfare agents will (e dumped on the people of %ietnam in what an onl# (e desri(ed as one of the
worst rimes against humanit# e"er perpetrated on this planet.
Also in Marh of 1963, the first uniformed U.S. soldier will offiiall# set foot on %ietnamese soil
0although Speial /ores units mas)uerading as &ad"isers& and &trainers& had (een there for at least
four #ears, and likel# muh longer1. -# April 1963, full# 73,888 uniformed Amerian kids, most
still teenagers (arel# out of high shool, will (e slogging through the rie paddies of %ietnam. -#
the end of the #ear, U.S. troop strength will ha"e surged to 788,888.
.ookout Mountain A"e and .aurel *an#on -l"d, google maps
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world in those earl# months of 1963, a new &sene& is 2ust (eginning to
take shape in the it# of .os Angeles. In a geographiall# and soiall# isolated ommunit# known
as .aurel *an#on + a hea"il# wooded, rusti, serene, #et "aguel# ominous slie of .A nestled in the
hills that separate the .os Angeles (asin from the San /ernando %alle# + musiians, singers and
songwriters suddenl# (egin to gather as though summoned there (# some unseen 9ied 9iper. :ithin
months, the &hippie;flower hild& mo"ement will (e gi"en (irth there, along with the new st#le of
musi that will pro"ide the soundtrak for the tumultuous seond half of the 1968s.
An unann# num(er of rok musi superstars will emerge from .aurel *an#on (eginning in the
mid+1968s and arr#ing through the deade of the 19<8s. 'he first to drop an al(um will (e 'he
-#rds, whose (iggest star will pro"e to (e =a"id *ros(#. 'he (and&s de(ut effort, 4Mr. 'am(ourine
Man,4 will (e released on the Summer Solstie of 1963. It will )uikl# (e followed (# releases from
the >ohn 9hillips+led Mamas and the 9apas 0If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, >anuar#
19661
.o"e with Arthur .ee 0Love, Ma# 19661
/rank ?appa and 'he Mothers of In"ention 0rea! "ut, >une 19661
-uffalo Springfield, featuring Stephen Stills and !eil @oung 0Buffalo #pringfield, 5to(er
19661
'he =oors 0The $oors >anuar# 196<1
5ne of the earliest on the .aurel *an#on;Sunset Strip sene is >im Morrison, the enigmati lead
singer of 'he =oors. >im will )uikl# (eome one of the most ioni, ontro"ersial, ritiall#
alaimed, and influential figures to take up residene in .aurel *an#on. *uriousl# enough though,
the self+prolaimed 4.iAard Bing4 has another laim to fame as well, al(eit one that none of his
numerous hronilers will feel is of muh rele"ane to his areer and possi(le untimel# deathC he is
the son, as it turns out, of the aforementioned Admiral $eorge Stephen Morrison.
And so it is that, e"en while the father is ati"el# onspiring to fa(riate an inident that will (e
used to massi"el# aelerate an illegal war, the son is positioning himself to (eome an ion of the
&hippie&;anti+war rowd. !othing unusual a(out that, I suppose. It is, #ou know, a small world and
all that. And it is not as if >im Morrison&s stor# is in an# wa# uni)ue.
/rank ?appaC 9ro+war, authoritarian, and what elseD
=uring the earl# #ears of its he#da#, .aurel *an#on&s father figure is the rather eentri personalit#
known as /rank ?appa. 'hough he and his "arious Mothers of In"ention line+ups will ne"er attain
the ommerial suess of the (and headed (# the admiral&s son, /rank will (e a hugel# influential
figure among his ontemporaries. Ensoned in an a(ode du((ed the &.og *a(in& + whih sat right
in the heart of .aurel *an#on, at the rossroads of .aurel *an#on -oule"ard and .ookout Mountain
A"enue + ?appa will pla# host to "irtuall# e"er# musiian who passes through the an#on in the
mid+ to late+1968s. Fe will also diso"er and sign numerous ats to his "arious .aurel *an#on+
(ased reord la(els. Man# of these ats will (e rather (iAarre and somewhat o(sure haraters
0think *aptain -eefheart and .arr# 4:ild Man4 /isher1, (ut some of them, suh as ps#hedeli
roker um shok+roker Alie *ooper, will go on to superstardom.
?appa, along with ertain mem(ers of his siAa(le entourage 0the &.og *a(in& was run as an earl#
ommune, with numerous hangers+on oup#ing "arious rooms in the main house and the guest
house, as well as in the peuliar a"es and tunnels laing the grounds of the homeG far from the
)uaint homestead the name seems to impl#, (# the wa#, the &.og *a(in& was a a"ernous fi"e+le"el
home that featured a 7,888H s)uare+foot li"ing room with three massi"e handeliers and an
enormous floor+to+eiling stone fireplae1, will also (e instrumental in introduing the look and
attitude that will define the &hippie& ounterulture 0although the ?appa rew preferred the la(el
&/reak&1. !e"ertheless, ?appa 0(orn, uriousl# enough, on the :inter Solstie of 19481 ne"er reall#
made a seret of the fat that he had nothing (ut ontempt for the &hippie& ulture that he helped
reate and that he surrounded himself with.
'he ?appa I.og *a(inJ
$i"en that ?appa was, (# numerous aounts, a pro+war, rigidl# authoritarian ontrol+freak, it is
perhaps not surprising that he would not feel a kinship with the #outh mo"ement that he helped
nurture. And it is pro(a(l# safe to sa# that /rank&s dad also had little regard for the #outh ulture of
the 1968s, gi"en that /ranis ?appa was, in ase #ou were wondering, a hemial warfare speialist
assigned to + where elseD + the Edgewood Arsenal. Edgewood is, of ourse, the longtime home of
Ameria&s hemial warfare program, as well as a failit# fre)uentl# ited as (eing deepl#
enmeshed in MB+U.',A operations. *uriousl# enough, /rank ?appa literall# grew up at the
Edgewood Arsenal, ha"ing li"ed the first se"en #ears of his life in militar# housing on the grounds
of the failit#. 'he famil# later mo"ed to .anaster, *alifornia, near Edwards Air /ore -ase, where
/ranis ?appa ontinued to (us# himself with doing lassified work for the militar#;intelligene
omple6. Fis son, meanwhile, prepped himself to (eome an ion of the peae K lo"e rowd.
Again, nothing unusual a(out that, I suppose.
?appa&s manager, (# the wa#, is a shadow# harater (# the name of Fer( *ohen, who had ome
out to ..A. from the -ron6 with his (rother Mutt 2ust (efore the musi and lu( sene (egan heating
up. *ohen, a former U.S. Marine, had spent a few #ears tra"eling the world (efore his arri"al on the
.aurel *an#on sene. 'hose tra"els, uriousl#, had taken him to the *ongo in 1961, at the "er# time
that leftist 9rime Minister 9atrie .umum(a was (eing tortured and killed (# our "er# own *IA.
!ot to worr# thoughG aording to one of ?appa&s (iographers, *ohen wasn&t in the *ongo on some
kind of nefarious intelligene mission. !o, he was there, (elie"e it or not, to suppl# arms to
.umum(a 4in defiane of the *IA.4 -eause, #ou know, that is the kind of thing that glo(etrotting
e6+Marines did in those da#s 0as we&ll see soon enough when we take a look at another .aurel
*an#on luminar#1.
Making up the other half of .aurel *an#on&s /irst /amil# is
/rank&s wife, $ail ?appa, known formerl# as Adelaide Sloatman. $ail hails from a long line of
areer !a"al offiers, inluding her father, who spent his life working on lassified nulear weapons
researh for the U.S. !a"#. $ail herself had one worked as a seretar# for the 5ffie of !a"al
,esearh and =e"elopment 0she also one told an inter"iewer that she had 4heard "oies all LherM
life41. Man# #ears (efore their nearl# simultaneous arri"al in .aurel *an#on, $ail had attended a
!a"al kindergarten with 4Mr. Mo2o ,isin&4 himself, >im Morrison 0it is laimed that, as hildren,
$ail one hit >im o"er the head with a hammer1. 'he "er# same >im Morrison had later attended the
same Ale6andria, %irginia high shool as two other future .aurel *an#on luminaries + >ohn 9hillips
and *ass Elliott.
49apa4 >ohn 9hillips, more so than pro(a(l# an# of the other illustrious residents of .aurel *an#on,
will pla# a ma2or role in spreading the emerging #outh &ounterulture& aross Ameria. Fis
ontri(ution will (e twofoldC first, he will o+organiAe 0along with Manson assoiate 'err# Melher1
the famed Monterre# 9op /esti"al, whih, through unpreedented media e6posure, will gi"e
mainstream Ameria its first real look at the musi and fashions of the nasent &hippie& mo"ement.
Seond, 9hillips will pen an insipid song known as 4San /raniso 0-e Sure to :ear /lowers in
@our Fair1,4 whih will )uikl# rise to the top of the harts. Along with the Monterre# 9op /esti"al,
the song will (e instrumental in luring the disenfranhised 0a preponderane of whom are underage
runawa#s1 to San /raniso to reate the Faight+As(ur# phenomenon and the famed 196< 4Summer
of .o"e.4
>oni Mithell pla#s a song in *ass Elliot&s .aurel *an#on (ak#ard while =a"id *ros(# and Eri *lapton listen, 196N.
-efore arri"ing in .aurel *an#on and opening the doors of his home to the soon+to+(e famous, the
alread# famous, and the infamous 0suh as the aforementioned *harlie Manson, whose &/amil#& also
spent time at the .og *a(in and at the .aurel *an#on home of 4Mama4 *ass Elliot, whih, in ase
#ou didn&t know, sat right aross the street from the .aurel *an#on home of A(igail /olger and
%o#tek /r#kowski, (ut let&s not get ahead of oursel"es here1, >ohn Edmund Andrew 9hillips was,
shokingl# enough, #et another hild of the militar#;intelligene omple6. 'he son of U.S. Marine
*orp *aptain *laude Andrew 9hillips and a mother who laimed to ha"e ps#hi and telekineti
powers, >ohn attended a series of elite militar# prep shools in the :ashington, =.*. area,
ulminating in an appointment to the prestigious U.S. !a"al Aadem# at Annapolis
After lea"ing Annapolis, >ohn married Susie Adams, a diret desendant of &/ounding /ather& >ohn
Adams. Susie&s father, >ames Adams, >r., had (een in"ol"ed in what Susie desri(ed as 4loak+and+
dagger stuff with the Air /ore in %ienna,4 or what we like to all o"ert intelligene operations.
Susie herself would later find emplo#ment at the 9entagon, alongside >ohn 9hillip&s older sister,
,osie, who dutifull# reported to work at the omple6 for nearl# thirt# #ears. >ohn&s mother, &=ene&
9hillips, also worked for most of her life for the federal go"ernment in some unspeified apait#.
And >ohn&s older (rother, 'omm#, was a (attle+sarred former U.S. Marine who found work as a
op on the Ale6andria polie fore, al(eit one with a disiplinar# reord for e6hi(iting a "iolent
streak when dealing with people of olor.
>ohn 9hillips, of ourse + though surrounded throughout his life (# militar#;intelligene personnel +
did not in"ol"e himself in suh matters. 5r so we are to (elie"e. -efore sueeding in his musial
areer, howe"er, >ohn did seem to find himself, )uite innoentl# of ourse, in some rather unusual
plaes. 5ne suh plae was Fa"ana, *u(a, where 9hillips arri"ed at the "er# height of the *u(an
,e"olution. /or the reord, 9hillips has laimed that he went to Fa"ana as nothing more than a
onerned pri"ate itiAen, with the intention of + #ou&re going to lo"e this one + 4fighting for
*astro.4 -eause, as I mentioned earlier, a lot of folks in those da#s tra"eled a(road to thwart *IA
operations (efore taking up residene in .aurel *an#on and 2oining the &hippie& generation. =uring
the two weeks or so that the *u(an Missile *risis pla#ed out, a few #ears after *astro took power,
9hillips found himself ooling his heels in >akson"ille, /lorida + alongside, oinidentall# I&m sure,
the Ma#port !a"al Station.
An#wa#, let&s mo"e on to #et another of .aurel *an#on&s earliest and (rightest stars, Mr.
Stephen Stills. Stills will ha"e the distintion of (eing a founding mem(er of two of .aurel
*an#on&s most alaimed and (elo"ed (andsC -uffalo Springfield, and, needless to sa#, *ros(#,
Stills K !ash. In addition, Stills will pen perhaps the first, and ertainl# one of the most enduring
anthems of the 68s generation, 4/or :hat It&s :orth,4 the opening lines of whih appear at the top
of this post 0Stills& follow+up single will (e entitled 4-lue(ird,4 whih, oinidentall# or not,
happens to (e the original odename assigned to the MB+U.',A program1.
-efore his arri"al in .aurel *an#on, Stephen Stills was 0O#awnO1 the produt of #et another areer
militar# famil#. ,aised partl# in 'e6as, #oung Stephen spent large swaths of his hildhood in El
Sal"ador, *osta ,ia, the 9anama *anal ?one, and "arious other parts of *entral Ameria +
alongside his father, who was, we an (e fairl# ertain, helping to spread &demora#& to the
unwashed masses in that endearingl# Amerian wa#. As with the rest of our ast of haraters, Stills
was eduated primaril# at shools on militar# (ases and at elite militar# aademies. Among his
ontemporaries in .aurel *an#on, he was widel# "iewed as ha"ing an a(rasi"e, authoritarian
personalit#. !othing unusual a(out an# of that, of ourse, as we ha"e alread# seen with the rest of
our ast of haraters.
'here is, howe"er, an e"en more urious aspet to the Stephen Stills stor#C Stephen will later tell
an#one who will sit and listen that he had ser"ed time for Unle Sam in the 2ungles of %ietnam.
'hese tales will (e uni"ersall# dismissed (# hronilers of the era as nothing more than drug+
indued delusions. Suh a thing ouldn&t possi(l# (e true, it will (e laimed, sine Stills arri"ed on
the .aurel *an#on sene at the "er# time that the first uniformed troops (egan shipping out and he
remained in the pu(li e#e thereafter. And it will of ourse (e )uite true that Stephen Stills ould not
ha"e ser"ed with uniformed ground troops in %ietnam, (ut what will (e ignored is the undenia(le
fat that the U.S. had thousands of &ad"isers& + whih is to sa#, *IA;Speial /ores operati"es +
operating in the ountr# for a good man# #ears (efore the arri"al of the first offiial ground troops.
:hat will also (e ignored is that, gi"en his (akground, his age, and the timeline of e"ents, Stephen
Stills not onl# ould indeed ha"e seen ation in %ietnam, he would seem to ha"e (een a prime
andidate for suh an assignment. After whih, of ourse, he ould rather )uikl# (eome + stop me
if #ou&"e heard this one (efore + an ion of the peae generation.
Another of those ions, and one of .aurel *an#on&s most flam(o#ant
residents, is a #oung man (# the name of =a"id *ros(#, founding mem(er of the seminal .aurel
*an#on (and the -#rds, as well as, of ourse, *ros(#, Stills K !ash. *ros(# is, not surprisingl#, the
son of an Annapolis graduate and ::II militar# intelligene offier, Ma2or /lo#d =elafield *ros(#.
.ike others in this stor#, /lo#d *ros(# spent muh of his post+ser"ie time tra"eling the world.
'hose tra"els landed him in plaes like Faiti, where he paid a "isit in 197<, when the ountr# 2ust
happened to (e, oinidentall# of ourse, under militar# oupation (# the U.S. Marines. 5ne of the
Marines doing that oup#ing was a gu# that we met earlier (# the name of *aptain *laude Andrew
9hillips.
-ut =a"id *ros(# is muh more than 2ust the son of Ma2or /lo#d =elafield *ros(#. =a"id %an
*ortlandt *ros(#, as it turns out, is a sion of the losel# intertwined %an *ortlandt, %an Shu#ler
and %an ,ensselaer families. And while #ou&re pro(a(l# thinking, 4the %an :ho familiesD,4 I an
assure #ou that if #ou plug those names in o"er at :ikipedia, #ou an spend a prett# fair amount of
time reading up on the power wielded (# this lan for the last, oh, two+and+a+)uarter enturies or so.
Suffie it to sa# that the *ros(# famil# tree inludes a trul# diAA#ing arra# of US senators and
ongressmen, state senators and assem(l#men, go"ernors, ma#ors, 2udges, Supreme *ourt 2usties,
,e"olutionar# and *i"il :ar generals, signers of the =elaration of Independene, and mem(ers of
the *ontinental *ongress. It also inludes, I should hasten to add + for those of #ou with a taste for
suh things + more than a few high+ranking Masons. Stephen %an ,ensselaer III, for e6ample,
reportedl# ser"ed as $rand Master of Masons for !ew @ork. And if all that isn&t impressi"e enough,
aording to the !ew England $enealogial Soiet#, =a"id %an *ortlandt *ros(# is also a diret
desendant of &/ounding /athers& and /ederalist 9apers& authors Ale6ander Familton and >ohn >a#.
If there is, as man# (elie"e, a network of elite families that has shaped national and world e"ents for
a "er# long time, then it is pro(a(l# safe to sa# that =a"id *ros(# is a (loodline mem(er of that
lan 0whih ma# e6plain, ome to think of it, wh# his semen seems to (e in suh demand in ertain
irles + (eause, if we&re (eing honest here, it ertainl# an&t (e due to his looks or talent.1 If
Ameria had ro#alt#, then =a"id *ros(# would pro(a(l# (e a =uke, or a 9rine, or something
similar 0I&m not reall# sure how that shit works1. -ut other than that, he is 2ust a normal, run+of+the+
mill kind of gu# who 2ust happened to shine as one of .aurel *an#on&s (rightest stars. And who, I
guess I should add, has a real fondness for guns, espeiall# handguns, whih he has maintained a
siAa(le olletion of for his entire life. Aording to those losest to him, it is a rare oasion when
Mr. *ros(# is not paking heat 0>ohn 9hillips also owned and sometimes arried handguns1. And
aording to *ros(# himself, he has, on at least one oasion, disharged a firearm in anger at
another human (eing. All of whih made him, of ourse, an o("ious hoie for the /lower *hildren
to rall# around.
Another shining star on the .aurel *an#on sene, 2ust a few #ears later, will (e singer+
songwriter >akson -rowne, who is + are #ou getting as (ored with this as I amD + the produt of a
areer militar# famil#. -rowne&s father was assigned to post+war &reonstrution& work in $erman#,
whih "er# likel# means that he was in the emplo# of the 5SS, preursor to the *IA. As readers of
m# 4Understanding the /+:ord4 ma# reall, U.S. in"ol"ement in post+war reonstrution in
$erman# largel# onsisted of maintaining as muh of the !aAi infrastruture as possi(le while
shielding war riminals from apture and proseution. Against that (akdrop, >akson -rowne was
(orn in a militar# hospital in Feidel(erg, $erman#. Some two deades later, he emerged as ... oh,
ne"er mind.
.et&s talk instead a(out three other .aurel *an#on "oalists who will rise to diAA#ing heights of
fame and fortuneC $err# -ekle#, =an 9eek and =ewe# -unnell. Indi"iduall#, these three names are
pro(a(l# unknown to "irtuall# all readersG (ut olleti"el#, as the (and Ameria, the three will sore
huge hits in the earl# &<8s with suh songs as 4%entura Fighwa#,4 4A Forse :ith !o !ame,4 and
the :iAard of 5A+themed 4'he 'in Man.4 I guess I pro(a(l# don&t need to add here that all three of
these lads were produts of the militar#;intelligene ommunit#. -ekle#&s dad was the ommander
of the now+defunt :est ,uislip USA/ (ase near .ondon, England, a failit# deepl# immersed in
intelligene operations. -unnell&s and 9eek&s fathers were (oth areer Air /ore offiers ser"ing
under -ekle#&s dad at :est ,uislip, whih is where the three (o#s first met.
:e ould also, I suppose, disuss Mike !esmith of the Monkees and *or# :ells of 'hree =og
!ight 0two more hugel# suessful .aurel *an#on (ands1, who (oth arri"ed in .A not long after
ser"ing time with the U.S. Air /ore. !esmith also inherited a famil# fortune estimated at P73
million. $ram 9arsons, who would (riefl# replae =a"id *ros(# in 'he -#rds (efore fronting 'he
/l#ing -urrito -rothers, was the son of Ma2or *eil Ingram 4*oon =og4 *onnor II, a deorated
militar# offier and (om(er pilot who reportedl# flew o"er 38 om(at missions. 9arsons was also
an heir, on his mother&s side, to the formida(le Sni"el# famil# fortune. Said to (e the wealthiest
famil# in the e6lusi"e enla"e of :inter Fa"en, /lorida, the Sni"el# famil# was the proud owner
of Sni"el# $ro"es, In., whih reportedl# owned as muh as 1;Q of all the itrus gro"es in the state
of /lorida.
And so it goes as one srolls through the roster of .aurel *an#on superstars. :hat one finds, far
more often than not, are the sons and daughters of the militar#;intelligene omple6 and the sons
and daughters of e6treme wealth and pri"ilege + and oftentimes, #ou&ll find (oth rolled into one
on"enient pakage. E"er# one in a while, #ou will also stum(le aross a former hild ator, like
the aforementioned -randon =e:ilde, or Monkee Mike# =olenA, or eentri prodig# %an =#ke
9arks. @ou might also enounter some former mental patients, suh as >ames 'a#lor, who spent time
in two different mental institutions in Massahusetts (efore hitting the .aurel *an#on sene, or
.arr# 4:ild Man4 /isher, who was institutionaliAed repeatedl# during his teen #ears, one for
attaking his mother with a knife 0an at that was gleefull# moked (# ?appa on the o"er of
/isher&s first al(um1. /inall#, #ou might find the offspring of an organiAed rime figure, like
:arren ?e"on, the son of :illiam 4Stump#4 ?e"on, a lieutenant for infamous .A rimelord Mike#
*ohen.
All these folks gathered nearl# simultaneousl# along the narrow, winding roads of .aurel *an#on.
'he# ame from aross the ountr# + although the :ashington, =* area was notiea(l# o"er+
represented + as well as from *anada and England. 'he# ame e"en though, at the time, there was
no musi industr# in .os Angeles. 'he# ame e"en though, at the time, there was no li"e musi
sene to speak of. 'he# ame e"en though, in retrospet, there was no diserna(le reason for them
to do so.
It would, of ourse, make sense these da#s for an aspiring musiian to "enture out to .os Angeles.
-ut in those da#s, the enters of the musi uni"erse were !ash"ille, Memphis and !ew @ork. It
wasn&t the industr# that drew the .aurel *an#on rowd, #ou see, (ut rather the .aurel *an#on
rowd that transformed .os Angeles into the epienter of the musi industr#. 'o what then do we
attri(ute this unpreedented gathering of future musial superstars in the hills a(o"e .os AngelesD
:hat was it that inspired them all to head out westD 9erhaps !eil @oung said it (est when he told an
inter"iewer that he ouldn&t reall# sa# wh# he headed out to .A ira 1966G he and others 4were 2ust
going like .emmings.4
Part *
%e &as great' he &as unreal(really' really good)
*%e had this !ind of music that no+ody else &as doing) I thought he really had
something cra,y' something great) %e &as li!e a living poet)
>oni Mihell in her .aurel *an#on home, 196N
photoC -aron :olman
Today(s first tri#ia +uestion: both of the abo#e stateents !ere ade" on separate o&&asions"
by a faous Laurel Canyon usi&ian of the 1,-.s era) -oth )uotes were offered up in praise of
another .aurel *an#on musiian. Award #ourself fi"e points for orretl# identif#ing the person
who made the remarks, and fi"e for identif#ing who the statements refer to. L'he answers are at the
end of this post.M
In the first hapter of this saga, we met a sampling of some of the most suessful and influential
rok musi superstars who emerged from .aurel *an#on during its glor# da#s. -ut these were, alas,
more than 2ust musiians and singers and songwriters who had ome together in the an#onG the#
were destined to (eome the spokesmen and de fato leaders of a generation of disaffeted #outh
0as *arl $ottlie( noted in =a"id *ros(#&s o+written auto(iograph#, 4the unpreedented mass
appeal of the new rok &n& roll ga"e the singers a "oie in pu(li affairs.41 'hat, of ourse, makes it
all the more urious that these ions were, to an o"erwhelming degree, the sons and daughters of the
militar#;intelligene omple6 and the sions of families that ha"e wielded "ast wealth and power in
this ountr# for a "er# long time.
:hen I reentl# presented to a friend a trunated summar# of the information ontained in the first
installment of this series, said friend opted to pla# the de"il&s ad"oate (# suggesting that there was
nothing neessaril# nefarious in the fat that so man# of these ions of a past generation hailed from
militar#;intelligene families. 9erhaps, he suggested, the# had em(arked on their hosen areers as
a form of re(ellion against the "alues of their parents. And that, I suppose, might (e true in a ouple
of ases. -ut what are we to onlude from the fat that suh an astonishing num(er of these folks
0along with their girlfriends, wi"es, managers, et.1 hail from a similar (akgroundD Are we to
(elie"e that the onl# kids from that era who had musial talent were the sons and daughters of !a"#
Admirals, hemial warfare engineers and Air /ore intelligene offiersD 5r are the# 2ust the onl#
ones who were signed to lurati"e ontrats and relentlessl# promoted (# their la(els and the
mediaD
If these artists were re(elling against, rather than su(tl# promoting, the "alues of their parents, then
wh# didn&t the# e"er speak out against the folks the# were allegedl# re(elling againstD :h# did >im
Morrison ne"er denoune, or e"en mention, his father&s ke# role in esalating one of Ameria&s
(loodiest illegal warsD And wh# did /rank ?appa ne"er pen a song e6ploring the horrors of
hemial warfare 0though he did pen a harming little ditt# entitled 4'he ,itual =ane of the *hild+
Biller41D And whih Mamas and 9apas song was it that laid waste to the "alues and ations of >ohn
9hillip&s parents and in+lawsD And in whih inter"iew, e6atl#, did =a"id *ros(# and Stephen Stills
disown the famil# "alues that the# were raised withD
In the oming weeks, we will take a muh loser look at these folks, as well as at man# of their
ontemporaries, as we endea"or to determine how and wh# the #outh &ounterulture& of the 1968s
was gi"en (irth. Aording to "irtuall# all the aounts that I ha"e read, this was essentiall# a
spontaneous, organi response to the war in Southeast Asia and to the pre"ailing soial onditions
of the time. &*onspira# theorists,& of ourse, ha"e fre)uentl# opined that what (egan as a legitimate
mo"ement was at some point o+opted and undermined (# intelligene operations suh as
*oIntel9ro. Entire (ooks, for e6ample, ha"e (een written e6amining how presuma(l# "irtuous
musial artists were su(2eted to /-I harassment and;or whaked (# the *IA.
Fere we will, as #ou ha"e no dou(t alread# asertained, take a deidedl# different approah. 'he
)uestion that we will (e takling is a more deepl# trou(ling oneC 4what if the musiians themsel"es
0and "arious other leaders and founders of the &mo"ement&1 were e"er# (it as muh a part of the
intelligene ommunit# as the people who were supposedl# harassing themD4 :hat if, in other
words, the entire #outh ulture of the 1968s was reated not as a grass+roots hallenge to the status
)uo, (ut as a #nial e6erise in disrediting and marginaliAing the (udding anti+war mo"ement and
reating a fake opposition that ould (e easil# ontrolled and led astra#D And what if the harassment
these folks were su(2eted to was largel# a stage+managed show designed to gi"e the leaders of the
ounterulture some muh+needed &street red&D :hat if, in realit#, the# were prett# muh all
pla#ing on the same teamD
I should pro(a(l# mention here that, ontrar# to popular opinion, the &hippie&;&flower hild&
mo"ement was not s#non#mous with the anti+war mo"ement. As time passed, there was, to (e sure,
a fair amount of o"erlap (etween the two &mo"ements.& And the mass media outlets, as is their wont,
did their "er# (est to portra# the flower+power generation as the torh+(earers of the anti+war
mo"ement + (eause, after all, a ragtag (and of unwashed, drug+fueled long+hairs sporting flowers
and peae s#m(ols was far easier to marginaliAe than, sa#, a (unh of respeted ollege professors
and their onerned students. 'he realit#, howe"er, is that the anti+war mo"ement was alread# well
underwa# (efore the first aspiring &hippie& arri"ed in .aurel *an#on. 'he first %ietnam :ar &teah+
in& was held on the ampus of the Uni"ersit# of Mihigan in Marh of 1963. 'he first organiAed
walk on :ashington ourred 2ust a few weeks later. !eedless to sa#, there were no &hippies& in
attendane at either e"ent. 'hat &pro(lem& would soon (e retified. And the anti+war rowd + those
who were serious a(out ending the (loodshed in %ietnam, an#wa# + would (e none too
appreiati"e.
As -arr# Miles has written in his offee+ta(le (ook, Fippie, there were some hippies in"ol"ed in
anti+war protests, 4partiularl# after the polie riot in *hiago in 196N when so man# people got
in2ured, (ut on the whole the mo"ement ati"ists looked on hippies with disdain.4 9eter *o#ote,
narrating the doumentar# 4Fippies4 on 'he Fistor# *hannel, added that 4Some on the left e"en
theoriAed that the hippies were the end result of a plot (# the *IA to neutraliAe the anti+war
mo"ement with .S=, turning potential protestors into self+a(sor(ed na"al+gaAers.4 An e6asperated
A((ie Foffman one desri(ed the sene as he remem(ered it thusl#C 4'here were all these
ati"ists, #ou know, -erkele# radials, :hite 9anthers ... all tr#ing to stop the war and hange
things for the (etter. 'hen we got flooded with all these &flower hildren& who were into drugs and
se6. :here the hell did the hippies ome fromDR4
As it turns out, the# ame, initiall# at least, from a rather pri"ate, isolated, largel# self+ontained
neigh(orhood in .os Angeles known as .aurel *an#on 0in ontrast to the other an#ons sliing
through the Foll#wood Fills, .aurel *an#on has its own market, the semi+famous .aurel *an#on
*ountr# StoreG its own deli and leanersG its own elementar# shool, the :onderland ShoolG its
own (outi)ue shops and salonsG and, in more reent #ears, its own ele(rit# reprogramming reha(
failit# named, as #ou ma# ha"e guessed, the :onderland *enter. =uring its he#da#, the an#on
e"en had its own management ompan#, .ookout Management, to handle the talent. At one time, it
e"en had its own newspaper.1
:onderland Shool in .aurel *an#on
5ne other thing that I should add here, (efore getting too far along with this series, is that this has
not (een an eas# line of researh for me to ondut, primaril# (eause I ha"e (een, for as long as I
an remem(er, a huge fan of 1968s musi and ulture. 'hough I was (orn in 1968 and therefore
didn&t ome of age, so to speak, until the 19<8s, I ha"e alwa#s felt as though I was ripped off (#
(eing denied the opportunit# to e6periene firsthand the era that I was so o("iousl# meant to
inha(it. =uring m# high shool and ollege #ears, while m# peers were mostl# into faeless
orporate rok 0think >ourne#, /oreigner, Bansas, -oston, et.1 and, perhaps worse #et, the twin
horrors of !ew :a"e and =iso musi, I was faithfull# spinning m# Fendri6, >oplin and =oors
al(ums 0whih I still ha"e, or rather m# eldest daughter still has, in the original "in#l "ersions1
while m# olor organ 0remem(er thoseD1 ompeted with m# (lak light and stro(e light. I grew m#
hair long until well past the age when it should ha"e (een sheared off. I ma# ha"e e"en strung (eads
aross the doorwa# to m# room, (ut it is possi(le that I am onfusing m# life with that of $reg
-rad#, who, as we all remem(er, one on"erted his dad&s home offie into a groo"# (ahelor pad.
An#wa# ... as I ha"e pro(a(l# mentioned pre"iousl# on more
than one oasion, one of the most diffiult aspets of this 2ourne# that I ha"e (een on for the last
deade or so has (een wathing so man# of m# former idols and mentors fall (# the wa#side as it
(eame inreasingl# lear to me that people who I one thought were the good gu#s were, in realit#,
something entirel# different than what the# appear to (e. 'he first to fall, naturall# enough, were the
esta(lishment figures + the politiians who I one, )uite foolishl#, looked up to as people who were
fighting the good fight, within the onfines of the s#stem, to (ring a(out real hange. 'hough it now
pains me to admit this, there was a time when I admired the likes of 0egadsR1 $eorge M$o"ern and
>imm# *arter, as well as 0oops, e6use me for a momentG I seem to ha"e 2ust thrown up in m#
mouth a little (it1 *alifornia pols 'om Fa#den and >err# -rown. I e"en had high hopes, oh+so+
man#+#ears+ago, for 0am I reall# admitting this in printD1 aspiring /irst Man -ill *linton.
Sine I mentioned >err# 4$o"ernor Moon(eam4 -rown, (# the wa#, I must now digress 2ust a (it +
and we all know how I hate it when that happens. -ut as luk would ha"e it, >err# -rown was,
uriousl# enough, a longtime resident of a little plae alled .aurel *an#on. As readers of
9rogrammed to Bill ma# reall, -rown li"ed on :onderland A"enue, not too man# doors down
from N<6Q :onderland A"enue, the site of the infamous 4/our on the /loor4 murders, regarded (#
griAAled .A homiide deteti"es as the most (lood# and (rutal multiple murder in the it#&s "er#
(lood# histor# 0if #ou get a hane, (# the wa#, hek out 4:onderland4 with %al Bilmer the ne6t
time it shows up on #our a(le listingsG it is, (# Foll#wood standards, a reasona(l# aurate
retelling of the rime, and a prett# deent film as well1.
As it turns out, #ou see, the most (lood# mass murder in .A&s histor# took plae in one of the it#&s
most serene, pastoral and e6lusi"e neigh(orhoods. And strangel# enough, the ase usuall# ited as
the runner+up for the title of (loodiest rime sene + the murders of Stephen 9arent, Sharon 'ate, >a#
Se(ring, %o#tek /r#kowski and A(igail /olger at 18838 *ielo =ri"e in -enedit *an#on, 2ust a
ouple miles to the west of .aurel *an#on + had deep ties to the .aurel *an#on sene as well.
As pre"iousl# mentioned, "itims /olger and /r#kowski li"ed in .aurel *an#on, at 7<<4
:oodstok ,oad, in a rented home right aross the road from a fa"ored gathering spot for .aurel
*an#on ro#alt#. Man# of the regular "isitors to *ass Elliot&s home, inluding a num(er of shad#
drug dealers, were also regular "isitors to the /olger;/r#kowski home 0/r#kowski&s son, (# the wa#,
was sta((ed to death on >une 6, 1999, thirt# #ears after his father met the same fate.1 %itim >a#
Se(ring&s alaimed hair salon sat right at the mouth of .aurel *an#on, 2ust (elow the Sunset Strip,
and it was Se(ring, alas, who was redited with sulpting >im Morrison&s famous mane. 5ne of the
in"estors in his Se(ring International (usiness "enture was a .aurel *an#on luminar# who I ma#
ha"e mentioned pre"iousl#, Mr. >ohn 9hillips.
Sharon 'ate
Sharon 'ate was also well known in .aurel *an#on, where she was a fre)uent "isitor to the homes
of friends like >ohn 9hillips, *ass Elliott, and A((# /olger. And when she wasn&t in .aurel *an#on,
man# of the an#on regulars, (oth famous and infamous, made themsel"es at home in her plae on
*ielo =ri"e. *an#onite %an =#ke 9arks, for e6ample, dropped (# for a "isit on the "er# da# of the
murders. And =enn# =ohert#, the other 49apa4 in 'he Mamas and the 9apas, has laimed that he
and >ohn 9hillips were in"ited to the *ielo =ri"e home on the night of the murders, (ut, as luk
would ha"e it, the# ne"er made it o"er. 0Similarl#, *huk !egron of 'hree =og !ight, a regular
"isitor to the :onderland death house, had set up a drug (u# on the night of that mass murder, (ut
he fell asleep and ne"er made it o"er.1
Along with the "itims, the alleged killers also li"ed in and;or were "er# muh a part of the .aurel
*an#on sene. -o((# 4*upid4 -eausoleil, for e6ample, li"ed in a .aurel *an#on apartment during
the earl# months of 1969. *harles 4'e64 :atson, who allegedl# led the death s)uad responsi(le for
the arnage at *ielo =ri"e, li"ed for a time in a home on + guess whereD + :onderland A"enue.
=uring that time, uriousl# enough, :atson o+owned and worked in a wig shop in -e"erl# Fills,
*rown :ig *reations, .td., that was loated near the mouth of -enedit *an#on. Meanwhile, one
of >a# Se(ring&s primar# laims+to+fame was his e6pertise in rafting men&s hairpiees, whih he did
in his shop near the mouth of .aurel *an#on. A t#pial da# then in the late 1968s would find
:atson rafting hairpiees for an upsale Foll#wood lientele near -enedit *an#on, and then
returning home to .aurel *an#on, while Se(ring rafted hairpiees for an upsale Foll#wood
lientele near .aurel *an#on, and then returned home to -enedit *an#on. And then one raA# da#,
as we all know, one of them (eame a killer and the other his "itim. -ut there&s nothing odd a(out
that, I suppose, so let&s mo"e on.
9N78 Easton =ri"e
5h, wait a minute ... we an&t )uite mo"e on 2ust #et, as I forgot to mention that Se(ring&s -enedit
*an#on home, at 9N78 Easton =ri"e, was a rather infamous Foll#wood death house that had one
(elonged to >ean Farlow and 9aul -ern. 'he mismathed pair were wed on >ul# 7, 19Q7, when
Farlow, alread# a huge star of the sil"er sreen, was 2ust twent#+one #ears old. >ust two months
later, on Septem(er 3, -ern aught a (ullet to the head in his wife&s (edroom. Fe was found
sprawled naked in a pool of his own (lood, his orpse drenhed with his wife&s perfume. Upon
diso"ering the (od#, -ern&s (utler promptl# ontated M$M&s head of seurit#, :hite# Fendr#,
who in turn ontated .ouis -. Ma#er and Ir"ing 'hal(erg. All three men desended upon the
-enedit *an#on home to, #ou know, tid# up a (it. A ouple hours later, the# deided to ontat the
.A9=. 'his sene would (e repeated #ears later when Se(ring&s friends would rush to the home to
lean up (efore offiers in"estigating the 'ate murders arri"ed.
Farlow;-ern
-ern&s death was, needless to sa#, written off as a suiide. Fis newl#wed wife, strangel# enough,
was ne"er alled as a witness at the in)uest. -ern&s other wife + whih is to sa#, his ommon+law
wife, =oroth# Millette + reportedl# (oarded a Saramento ri"er(oat on Septem(er 6, 19Q7, the da#
after 9aul&s death. She was ne6t seen floating (ell#+up in the Saramento ,i"er. Fer death, as would
(e e6peted, was also ruled a suiide. .ess than fi"e #ears later, Farlow herself dropped dead at the
ripe old age of 76. At the time, authorities opted not to di"ulge the ause of death, though it was
later laimed that (ad kidne#s had done her in. =uring her (rief sta# on this planet, Farlow had
#led through three tur(ulent marriages and #et still found time to ser"e as $odmother to -ugs#
Siegel&s daughter, Millient.
'hough -ern&s was the most famous (od# to (e hauled out of the Easton =ri"e house in a oroner&s
(ag, it ertainl# wasn&t the onl# one. Another man had reportedl# ommitted suiide there as well, in
some unspeified fashion. @et another unfortunate soul drowned in the home&s pool. And a maid
was one found swinging from the end of a rope. Fer death, needless to sa#, was ruled a suiide as
well. 'hat&s a lot of (lood for one home to a(sor(, (ut the house&s mor(id histor#, though a turn+off
to man# prospeti"e residents, was reportedl# e6atl# what attrated >a# Se(ring to the propert#.
Fis murder would further darken the (lak loud hanging o"er the home.
As .aurel *an#on hroniler Mihael :alker has noted, .A&s two most notorious mass murders,
one in August of 1969 and the other in >ul# of 19N1 0(oth in"ol"ing fi"e "itims, though at
:onderland one of the fi"e miraulousl# sur"i"ed1, pro"ided rather mor(id (ookends for .aurel
*an#on&s glor# #ears. :alker though, like others who ha"e hroniled that time and plae, treats
these (rutal rimes as though the# were unfortunate a(errations. 'he realit#, howe"er, is that the
nine (odies reo"ered from *ielo =ri"e and :onderland A"enue onstitute 2ust the tip of a "er#
large, and "er# (lood#, ie(erg. 'o partiall# illustrate that point, here is toda#&s seond tri"ia
)uestionC what do =iane .inkletter 0daughter of famed entertainer Art .inkletter1, legendar#
omedian .enn# -rue, sreen idol Sal Mineo, starlet Inger Ste"ens, and silent film star ,amon
!o"arro, all ha"e in ommonD
If #ou answered that all were found dead in their homes, either in or at the mouth of .aurel *an#on,
in the deade (etween 1966 and 19<6, then award #ourself fi"e points. If #ou added that all fi"e
were, in all likelihood, murdered in their .aurel *an#on homes, then add fi"e (onus points.
5nl# two of them, of ourse, are offiiall# listed as murder "itims 0Mineo,
who was sta((ed to death outside his home at N36Q Followa# =ri"e on /e(ruar# 17, 19<6, and
!o"arro, who was killed near the *ountr# Store in a deidedl# ritualisti fashion on the e"e of
Falloween, 196N1. Inger Ste"en&s death in her home at N888 :oodrow :ilson =ri"e, on April Q8,
19<8 0:alpurgisnaht on the oult alendar1, was offiiall# a suiide, though wh# she opted to
propel herself through a deorati"e glass sreen as part of that suiide remains a m#ster#. 9erhaps
she 2ust wanted to lea"e (ehind a gruesome rime sene, and simple o"erdoses an (e so, #ou know,
(loodless and (oring.
=iane .inkletter, as we all know, sailed out the window of her
Shoreham 'owers apartment (eause, in her .S=+addled state, she thought she ould fl#, or some
suh thing. :e know this (eause Art himself told us that it was so, and (eause the stor# was
retold throughout the 19<8s as a autionar# tale a(out the dangers of drugs. :hat we weren&t told,
howe"er, is that =iane 0(orn, uriousl# enough, on Falloween da#, 194N1 wasn&t alone when she
plunged si6 stories to her death on the morning of 5to(er 4, 1969. Au ontraire, she was with a
gent (# the name of Edward =urston, who, in a ompletel# une6peted turn of e"ents, aompanied
atress *arol :a#ne to Me6io some 13 #ears later. *arol, alas, perhaps weighed down (# her
enormous (reasts, managed to drown in (arel# a foot of water, while Mr. =urston promptl#
disappeared. As would (e e6peted, he was ne"er )uestioned (# authorities a(out :a#ne&s urious
death. After all, it is )uite ommon for the same gu# to (e the sole witness to two separate
&aidental& deaths.
Art also negleted to mention, (# the wa#, that 2ust weeks (efore =iane&s urious death, another
mem(er of the .inkletter lan, Art&s son+in+law, >ohn ?w#er, aught a (ullet to the head in the
(ak#ard of his Foll#wood Fills home. -ut that, of ourse, was an unonneted, uhmm, suiide, so
don&t go thinking otherwise.
I&m not e"en going to disuss here the irumstanes of
-rue&s death from aute morphine poisoning on August Q, 1966, (eause, to (e perfetl# honest, I
don&t know too man# people who don&t alread# assume that .enn# was whaked. I&ll 2ust note here
that his funeral was well+attended (# the .aurel *an#on rok ions, and ontrol o"er his unreleased
material fell into the hands of a gu# (# the name of /rank ?appa. And another rather unsa"or#
harater named 9hil Spetor, whose rak team of studio musiians, du((ed 'he :reking *rew,
were the atual musiians pla#ing on man# studio reordings (# suh (ands as 'he Monkees, 'he
-#rds, 'he -eah -o#s, and 'he Mamas and the 9apas.
0As for the tri"ia )uestion, the person (eing praised, of ourse, was our old friend *huk Manson.
And the gu# singing his praises was Mr. !eil @oung.1
Part /
I mean' fuc!' he auditioned for -eil .Young/ for fuc!s sa!e) $raham !ash, e6plaining
to author Mihael :alker how lose *harlie Manson was to the .aurel *an#on sene.
0uring the ten%year period during !hi&h Bru&e" 1o#arro" Mineo" Lin$letter" Ste#ens" Tate"
Sebring" 2ry$o!s$i and 2olger all turned up dead" a !hole lot of other people &onne&ted to
Laurel Canyon did as !ell" often under #ery +uestionable &ir&ustan&es) 'he list inludes, (ut
is ertainl# not limited to, all of the following namesC
Marina EliAa(eth Fa(e, whose (od# was ar"ed up and tossed into the hea"# (rush along
Mulholland =ri"e, 2ust west of -owmont =ri"e, on =eem(er Q8, 196N. Fa(e, 2ust
se"enteen at the time of her death, was the daughter of Fans Fa(e, who emigrated to the
U.S. from fasist Austria ira 1948. Shortl# thereafter, he married a $eneral /oods heiress
and (egan stud#ing ps#hologial warfare at the Militar# Intelligene 'raining *enter. After
ompleting his training, he put his ps#hologial warfare skills to use (# reating 1N
newspapers in oupied $erman# S under the diretion, no dou(t, of the 5SS. (elowC "iew
into the San /ernando %alle# from Mulholland =ri"e in .aurel *an#on. In the foreground is
the undergrowth where the (od# of Marina Fa(e was found.
*hristine Finton, who was killed in a head+on ollision on Septem(er Q8, 1969. At the time,
Finton was a girlfriend of =a"id *ros(# and the founder and head of 'he -#rdJs fan lu(.
She was also the daughter of a areer Arm# offier stationed at the notorious 9residio
militar# (ase in San /raniso. Another of *ros(#Js girlfriends from that same era was
Shelle# ,oeker, who grew up on the Familton Air /ore -ase in Marin *ount#.
>ane =oe T39, found dumped into the hea"# undergrowth of .aurel *an#on in !o"em(er
1969, within sight of where Fa(e had (een dumped less than a #ear earlier. 'he teenage girl,
who was ne"er identified, had (een sta((ed 13< times in the hest and throat.
Alan -lind 5wlU :ilson, singer, songwriter and guitarist for
the .aurel *an#on (lues+rok (and, *anned Feat, was found dead in his 'opanga *an#on
home on Septem(er Q, 19<8. Fis death was written off as a suiide;5=. :ilson had mo"ed
to 'opanga *an#on after the (andJs .aurel *an#on home S on .ookout Mountain A"enue,
ne6t door to >oni Mithell and $raham !ashJs home S (urned to the ground. -lind 5wlU
was 2ust twent#+se"en #ears old at the time of his death. A little more than a deade later,
:ilsonJs former (andmate, -o( 'he -earU Fite, who had one aknowledged in an
inter"iew that he had partied in the an#ons with "arious mem(ers of the Manson /amil#,
died of a heart attak at the ripe old age of Q6.
>imi Fendri6, who reportedl# (riefl# oupied the sprawling mansion 2ust north of the .og
*a(in after he mo"ed to .A in 196N, died in .ondon under seriousl# )uestiona(le
irumstanes on Septem(er 1N, 19<8. 'hough he rarel# spoke of it, >imi had ser"ed a stint
in the U.S. Arm# with the 181st Air(orne =i"ision at /ort *amp(ell. Fis offiial reords
indiate that he was fored into the ser"ie (# the ourts and then released after 2ust one #ear
when he purportedl# pro"ed to (e a poor soldier. 5ne wonders though wh# he was assigned
to suh an elite di"ision if he was indeed suh a failure. 5ne also wonders wh# he wasnJt
su(2eted to disiplinar# measures rather than (eing handed a free pass out of his ostensi(l#
ourt+ordered ser"ie. In an# e"ent, >imi himself one told reporters that he was gi"en a
medial disharge after (reaking an ankle during a parahute 2ump. And one (iographer has
laimed that >imi faked (eing ga# to earn an earl# release. 'he truth, alas, remains rather
elusi"e. At the time of >imiJs death, the first person alled (# his girlfriend S Monika
=anneman, who was the last to see Fendri6 ali"e S was Eri -urden of the Animals. 'wo
#ears earlier, -urden had reloated to .A and taken o"er ringmaster duties from /rank
?appa after ?appa had "aated the .og *a(in and mo"ed into a less high+profile .aurel
*an#on home. :ithin a #ear of >imiJs death, an underage prostitute named =e"on :ilson
who had (een with >imi the da# (efore his death, plunged from an eighth+floor window of
!ew @orkJs *helsea Fotel. 5n Marh 3, 19<Q, a shadow# harater named Mihael >effer#,
who had managed (oth Fendri6 and -urden, was killed in a mid+air plane ollision. >effer#
was known to openl# (oast of ha"ing organiAed rime onnetions and of working for the
*IA. After >imiJs death, it was diso"ered that >effer# had (een funneling most of Fendri6Js
gross earnings into offshore aounts in the -ahamas linked to international drug traffiking.
@ears later, on April 3, 1996, =anneman, the daughter of a wealth# $erman industrialist,
was found dead near her home in a fume+filled Meredes.
>im Morrison, who for a time li"ed in a home on
,othdell 'rail, (ehind the .aurel *an#on *ountr# Store, ma# or ma# not ha"e died in 9aris
on >ul# Q, 19<1. 'he e"ents of that da# remain shrouded in m#ster# and rumor, and the
details of the stor#, suh as the# are, ha"e hanged o"er the #ears. :hat is known is that, on
that "er# same da#, Admiral $eorge Stephen Morrison deli"ered the ke#note speeh at a
deommissioning eremon# for the airraft arrier USS -on Fomme ,ihard, from where,
se"en #ears earlier, he had helped horeograph the 'onkin $ulf Inident. A few #ears after
>imJs death, his ommon+law wife, 9amela *ourson, dropped dead as well, offiiall# of a
heroin o"erdose. .ike Fendri6, Morrison had (een an a"id student of the oult, with a
partiular fondness for the work of Aleister *rowle#. Aording to super+groupie 9amela
=es-arres, he had also read all he ould a(out inest and sadism.U Also like Fendri6,
Morrison was 2ust twent#+se"en at the time of his 0possi(le1 death.
-randon =e:ilde, a good friend of =a"id *ros(# and $ram 9arsons, was killed in a freak
aident in *olorado on >ul# 6, 19<7, when his "an plowed under a flat(ed truk. In the
1938s, =e:ilde had (een an in+demand hild ator sine the age of eight. Fe had appeared
on sreen with some of the (iggest names in Foll#wood, inluding Alan .add, .ee Mar"in,
9aul !ewman, >ohn :a#ne, Birk =ouglas and Fenr# /onda. Around 1963, =e:ilde fell in
with Foll#woodJs I@oung 'urks,J through whom he met and (efriended *ros(#, 9arsons,
and "arious other mem(ers of the .aurel *an#on *lu(. =e:ilde was 2ust thirt# at the time
of his death.
*hristine /rka, a former go"erness for Moon Unit ?appa and the ?appa famil#Js former
housekeeper at the .og *a(in, died on !o"em(er 3, 19<7 of an alleged drug o"erdose,
though friends suspeted foul pla#. As Miss *hristine,U /rka had (een a mem(er of the
?appa+reated $'5s, a musial at, of sorts, omposed entirel# of "er# #oung groupies. She
was also the inspiration for the song, *hristineJs 'uneC =e"il in =isguiseU (# $ram
9arsonJs /l#ing -urrito -rothers. /rka was pro(a(l# in her earl# twenties when she died,
possi(l# e"en #ounger.
=ann# :hitten, a guitarist;"oalist;songwriter with !eil @oungJs sometime (and, *raA#
Forse, died of an o"erdose on !o"em(er 1N, 19<7. Aording to rok InJ roll legend,
:hitten had (een fired (# @oung earlier that da# during rehearsals in San /raniso. @oung
and >ak !ietAshe, 9hil SpetorJs former top assistant, had gi"en :hitten P38 and put him
on a plane (ak to .A. :ithin hours, he was dead. :hitten was 2ust twent#+nine.
-rue -err#, a roadie for *ros(#, Stills, !ash K @oung, died of a heroin o"erdose in >une
19<Q. -err# had 2ust flown out to Maui to deli"er a shipment of oaine to Stephen Stills,
and was promptl# sent (ak to .A (# *ros(# and !ash. -err# was a (rother of >an -err#, of
>an and =ean. 0=ean 'orrene, the =eanU of >an and =ean, had pla#ed a part in the fake
kidnapping of /rank Sinatra, >r., 2ust after the >/B assassination. 'he staged e"ent was a
partiularl# lame effort to di"ert attention awa# from the )uestions that were ropping up,
after the initial shok had passed, a(out the e"ents in =eale# 9laAa.1
*larene :hite, a guitarist who had pla#ed with 'he -#rds, was run o"er (# a drunk dri"er
and killed on >ul# 14, 19<Q. :hite had grown up near .anaster, not far from where /rank
?appa spent his teen #ears. At least one mem(er of :hiteJs immediate famil# was emplo#ed
at Edwards Air /ore -ase. 'he dri"er who killed #oung *larene, 2ust twent#+nine #ears
old at the time of his death, was gi"en a one+#ear suspended sentene and ser"ed no time.
$ram 9arsons, formerl# with the International Su(marine -and, 'he -#rds and the /l#ing
-urrito -rothers, allegedl# o"erdosed on a speed(all at the >oshua 'ree Inn on Septem(er
19, 19<Q. >ust two months (efore his death, 9arsonJs 'opanga *an#on home had (urnt to the
ground. After his death, his (od# was stolen from .AV (# the -urritoJs road manager, 9hil
Baufman, and then taken (ak out to >oshua 'ree and rituall# (urned on the autumnal
e)uino6 0Baufman had (een a prison (udd# of *harlie MansonJs at 'erminal IslandG when
9hil was released from 'erminal Island in Marh of 196N, he )uikl# reunited with his old
pal, who had (een released a #ear earlier.1 -# the time of $ramJs death, his famil# had
alread# e6periened its share of )uestiona(le deaths. >ust (efore *hristmas, 193N, 9arsonJs
father had sent $ram, along with his mother and sister, off to sta# with famil# in /lorida.
'he ne6t da#, 2ust after the winter solstie, *oon =ogU aught a (ullet to the head. Fis
death was reorded as a suiide and it was laimed that he had sent his famil# awa# to spare
them as muh pain as possi(le. It seems 2ust as likel#, howe"er, that *oon =ogU knew his
da#s were num(ered and wanted to get his famil# out of the line of fire. 'he ne6t #ear, 1939,
$ramJs mother married again, to ,o(ert Ellis 9arsons, who adopted $ram and his sister
A"is. Si6 #ears later, in >une of 1963, $ramJs mother died the da# after a sudden illness
landed her in the hospital. Aording to witnesses, she died almost immediatel#U after a
"isit from her hus(and, ,o(ert 9arsons. Man# of those lose to the situation (elie"ed that
9arsons had a hand in her death 0"er# shortl# thereafter, ,o(ert 9arsons married his
stepdaughterJs teenage (a(#sitter1. /ollowing his motherJs death, 9arsons (riefl# attended
Far"ard Uni"ersit#, and then launhed his musi areer with the formation of the
International Su(marine -and, whih )uikl# found its wa# to S where elseD S .aurel
*an#on. $ramJs death in 19<Q at the age of 76 left his #ounger sister A"is as the sole
sur"i"ing mem(er of the famil#. She was killed in 199Q, reportedl# in a (oating aident, at
the age of 4Q.
MamaU *ass Elliot, the Earth MotherU of .aurel *an#on whose irle of friends inluded
musiians, Mansonites, #oung Foll#wood stars, the wealth# son of a State =epartment
offiial, singer;songwriters, assorted drug dealers, and some partiularl# unsa"or# haraters
the .A9= one desri(ed as some kind of hit s)uad,U died in the .ondon home of Farr#
!ilsson on >ul# 79, 19<4 0!ilsson had (een a fre)uent drinking (udd# of >ohn .ennon in
.aurel *an#on and on the Sunset Strip1. At thirt#+two, *ass had li"ed a long and produti"e
life, (# .aurel *an#on standards. /our #ears later, in the "er# same room of the "er# same
.ondon flat, still owned (# Farr# !ilsson, Beith Moon of 'he :ho also died at thirt#+two
0on Septem(er <, 19<N1. 'hough initial press reports held that *ass had hoked to death on a
ham sandwih, the offiial ause of death was listed as heart failure. Fer atual ause of
death ould likel# (e filed under knowing where too man# of the (odies were (uried.U
Moon reportedl# died from a massi"e o"erdose of a drug used to treat alohol withdrawal.
.ike *ass, Moon had at one time (een a resident of .aurel *an#on.
Am# $ossage, $raham !ashJs girlfriend at the time, was murdered in her San /raniso
home on /e(ruar# 1Q, 19<3. >ust twent# #ears old at the time, she had (een sta((ed nearl#
fift# times and was (ludgeoned (e#ond reognition. Am#Js father, a famed ad"ertising;9,
e6euti"e, had died of leukemia in 1969. !ot long after, her half+sister had (een killed in a
ar rash. In Ma# of 19<4, her mother, the daughter of a wealth# (anking famil#, died as
well, reportedl# of irrhosis of the li"er. 'hat left 2ust Am#, age 19, and her (rother E(en,
age 78, (oth of whom reportedl# had serious drug dependenies. Am#Js (rutal murder,
le"erl# enough, was pinned on E(en. 9olie had on"enientl# found (loodstained lothes,
along with a hammer and sissors, sitting on the porh of E(enJs apartment, looking "er#
muh as though it had (een planted. A friend of E(enJs would later remark, perhaps )uite
tellingl#, If E(en did kill her, IJm on"ined he doesnJt know he did it.U
'im -ukle#, a singer;songwriter signed to /rank ?appaJs reord la(el and managed (#
Fer( *ohen, died of a reported o"erdose on >une 79, 19<3. -ukle# had one appeared on
an episode of 'he Monkees, and, like Monkee 9eter 'ork 0and so man# others in this stor#1,
he hailed from :ashington, =*. -ukle# was 2ust twent#+eight at the time of his death. Fis
son, >eff -ukle#, also an aomplished musiian, managed to remain on this planet two
#ears longer than his dad didG he was thirt# when he died in a (iAarre drowning inident on
Ma# 79, 199<.
9h#llis Ma2or -rowne, wife of singer;songwriter >akson -rowne, reportedl# o"erdosed on
(ar(iturates on Marh 73, 19<6. Fer death was S #ou all should know the words to this song
(# now S ruled a suiide. She was 2ust thirt# #ears old.
'here are a few other urious deaths we ould add here as well, though the# were onl# indiretl#
related to the .aurel *an#on sene. !e"ertheless, the# deser"e an honora(le mention, espeiall# the
-o((# /uller and 9hil 5hs entriesG the former (eause it is a rather e6traordinar# e6ample of the
e6emplar# work done (# the .A9=, and the latter (eause it 2ust ma# ontain a ke# to
understanding the .aurel *an#on phenomenonC
-o((# /uller, singer;songwriter;guitarist for the -o((# /uller /our, was found dead in his
ar near $raumanJs *hinese 'heater on >ul# 1N, 1966, after (eing lured awa# from his home
(# a m#sterious 7C88+QC88 AM phone all of unknown origin. /uller is (est known for
penning the hit song I /ought the .aw,U whih had 2ust hit the harts when he supposedl#
ommitted suiide at the age of twent#+three. 'here were multiple uts and (ruises on his
fae, hest and shoulders, dried (lood around his mouth, and a hairline frature to his right
hand. Fe had (een thoroughl# doused with gasoline, inluding in his mouth and throat. 'he
inside of the ar was doused as well, and an open (ook of mathes la# on the seat. It was
perfetl# o("ious that /ullerJs killer 0or killers1 had planned to torh the ar, destro#ing all
e"idene, (ut likel# got sared awa#. 'he .A9=, ne"ertheless, ruled /ullerJs death a suiide
S despite the oronerJs onlusion that the gas had (een poured after -o((#Js death. 9olie
later deided that it wasnJt a suiide after all, (ut rather an aident. 'he# didnJt (other to
e6plain how /uller had aidentall# doused himself with gasoline after aidentall# killing
himself. At the time of his death, one of /ullerJs losest onfidants was a prostitute named
Melod# who worked at 9>Js nightlu(, where -o((# fre)uentl# pla#ed. 'he lu( was o+
owned (# Eddie !ash, who would, man# #ears later, orhestrate the :onderland massare.
A few #ears after -o((#Js death, his (rother and (ass pla#er, ,and# /uller, teamed up with
drummer =ewe# Martin, formerl# of -uffalo Springfield.
$ar# Finman, a musiian, musi teaher, and part+time hemist, was (rutall# murdered in
his 'opanga *an#on home on >ul# 7<, 1969. *on"ited of his murder was Mansonite -o((#
-eausoleil, who had pla#ed rh#thm guitar in a loal (and known as the $rass ,oots. 'o
a"oid onfusion with the more famous (and alread# using that name, the .aurel *an#on
(and hanged its name to .o"e. -eausoleil would laim that the (andJs new name was
inspired (# his own nikname, *upid.
>anis >oplin, "oalist e6traordinaire, was found dead of a heroin o"erdose on 5to(er 4,
19<8 at the .andmark Fotel, a(out a mile east of the mouth of .aurel *an#on, where she
oasionall# "isited. Indiations were that she had taken or (een gi"en a hot shot,U man#
times stronger than standard street heroin. >oplinJs father, (# the wa#, was a petroleum
engineer for 'e6ao. And though it might normall# seem an odd oupling, it somehow
seems perfetl# natural, in the onte6t of this stor#, that >anis one dated that great rusader
in the war on all things immoral, :illiam -ennett. .ike Morrison and Fendri6, >oplin died
at the age of twent#+se"en.
=uane Allman and -err# 5akle#, lead guitarist and (ass pla#er for the Allman -rothers,
were killed in freakishl# similar motor#le rashes on 5to(er 79, 19<1 and !o"em(er 11,
19<7. Allman was the son of :illis Allman, a US Arm# Sergeant who had (een murdered (#
another soldier near !orfolk, %irginia 0home of the worldJs largest na"al installation1 on
=eem(er 76, 1949. In 196<, =uane and his #ounger (rother, $regg, then (illing themsel"es
as 'he Allman >o#s, "entured out to .os Angeles. :hile there, $regg auditioned for and was
almost signed (# the .aurel *an#on (and 9oo, whih featured -uffalo Springfield alumni
,ihie /ura# and >im Messina, as well as future Eagle ,and# Meisner. =uane was killed
when a truk turned in front of his motor#le at an intersetion and ine6plia(l# stopped.
>ust o"er a #ear later, 5akle# had a similar run+in with a (us, 2ust three (loks from where
Allman had (een killed. /ollowing the rash, -err# had dusted himself off and delined
medial attention, insisting that he was oka#. 'hree hours later, he was rushed to the
hospital, where he died. -oth 5akle# and Allman were 2ust twent#+four #ears old.
9hil 5hs, folk singer;songwriter and politial ati"ist, was found hanged in his
sisterJs home in /ar ,okawa#, !ew @ork on April 9, 19<6. 'hroughout his life, 5hs was
one of the most o"ertl# politial of the 1968s rok and folk musi stars. A regular attendee at
anti+war, i"il rights, and la(or rallies, 5hs appeared to (e, at all times, an unwa"ering
politial leftist 0he named his first (and 'he Singing Soialists1. 'hat all hanged, howe"er,
and rather dramatiall#, in the months (efore his death. -orn in El 9aso, 'e6as on =eem(er
19, 1948, 9hil and his famil# mo"ed fre)uentl# during the first few #ears of his life. Fis
father, =r. >ao( 5hs, had (een drafted (# the US Arm# and assigned to "arious militar#
hospitals in !ew @ork, !ew Me6io and 'e6as. In 194Q, =r. 5hs was shipped o"erseas,
returning two #ears later with a medial disharge. Upon his return, he was immediatel#
institutionaliAed and didnJt return to his famil# for another two #ears. =uring that time, he
was su(2eted to e"er# ItreatmentJ imagina(le, inluding eletroshok Itherap#.J :hen he
finall# returned to his famil#, in 194<, he was (ut a shell of his former self, desri(ed (#
9hilJs sister as almost like a phantom.U -eginning in the fall of 1936, 9hil 5hs (egan
attending Staunton Militar# Aadem#, the "er# same institution that future Iserial killerJ;ult
leader $ar# Feidnik would attend 2ust one #ear after 5hs graduated. =uring 9hilJs two
#ears there, a friend and fellow (and mem(er was found swinging from the end of a rope 0I
pro(a(l# donJt need to add here that the death was ruled a suiide1. /ollowing graduation,
9hil enrolled at 5hio State Uni"ersit#, (ut not (efore, oddl# enough, ha"ing a little plasti
surger# done to alter his appearane 0doing suh things, needless to sa#, was rather
unommon in 193N1. In earl# 1967, 2ust months (efore his sheduled graduation, 5hs
dropped out of ollege to pursue a areer in musi. -# 1966, he had released three al(ums.
In 196<, under the management of his (rother, Mihael 5hs, 9hil mo"ed out to .os
Angeles. Mihael had (egun working the pre"ious #ear as an assistant to -arr# >ames, who
maintained a part# house at N384 ,idpath in .aurel *an#on. In the earl# 19<8s, with his
areer (eginning to fade, 9hil 5hs (egan to tra"el internationall#, usuall# aompanied (#
"ast )uantities of (ooAe and pills. 'hose tra"els inluded a "isit to *hile, not long (efore the
US+sponsored oup that toppled Sal"ador Allende. In earl# summer of 19<3, 9hil 5hsJ
pu(li persona a(ruptl# hanged. Using the name >ohn -utler 'rain, 5hs prolaimed
himself to (e a *IA operati"e and presented himself as a (elligerent, right+wing thug. Fe
told an inter"iewer that, on the first da# of summer 19<3, 9hil 5hs was murdered in the
*helsea Fotel (# >ohn 'rain W /or the good of soieties, pu(li and seret, he needed to (e
gotten rid of.U 'hat s#m(oli assassination, on the summer solstie, took plae at the same
hotel that =e"on :ilson had flown out of a few #ears earlier. 5ne of 5hsJ (iographers
would later write that 9hil;>ohn atuall# (elie"ed he was a mem(er of the *IA.U Also in
those final months of his life, 5hs (egan ompiling urious lists, with entries that learl#
were referenes to US (iologial warfare researhC shellfish to6in, /ort =ietrih, o(ra
"enom, *hantill# ,ae 'rak, hollow sil"er dollars, !ew @ork *ornell Fospital WU Man#
#ears (efore 5hsJ metamorphosis, in an interesting (it of foreshadowing, ps#hologial
warfare operati"e $eorge Esta(rooks e6plained how US intelligene agenies ould reate
the perfet sp#C :e start with an e6ellent su(2et W we need a man or woman who is
highl# intelligent and ph#siall# tough. 'hen we start to de"elop a ase of multiple
personalit# through h#pnotism. In his normal waking state, whih we will all 9ersonalit# A,
or 9A, this indi"idual will (eome a ra(id ommunist. Fe will 2oin the part#, follow the
part# line and make himself as o(2etiona(le as possi(le to the authorities. !ote that he will
(e ating in good faith. Fe is a ommunist, or rather his 9A is a ommunist and will (eha"e
as suh. 'hen we de"elop 9ersonalit# - 09-1, the seondar# personalit#, the unonsious
personalit#, if #ou wish, although this is somewhat of a ontradition in terms. 'his
personalit# is ra(idl# Amerian and anti+ommunist. It has all the information possessed (#
9A, the normal personalit#, whereas 9A does not ha"e this ad"antage W M# super sp# pla#s
his role as a ommunist in his waking state, aggressi"el#, onsistentl#, fearlessl#. -ut his 9-
is a lo#al Amerian, and 9- has all the memories of 9A. As a lo#al Amerian, he will not
hesitate to di"ulge those memories.U Esta(rooks ne"er e6plained what would happen if the
programming were to go ha#wire and 9ersonalit# - were to (eome the onsious
personalit#, (ut m# guess is that suh a person would (e onsidered a se"ere lia(ilit# and
would (e treated aordingl#. 'he# might e"en (e find themsel"es swinging from the end of
a rope. 9hil 5hs was thirt#+fi"e at the time of his death.
And with that, I think we an mo"e on now from the .aurel *an#on =eath .ist. 'he list is not #et
omplete, mind #ou, sine we ha"e onl# o"ered the #ears 1966+19<6. ,est assured then that we
will ontinue to add names as we follow the "arious threads of this stor#. Some of those names will
(e )uite familiar, while others will (e signifiantl# less so. 5ne of the names from that era that has
(een all (ut forgotten is >udee .#nn Sill, who was one fa"ora(l# ompared to suh other .aurel
*an#on singer;songwriters as >oni Mithell, >udi *ollins and *arole Bing. -# the time of her death
on !o"em(er 7Q, 19<9, howe"er, she had (een all (ut forgotten, and not a single o(ituar# was
pu(lished to note her passing.
>udee was (orn in Studio *it#, *alifornia, not far from the northern entrane to .aurel *an#on, on
5to(er <, 1944. Fer father, Milford -udU Sill, was reportedl# a ameraman for 9aramount
Studios with numerous Foll#wood onnetions. :hen >udee was )uite #oung, howe"er, -ud
mo"ed the famil# to 5akland and opened a (ar known as -udJs -ar.U Fe also operated a side
(usiness as an importer of rare animals, whih re)uired him to spend a onsidera(le amount of time
tra"eling in *entral and South Ameria. Suh a (usiness, it should (e noted, would pro"ide an ideal
o"er for o"ert intelligene work. In an# e"ent, -ud Sill was dead (# 1937, when >udee was 2ust
se"en or eight #ears old. =epending on who is telling the stor#, -ud died either from pneumonia or
a heart attak.
/ollowing -udJs death, the famil# reloated (ak to Southern *alifornia and >udeeJs older (rother
=ennis, still in his teens, took o"er the famil# importing (usiness. 'hat didnJt last long though as
=ennis soon turned up dead down in *entral Ameria, either from a li"er infetion or a ar aident.
'he animal importing (usiness, I guess, is a rather dangerous one.
>udeeJs mother, 5neta, met and married Ben Muse, an Aadem# Award winning animator for
Fanna+-ar(era who was desri(ed (# >udee as an a(usi"e, "iolent aloholi. At fifteen, >udee fled
her "iolent home life and li"ed with an older man with whom she pulled off a series of armed
ro((eries in the San /ernando %alle#. 'hose ati"ities landed her in reform shool, whih did little
to ur( her appetite for drugs, rime and alohol. She spent the ne6t few #ears with a serious heroin
addition, whih she finaned (# dealing drugs and turning triks in some of .AJs seedier
neigh(orhoods.
-# 196Q, >udee had leaned herself up enough to enroll in 2unior ollege. In the earl# winter of
1963, howe"er, >udeeJs mom, her last sur"i"ing famil# mem(er, died either of aner or of
ompliations arising from her hroni aloholism 0take #our pikG the details of this stor# will
likel# remain fore"er elusi"e1. -arel# an adult, >udee was left all alone in the world, and thus (egan
another downward spiral into drugs and rime, whih ulminated in her (eing arrested and possi(l#
ser"ing time on forger# and drug harges.
In the late 1968s, with her additions apparentl# temporaril# ur(ed, Sill 2oined the .aurel *an#on
sene, where she attempted to forge a areer as a singer;songwriter. Fer first (ig (reak ame when
she sold the song .ad# 5U to 'he 'urtles 0#et another .aurel *an#on (and to hit it (ig in the mid+
1968sG (est known for the hit single Fapp# 'ogether,U 'he 'urtles were led (# lead
"oalist;songwriter Foward Ba#lan, who happened to (e, small world that it is, a ousin of /rank
?appaJs manager and (usiness partner, Fer( *ohen1. 'he (and released the song, whih featured
>udeeJs guitar work, in 1969. 'he ne6t #ear, Sill (eame the first artist signed to =a"id $effenJs
fledgling As#lum reord la(el. 'he #ear after that, her self+titled de(ut al(um (eame As#lumJs first
offiial release. 'he first single from the al(um, >esus :as a *rossmaker,U was produed (#
$raham !ash, whom she opened for on tour following the al(umJs release.'hough ritiall# well+
reei"ed, the al(umJs sales were disappointing, in part (eause the reord was o"ershadowed (# the
de(ut al(ums of >akson -rowne and 'he Eagles, (oth released (# As#lum shortl# after the release
of >udeeJs al(um. SillJs seond al(um, 19<QJs Feart /ood,U was e"en more of a ommerial
disappointment. !e"ertheless, in 19<4 she (egan work on a third al(um in Monkee Mike !esmithJs
reording studio. 9rior to ompletion, howe"er, she a(andoned the pro2et and promptl#
disappeared without a trae. :hat (eame of her (etween that time and her death some fi"e #ears
later remains largel# a m#ster#. It is assumed that she one again desended into a life of drugs and
prostitution, (ut no one seems to know for sure.
It is alleged that she was seriousl# in2ured when her ar was rear+ended (# ator =ann# Ba#e,
ausing her to suffer from hroni (ak pain thereafter, thus ontri(uting to her drug additions.
Aording to a friend of hers, she li"ed in a home that featured an enormous photo of -ela .ugosi
a(o"e the fireplae, a large e(on# ross a(o"e her (ed, and raks of andles. She is said to ha"e
read e6tensi"el# from ,osiruian manusripts and from the writings of Aleister *rowle#, to ha"e
possessed a omplete olletion of the work of Felena -la"atsk#, and to ha"e (een a gifted tarot
ard reader.
:hat is known for sure is that, on the da# after 'hanksgi"ing, 19<9, >udee Sill, the last sur"i"ing
mem(er of her famil#, was found dead in a !orth Foll#wood apartment. 'he ause of death was
listed as aute oaine and odeine into6iation.U It was laimed that a suiide note was found, (ut
friends insisted that the supposed note was either a portion of a diar# entr# or an unfinished song.
5ne of her friends would later note that, at some point in her life, >udee (egan to realiAe that there
was a part of her that wasnJt under her onsious ontrol.U IJm guessing that 9hil 5hs, and )uite a
few other haraters in this stor#, ould relate to that.
Part 3
'he (ridge of the USS -on Fomme ,ihard, >anuar# 1964. >ust months later, the gu# on the right
would guide his ship into the 'onkin $ulf, and the #oung man on the left would (egin a remarka(le
transformation into a (rooding rok god. 'he -on Fomme ,ihard, (# the wa#, was launhed on
April 79, 1944, under the sponsorship of *atherine M*ain, the grandmother of a ertain
presidential ontender.
Until around 191Q, .aurel *an#on remained an unde"eloped 0and uninorporated1 slie of .A + a
pristine wilderness area rih in nati"e flora and fauna. 'hat all (egan to hange when *harles
Spener Mann and his partners (egan (u#ing up land along what would (eome .aurel *an#on
-oule"ard, as well as up .ookout Mountain. A narrow road leading up to the rest of .ookout
Mountain was ar"ed out, and upon that rest was onstruted a la"ish <8+room inn with sweeping
"iews of the it# (elow and the 9aifi 5ean (e#ond. 'he .ookout Inn featured a large (allroom,
riding sta(les, tennis ourts and a golf ourse, among other amenities. -ut the inn, alas, would onl#
stand for a deadeG in 197Q, it (urned down, as tends to happen rather fre)uentl# in .aurel *an#on.
In 191Q, Mann (egan operating what was (illed as the
nation&s first trakless trolle#, to ferr# tourists and prospeti"e (u#ers from Sunset -oule"ard up to
what would (eome the orner of .aurel *an#on -oule"ard and .ookout Mountain A"enue.
Around that same time, he (uilt a massi"e ta"ern;roadhouse on that "er# same orner. =u((ed the
.aurel 'a"ern, the struture (oasted a 7,888H s)uare+foot formal dining room, guest rooms, and a
(owling alle# on the (asement le"el. 'he .aurel 'a"ern, of ourse, would later (e a)uired (# 'om
Mi6, after whih it would (e affetionatel# known as the .og *a(in.
Shortl# after the .og *a(in was (uilt, a department store mogul 0or a wealth# furniture
manufaturerG there is more than one "ersion of the stor#, or perhaps the man owned more than one
(usiness1 (uilt an imposing, astle+like mansion aross the road, at the orner of .aurel *an#on
-oule"ard and what would (eome :illow $len ,oad. 'he home featured rather reep# towers and
parapets, and the foundation is said to ha"e (een riddled with seret passagewa#s, tunnels, and
hidden ham(ers. Similarl#, the grounds of the estate were 0and still are1 laed with trails leading to
grottoes, ela(orate stone strutures, and hidden a"es and tunnels.
.og *a(in walk
Aross .aurel *an#on -oule"ard, the grounds of the .aurel 'a"ern;.og *a(in were also laed with
odd a"es and tunnels. As Mihael :alker notes in .aurel *an#on, 4,unning up the hillside, (ehind
the house, was a olletion of man+made a"es (uilt out of stuo, with eletri wiring and light
(ul(s inside.4 Aording to "arious aounts, one seret tunnel running under what is now .aurel
*an#on -oule"ard onneted the .og *a(in 0or its guesthouse1 to the Foudini estate. 'his laim is
fre)uentl# denouned as an ur(an legend, (ut gi"en that (oth properties are known to possess
unusual, uhmm, geologial features, it&s not hard to (elie"e that the tunnel s#stem on one propert#
was onneted at one time to the tunnel s#stem on the other. 'he 'a"ern itself, as $ail ?appa would
later desri(e it, was 4huge and "ault+like and a"ernous.4
.ookout Mountain Inn
:ith these two rather unusual strutures anhoring an otherwise unde"eloped an#on, and the
.ookout Inn sitting atop uninha(ited .ookout Mountain, Mann set a(out marketing the an#on as a
"aation and leisure destination. 'he land that he ar"ed up into su(di"isions with names like
4-ungalow .and4 and 4:onderland 9ark4 was presented as the ideal loation to (uild "aation
homes. -ut the new inn and roadhouse, and the new parels of land for sale, definitel# weren&t for
e"er#one. 'he roadhouse was essentiall# a ountr# lu(, or what >ak -oulware of Mo2o MagaAine
desri(ed as 4a masuline retreat for wealth# men.4 And -ungalow .and was openl# ad"ertised as
4a high lass restrited park for desira(le people onl#.4
4=esira(le people,4 of ourse, tended to (e wealth# people without a great deal of skin
pigmentation.
As the we(site of the urrent .aurel *an#on Assoiation notes, 4restriti"e o"enants were attahed
to the new parel deeds. 'hese were thinl# "eiled attempts to limit ownership to white males of a
ertain lass. :hile there are man# referenes to the (igotr# of the de"elopers in our area, it would
appear that some residents were also prone to (ias and lawlessness. 'his artile was pu(lished in a
loal paper in 1973C
/rank Saneri, the man who was flogged (# self+st#led &white knights& on .ookout
Mountain in Foll#wood se"eral months ago, was found not guilt# (# a 2ur# in Superior
>udge Shea&s ourtroom of ha"ing unlawfull# attaked Astrea >olle#, aged 11.
4:ealthier residents were also attrated to .aurel *an#on. :ith the reation of the
Foll#wood film industr# in 1918, the an#on attrated a host of &photopla#ers,&
inluding :all# ,eid, 'om Mi6, *lara -ow, ,ihard =i6, !orman Berr#, ,amon
!a"arro, Farr# Foudini and -essie .o"e.4
'he author of this little slie of .aurel *an#on histor# would learl# like us to (elie"e that the
4wealthier residents4 were a group )uite separate from the "iolent hooligans roaming the an#on.
'he histor# of suh groups in .os Angeles, howe"er, learl# suggests otherwise. 9aul @oung, for
e6ample, has written in ..A. E6posed of .os Angeles& earl# 4"igilane ommittees, whih stepped
in to take are of outlaws on their own, often with the omplete a(solution of the ma#or himself.
>udge .#nh, for e6ample, formed the .os Angeles ,angers in 1N34 with some of the it#&s top
2udges, law#ers, and (usinessmen inluding t#oon 9hineas -anning of the -anning ,ailroad. And
there was the .os Angeles Fome $uard, another (loodthirst# paramilitar# organiAation, made up of
nota(le itiAens, and the muh+feared El Monte ,angers, a group of 'e6as wranglers that
speialiAed in killing Me6ians. As one would e6pet, there was no regard for the "itim&s rights in
suh kangaroo ourts. %itims were often dragged from their homes, 2ail ells, e"en hurhes, and
(eaten, horse+whipped, tortured, mutilated, or astrated (efore (eing strung up on the nearest tree.4
And that, dear readers, is how we do things out here on the &.eft& *oast.
-efore mo"ing on, I need to mention here that, of the eight ele(rit# residents of .aurel *an#on
listed (# the Assoiation, full# half died under )uestiona(le irumstanes, and three of the four did
so on da#s with oult signifiane. :hile -essie .o"e, !orman Berr#, ,ihard =i6 and *lara -ow
all li"ed long and health# li"es, ,amon !a"arro, as we ha"e alread# seen, was rituall# murdered in
his home on .aurel *an#on -oule"ard on the e"e of Falloween, 196N. !earl# a half+entur# earlier,
on >anuar# 1N, 197Q, matinee idol :allae ,eid was found dead in a padded ell at the mental
institution to whih he had (een onfined. >ust thirt#+one #ears old, ,eid&s death was attri(uted to
morphine addition, though it was ne"er e6plained how he would ha"e fed that ha(it while onfined
to a ell in a mental hospital.
'om Mi6 died on a lonel# streth of AriAona highwa# in the pro"er(ial single+ar rash on 5to(er
17, 1948 0the (irthda# of notorious oultist Aleister *rowle#1, when he )uite une6petedl#
enountered some temporar# onstrution (arriades that had (een set up alongside a reportedl#
washed+out (ridge. Although he wasn&t speeding 0(# most aounts1, Mi6 was ne"ertheless
allegedl# una(le to stop in time and "eered off the road, while a rew of what were desri(ed as
4workmen4 reportedl# looked on. It wasn&t the impat that killed Mi6 though, (ut rather a se"ere
(low to the (ak of the head and nek, purportedl# deli"ered during the rash (# an aluminum ase
he had (een arr#ing in the (ak seat of his ar. 'here is now a roadside marker at the spot where
Mi6 died. If #ou should happen to stop (# to ha"e a look, #ou might as well pa# a "isit to the
/lorene Militar# ,eser"ation as well, sine it&s 2ust a stone&s throw awa#.
Farr# Foudini died on Falloween da#, 1976, purportedl# of an attak of appendiitis preipitated
(# a (low to the stomah. 'he pro(lem with that stor#, howe"er, is that medial siene now
reogniAes it to (e an impossi(ilit#. Aording to a reent (ook a(out the famed illusionist 0'he
Seret .ife of Foudini, (# :illiam Balush and .arr# Sloman1, Foudini was likel# murdered (#
poisoning. Xuestions ha"e (een raised, the (ook notes, (# the urious lak of an autops#, an
4e6perimental serum4 that Foudini was apparentl# gi"en in the hospital, and indiations that his
wife, -ess, ma# ha"e (een poisoned as well 0though she sur"i"ed1. 5n Marh 7Q, 788<, an
e6humation of Foudini&s remains was formall# re)uested (# his sur"i"ing famil# mem(ers. It is
unlear at this time when, or e"en if, that will happen.
Foudini&s death, on 5to(er Q1, 1976, ame e6atl# eight #ears after the first death to our in what
would (eome known as the 4Foudini house.4 In 191N, not long after the home was (uilt, a lo"er&s
)uarrel arose on one of the home&s (alonies during a Falloween;(irthda# part#. 'he ga# lo"er of
the original owner&s son reportedl# ended up splattered on the ground (elow. Aording to legend,
the (usinessman managed to get his son off, (ut onl# after pa#ing off e"er#one he ould find to pa#
off, inluding the trial 2udge. 'he aftermath of the part# pro"ed to (e finaniall# de"astating for the
famil#, and the home was apparentl# put up for sale.
!ot long after that, as fate would ha"e it, Farr# Foudini was looking for a plae to sta# in the
Foll#wood area, as he had deided to (reak into the motion piture (usiness. Fe found the perfet
home in .aurel *an#on + the home that would, fore"er after, arr# his name. -# most aounts, he
li"ed there from a(out 1919 through the earl# 1978s, during a (rief mo"ie areer in whih he starred
in a handful of Foll#wood films. A ke# sene in one of those films, 4'he $rim $ame,4 was
reportedl# shot at the top of .ookout Mountain, near where the .ookout Inn then stood.
Foudini Fouse
5n 5to(er Q1, 1939, preisel# thirt#+three #ears after Foudini&s death, and fort#+one #ears after the
unnamed part# guest&s death, the distinti"e mansion on the orner of .aurel *an#on -oule"ard and
:illow $len ,oad (urned to the ground in a fire of m#sterious origin 0the ruins of the estate remain
toda#, undistur(ed for nearl# fift# #ears1. 5n 5to(er Q1, 19N1, e6atl# twent#+two #ears after the
fire aross the road, the legendar# .og *a(in on the other side of .aurel *an#on -oule"ard also
(urned to the ground, in #et another fire of m#sterious origin 0some reports speulated that it was a
drug la( e6plosion1. And twent#+fi"e #ears after that, on 5to(er Q1, 7886, 'he Seret .ife of
Foudini was pu(lished, hallenging the on"entional wisdom on Foudini&s death.
/ar more ompelling than the re"elations a(out Foudini&s death,
howe"er, was something else a(out the illusionist that the (ook re"ealed for the first timeC Farr#
Foudini was a spook working for (oth the U.S. Seret Ser"ie and Sotland @ard. And his tra"eling
esape at, as it turns out, was prett# muh a o"er for intelligene ati"ities. >ust as, as I think I
wrote in a pre"ious newsletter, >ohn :ilkes -ooth used his areer as a tra"eling stage performer as
a o"er for intelligene operations. And 2ust as + sorr# to ha"e to (reak it to #ou + man# of #our
fa"orite mo"ie and tele"ision ators and musial artists ontinue in that tradition toda#.
'he (ook, of ourse, doesn&t make suh rekless allegations a(out an# performers other than
Foudini. I added all of that. :hat the (ook does do, howe"er, is ompellingl# doument that
Foudini was, in fat, an intelligene asset who used his magi at as a o"er. !ot onl# did the
authors o(tain orro(orating doumentation from Sotland @ard, the# also reei"ed an endorsement
of their laim from no less an authorit# than >ohn M.aughlin, former Ating =iretor of the
*entral Intelligene Agen# 0who knew it was that eas#D + ma#(e I should gi"e >ohn a all and run
some of m# theories (# him1.
It appears then that, of the eight ele(rit# residents of .aurel *an#on listed on the .aurel *an#on
Assoiation we(site, at least two 0!o"arro and Foudini1, and possi(l# as man# as four, were
murdered. 'hat seemed like a rather high homiide rate to me, so I looked up a reent stud# on the
Internet and found that, on a"erage, a white person in this ountr# has a(out a 1+in+Q43 hane of
(eing murdered. !on+white persons, of ourse, ha"e a far greater hane of (eing murdered, (ut
nowhere near the 1+in+4 to 1+in+7 odds that a white ele(rit# li"ing in .aurel *an#on faes.
Statistiall# speaking, if #ou were a famous ator in the 1978s, #ou would ha"e (een (etter off
pla#ing a round of ,ussian ,oulette than li"ing in .aurel *an#on.
An#wa# ... two am(itious pro2ets in the 1948s (rought signifiant hanges to .aurel *an#on. /irst,
.aurel *an#on -oule"ard was e6tended into the San /ernando %alle#, pro"iding aess to the
an#on from (oth the north and the south. 'he widened (oule"ard was now a winding thoroughfare,
pro"iding diret aess to the :estside from the %alle#. 'raffi, needless to sa#, inreased
onsidera(l#, whih pro(a(l# worked out well for the planners of the other pro2et, (eause it meant
that the inreased traffi (rought a(out (# that other pro2et pro(a(l# wasn&t notied at all. And
that&s good, #ou see, (eause the other pro2et was a seret one, so if I tell #ou a(out it, #ou ha"e to
promise not to tell an#one else.
.ookout Mountain .a(orator#
:hat would (eome known as .ookout Mountain .a(orator# was originall# en"isioned as an air
defense enter. -uilt in 1941 and nestled in two+and+a+half seluded ares off what is now
:onderland 9ark A"enue, the installation was hidden from "iew and surrounded (# an eletrified
fene. -# 194<, the failit# featured a full# operational mo"ie studio. In fat, it is laimed that it
was perhaps the world&s onl# ompletel# self+ontained mo"ie studio. :ith 188,888 s)uare feet of
floor spae, the o"ert studio inluded sound stages, sreening rooms, film proessing la(s, editing
failities, an animation department, and se"enteen limate+ontrolled film "aults. It also had
underground parking, a heliopter pad and a (om( shelter.
5"er its lifetime, the studio produed some 19,888 lassified motion pitures + more than all the
Foll#wood studios om(ined 0whih I guess makes .aurel *an#on the real &motion piture apital
of the world&1. 5ffiiall#, the failit# was run (# the U.S. Air /ore and did nothing more nefarious
than proess AE* footage of atomi and nulear (om( tests. 'he studio, howe"er, was learl#
e)uipped to do far more than 2ust proess film. 'here are indiations that .ookout Mountain
.a(orator# had an ad"aned researh and de"elopment department that was on the utting edge of
new film tehnologies. Suh tehnologial ad"anes as Q+= effets were apparentl# first de"eloped
at the .aurel *an#on site. And Foll#wood luminaries like >ohn /ord, >imm# Stewart, Foward
Fawks, ,onald ,eagan, -ing *ros(#, :alt =isne# and Maril#n Monroe were gi"en learane to
work at the failit# on undislosed pro2ets. 'here is no indiation that an# of them e"er spoke of
their work at the landestine studio.
'he failit# retained as man# as 738 produers, diretors, tehniians, editors, animators, et., (oth
i"ilian and militar#, all with top seurit# learanes + and all reporting to work in a seluded orner
of .aurel *an#on. Aounts "ar# as to when the failit# eased operations. Some laim it was in
1969, while others sa# the installation remained in operation longer. In an# e"ent, (# all aounts
the seret (unker had (een up and running for more than twent# #ears (efore .aurel *an#on&s
re(ellious teen #ears, and it remained operational for the most tur(ulent of those #ears.
'he e6istene of the failit# remained unknown to the general pu(li until the earl# 1998s, though it
had long (een rumored that the *IA operated a seret mo"ie studio somewhere in or near
Foll#wood. /ilmmaker 9eter Buran was the first to learn of its e6istene, through lassified
douments he o(tained while researhing his 1993 doumentar#, 4'rinit# and -e#ond.4 And #et
e"en toda#, some 13 #ears after its pu(li dislosure, one would ha"e trou(le finding e"en a single
mention of this seret militar#;intelligene failit# an#where in the &onspira#& literature.
I think we an all agree though that there is nothing the least (it suspiious a(out an# of that, so let&s
mo"e on.
In the 1938s, as -arne# Fosk#ns has written in Fotel *alifornia, .aurel *an#on was home to all
4the hippest #oung ators,4 inluding, aording to Fosk#ns, Marlon -rando, >ames =ean, >ames
*o(urn and =ennis Fopper. In addition to Fopper and =ean, #et another of the #oung stars of
4,e(el :ithout a *ause4 found a home in the an#on as wellC !atalie :ood. In fat, !atalie li"ed
in the "er# home that *ass Elliot would later turn into a .aurel *an#on part# house. A fourth #oung
star of the film, Sal Mineo, li"ed at the mouth of the an#on, and the fifth mem(er of the 4,e(el
:ithout a *ause4 posse, !ik Adams, li"ed 2ust a mile or so awa# 0as the row flies1 in neigh(oring
*oldwater *an#on.
:ith the e6eption of Fopper, all of their li"es were tragiall# ut short, pro"ing one again that
.aurel *an#on an (e a "er# dangerous plae to li"e.
/irst there was that great Amerian ion, >ames =ean, who ostensi(l# died in a near head+on
ollision on Septem(er Q8, 1933, at the tender age of twent#+four. !e6t to fall was !ik Adams,
who had known =ean (efore either were stars, when (oth were working the mean streets of
Foll#wood as #oung male prostitutes. Adams died on /e(ruar# 6, 196N, at the age of thirt#+si6, in
his home at 7176 El ,o(le .ane in *oldwater *an#on. Fis offiial ause of death was listed as
suiide, of ourse, (ut as ator /orrest 'uker has noted, 4All of Foll#wood knows !ik Adams
was knoked off.4 !ik&s relati"es reportedl# reei"ed numerous hang+up alls on the da# of his
death, and his tape reorder, 2ournals and "arious other papers and personal effets were
onspiuousl# missing from his home. Fis lifeless (od#, sitting upright in a hair, was diso"ered
(# his attorne#, Er"in 4'ip4 ,oeder. 5n >une 18, 19N1, ,oeder and his wife, atress >enn# Ma6well
0(est known for (eing spanked (# El"is in 4-lue Fawaii41, were gunned down outside their -e"erl#
Fills ondo.
!e6t in line was Sal Mineo, whose murder on /e(ruar# 17, 19<6 we ha"e alread# o"ered. .ast to
fall was !atalie :ood, who died on !o"em(er 79, 19N1 in a drowning inident that has ne"er (een
ade)uatel# e6plained. -efore (eing found floating in the waters off *atalina Island, :ood had (een
a(oard a pri"ate #aht in the ompan# of ators ,o(ert :agner and *hristopher :alken. She was
fort#+three when she was laid to rest.
'he list of famous former residents of the an#on also inludes the names of :.*. /ields, Mar#
Astor, ,osoe 4/att#4 Ar(ukle, Errol /l#nn, 5rson :elles, and ,o(ert Mithum, who was
infamousl# arrested on mari2uana harges in 194N at NQQ4 ,idpath =ri"e, the same street that would
later (e home to rokers ,oger M$uinn, =on Fenle# and $len /re#, as well as to 9aul ,othhild,
produer of (oth 'he =oors and .o"e. Mithum&s arrest, (# the wa#, appears to ha"e (een a
thoroughl# staged affair that emented his &Foll#wood (ad (o#& image and ga"e his areer )uite a
(oost, (ut I guess that&s not reall# rele"ant here.
Another famous resident of .aurel *an#on, apparentl# in the 1948s, was siene+fition writer
,o(ert Feinlein, who reportedl# resided at N<<3 .ookout Mountain A"enue. .ike so man# other
haraters in this stor#, Feinlein was a graduate of the U.S. !a"al Aadem# at Annapolis and he
had ser"ed as a na"al offier. After that, he em(arked on a suessful writing areer. And despite the
fat that he was, (# an# o(2eti"e measure, a ra(id right+winger, his work was warml# em(raed (#
the /lower 9ower generation.
Feinlein&s (est+known work is the no"el Stranger in a Strange .and, whih man# in the .aurel
*an#on sene found to (e hugel# influential. Ed Sanders has written, in 'he /amil#, that the (ook
4helped pro"ide a theoretial (asis for Manson&s famil#.4 *harlie fre)uentl# used Strange .and
terminolog# when addressing his flok and he named his first /amil#+(orn son %alentine Mihael
Manson, in honor of the (ook&s lead harater.
=a"id *ros(# was a (ig Feinlein fan as well. In his auto(iograph#, he referenes Feinlein on more
than one oasion, and prolaims that, 4In a soiet# where people an go armed, it makes e"er#(od#
a little more polite, as ,o(ert A. Feinlein sa#s in his (ooks.4 /rank ?appa was also a mem(er of the
,o(ert Feinlein fan lu(. -arr# Miles notes in his (iograph# of the rok ion that his home
ontained 4a op# of Saint+E6uper#&s 'he .ittle 9rine and other essential si6ties reading, inluding
,o(ert Feinlein&s si+fi lassi, Stranger in a Strange .and, from whih ?appa (orrowed the word
&disorporate& for Lthe songM &A(solutel# /ree.&4
And that, fearless readers, more or less (rings us to the .aurel *an#on era that we are primaril#
onerned with, the wild and wool# 1968s, whih we will take a loser look at in the ne6t hapter of
this saga.
So what, if an#thing, ha"e we learned toda#D :e ha"e learned that murder and random ats of
"iolene ha"e (een a part of the ulture of the an#on sine the earliest da#s of its de"elopment. :e
ha"e also learned that spooks posing as entertainers ha"e likewise (een a part of the an#on sene
sine the earliest da#s. And, finall#, we ha"e learned that spooks who didn&t e"en (other to pose as
entertainers were streaming into the an#on to report to work at .ookout Mountain .a(orator# for
at least twent# #ears (efore the first rok star set foot there.
5ne final note is in order hereC we are supposed to (elie"e that all of these musial ions 2ust sort of
spontaneousl# ame together in .aurel *an#on 0one finds the words 4serendipitous4 sprinkled
freel# throughout the literature1. -ut how man# peuliar oinidenes do we ha"e to o"erlook in
order to (elie"e that this was 2ust a hane gatheringD
.et&s suppose, h#pothetiall# speaking, that #ou are the #oung man in the photo at the top of this
post, and #ou ha"e reentl# arri"ed in .aurel *an#on and now find #ourself fronting a (and that is
on the "erge of taking the ountr# (# storm. >ust a mile or so down .aurel *an#on -oule"ard from
#ou li"es another gu# who also reentl# arri"ed in .aurel *an#on, and who also happens to front a
(and on the "erge of stardom. Fe happens to (e married to a girl that #ou attended kindergarten
with, and her dad, like #ours, was in"ol"ed in atomi weapons researh and testing 0Admiral
$eorge Morrison for a time did lassified work at :hite Sands1. Fer hus(and&s dad, meanwhile, is
in"ol"ed in another t#pe of :M= researhC hemial warfare.
'his other gu#&s (usiness partner;manager is a spook# e6+Marine who 2ust happens to ha"e a ousin
who, (iAarrel# enough, also fronts a rok (and on the "erge of superstardom. And this third rok+
star+on+the+rise also happens to li"e in .aurel *an#on, 2ust a mile or two from #our house. >ust
down a ouple of other streets, also within walking distane of #our home, li"e two other kids who +
wouldn&t #ou know itD + also happen to front a new rok (and. 'hese two kids happened to attend
the same Ale6andria, %irginia high shool that #ou attended, and one of them also attended
Annapolis, 2ust like #our dad did, and 2ust like #our kindergarten friend&s dad did.
'hough almost all of #ou hail from 0or spent a su(stantial portion of #our hildhood in1 the
:ashington, =.*. area, #ou now find #oursel"es on the opposite side of the ountr#, in an isolated
an#on high a(o"e the it# of .os Angeles, where #ou are all lustered around a seret militar#
installation. $i"en his (akground in researh on atomi weapons, #our father is pro(a(l# familiar
to some e6tent with the e6istene and operations of .ookout Mountain .a(orator#, as is the father
of #our kindergarten friend, and pro(a(l# the fathers of a few other .aurel *an#on figures as well.
M# )uestion here, I guess, is thisC what do #ou suppose the odds are that all of that 2ust ame
together purel# (# haneD
Part 4
'his is how I remem(er m# life. 5ther folks ma# not ha"e the same memories, e"en
though we might ha"e shared some of the same e6perienes.U
So (egins =a"id *ros(#Js auto(iograph#, .ong 'ime $one 0o+written (# *arl
$ottlie(1. As it turns out, )uite a few other folks seem to remem(er some people in *ros(#Js life
who are all (ut ignored in the length# (ook. 'he names are asuall# dropped onl# one, and not (#
*ros(# (ut rather in a )uote from manager >im =ikson in whih he desri(es the sene at the
Sunset Strip lu(s when 'he -#rds pla#edC :e had them all. :e had >ak !iholson daning, we
had 9eter /onda daning with 5detta, we had %ito and his /reakers.U
/ollowing that (rief mention (# =ikson, $ottlie( (riefl# e6plains to readers that, %ito and his
/reakers were an aid+drenhed e6tended famil# of (rain+damaged oha(itants.U And that, in an
inredi(l# self+indulgent 4N9+page tome, is the onl# mention #ou will find of %ito and his
/reakersU S despite the fat that, (# 2ust a(out all other aounts, the group dismissed as (rain+
damaged oha(itantsU pla#ed a ke# role in the earl# suess of *ros(#Js (and. And the earl#
suess of Arthur .eeJs (and. And the earl# suess of /rank ?appaJs (and. And the earl# suess
of >im MorrisonJs (and. -ut espeiall# in the earl# suess of =a"id *ros(#Js (and.
As -arr# Miles noted in his (iograph# of /rank ?appa, 'he -#rds were losel# assoiated with
%ito and the /reaksC %ito 9aulekas, his wife ?sou and Barl /ranAoni, the leaders of a group of a(out
Q3 daners whose antis enli"ened the -#rds earl# gigs.U In :aiting for the Sun, -arne# Fosk#ns
writes that the earl# suess of 'he -#rds and other (ands was due in no small part to the ro"ing
troupe of self+st#led IfreaksJ led (# anient (eatnik %ito 9aulekas and his trust#, lust# sidekik *arl
/ranAoni.U Al(an Snoop#U 9fisterer, former drummer and ke#(oardist for the (and .o"e, went
further still, laiming that %ito atuall# got the -#rds together, as I remem(er S the# did a lot of
rehearsing at his pad.U
And aording to "arious other aounts, 'he -#rds did indeed utiliAe %itoJs IpadJ as a
rehearsal studio, as did Arthur .eeJs (and. More importantl#, the /reaks drew the rowds into the
lu(s to see the fledgling (ands perform. -ut as important as their ontri(ution was to helping
launh the areers of the .aurel *an#on (ands, %ito and his /reakersU were nota(le for something
else as wellG aording to -arr# Miles, writing in his (ook Fippie, 'he first hippies in Foll#wood,
perhaps the first hippies an#where, were %ito, his wife ?sou, *aptain /uk and their group of a(out
thirt#+fi"e daners. *alling themsel"es /reaks, the# li"ed a semi+ommunal life and engaged in se6
orgies and free+form daning whene"er the# ould.U
Some of those who were on the sene at the time agree with MilesJ assessment that %ito and his
troupe were indeed the "er# first hippies. Arthur .ee, for e6ample, (oasted that the# started the
whole hippie thingC %ito, Barl, SAou, -eatle -o(, -r#an and me.U 5ne of =a"id *ros(#Js fellow
-#rds, *hris Fillman, also redited the strange group with (eing at the forefront of the hippie
mo"ementC *arl and all those gu#s were wa# ahead of e"er#one on hippiedom fashion.U ,a#
ManAarek of 'he =oors remem(ered them as wellC 'here were these gu#s named *arl and %ito
who had a dane troupe of g#ps# freaks. 'he# were let in for free, (eause the# were these
)uintessential hippies, whih was great for tourists.U
If these folks reall# were the "er# first hippies, the first riders of that Iounter+ulturalJ wa"e, then
we should pro(a(l# tr# to get to know them. As it turns out, howe"er, that is not suh an eas# thing
to do. Most aounts S and there arenJt all that man# S offer little more than a few first names, with
no onsensus agreement on how those first names are e"en spelled 0BarlU and *arlU appear
interhangea(l#, as do SAouU and ?sou,U and $odotU and $odoU1. -ut for #ou, dear readers S
(eause I apparentl# ha"e wa# too muh time on m# hands S I ha"e gone the e6tra mile and sifted
through the detritus to dig up at least some of the sordid details.
-# all aounts the troupe was led (# one %ito 9aulekas, whose full name is said to ha"e (een
%itautus Alphonsus 9aulekas. -orn the son of a .ithuanian sausage+maker ira 1917, %ito hailed
from .owell, Massahusetts. /rom a #oung age, he de"eloped a ha(it of running afoul of the law.
Aording to Miles, he spent a #ear+and+a+half in a reformator# as a teenager and was (usted
se"eral times after that.U In 19QN, he was on"ited of armed ro((er# and handed a 73+#ear
sentene following a (othed attempt at holding up a mo"ie theater. -# 1947, howe"er, 2ust four
#ears later, he had (een released into the ustod#, so to speak, of the US Merhant Marine 0a (ranh
of the US !a"# during wartime1, ostensi(l# to esort ships running lend+lease missions.
/ollowing his release from the ser"ie, ira 1946, %ito arri"ed in .os Angeles. :hat he did for the
ne6t fifteen #ears or so is an#oneJs guessG there is "irtuall# no mention of those #ears in an# of the
aounts I ha"e stum(led aross. :hat is known is that (# the earl# 1968s, %ito was ensoned in
an unassuming (uilding at the orner of .aurel A"enue and -e"erl# -oule"ard, 2ust (elow the
mouth of .aurel *an#on 0and "er# near >a# Se(ringJs hair salon1. At street le"el was his #oung wife
SAouJs lothing (outi)ue, whih has (een redited (# some of those making the sene in those da#s
with (eing the "er# first to introdue IhippieJ fashions. Upstairs was the li"ing )uarters for %ito,
SAou and their #oung son, $odot. =ownstairs was what was known as the %ito *la#U studio,
where, aording to Miles and "arious others, 9aulekas made a li"ing of sorts (# gi"ing la#
modeling lessons to -e"erl# Fills matrons who found the atmosphere in his studio e6iting.U
Aording to most aounts, it wasnJt reall# the Ma#an+tom( deor of the studio that man# of the
matrons found so e6iting, (ut rather %itoJs reportedl# insatia(le se6ual appetite and >ohn
Folmesian ph#si)ue. In an# e"ent, %itoJs students also apparentl# inluded suh Foll#wood
luminaries as >onathon :inters, Mike# ,oone# and Ste"e Allen. !e"ertheless, though 9aulekas
laimed to (e a serious artist 0a painter, poet, daner and photographer, in addition to a sulptor1,
there is sant e"idene that I ha"e seen that supports suh laims 0I am not, howe"er, the most
o(2eti"e of art ritis, as I am, as (est I an determine, apparentl# not ultured enough to IgetJ the
ma2orit# of what passes for art1.
As for his erstwhile sidekik, *arl 5restes /ranAoni, he has laimed
in inter"iews that his mother was a ountessU and his father was a stone ar"er from ,utland,
%ermont. 'he famil# was (rought from Ital#, from the )uarries in the northern part of Ital#, to ut
the stone for the monuments of the United States.U 'hat would make his father, IJm guessing here,
someone of some importane in the Mason ommunit#, if *arl is to (e (elie"ed. -# /ranAoniJs own
aount, he grew up as something of a #oung hoodlum in *ininnati, 5hio, and later went into
(usiness with some shad# Siilian haraters selling mail+order (reast and penis pumps out of an
address on .AJs fa(led Melrose A"enue. As /ranAoni remem(ered it, his (usiness partnerJs name
was Sallai, >oe Sallai S the same name as the famous murderer Sallai. 9ro(a(l# from the
same famil#.U 9ro(a(l# so.
/ranAoni, (orn ira 19Q4, hooked up with the older 9aulekas sometime around 196Q and soon after
(eame his onstant sidekik. As pre"iousl# mentioned, the group also inluded %itoJs wife SAou,
an e6+heerleader who had hooked up with 9aulekas when she was 2ust si6teen and he was alread#
in his fifties. Also in the troupe was a #oung ,or# /l#nn 0Errol /l#nnJs statues)ue daughter1, a
(iAarre harater named ,ik# Apple(aum who had half a moustahe on one side of his fae and
half a (eard on the other, most of the #oung girls who would later (eome part of /rank ?appaJs
$'5 pro2et, and a lot of other odd(all haraters who donned ridiulous pseudon#ms like .inda
-opp, -uthie, -eatle -o(, Emerald, and Baren @um @um. Also flitting a(out the peripher# of the
dane troupe were a #oung $ail Sloatman 0the future Mrs. ?appa, for those who ha"e alread#
forgotten1 and a urious harater on the .A musi sene (# the name of Bim /owle#. 'he two
were, for a time, losel# allied, and e"en ut a reord together as -unn# and the -earU that /owle#
produed 0AmeriaJs SweetheartsU1. In 1966, /owle# produed a reord for %ito as well, (illed as
%ito and the Fands.U 'he <U single, :here ItJs At,U whih featured the musiianship of some of
/rank ?appaJs Mothers of In"ention, ame no loser to entering the harts than did /owle# and
SloatmanJs effort. Sloatman, (# the wa#, soon found work as an assistant and (ooking agent for
Elmer %alentine, who we will meet shortl#.
/owle#, as with so man# other haraters in this stor#, has a rather interesting histor#.
Fe was (orn in 19Q9, the son of ator =ouglas /owle#, a ::II !a"# "eteran and attendee of St.
/ranis Va"ier Militar# Aadem#. Aording to the #ounger /owle#Js aount, he was initiall#
a(andoned to a foster home (ut later taken (ak and raised (# his father. Fe grew up in upsale
Mali(u, *alifornia, where he shared his hildhood home with a (unh of ators and gu#s from the
!a"#.U At the age of si6+and+a+half, /owle# had an unusual e6periene that he later shared with
author Mihael :alkerC dressed up in a sailor suit (# his dad and his !a"# (uddies, he was taken
to a photographer named :illiam, who took a piture of me in the sailor suit. Fis studio was ne6t
door to the *an#on L*ountr#M Store.U ,ight after that, he was dri"en down .aurel *an#on
-oule"ard to the near+m#thial Shwa(s =rugstore, where e"er#(od# heered and two horus girls
gra((ed m# si6+#ear+old ok and (alls and stuk a and# igarette in m# mouth.U
!ie stor#, Mr. /owle#. 'hanks for sharing.
ItJs pro(a(l# safe to assume that hildhood e6perienes suh as that helped to prepare /owle# for
his later emplo#ment as a #oung male street hustler, a profession that he pratied on the seed#
streets of the it# of angels 0(# /owle#Js own aount, I should pro(a(l# add here, 2ust as it was
>ames =ean himself who laimed to ha"e worked those same streets with !ik Adams1. /ollowing
that, /owle# spent some time ser"ing with the Arm# !ational $uard, after whih he de"oted his life
to working in the .A musi industr# as a musiian, writer and produer S as well as, aording to
some aounts, a master manipulator.
Around 193<, /owle# pla#ed in a (and known as the Sleepwalkers, alongside future -eah -o#
-rue >ohnston. At times, a diminuti"e #oung guitarist named 9hil Spetor S who had mo"ed out to
.A with his mother not too man# #ears earlier, following the suiide of his father when 9hil was
2ust nine S sat in with the group. =uring the 1968s, /owle# was (est known for produing suh
ridiulous #et (elo"ed no"elt# songs as the Foll#wood Arg#lesJ Alle# 5opU and the ,i"ingtonJs
9apa 5om+Mow+Mow,U though he also did more respeta(le work, suh as olla(orating on some
-#rdsJ traks and ha"ing some of his original songs o"ered (# (oth the -eah -o#s and the /l#ing
-urrito -rothers.
In 19<3, /owle# had perhaps his greatest suess when he reated the ,unawa#s, further lowering
the (ar that /rank ?appa had alread# set rather low some #ears earlier when he had reated and
reorded the $'5s. 'he ,unawa#s featured underage "ersions of >oan >ett and .ita /ord, whom
/owle# tastefull# attired in leather and lingerie. As he would later (oast, E"er#one lo"ed the idea
of 16+#ear+old girls pla#ing guitars and singing a(out fuking.U Espeiall#, I would imagine, their
mothers and fathers. Some of the #oung girls in the (and, inluding *herie *urr#, would later
ause /owle# of re)uiring them to perform se6ual ser"ies for he and his assoiates as a
prere)uisite for mem(ership in the group.
9rior to assem(ling the ,unawa#s, one of /owle#Js proudest aomplishments had (een produing
the 1969 al(um IJm -ak and IJm 9roudU (# roka(ill# pioneer $ene %inent, featuring (aking
"oals (# *an#onite .inda ,onstadt. >ust two #ears later, %inent S a !a"# "eteran raised in that
penultimate !a"# town, !orfolk, %irginia S permanentl# heked out of the Fotel *alifornia on
5to(er 17, 19<1 0thereJs that date again1, due reportedl# to a ruptured stomah uler. !ot long
(efore his death, %inent had (een on tour in the UB, (ut he had hastil# returned to the US due to
pressure from, among others, promoter =on Arden. Bnown none+too+affetionatel# as the Al
*apone of 9op,U Arden had a penhant for guns and "iolene and he was known to openl# (oast of
his affiliation with powerful organiAed rime figures. In addition to (eing a (usiness partner of the
e)uall# nefarious Mihael >effer#, Arden was also the father of Sharon 5s(ourne and the former
manager of her hus(andJs (and, -lak Sa((ath W (ut here I ha"e surel# digressed, so letJs tr# to
(ring this (ak around to where we left off.
5ne other aomplishment of /owle#Js (ears mentioning
hereC he reei"ed a guest "oalist redit on the Mothers of In"ention al(um /reak 5ut,U as did (oth
%ito 9aulekas and his sidekik, *arl /ranAoni, to whom the song Fungr# /reaks, =add#U was
dediated 0some soures laim that -o((# -eausoleil also pro"ided guest "oals on ?appaJs de(ut
al(um, though his name does not appear in the al(umJs redits1.
-# at least as earl# as 1967, not long (efore *arl /ranAoni 2oined the group, the /reak troupe was
alread# hitting the lu(s a ouple nights eah week to refine their uni)ue st#le of dane 0perhaps
(est desri(ed as an epilepti seiAure set to musi1 and show off their distinti"el# unappealing,
though soon to (e )uite popular, fashion sense. In those earl# da#s, the# daned to loal (lak ,K-
(ands and to a (and out of /resno known as the $auhos, in di"es far remo"ed from the fa(led
Sunset Strip S (eause, /ranAoni has said, 'here were no white (ands Lin .AM #et,U and 'here
were no lu(s on Sunset -oule"ard.U
'hat, of ourse, was all a(out to )uikl# hange. As if (# magi, new lu(s (egan to spring up
along the legendar# Sunset Strip (eginning around 1964, and old lu(s onsidered to (e long past
their prime miraulousl# reemerged. In >anuar# 1964, a #oung *hiago "ie op named Elmer
%alentine opened the doors to the now world+famous :hisk#+A+$o+$o nightlu(. >ust o"er a #ear
later, in spring of 1963, he opened a seond soon+to+(e+wildl#+popular lu(, 'he 'rip. !ot long
(efore that, near the end of 1964, the legendar# *iroJs nightlu( (egan undergoing e6tensi"e
reno"ations. 5pened in 1948 (# -ill# :ilkerson, an assoiate of -ugs# Siegel, the upsale lu( had
flourished for the first twent# #ears of its e6istene, with a lientele that regularl# inluded
Foll#wood ro#alt# and organiAed rime figures. -# the earl# 1968s though the Strip was dead, and
the one prestigious lu( had gone to seed.
*iroJs reopened in earl# 1963, 2ust (efore 'he 'rip opened its doors and 2ust in time, as it turns out,
to host the "er# first lu( appearane (# the musial at that was a(out to (eome the first .aurel
*an#on (and to ommit a song to "in#lC 'he -#rds. -# 196<, $aAAaris had opened up on the Strip
as well, and in the earl# 19<8s %alentine would open #et another lu( that endures to this da#, 'he
,o6#. Smaller lu(s like the .ondon /og, where 'he =oors got their first (ooking as the house
(and in earl# 1966, opened their doors to the pu(li in the mid 1968s as well.
'he timing of the opening of %alentineJs first two lu(s, and the reopening of *iroJs, ould not ha"e
(een an# more fortuitous. 'he paint was (arel# dr# on the walls of the new lu(s when (ands like
.o"e and 'he =oors and 'he -#rds and -uffalo Springfield and the 'urtles and the Mothers and
the .o"inJ Spoonful ame knoking. 'he pro(lem, howe"er, was that the new lu(s were not #et
well known, *iroJs had (een long left for dead, and no(od# had the slightest idea who an# of these
newfangled (ands were. :hat was needed then was a wa# to reate a (uAA around the lu(s that
would draw people in and kik+start the Strip (ak to life, as well as, of ourse, launh the areers
of the new (ands.
'he (ands themsel"es ould not (e e6peted to fill the new lu(s, sine, (esides (eing unknown,
the# also S and #eah, I know that #ou donJt reall# want to hear this and I will undou(tedl# (e
deluged with letters of omplaint, (ut IJm going to sa# it an#wa# S werenJt "er# good, at least not
in their li"e inarnations. 'o (e sure, the# sounded great on "in#l, (ut that was largel# due to the
fat that the (and mem(ers themsel"es didnJt atuall# pla# on their reords 0at least not in the earl#
da#s1, and the rih "oal harmonies that were a trademark of the I.aurel *an#on soundJ were
reated in the studio with a good deal of multi+traking and o"erdu(s. 5n stage, it was another
matter entirel#.
Enter then the wildl# flam(o#ant and olorful /reak s)uad, who were one ke# omponent of the
strateg# that was de"ised to lure patrons into the lu(s 0the other omponent of the strateg#, hinted
at in one of the )uotes near the top of this post, will (e o"ered in installment T<1. %ito and *arlJs
daners were a fi6ture on the Sunset Strip sene from the "er# moment that the new lu(s opened
their doors to the pu(li, and the# were, (# all aounts, treated like ro#alt# (# the lu( owners. As
>ohn Fartmann, proprietor of the Baleidosope *lu(, aknowledged, he would let %ito and his
daners into the Baleidosope free e"er# week (eause the# attrated people. 'he# were reall#
hippies, and so we had to ha"e them. 'he# got in free prett# muh e"er#where the# went. 'he#
(lessed #our 2oint. 'he# "alidated #ou. If the#Jre the essene of hippiedom and #ouJre tr#ing to (e a
hippie nightlu(, #ou need hippies.U As the aforementioned Bim /owle# put it, with harateristi
(luntness, A (and didnJt ha"e to (e good, as long as the daners were there.U Indeed, the (and was
largel# irrele"ant, other than to pro"ide some sem(lane of a soundtrak for the real show, whih
was taking plae on the dane floor. $ail ?appa andidl# admitted that, e"en at her hus(andJs
shows, the real attration was not on the stageC 'he ustomers ame to see the freaks dane.
!o(od# e"er talks a(out that, (ut that was the ase.U /rank added that, As soon as the# arri"ed
the# would make things happen, (eause the# were daning in a wa# no(od# had seen (efore,
sreaming and #elling out on the floor and doing all kinds of weird things. 'he# were dressed in a
wa# that no(od# ould (elie"e, and the# ga"e life to e"er#thing that was going on.U
/or reasons that learl# had more to do with (oosting attendane at the lu(s than with an# atual
talents displa#ed (# the group, %ito and *arl seem to ha"e (eome minor media darlings o"er the
ourse of the 1968s and into the 19<8s. 'he two an (e seen, separatel# and together, in a string of
heap e6ploitation films, inluding Mondo -iAarro from 1966, SomethingJs Fappening 0aka 'he
Fippie ,e"olt1 from 196<, the notorious 0ondo %olly&ood, also released in 196<, and @ou Are
:hat @ou Eat, with =a"id *ros(#, /rank ?appa and 'in# 'im, whih hit theaters in 196N. In 19<7,
%ito made his ating de(ut in a non+doumentar# film, 'he :hite Forse $ang. 9aulekas reportedl#
also popped up on $rouho Mar6Js @ou -et @our .ife, and /ranAoni made an appearane on a 196N
=ik *lark '% speial. 'he golden hild, $odot 9aulekas, was featured in a photo in .ife magaAine
ira 1966, and the whole troupe showed up for an appearane on the 'onight Show. Aording to
-arr# Miles, %ito also appeared regularl# on the >oe 9#ne Show and in (etween the (are+(reasted
girls in the late fifties and earl# si6ties menJs magaAines.U
>oe 9#ne, for those of #ou too #oung to remem(er 0m#self inluded1, is the gu# that we ha"e to
thank for pa"ing the wa# for the likes of -ill 5J,eill#, ,ush .im(augh, Sean Fannit#, Mihael
Sa"age, =on Imus, Morton =owne#, >r., >err# Springer and :all# $eorge. /or Mr. 9#ne, #ou see,
was the gu# who pioneered the onfrontational inter"iew st#le fa"ored (# so man# gas(ags toda#.
'he deorated Marine *orps "eteran de(uted as a talk+radio host in 1938 and )uikl# (eame
known for insulting and demeaning an#one who dared to disagree with him, guests and listeners
alike. In 193<, he mo"ed his show to .A, and (# 1963, he was nationall# s#ndiated (oth on the
radio and on tele"ision. Fis fa"ored targets, as #ou ma# ha"e guessed, inluded hippies, feminists,
ga#s, and anti+war ati"ists, and his inter"iews fre)uentl# ended with his guest either walking off or
(eing thrown off the stage. !earing the peak of his popularit#, 9#ne died on Marh 7Q, 19<8 at the
age of fort#+fi"e, reportedl# of lung aner. Fis ideologial offspring, howe"er, li"e on.
Part -
1ito &as in his fifties' +ut he had four2&ay sex &ith goddesses 3 %e held these clay2
sculpting classes on Laurel 4venue' teaching rich Beverly %ills do&agers ho& to sculpt)
4nd that &as the Byrds rehearsal room) Then 5im $ic!son had the idea to put them on
at Ciros' on the +asis that all the frea!s &ould sho& up and the Byrds &ould +e their
Beatles) YBim /owle#
,eruits for %ito and *arlJs dane troupe werenJt likel# hard to
ome (#, gi"en that, aording to Miles, %ito operated the first rash pad in .A, an open house to
ountless runawa#s where e"er#one was welome for a night, partiularl# #oung women.U -# the
mid 1968s, the group had e6panded into a seond ommunal loation in addition to the (asement
studio at Q8Q .aurel A"enueC the u(i)uitous .og *a(in. Aording to >ak -oulware, writing in
Mo2o magaAine, arhitet ,o(ert -#rd and his son (uilt a new guesthouse 0aka Ithe treehouseJ1 on
the propert# in the earl# 1968s, and 'he following #ear, a ommunal famil# of weirdos mo"ed into
the a(in and treehouse, entered around two underground hipsters named %ito 9aulekas and *arl
/ranAoni, organiAers of freeform dane troupes at lu(s along the Sunset Strip.U -# 196<, the
daners were splitting their rent with staff from the hippie pu(liation 'he 5rale. ,etired
2ournalist >ohn -il(# realls at least Q6 people li"ing and part#ing at the .og *a(in and treehouse,
inluding the (and /raternit# of Man. I'im .ear# was definitel# there, $eorge Farrison and ,a"i
Shankar were there,J -il(# sa#s.U
/or those who ma# not neessaril# (e Iin the knowJ a(out suh things, the /raternit# of Man were
(est known for the no"elt# song, =onJt -ogart Me,U 'im .ear# was (est known for (eing a
painfull# o("ious *IA asset, and 'he 5rale was a San /raniso+(ased pu(liation with
intelligene ties that speialiAed in pithing ps#hedeli oultism to impressiona(le #outh.
Aording to -arr# Miles, /ranAoniJs ommune ended
in Ma# 196N,U as that was when 'he 5rale mo"ed out and our old friend /rank ?appa mo"ed in.
'he lead Mother had "isited Barl at the log a(in on a pre"ious trip and realiAed it was perfet for
his needs.U And it was an eas# mo"e for /rank, sine he was alread# li"ing in the an#on at the
home of 9amela ?aru(ia 0aka SuA# *reamheese1 at N484 Birkwood =ri"e, where ?appa had met
his new wife, $ail, and where $ailJs old kindergarten pal, >ames =ouglas Morrison, was known to
oasionall# pass the time. Ms. ?aru(ia;*reamheese was #et another mem(er of %itoJs dane
troupe.
As multiple soures remem(er it, Miles is mistaken in his ontention that /ranAoniJs ommune
ame to an endG /rank ?appa took o"er as ringmaster, to (e sure, (ut /ranAoni and all his ohorts
sta#ed on. *arl had a room in the (asement, where he was known to (owl, usuall# naked and
into6iated, in the middle of the night. 'he doomed *hristine /rka had a room down there as well,
as did other future $'5s. %arious other mem(ers of the dane troupe oupied other nooks and
rannies in (oth the main house and the guesthouse;treehouse. Indeed, as Miles noted orretl#, the
/reak daners (eame so losel# assoiated with the Mothers of In"ention that the# got du((ed as
Ithe Mothers Au6iliar#J and Barl /ranAoni, in partiular, was inluded in a lot of group
photographs.U
And that, m# friends, is the stor# of %itoJs /reakers S or at least a sanitiAed "ersion.
-eause there is, as it turns out, a "er# dark under(ell# to this stor#. And muh of it is entered
around that angeli hippie hild that the readers of .ife magaAine met in 1966, and who we now
must sadl# add to the .aurel *an#on =eath .ist. /or #oung $odot 9aulekas, #ou see, ne"er made it
past the age of three 0(# most aounts1. 'he speifis of the traged# are all (ut impossi(le to
determine, unfortunatel#, as there is little agreement in the "arious aounts of the e"ent. .eft
unlear is e6atl# how the hild died, when the traged# ourred, and what age the (o# was.
Aording to -arr# Miles, %ito and SAouJs three+#ear+old son $odo had fallen through a trapdoor
on the roof of the (uilding and died.U Mihael :alker tells of a two or threeU #ear old $odot
fallLingM to his death from a saffold at the studio.U An artile in the San /raniso :eekl# had it as
a 3+#ear+old (o#U who died when he fell through a sk#light.U Super+groupie and former /reak
daner 9amela =es-arres agreed with the sk#light senario, (ut not the ageC %itoJs e6)uisite little
puppet hild, $odot, fell through a sk#light during a wak# photo session on the roof and died at
age three+and+a+half.U Al(an 9fisterer of the (and .o"e realled a muh darker senarioC L%itoM got
married, had a (a(#, ga"e it aid, and it fell off the roof and died.U
:hen ,o(ert *arl *ohen reentl# digitall# remastered his notorious Mondo Foll#wood for =%=
release, he added postsripts for all the famous and infamous people who were featured in his film.
/or $odoU 9aulekas, he inserted the following aptionC =ied age 7 S "itim of medial
malpratie.U 'hus we now ha"e a further mudd#ing of the waters. Sine *ohenJs laim though is
so learl# at odds with e"er# other aount of the inident, and sine he was )uite lose to %ito and
thus inlined to ast his friend in the (est possi(le light, we an pro(a(l# safel# disregard *ohenJs
(elated postsript.
'he details of the inident that an (e asertained are, to put it mildl#, rather distur(ing. :e know,
for e6ample, that a musiian and writer named ,aphael told writer Mihael :alker that, (efore the
hildJs death, he had (een present one e"ening at %itoJs plae when $odot was (rought outC 'he#
passed that little (o# around, naked, in a irle with their mouths. 'hat was their thing a(out
Iintroduing him to sensualit#.JU :e also know that %ito and SAou had a rather odd reation to the
death of their first+(orn son and onl# hild, as reounted (# Ms. =es-arresC I was (eside m#self
with sorrow, (ut %ito and SAou insisted on ontinuing our plans for the e"ening. :e went out
daning, and when people asked where little $odot was, %ito said, IFe died toda#.J It was weird,
reall# weird.U
'hat it was, (ut perhaps e"en weirder is the full te6t of the )uote from the San /raniso
:eekl# that I earlier presented #ou with an edited "ersion ofC LBenneth AngerJsM first andidate to
pla# .uifer, a 3+#ear+old (o# whose hippie parents had (een fi6tures on the .os Angeles
ounterulture sene, fell through a sk#light to his death. -# 196<, Anger had reloated to San
/raniso and was searhing for a new .uifer.U As man# readers ma# (e aware, he soon found his
new .uifer in the form of Mansonite and former $rass ,oots guitarist -o((# *upidU -eausoleil.
And so it was that the soon+to+(e on"ited murderer replaed the heru(i hippie hild as the fae
of .uifer. -ut what was it, one wonders, that drew AngerJs twisted e#e to the #oung (o#D And how
lose a relationship did Anger ha"e with 9aulekas and /ranAoniD And most importantl#, how did
$odot 9aulekas reall# dieD :e will likel# ne"er know for sure, (ut letJs 2ust )uikl# re"iew some of
the fators that might ome into pla# when searhing for a solution to this m#ster#C
'he #oung (o# was reportedl# su(2eted to pedophili treatment (# his parents and others.
'he (o#Js parents displa#ed a trul# hilling indifferene to the hildJs death.
Benneth Anger had e6pressed an interest in filming the (o#.
9amela =es-arres ontends that the toddler died during a wak# photo session.U
Al(an 9fisterer has laimed that the hild was drugged.
-o((# -eausoleil has said that some of AngerJs film pro2ets were for pri"ate olletorsC
e"er# one in a while heJd do a little thing that wouldnJt (e for distri(ution.U
/inall#, aording to (iographer -ill .andis, Benneth Anger was at one time in"estigated (#
the polie on suspiion that he had (een produing snuff fliks.Z
@ou all will ha"e to draw #our own onlusions on this one. As a responsi(le 2ournalist, I o("iousl#
annot indulge in an# rekless speulation here, and I think we an all agree that I ha"e not tried to
lead #ou in an# speifi diretion, (ut ha"e merel# laid the fats out on the ta(le for #our re"iew.
Mo"ing on then W
9amela =es-arres shed further light on the dark edges of the /reak troupe with this desription of a
sene that %ito had staged one e"ening in his studioC two tenderl# #oung girls were tonguing eah
other W e"er#one was silentl# o(ser"ing the sene as if it were part of their neessar# training (#
the headmaster, %ito W 5ne of the girls on the four+poster was onl# twel"e #ears old, and a few
months later %ito was deported to 'ahiti for this "er# situation, and man# more 2ust like it.U
It was atuall# Faiti that %ito appears to ha"e fled to,
and then to >amaia 0whih at the time had no e6tradition treat# with the United States1,
aompanied (# his wife SAou and their new (a(# daughter $roo"ee !ipple 0or possi(l# $ru"i
!ippleG does an#one reall# are whih is the proper spellingD1 Aording to Miles, this ourred in
=eem(er of 196N, though other aounts "ar#. *arl /ranAoni, meanwhile, (eame em(roiled in
some unspeified legal trou(les of his own and went into hiding, resurfaing in *anada (# some
reports. At around that same time, /rank ?appa mo"ed on to #et another loation in .aurel *an#on,
a high+seurit# home on :oodrow :ilson =ri"e.
Also at around that same time, aording to author Ed Sanders, the Manson /amil# ame alling at
the .og *a(inC 5ne former Manson famil# assoiate laims that a group of four to si6 famil#
mem(ers li"ed on .aurel *an#on -oule"ard in the log a(in house one owned (# ow(o#+ator
'om Mi6. 'he# li"ed there for a few weeks, in late 196N, in a a"e+like hollow in (ak of the
residene.U Aording to /ranAoni, Manson also ame alling at the %ito *la# studio on .aurel
A"enueC Apple(aum took o"er %itoJs plae when %ito "aated at -e"erl# and .aurel. So he
inherited all the people that ame after that W he was the (eginning of the Manson lan. Manson
ame there (eause he had heard a(out %ito (ut %ito was gone.U
It does not appear as though %ito was atuall# deported, (# the wa#, (ut rather that he fled the
ountr# in a "er# Mike ,uppertian fashion to a"oid likel# proseution. In an# e"ent, it makes
perfet sense, in retrospet, that *harlie Manson and his /amil# ame alling 2ust as %ito fled the
sene, and that a Mansonite replaed the /reak hild as the em(odiment of .uifer. /or the truth,
#ou see, is that, in man# signifiant wa#s, *harles Manson was little more than a #ounger "ersion of
%ito 9aulekas. *onsider, if #ou will, all of the following Mansones)ue )ualities that %ito 0and to
some e6tent, *arl1 seemed to shareC
%ito appears to ha"e spent a good portion of his #ounger #ears in prisons and reform
shools, as did, as we all know, *harles Milles Manson.
%ito onsidered himself to (e a gifted artist and poet, as did our old friend *harlie Manson.
%ito, aording to Miles, was something of a guru,U as was, )uite o("iousl#, *huk
Manson.
%ito surrounded himself with a flok of "er# #oung 0often underage1 women, as did
Manson.
%ito was onsidera(l# older than his followers, and so too was *harlie.
:hen %ito addressed his flok, the# listened with rapt attention as though the# were (eing
deli"ered the word of $od, as was true with *harlie as well.
*arl /ranAoni was known to wear a (lak ape and refer to himself as *aptain /uk,U while
Manson was also partial to (lak apes and delared himself to (e the $od of /uk.U
%ito is said to ha"e had a "irtuall# insatia(le li(ido, as did, of ourse, *huk Manson.
%itoJs flok adopted niknames to aid in the depersonaliAation proess, as did *harlieJs.
%itoJs troupe inluded a -e"erl# Fills hairst#list named Sheldon >aman, while *harlieJs
inluded a -e"erl# Fills hairpiee st#list named *harles :atson.
%ito (elie"ed in introduing hildren to se6ualit# at a "er# #oung age, while in the Manson
/amil#, as Sanders has noted, Infant se6ualit# was enouraged.U%ito apparentl# liked to
stage li"e se6 shows for his followers, usuall# in"ol"ing underage partiipants, whih was
also a speialt# of *harles Milles Manson.
/inall#, %ito enouraged his followers to drug themsel"es while he himself largel#
a(stained, thus ena(ling him to at all times maintain ontrol, while Manson limited his own
drug intake for the "er# same reason.

/ranAoni and Manson were not, (# the wa#, the onl# folks on the .aurel *an#on;Sunset Strip sene
who de"eloped a fondness for (lak apes in the latter half of the 1968s. As Mihael :alker noted
in .aurel *an#on, during that same period of time =a"id *ros(# had taken to wearing an 5sar
:ilde;/rank .lo#d :right+ish ape where"er he went.U
In unrelated news, Ed Sanders notes in 'he /amil# that, Around Marh 18, 196N, a on"o# of
se"en 9roess automo(iles ontaining thirt# people and fourteen Alsatian dogs 2ourne#ed toward
.os Angeles.U %inent -ugliosi added, in his (est+selling Felter Skelter, that in 196N and 1969,
'he 9roess launhed a ma2or reruiting dri"e in the United States. 'he# were in .os Angeles in
Ma# and >une of 196N and for at least se"eral months in the fall of 1969.U 'he 9roessians, it
should (e noted, were instantl# reogniAa(le on the streets of .A due to the fat that the# had a
urious ha(it of donning (lak apes where"er the# went.
In other news, it appears as though /rank ?appa also displa#ed some of the same less+than+
admira(le )ualities shared (# Manson and 9aulekas. As =es-arres o(ser"ed, %ito was 2ust like
/rank, he ne"er got high either. 'he# were (oth ringmasters who alwa#s wanted to (e in ontrol.U
And as -arr# Miles noted in his ?appa (iograph#, /rankJs daughter Moon realls men with
straggling (eards, (od# odour and (ad posture who rouhed naked near her pla#things WU Also,
the ?appa hildren wathed porn with their parents and were enouraged in their own se6ualit# as
soon as the# reahed pu(ert#. :hen the# (eame teenagers, $ail insisted the# shower with their
o"ernight guests in order to onser"e water.U -eause, #ou know, apparentl# the ?appas were
ha"ing a hard time pa#ing their water (ill.
-# the earl# 19<8s, %ito 9aulekas had resurfaed up north in *otati, *alifornia, with *arl /ranAoni
one again at his side. 'he two were, (# all aounts, treated like rok stars in the funk# little town,
and the# are to this da# proudl# and prominentl# featured on the it#Js offiial we(site. -# some
aounts, %ito e"en ser"ed as ma#or of the town, with /ranAoni assisting as his =iretor of 9arks
and ,ereation. 9aulekas also taught lasses at Sonoma State *ollege, presuma(l# in the art
department. SAou e"entuall# split from %ito and went to work for an attorne#, lea"ing the hippie life
0and hopefull# the ?U in her name1 (ehind. /ranAoni, meanwhile, turned up now and then on that
earl# "ersion of AmeriaJs $ot 'alent known as 'he $ong Show 0apparentl# as one of the I:orm
=anersJ1.
'he $ong Show, of ourse, was the (rainhild of *huk -arris, who famousl# laimed that during
the da#s when he appeared to (e working as a mild+mannered game show produer, he was atuall#
on the pa#roll of the *IA, and that while he was ostensi(l# ser"ing as a haperone to the ouples
who had won trips on 'he =ating $ame, what he was reall# doing was arr#ing out assassinations.
Bind of like, I guess #ou ould sa#, that Farr# Foudini gu#. 5ne reader, (# the wa#, insists that
*huk# -a(#U was at one time a resident of S guess whereD S .aurel *an#on 0though I ha"e not
(een a(le to onfirm that1.
An#wa#, during those same 19<8s, 'he a(in and treehouse sene,U aording to >ak -oulware,
grew reep#.U Atuall#, it had alwa#s (een prett# reep#, it likel# 2ust (eame a little more openl#
reep#. Eri -urden of the Animals mo"ed in after ?appa "aated and the propert# ontinued to (e
ommunall# oupied. In fat, it appears to ha"e remained something of a ommune throughout the
19<8s, )uite possi(l# right up until the time that it (urned to the ground on 5to(er Q1, 19N1. :ho
paid the rent is an#(od#Js guess S as is wh# suh a prestigious propert# seems to ha"e (een made
a"aila(le for dirt heap to prett# muh an# ommunal famil# of weirdosU who wanted to mo"e in.
%ito 9aulekas and *arl /ranAoni appear to ha"e remained in northern *alifornia throughout the
19N8s and into the 1998s. /ranAoni was still milling a(out the area as reentl# as 7887. In /e(ruar#
of this #ear, the aging /reak, now reportedl# <4, rode along on a tour of 1968s hotspots offered (# a
loal tour ompan# and delighted the rowd (# reenating his distinti"e dane st#le in front of
%itoJs former studio. 'he tour operator (illed /ranAoni as the Bing of the /reaks,U a title formerl#
held (# his mentor, %ito 9aulekas. 'he original king, alas, had died in 5to(er of 1997. Fis
memorial ser"ie was held, appropriatel# enough, on 5to(er Q1, 1997.
Part 5
4s all half&ay2decent managers in the roc! era have done' .5im/ $ic!son &or!ed on
seducing the in2cro&d and creating a +u,, around .The Byrds/ 3 The timing &as
perfect 3 L4s +a+y2+oomers &ere mo+ile' getting around' loo!ing for action) 4nd no&
they &ere 6oined +y the hip elite of %olly&ood itself' from #al 0ineo and 7eter onda to
6un!ie comic Lenny Bruce) Y-arne# Fosk#ns, Waiting for the #un
>ak !iholson
's iportant as the 2rea$s !ere to building an audien&e for the ne! Laurel Canyon bands"
there !as another group that played a $ey role as !ell: Holly!ood6s so%&alled 78oung Tur$s)9
.ike the /reaks, the 'urks (eame an immediate and onstant presene on the newl# emerging
Sunset Strip sene. And as with the /reaks, their presene on the Strip was hea"il# promoted (# the
media. .oals and tourists alike knew where to go to gawk at the /reaks and, as an added (onus,
)uite possi(l# ru( shoulders with the likes of 9eter /onda, >ak !iholson, -rue =ern, =ennis
Fopper and :arren -eatt#, along with their female ounterparts like >ane /onda, !an# Sinatra and
Sharon 'ate.
Man# of these #oung and glamorous Foll#wood stars forged "er# lose (onds with the .aurel
*an#on musiians. Some of them, inluding 9eter /onda, found homes in the an#on so that the#
ould li"e, work and part# among the rok stars 0and, in their free time, pass around >ohn 9hillipsJ
wife to 2ust a(out e"er# swinging dik in the an#on, inluding >ak !iholson, =ennis Fopper,
:arren -eatt#, ,oman 9olanski, and $ene *lark of 'he -#rds1. Some of them ne"er leftG >ak
!iholson to this da# li"es in a spaious estate 2ust off the portion of Mulholland =ri"e that lies
(etween .aurel *an#on and *oldwater *an#on. !ot far west of !iholsonJs propert# 0whih now
inludes the neigh(oring estate formerl# owned (# Marlon -rando1 sits the longtime home of
:arren -eatt#.
5ult imager# from the film The Trip.
/rom the s#m(ioti relationship (etween .aurel *an#on ators and .aurel *an#on musiians arose
a series of feature films that are now onsidered ounter+ultural lassis. 5ne suh film was 196<Js
'he 'rip, an unintentionall# hilarious attempt to reate a inemati fasimile of an .S= trip.
:ritten (#, of all people, >ak !iholson, the mo"ie starred fellow 'urks 9eter /onda, =ennis
Fopper and -rue =ern. Seated in the diretorJs hair was ,oger *orman, who, throughout his
areer, worked side+(#+side with =a"id *ros(#Js dad on no less than twent#+three feature films.
,eruited to suppl# the soundtrak for the film was $ram 9arsonJs International Su(marine -and
09arsonJs musi, howe"er, was ultimatel# not used, though the (and does make a (rief on+sreen
appearane1. 'he house where most of the film was shot, at the top of Birkwood =ri"e in .aurel
*an#on, was the home of .o"eJs Arthur .ee.
Another Ips#hedeliJ ult film of the late 1968s with deep roots in .aurel *an#on was the
MonkeeJs 196N (ig+sreen offering, Fead. Also sripted (# !iholson 0with assistane from -o(
,afelson1, the mo"ie inluded ameo appearanes (# an#on dwellers =ennis Fopper, >ak
!iholson and /rank ?appa. 'he musi S performed, of ourse, (# 'he Monkees S was a mi6 of
songs written (# the (and and ontri(utions from *an#on songwriters like *arol Bing and Farr#
!ilsson. And shokingl#, some of that musi is atuall# prett# good. E"en more shokingl#, the
mo"ie o"erall is argua(l# the most watha(le of the 1968s ult films. It is ertainl# a "ast
impro"ement o"er, for e6ample, 196NJs wrethed 9s#h 5ut 0starring !iholson and =ern1.
I do realiAe, (# the wa#, that some of #ou out there in readerland ringe e"er# time that I mention
'he Monkees as though the# were a IrealJ (and. 'he realit# though is that the# were e"er# (it as
IrealJ as most of their ontemporaries. And while the made+for+'% -eatles repliants were looked
down upon (# musi ritis and fans alike, the# were full# aepted as mem(ers of the musial
fraternit# (# the other .aurel *an#on (ands. 'he homes of (oth Mike# =olenA and 9eter 'ork
were popular an#on hangouts in the late I68s for a num(er of IrealJ musiians. Also regularl#
dropping (# =olenAJ part# house were =ennis Fopper and >ak !iholson.
'he differene in pereption (etween their peers and the pu(li was attri(uta(le to the fat that the
other (ands knew something that the fans did notC the "er# same studio musiians who appeared
without redit on 'he MonkeeJs al(ums also appeared without redit on their al(ums. And then, of
ourse, there was the fat that so man# of .aurel *an#onJs IrealJ musiians had taken a sta( at
(eing a part of 'he Monkees, inluding Ste"en Stills, .o"eJs -r#an Ma.ean, and 'hree =og
!ightJs =ann# Futton S all of whom answered the MonkeesJ asting all and were re2eted.
'here were undou(tedl# other future stars who auditioned for the show as well, though most would
pro(a(l# prefer not to disuss suh things. =espite persistent rumors, howe"er, there was one loal
musiian who we an safel# onlude did not read for a partC *harles Manson. $i"en that the show
was ast in 1963 and (egan its (rief tele"ision run in 1966, while *harlie was still imprisoned at
'erminal Island awaiting his release in Marh of 196<, there doesnJt appear to (e an# wa# that
Manson ould ha"e (een onsidered for a part on the show. And thatJs kind of a shame when #ou
think a(out it, (eause if he had (een, we might toda# remem(er *harlie Manson not as one of
AmeriaJs most notorious riminals, (ut rather as the gu# who made Maria -rad# swoon.
And, letJs (e honest here, would that reall# ha"e (een an# worse than seeing her go ga+ga o"er the
likes of =a"# >onesD I mean, I ould ha"e understood if she had gotten weak in the knees o"er, #ou
know, a real man like =a"id *assid# or -o((# Sherman. !ow, I hope we an all agree that those
gu#s were ool W rightD Is e"er#one with me on thisD An#oneD W An#oneD W
@ou know, IJm thinking (ak right now as I sit here, and I an atuall# piture in m# mind the
o"ers of a ouple of -o((# Sherman al(ums that I had in m# personal oll W err, that we had
l#ing around the house for some reason, IJm not reall# sure wh#, and W ome to think of it, I think
there might ha"e e"en (een a -o((# Sherman poster or two pulled from the pages of 'iger -eat
magaAine, and, uhmm, I suppose I an see how that might seem a little (it, uhhh, whatJs the word
IJm looking forD W Iga#J or whate"er to a modern, twent#+first+entur#+man+a(out+town, (ut IJm
sure that, if #ou heked into it, #ou would find that there were a lot of #oung (o#s (ak Iin the da#J
who 2ust reall# dug -o((# Sherman and those great songs like >ulie 0=o @ou .o"e Me1U and
Eas# *ome, Eas# $oU and W uhmm W ma#(e this is a good time to get (ak to where we left off.
,eturning then to the ounter+ultural films of the 1968s, the most ritiall# alaimed of the lot,
and the one with the deepest roots in .aurel *an#on, was Eas# ,ider. =ireted 0sort of1 (# =ennis
Fopper, from a sript o+written (# he and 9eter /onda, the film starred /onda and Fopper along
with >ak !iholson 0the onl# one in the mo"ie who did an#thing resem(ling atual ating1.
FopperJs walrus+mustahioed harater in the film was (ased on =a"id *ros(#, who was regularl#
seen raing his motor#le up and down the winding streets of .aurel *an#on 0that motor#le, (#
the wa#, had (een a gift from *ros(#Js good (udd#, 9eter /onda1. /ondaJs a(surd I*aptain
AmeriaJ harater was inspired either (# >ohn 9hillipsJ riding partner, $ram 9arsons, or (#
*ros(#Js former (andmate in 'he -#rds, ,oger M$uinn 0depending upon who is telling the stor#.1
'hat "er# same ,oger M$uinn sored the original musi for the film. Fis ontri(utions were
2oined on the soundtrak (# offerings from fellow *an#onite musiians 'he -#rds, Steppenwolf,
/raternit# of Man and >imi Fendri6. And the mo"ieJs hippie ommune was reportedl# reated and
filmed in the an#ons, near Mulholland =ri"e.
Sine Eas# ,ider had suh deep roots in the .aurel *an#on sene, we need to (riefl# fous our
attention here on one other indi"idual who worked on the filmC art diretor >erem# Ba#, aka >err#
Ba#. -efore Eas# ,ider, Ba# had worked on suh inemati a(ominations as Angels from Fell,
Fells Angels on :heels 0with >ak !iholson1, and Sorpio ,ising 0Benneth AngerJs oult+tinged
homage to ga# (ikers1. In the mid+19<8s, Ba# would write, diret and produe a harming little film
entitled SatanJs *hildren. 5f far more interest here than his film redits though is his mem(ership in
the 1968s in a group known as the Solar .odge of the 5rdo 'empli 5rientis 0or 5'51, whih found
itself in the news, and not in a good wa#, 2ust after Eas# ,ider opened on theater sreens aross
Ameria.
'wo weeks after Eas# ,ider premiered on >ul# 14, 1969, polie ating on a phone tip raided the
Solar .odgeJs ompound near -l#the, *alifornia and found a si6+#ear+old (o# loked outdoors in a
6J66J wooden rate in the sweltering desert heat. 'he #oung (o#, whose father was a .os Angeles
*ount# pro(ation offier 0as was Mihelle 9hillipJs father, (# the wa#1, had (een hained to a steel
plate for nearl# two months in temperatures reahing as high as 11<[ /. Aording to an /-I report,
the (o6 also ontained a an partiall# filled with human waste and swarming with flies W 'he
stenh was nauseating.U -efore (eing put in the (o6, the hild had (een (urned with mathes and
(eaten with (am(oo poles (# ult mem(ers. 'he leader of the ult, $eorgina -ra#ton, had
reportedl# told ult mem(ers that when it was on"enient, she was going to gi"e Lthe (o#M .S=
and set fire to the struture in whih he was hained and gi"e him 2ust enough hain to get out of
reah of the fire.U Billing the hild had also (een disussed 0and apparentl# ondoned (# the (o#Js
mind+fuked mother1.
Ele"en adult mem(ers of the set were harged with felon# hild a(use, the ma2orit# of them #oung
white men in their earl# twenties. All were (rought to trial and on"ited. In a urious (it of timing,
the raid that resulted in the arrests and on"itions oinided with the torture and murder of
musiian $ar# Finman (# a trio of Manson aol#tes. 'hough it is, not surprisingl#, "ehementl#
denied (# onerned parties, "arious soures ha"e laimed that Manson had ties to the group, whih
also maintained a home near the US* ampus in .os Angeles. 'here is no dou(t that *harlie
preahed the same dogma, inluding the notion of an apoal#pti rae war looming on the horiAon.
'he massare at the 'ate residene ourred less than two weeks after the raid on the 5'5
ompound. MansonJs -arker ,anh hideout would (e raided a few months later, on 5to(er 17,
1969 S the (irthda#, as I ma# ha"e alread# mentioned, of Aleister *rowle#, the $rand 9oo(ah of the
5'5 until his death in 194<.
Sorr# a(out that little digression, folks. IJm not entirel# sure how we ended up at the -arker ,anh
when the fous of this installment was supposed to (e on the @oung 'urks. So ha"ing now
esta(lished that those 'urks were a full# integrated part of the .aurel *an#on;Sunset Strip sene,
and also that the# pla#ed an important role in luring the pu(li out to the new lu(s to hek out the
new (ands, our ne6t task is to get to know a little (it a(out who these folks are and where the# ame
from. .etJs (egin with Mr. -rue =ern, who has some of the most pro"oati"e onnetions of an#
of the haraters in this stor#.
It is pro(a(l# safe to sa# that =ernJs parents had rather impressi"e politial onnetions, gi"en that
(a(# -rueJs godparents were sitting /irst .ad# Eleanor ,oose"elt and future two+time =emorati
presidential nominee Adlai Ste"enson 0he lost (oth times, in 1937 and 1936, to Eisenhower1.
-rueJs paternal grandfather was a gu# (# the name of $eorge =ern, who ser"ed as Seretar# of
:ar under 9resident /ranklin ,oose"elt 0for the #oungsters in the rowd, ISeretar# of :arJ is what
we used to all the ISeretar# of =efenseJ in a slightl# less 5rwellian era1. $eorge had also ser"ed
as $o"ernor of Utah and *hairman of the !ational $o"ernorsJ Assoiation. -rueJs mother was
(orn >ean Ma.eish, and she happened to (e the sister of Arhi(ald Ma.eish, who also ser"ed
under /ranklin ,oose"elt, as the =iretor of the :ar =epartmentJs 5ffie of /ats and /igures and
as the Assistant =iretor of the 5ffie of :ar Information. In other words, Arhi(ald Ma.eish was
essentiall# AmeriaJs Minister of :ar 9ropaganda. Fe also ser"ed at "arious times as an Assistant
Seretar# of State and as the .i(rarian of *ongress. -# far the most impressi"e item on his r\sum\,
howe"er, was his mem(ership in e"er#oneJs fa"orite seret soiet#, Skull and -ones 0lass of 1913,
one #ear (efore 9resott -ush was tapped in 19161.
It would appear then that, e"en (# .aurel *an#on standards, Mr. =ern has friends in "er# high
plaes. .etJs turn our attention ne6t to the gu# (eing em(raed (# =ern in the photo a(o"e, Mr.
9eter /onda. 5f ourse, we all know that /onda is the son of good olJ Fank /onda, lo"a(le
Foll#wood li(eral and all+around nie gu#. And ertainl# e"en a ontrarian suh as m#self would
not (e so (old as to suggest that Fenr# /onda might ha"e some skeletons in his loset W rightD >ust
for the hell of it though, there are a few hapters of the Fank /onda saga that we should pro(a(l#
re"iew here.
:e an (egin, I suppose, (# noting that Fank ser"ed as a deorated US !a"al Intelligene offier
during :orld :ar II, thus sparing 9eter the stigma of (eing the onl# mem(er of the .aurel *an#on
in+rowd to ha"e not (een spawned (# a mem(er of the militar#;intelligene ommunit#. !ot too
man# #ears after the war, FankJs wife, /ranis /ord Se#mour, was found with her throat slashed
open with a straight raAor. 9eter was 2ust ten #ears old at the time of his motherJs, uhmm, suiide on
April 14, 1938. :hen Se#mour had met and married Fank, she was the widow of $eorge -rokaw,
who had, uriousl# enough, pre"iousl# (een married to prominent *IA asset *laire -ooth .ue.
/onda re(ounded )uikl# from Se#mourJs unusual death and within eight months he was married
one again, to Susan -lanhard, to whom he remained married until 1936. In 193<, Fank married
#et again, this time to Italian *ountess Afdera /ranhetti 0who followed up her four+#ear marriage
to /onda with a rumored affair with newl#+sworn+in 9resident >ohn Benned#1. /ranhetti, as it turns
out, is the daughter of -aron ,aimondo /ranhetti, who was a onsultant to fasist ditator -enito
Mussolini. 'he ountess is also the great+granddaughter of .ouise Sarah ,othshild, of the e"er+
popular ,othshild (anking famil# 0perhaps #ouJ"e heard of themD1
-efore mo"ing on, I should pro(a(l# mention that FankJs first wife, Margaret Sulla"an S who was
#et another hild of !orfolk, %irginia S also allegedl# ommitted suiide, on !ew @earJs =a#, 1968.
!ine months later, her daughter -ridget followed suit. In 1961, "er# soon after the deaths of first
her mother and then her sister, Sulla"anJs other daughter, -rook Fa#ward, walked down the aisle
with the ne6t @oung 'urk on our list, =ennis Fopper. /or those who ma# (e unfamiliar with
FopperJs (od# of work, he is the gu# who was one found wandering naked and (ewildered in a
Me6ian forest. And the gu# who, after di"oring Fa#ward in 1969, married Mihelle 9hillips on
Falloween da#, 19<8, onl# to ha"e her file for di"ore 2ust eight da#s later laiming that Fopper
had kept her handuffed and imprisoned for a week while making unnatural se6ual demands.U
:ithout passing 2udgment here, I think itJs fair to sa# that Mihelle 9hillips has (een around the
(lok a time or two, if #ou ath m# drift, so if e"en she thought FopperJs demands were a (it o"er
the top, then one an onl# wonder 2ust how unnaturalU the# might ha"e (een. /or what itJs worth,
Fopper 2ust reentl# told a 2ournalist that he didnJt handuff her, LheM 2ust punhed her outRU In his
mind, apparentl#, that makes him somewhat less of an asshole.
Most offiial (iographies of Fopper would lead one to (elie"e that he was the son of a simple
farmer. =ennis reentl# aknowledged, howe"er, that that was learl# not the aseC M# motherJs
father was a wheat farmer and I was raised on their farm. -ut m# father was not a farmer.U 'o the
ontrar#, FopperJs dad was a working person in intelligeneU who during ::II was in the 5SS.
Fe was in *hina, -urma, India.U Fopper has proudl# prolaimed that his father was one of the 188
gu#s that li(erated $eneral :ainright out of prison in Borea,U whih might (e a little more
impressi"e were it not for the fat that it was atuall# the ,ed Arm# that freed :ainright and other
prisonersG the US intel team 2ust ame to pik them up, de(rief them and transport them home W
(ut that, I suppose, isnJt reall# rele"ant.
After the war, aording to Fopper, his dad arried a gun, whih I suppose is what most la#
ministers in the Methodist *hurh do. 'he famil# also left the farm in Bansas and reloated to San
=iego, *alifornia, home of the Imperial -eah !a"al Air Station, the United States !a"al ,adio
Station, the United States !a"al Amphi(ious -ase, the !orth Island !a"al Air Station, /ort
,oserans Militar# ,eser"ation, the United States !a"al 'raining *enter, the United States Marine
*orps ,eruit =epot, and the Miramar Marine *orps Air Station. And 2ust north of the it# sits the
massi"e *amp 9endleton Marine *orps -ase. 5ther than that though, San =iego is 2ust a sleep#
little (eah town where FopperJs dad ostensi(l# worked for the 9ost 5ffie.
'he modern "ersion of =ennis Fopper, (# the wa#, is wildl# at odds with the hippie image that he
at one time tried "er# hard to ulti"ate. 'oda#Js =ennis Fopper is an unapologeti heerleader for
'eam -ush who proudl# (oasts of ha"ing "oted a straight ,epu(lian tiket for nearl# thirt# #ears.
Fe ould "er# well turn up on the ampaign trail in the oming months with his lips firml# planted
on the ass of war riminal >ohn M*ain.
'o (riefl# reap then, we ha"e thus far met three of the I@oung 'urksJ and we ha"e found that one
of them is the nephew of a -onesman, another is the son of a !a"al Intelligene offier who was
one married to a ,othshild desendent, and the third is the slightl# deranged son of an 5SS
offier. *ome to think of it, we ha"e atuall# o"ered one of the I'urkettesJ as well, sine >ane
/onda o("iousl# ame from the same famil# (akground as her #ounger (rother, 9eter. As for the
other female mem(ers of the posse, Sharon 'ate was the daughter of .t. *ol. 9aul 'ate, a areer US
Arm# intelligene offier, and !an# Sinatra is, of ourse, the daughter of /ranis Al(ert Sinatra,
whose known assoiates inluded .uk# .uiano, Me#er .ansk#, Sam $ianana, *arlo $am(ino,
$oetano .uhese and >oseph /ishetti 0a ousin of Al *apone1.
18838 *ielo =ri"e 0now 18866 *ielo =ri"e1, as it looks toda#.
/rank Sinatra was also a lient of hairdresser+to+the+stars >a# Se(ring, as was Fenr# /onda, who
also at one time, strangel# enough, li"ed in the guesthouse at 18838 *ielo =ri"e. @et another lient
of Se(ringJs was the ne6t @oung 'urk on our list, :arren -eatt#, whose father, Ira 5wens -eat#,
was ostensi(l# a professor of ps#holog#. @oung :arren, howe"er, spent all of his earl# #ears li"ing
in "arious spook# su(ur(s of :ashington, =*. Fe was (orn in ,ihmond, %irginia in 19Q<, after
whih his father mo"ed the famil# to !orfolk, %irginia, whih I think I ma# ha"e mentioned is
home to the worldJs largest !a"al failit# 0the reason for that, (# the wa#, is that !orfolk is the
gatewa# to the nationJs apital1. 'he famil# later reloated to Arlington, %irginia, home of the
9entagon, where :arren attended high shool and where he was known on the foot(all field, as
>ohn 9hillips 0who attended a ri"al shool1 remem(ers it, as IMad =ogJ -eat#.
Ira -eat#Js relati"el# fre)uent reloations, and the fat that those reloations alwa#s seemed to land
the famil# in =* su(ur(s that are of onsidera(le signifiane to the militar#;intelligene
ommunit#, would tend to indiate that :arrenJs dad was something other than what he appeared to
(e S though that is, of ourse, a speulati"e assessment. -ut if Ira -eat# was on the pa#roll of some
go"ernment entit#, working within the ps#holog# departments of "arious =*+area uni"ersities,
then it wouldnJt re)uire a huge leap of faith to further speulate a(out what t#pe of work he was
doing, gi"en the wholesale o+opting of the field of ps#holog# (# the MB+U.',A program and
affiliated pro2ets.
'he ne6t @oung 'urk up for re"iew is the one who went on to (eome argua(l# the most alaimed
ator of his generation, Mr. >ak !iholson. 'he following is a (iographial sketh of !iholson as
presented (# :ikipediaC -und# was (orn at the EliAa(eth .und Fome for Unwed Mothers in
-urlington, %ermont. 'he identit# of his father remains a m#ster# W 'o a"oid soial stigma,
-und#Js grandparents Samuel and Eleanor *owell laimed him as their sonG in taking their last
name, he (eame 'heodore ,o(ert *owell. Fe grew up (elie"ing his mother Eleanor .ouise
*owell to (e his older sister. -und# (iographers Stephen Mihaud and Fugh A#nesworth state that
he learned .ouise was atuall# his mother while he was in high shool. 'rue rime writer Ann ,ule
states that it was around 1969, shortl# following a traumati (reakup with his ollege girlfriend.U
Uhhm W hang on a minute W I think I might ha"e srewed up. Something doesnJt seem )uite right,
(ut IJm not e6atl# sure what W. 5h, shitR I see what I did wrongR I aidentall# ut and pasted
Iserial killerJ 'ed -und#Js (io instead of >ak !iholsonJs. Sorr# a(out that. 'his is how >akJs (io
is supposed to readC !iholson was (orn at some indeterminate loation to an underage, unwed
showgirl. 'he identit# of his father remains a m#ster# W 'o a"oid soial stigma, !iholsonJs
grandparents >ohn >oseph and Ethel !iholson laimed him as their sonG in taking their last name,
he (eame >ohn >oseph !iholson, >r. Fe grew up (elie"ing his mother >une /ranis !iholson to
(e his older sister. ,eporters state that he learned >une was atuall# his mother in 19<4, when he
was Q< #ears old. -# then, >une had (een dead for 2ust o"er a deade, ha"ing onl# li"ed to the age
of 44.
It is said that !iholson was (orn at St. %inentJs Fospital in !ew @ork *it#, (ut there is no reord
of suh a (irth at the hospital or in the it#Js arhi"es. As it turns out, >ak !iholson has no (irth
ertifiate. Until 1934, (# whih time he was nearl# an adult, he did not offiiall# e6ist. E"en toda#,
the losest thing he has to a (irth ertifiate is a I*ertifiate of a =ela#ed ,eport of -irthJ that was
filed on Ma# 74, 1934. 'he doument lists >ohn and Ethel !iholson as the parents and identifies
the loation of the (irth as the !iholsonJs home address in !eptune, !ew >erse#.
It appears then that there is no wa# to determine who >ak !iholson reall# is. Fe has told
2ournalists that he has no interest in identif#ing who his father was, nor, it would appear, in
"erif#ing his motherJs identit#. :hat we do know is that the nuleus of the 1968s li)ue known as
the @oung 'urks 0and 'urkettes1 was omposed of the following indi"idualsC the nephew of a
-onesmanG the son of an 5SS offierG the son of a !a"al intelligene offierG the daughter of that
same !a"al intelligene offierG the daughter of an Arm# intelligene offierG the daughter of a gu#
who openl# assoiated with prominent gangsters throughout his lifeG the son of a pro(a(le
sp#hologistG and a gu# whose earl# #ears are so shrouded in m#ster# that he ma# or ma# not
atuall# e6ist.
I should pro(a(l# also mention here that Fenr# /onda sored his first ating gig through =oroth#
=odieU -rando, the diretor of a loal theater and the mother of >ak !iholsonJs future neigh(or,
Marlon -rando. -eing the small world that it is, MarlonJs mom happened to (e a good friend of
FankJs mom, Elma /onda. 'ruth (e told, the families had likel# had lose ties for a long time. A
"er# long time. 'he anestors of (oth Marlon -rando and Fenr# /onda, #ou see, arri"ed in !ew
@ork at nearl# the same time, roughl# three+and+a+half enturies ago.
Marlon -rando is in a diret line of desent from /renh Fuguenot olonists .ouis =u-ois and
*atharine -lanhan =u-ois, who arri"ed in !ew @ork from Mannheim, $erman# ira 1668 and
promptl# founded !ew ,ohelle. 5ther desendents of =u-ois inlude former U.S. Senator
.e"erett Saltonstall, former Massahusetts $o"ernor and */, mem(er :illiam :eld, urrent
*alifornia /irst .ad# Maria Shri"er, and )uite likel# U.S. 9residents >imm# *arter and ?ahar#
'a#lor.
Fenr# /onda, on the other hand, is a diret desendent of >ellis =ouw /onda and Fester >ans /onda,
=uth olonists who arri"ed in !ew @ork ira 1638 and settled near what would (eome Al(an#.
'he /ondas had sailed out of /riesland, !etherlands on a ship du((ed the %alkenier, whih
happened to (e o+owned (# a "er# wealth# =uthman (# the name of >an+-aptist "an ,ensselaer.
And Mr. "an ,ensselaer, as those who ha"e (een pa#ing attention in lass will reall, happened to
(e from the (loodline that would one da# produe a gu# (# the name of =a"id "an *ortland *ros(#.
It would appear then that 9eter /onda kind of owed *ros(# that 'riumph motor#le that he ga"e
him (ak in the I68s, what with =a"idJs anestors ha"ing (een ool enough to gi"e 9eterJs
anestors a lift o"er to the !ew :orld and all.
5ne other thing we ould note here a(out Fank /onda (efore wrapping up this installmentC on
Septem(er 7N, 1919, when Fenr# was 2ust fourteen #ears old, he (ore witness to a rime so (rutall#
sadisti and depra"ed that one wonders what suh an e"ent would do to a #oung (o#Js ps#he.
Aording to an aount pu(lished at the time, a #oung (lak man named :ill -rown, aused of
raping a white girl, was (eaten unonsious (# an angr# mo(. Fis lothes were then torn off and he
was hanged from a lamppost. 'hough )uite dead, his orpse was then riddled with (ullets, after
whih he was ut down and dragged (ehind a ar. Fis (od# was then doused with fuel and (urned.
/ollowing that, Mr. -rownJs harred, (attered, (ullet+ridden orpse was proudl# dragged through
the streets of downtown. 'o ommemorate the e"ent, the l#nh rope was ut into small piees that
were sold for 18 ents eah to eager (u#ers.
And that, m# friends, is a snapshot of the sik soiet# we li"e in W (ut here, perhaps, I ha"e
digressed.
Another "iew of 18866 *ielo =ri"eG now as in the si6ties it is aessed "ia the pri"ate road that runs (ehind the stilt
homes.
.etJs wrap up this installment with a )uik re"iew of what we ha"e learned a(out the people
populating .aurel *an#on in the mid+to+late 1968s. :e know that one su(set of residents was a
large group of musiians who all deided, nearl# simultaneousl#, to flood into the an#on. 'he most
prominent mem(ers of this group were, to an o"erwhelming degree, the sons and daughters of the
militar#;intelligene ommunit#. :e also know that mingled in with them were the #oung stars of
Foll#wood, who also were, to an astonishing degree, the sons and daughters of the
militar#;intelligene ommunit#. And, finall#, we know that also in the mi6 were sores of
militar#;intelligene personnel who operated out of the failit# known as .ookout Mountain
.a(orator#.
I got to tell #ou here folks that, gi"en the relati"el# small siAe of .aurel *an#on, IJm (eginning to
wonder if there was an# room left o"er for an# normal folks who might ha"e wanted to li"e the rok
InJ roll lifest#le. -ut e"en so, IJm sure that there are still some hardore Ioinidene theoristsJ in
the rowd who will still see all of this as muh ado a(out nothing.U I am ommitted though to
helping those folks see the light, no matter how muh it might hurt their sensiti"e e#es, so I am
going to toss one more pro"oati"e element into the .aurel *an#on mi6, ourtes# of 9aul @oungJs
..A. E6posedC
'he most infamous male madam Lthroughout .AJs sordid histor#M would ha"e to (e -ill# -r#ars,
the wealth# son of an oil magnate, and part+time produer of ga# porn. -r#ars was said to ha"e a
stellar group of ustomers using his I(rothelJ at the summit of .aurel *an#on. In fat, some ha"e
laimed that none other than >. Edgar Foo"er, the founder and hief e6euti"e offier of the /-I,
was one of his (est lients W when -r#ars fell under polie srutin# in 19<Q, allegedl# for
traffiking in hild pornograph#, offiers o(tained a num(er of onfessions from some of his
hustlers, and some of them identified Foo"er and L*l#deM 'olson as IMother >ohn and Unle Mike,J
and laimed that the# had ser"ied them on numerous oasions.U
It appears then that the top law+enforement offiials in the nation were also a part of the .aurel
*an#on sene in the late 1968s and earl# 19<8s, along with "arious other unnamed persons of
prominene. And we also find, not too shokingl# at this point, that .aurel *an#on was a portal of
hild pornograph#, whih of ourse goes hand+in+hand with the reports that we ha"e alread#
re"iewed of organiAed, multi+perpetrator hild se6ual a(use. And lest we forget, we also ha"e that
long and (lood# .aurel *an#on =eath .ist, whih, in the ne6t installment, is going to get e"en
longer, and e"en (loodier.
Part :
-o one here gets out alive Y>im Morrison
Sometimes piees of the puAAle 2ust seem to fall from the hea"ens. I donJt reall# know wh# that
happens S and to (e honest, I find it somewhat disonerting at times. 5n Sunda#, >ul# 6, the
"enera(le :ashington 9ost, in a most timel# manner, generousl# pro"ided a new piee of the puAAle
that e"en I, #our 2aded host, find rather remarka(le. It seems that a former reporter and no"elist (#
the name of Ale6 A(ella has written a histor# of ,A!=, whih was founded more than 68 #ears
ago (# the Air /ore as a font of ideas on how that ser"ie might fight and win a nulear war with
the USS, W A(ella fouses on Al(ert :ohlstetter, a mathematial logiian turned nulear strategist
who was the dominant figure at ,and starting in the earl# 1938s and whose influene has e6tended
(e#ond his death in 199< into the urrent -ush administration W :ohlstetter epitomiAed what
(eame known as the I,A!= approahJ ++ a relentlessl# reduti"e, determinedl# )uantitati"e
anal#sis of whate"er pro(lem the independent, non+profit think tank was assigned, whether the
design of a new (om(er or impro"ing pu(li eduation in inner+it# shools.U
.et me interrupt here for 2ust a (rief moment to note that the ,A!= orporation is a lot of things,
(ut independentU has ne"er (een one of them. An#wa#, getting (ak to the 9ostJs timel# (ook
re"iew, we find that it was not so muh :ohlstetter himself as his aol#tes W who had a ma2or
impat in :ashington.U Most of those aol#tes need no introdution, as the names should (e
instantl# reogniAa(le to 2ust a(out e"er#oneC ,ihard 9erle 0who one dated :ohlstetterJs
daughter1, 9aul :olfowitA, ?alma# BhalilAad, and Andrew Marshall 0formerl# a ,A!=
eonomist, who, as promoter of the high+teh I,e"olution in Militar# AffairsJ in =onald ,umsfeldJs
=efense =epartment, was du((ed the 9entagonJs I@oda.JU1
In the latter half of the 1938s and the earl# 1968s, while :ohlstetter was with the ,A!=
orporation and also a professor at U*.A 0and while his wife ,o(erta also worked as an anal#st for
,A!=1, Al(ert and his followers S the men who now ser"e as the apparent arhitets of US foreign
poli# S regularl# met in a hea"il# wooded neigh(orhood in .os Angeles known as W atuall#, I
think IJm going to defer (ak to the :ashington 9ostJs (ook re"iew and let 2ournalist $regg Ferken
tell #ou how those (right, eager and am(itious #oung men W had sat ross+legged on the floor
with their mentor at his st#lish house in 0drum roll, pleaseR1 .aurel *an#on.U
'he title of the 9ostJs (ook re"iew is =r. Strangelo"eJs :orkplae,U whih presuma(l# is a
referene to the notorious ,A!= orporation. -ut I think that we an all agree that the title ould
2ust as easil# appl# to :ohlstetterJs st#lish .aurel *an#on home. In fat, as the piees of this puAAle
ontinue to fall into plae, it is (eginning to seem as though =r. Strangelo"eJs :orkplaeU might
(e a good title for the entire damn an#on. :e now know that, in addition to hosting (oth a seret
militar#;intelligene failit# and a all+(o#;kidd#+porn operation ser"iing prominent pu(li figures,
.aurel *an#on was also the (irthplae and meeting plae of what we now know as the
IneoonJ;9!A* rowd, as well as the home (ase of the guiding light of the ,and orporation.
'hus far in our 2ourne#, we ha"e enountered Masons, the /-I, the 5SS, the *IA, the seret soiet#
known as Skull and -ones, the ,othshild famil#, militar# intelligene of e"er# onei"a(le stripe,
the 5'5, the ,A!= orporation, the IneoonJ a(al, and 2ust a(out e"er# other nefarious group
that regularl# pops up in the Ionspira#J literature S with one "er# o("ious e6eptionC we ha"e not
#et met up with an# mem(er of the legendar# ,okefeller lan. .ukil# though, weJre a(out to
remed# that o"ersight.
'his ne6t ontri(ution omes from deep within the arhi"es of 'ime magaAine, from an artile
entitled 'he -ride :ore 9ink,U pu(lished si6 deades ago on /e(ruar# 7Q, 194NC 5ne morning
last week, (espetaled -r#ant -owden, editor of the weekl# 5keeho(ee 0/la.1 !ews, sauntered
into the 5keeho(ee ourthouse and stopped to e#e the (ulletin (oard in the main hall. Among the
marriage+liense appliations, whih, (# /lorida law, must (e pu(lil# posted for three da#s (efore
a eremon#, he saw something whih made him goggle. :inthrop ,okefeller, Q3, of !ew @ork S
the fourth of >ohn =. ,okefeller >r.Js fi"e sons and one of the most eligi(le (ahelors in the world
S had stated his intention of marr#ing one E"a Sears, also of !ew @ork.U
Editor -owden had a (itter moment S his paper would not (e pu(lished for two da#s. 'hen he
remem(ered that he was the 5keeho(ee orrespondent for the Assoiated 9ress. Fe telephoned the
A9 offie in >akson"ille. A few hours later, the whole U.S. 2ournalisti horiAon glowed a (right
pink with the fireworks he had touhed off.U
:hile the first headlines (laAed 0and while Manhattan gossip olumnists sram(led to assure their
readers that the# had known all a(out the romane for months1, herds of reporters were dispathed
to find an answer to the )uestionC :ho is E"a SearsD FearstJs *holl# Bniker(oker 0$highi
*assini1 haughtil# announed that she was Mrs. -ar(ara 9aul Sears of the fine old 9hiladelphia
9auls and thus a soiet# girl of impea(le pedigree. Fe was wrong.U
Indeed he was. So who was this m#ster# woman S this woman who had one had a (rief areer in
Foll#wood (efore mo"ing to 9aris and taking a 2o( as a seretar# at the U.S. em(ass#D She appears
to ha"e gone (# man# names at different times in her life, inluding E"a 9aul, E"a 9aul Sears,
-ar(ara 9aul, -ar(ara 9aul Sears, and -o(oU ,okefeller. !one of them, howe"er, was the name
she was gi"en at the time of her (irth. As 'ime magaAine noted so man# #ears ago, Fer parents
were .ithuanian immigrants and she was (orn >ie"ute 9aulekiute in a oal path near !o(lestown,
9a.U E"en that, howe"er, was not her real name S at least not (# Amerian ustom and tradition.
In her parentsJ homeland, I am told, 9aulekiuteU is the
feminine "ersion of a surname we ha"e pre"iousl# enounteredC 9aulekas,U whih was her parentsJ
surname. E"a 9aulJs father, as it turns out, 2ust happened to (e the (rother of %ito 9aulekasJ father 0a
fat "erified (# S and (rought to m# attention (# S a mem(er of the 9aulekas famil#.1 IJm no
genealogist, (ut IJm prett# sure that that means that the self+st#led 4Bing of the Fippies4 was a first
ousin of 4-o(o4 ,okefeller, and a ousin+in+law 0or something like that1 of :inthrop ,okefeller
himself. %ito was also a ousin of the oupleJs onl# hild, :inthrop 9aul ,okefeller, who would
later ser"e as the .ieutenant $o"ernor of the state of Arkansas.
'he 9aulekas famil#, alas, missed the oupleJs da# of ele(ration. Aording to 'ime, -o(oJs
mother and stepfather W were una(le to attend the eremon# (eause the# were making a (ath of
.ithuanian heese on their Indiana farm.U I guess we all ha"e our priorities. 'ruth (e told though,
the 9aulekas lan has a somewhat different e6planationC the# were deli(eratel# e6luded from the
eremon# as it was felt the# were a (it too unultured to (reak (read with the likes of the =uke and
=uhess of :indsor and the Mar)uess of -landford.
:e will (e re"isiting %ito 9aulekas in an upoming edition, to re"iew other new information that
has ome m# wa#. /or now, we will 2ust note that we an add the ,okefellers to the list of folks
onneted to the .aurel *an#on sene. And that, of ourse, made .aurel *an#on the ideal plae for
all the rok musiians and hippies and flower hildren to hang out in the 1968s and 19<8s, e"en
with the stenh from all the dead (odies that kept piling up. Speaking of whih, letJs hek in and
see what names ha"e (een added to the .aurel *an#on =eath .ist sine we last took a peek.
'he first new name I see is Mr. -rian >ones of the ,olling Stones, who purportedl# drowned
without assistane in his home swimming pool on >ul# Q, 1969, at the age of 7< 0>im Morrison
would allegedl# die preisel# two #ears later, also at the age of 7<1. >ust three da#s after >onesJ
tragi death, the Stones, with the Fells Angels pro"iding seurit#, pla#ed a pre"iousl#+sheduled
onert in F#de 9ark, footage of whih appears in Benneth AngerJs In"oation of M# =emon
-rother. =espite (eing the founder of the Stones and (eing widel# regarded as the main reati"e
fore within the (and, >ones had (een uneremoniousl# dumped (# the group on >une 9, less than a
month (efore his death. Fe was replaed 2ust four da#s later (# the "astl# inferior talent known as
Mik 'a#lor 0who would later (e replaed (# ,on :ood1. It would later (e laimed that >ones was
(ooted from the (and due to his hroni su(stane a(use pro(lems, although Beith ,ihardsJ
legendar# intake of drugs ne"er seemed to pose a pro(lem for the group.
Anton .a%e# of the *hurh of Satan from In"oation of m# =emon -rother
/air enough,U #ou sa#, (ut what does an# of that ha"e to do with .aurel *an#onD *learl# the
Stones were not a .aurel *an#on (and.U 'rue enough, (ut as -arne# Fosk#ns has written 0in Fotel
*alifornia1, In the summer of 196N the English (and was flirting hea"il# with Satanism and the
oult W and spending a lot of time in .os Angeles.U A lot of time, that is, in and around .aurel
*an#on S and during that time, Mik >agger was in"ol"ed in two oult+drenhed film pro2etsC
Benneth AngerJs .uifer ,ising and =onald *ammellJs 9erformane.
>agger was the first musial superstar tapped (# Anger to ompose a soundtrak for his .uifer
,ising pro2et, whih at the time was to star Mansonite -o((# -eausoleil 0who had, as we all
remem(er, replaed $odo 9aulekas1. Anger would later soliit a soundtrak for the long+dela#ed
film pro2et from .ed ?eppelinJs >imm# 9age, the proud owner of one of the worldJs largest
olletions of Aleister *rowle# memora(ilia, inluding *rowle#Js notorious -oleskine estate on the
shores of SotlandJs .oh !ess. :hen ultimatel# released, howe"er, the film featured a soundtrak
(# neither >agger nor 9age, (ut rather one that was omposed, reorded and arranged inside a prison
ell (# on"ited murderer -o((# -eausoleil. 'he pre+prison footage that Anger had shot of
-eausoleil, meanwhile, ended up in a different filmC the aforementioned In"oation of M# =emon
-rother. Starring in .uifer ,ising, as 5siris, was 9erformane writer and o+diretor =onald
Seaton *ammell.
=onald *ammell as 5siris from Lucifer 8ising
=onald *ammell was the son of *harles ,ihard *ammell, who happened to (e a lose friend and
(iographer of notorious oultist and -ritish intelligene asset Aleister *rowle#. =onald himself
was the godson of the $reat -east. *ammellJs deidedl# *rowle#ian film was originall# to star his
good friend Marlon -rando, (ut the role ultimatel# went to ator >ames /o6. -rando and *ammell,
(# the wa#, one wrote a no"el together S a no"el so horrif#ingl# (ad that I dare not mention its title
here for fear that some of #ou ma# purhase it out of uriosit# and then (lame me for an# trauma
#ou endure while attempting to atuall# read it.
Speaking of -rando, (# the wa#, ha"e I mentioned #et the urious string of deaths that (egan
eighteen #ears ago, on Ma# 16, 1998, when MarlonJs son *hristian gunned down =ag =rollet, the
father of his sister *he#enneJs un(orn hild, in MarlonJs .aurel *an#on+ad2aent homeD 'hough
on"ited, *hristian got off with a rather light sentene, thanks primaril# to Marlon ha"ing had his
own daughter, the proseutionJs potential star witness, loked awa# in a mental institution in 'ahiti,
safe from su(poena. A few #ears later, on April 14, 1993, 73+#ear+old *he#enne was found
swinging from the end of a rope, her death unsurprisingl# ruled a suiide. 'he ne6t #ear, *hristian
-rando was released from prison and promptl# (eame in"ol"ed with a woman (# the name of
-onnie .ee -akle#, who aught a (ullet to the head on Ma# 4, 7881 while in the ompan# of new
hu((# ,o(ert -lake 0her tenth hus(and1. Marlon dropped dead ne6t, on >ul# 1, 7884 0though his
death wasnJt partiularl# suspiious, gi"en that he was getting on in #ears1. Fis home was promptl#
purhased (# good friend and neigh(or >ak !iholson, who immediatel# announed plans to
(ulldoAe it, delaring the struture to (e derepit. Fe ne"er did though e6plain wh# a man wealth#
enough to own his own hain of 9ol#nesian islands was purportedl# li"ing in a derelit a(ode. A
few #ears later, on >anuar# 76 of 788N, *hristian -rando dropped dead at the relati"el# #oung age
of 49.
,eturning now, after that (rief digression, to our disussion of =onald *ammellJs 9erformane, we
find that Mik >agger was ast to pla# the role of I'urner,J a de(auhed rok star 0whih, o("iousl#,
was a real streth for Mik1. /o6 pla#ed I*has,J a "iolent organiAed+rime figure. Fe was trained for
the role (# =a"id .it"inoff, a real+life rime figure and assoiate of the notoriousl# sadisti Bra#
(rothers. .it"inoff reportedl# sent /o6 to the south of .ondon for a ouple of months to hang out
with his gangster (uddiesG when he returned, aording to "arious aounts, /o6 had literall#
(eome the "iolent harater he portra#ed in the film.
-o((# -eausoleil from Invocation of my $emon Brother
,eruited to reate the filmJs soundtrak was -ernard Alfred >akU !itAshe, an oultist and the
son of a supposed Imedium.J !itAshe, along with Sonn# -ono, had (egun his musi areer as a
lieutenant for gun+(randishing produer 9hil Spetor 0!itAshe was one of the arhitets of
SpetorJs famed wall of soundU1. !itAshe was also a familiar presene on the .aurel *an#on
sene, olla(orating with suh noted (ands and artists as -uffalo Springfield, !eil @oung, *raA#
Forse, ,and# !ewman, Mihelle 9hillips, 'he 'urtles, *aptain -eefheart and *arole Bing.
!itAshe also worked with se"eral of the people we will (e adding toda# to the .aurel *an#on
=eath .ist, inluding =a"id -lue, ,ik# !elson and Sonn# -ono. And one gu# who was alread#
added to the listC 'im -ukle#.
!itAsheJs 9erformane soundtrak was omposed, aording to author Mihael :alker, in a
withJs ottage in the an#onU 0IJm not e6atl# sure what a withJs ottageU is, (ut itJs nie to
know that .aurel *an#on had one1. 5ne of the musiians hired (# !itAshe to pla# on that
soundtrak was .owell $eorge, who we will also (e adding to the .aurel *an#on =eath .ist. /or
now, letJs add =onald *ammell to the list, sine on April 74, 1996, he (eame #et another of the
haraters in this stor# to ath a (ullet to the head 0need I add here that the wound was reportedl#
self+inflitedD1 !itAshe died fi"e #ears later of a heart attak, on August 73, 7888. A few #ears
earlier, he had made an appearane on primetime tele"ision S as a gun+(randishing drunkard
arrested on the streets of Foll#wood on *ops.
-efore mo"ing on, there is one other thing I need to mention a(out *ammellJs filmC >ohn 9hillips
one stated that 9erformane was a(out estranging oneJs self from soiet# in order to reate a new,
(etter soial order. :ith reall# intelligent people,U aording to 9hillips, itJs almost a matter of
in(reeding at this point.U I donJt know a(out all of #ou readers out there, (ut when I first stum(led
upon that )uote, it suddenl# dawned on me that one element that was pre"iousl# missing from this
stor# was a pro+eugenis omment from one of our flower+power ions, so IJm glad that we were
a(le to s)ueeAe that in.
Sine we now seem to ha"e segued onto the topi of >ohn 9hillips, letJs go ahead and add his good
friend Ste"e -randt to the =eath .ist. -randt, who was also a lose friend of the "itims at 18838
*ielo =ri"e, allegedl# o"erdosed on (ar(iturates in late !o"em(er of 1969, some three+and+a+half
months after the Manson murders. In the da#s and weeks following those murders, -randt had
plaed numerous phone alls to the .A9=. 'hose alls (eame inreasingl# franti in nature, and
-randt (eame inreasingl# fearful that his own life might (e in 2eopard#. Fe soon deided to put
some distane (etween himself and .A, so he headed for !ew @ork *it#. 5n the night of his death,
aording to 9hillipsJ auto(iograph#, -randt attended a ,olling Stones onert at Madison S)uare
$ardens, where he attempted to run on stage (ut was repelled and (eaten (# a seurit# guard. Fe
then went home and, aording to offiial m#tholog#, o"erdosed.
It seems o("ious that if someone had information that desperatel# needed to (e made pu(li, and if
it was the kind of information that authorities had, sa#, willfull# failed to at upon, and if the
information was of the t#pe that ould not, needless to sa#, (e taken to the mainstream media, and if
the #ear was 1969 and the mass ommuniation tehnolog# that we now take for granted did not #et
e6ist, then gra((ing the mike at a Stones onert at Madison S)uare $ardens might 2ust (e one of
the most effeti"e means of disseminating that information. -randt failed in what ma# ha"e (een an
attempt to do 2ust that, and he turned up dead 2ust hours later. Shit happens, I guess.
Aleister *rowle# makes an appearane in Lucifer 8ising with >imm# 9age of .ed ?eppelin.
Mo"ing on, I ouldnJt help notiing that when I mentioned =a"id -lue a few paragraphs (ak, a lot
of #ou srathed #our heads and asked, =a"id :hoDU Allow me then to )uikl# introdue #ou to
another of the forgotten talents of .aurel *an#on. -lue was (orn Stuart =a"id *ohen on /e(ruar#
1N, 1941G shortl# thereafter, his father was deplo#ed o"erseas. Aording to =a"id, his dad ame
ho((ling home on ruthes and sta#ed depressed all his lifeU 0not unlike, it seems fair to sa#, the
famil# situation of our old friend 9hil 5hs1. =a"id and his slightl# older half+sister, SuAanne,
endured a hellish e6istene onsisting of alternating periods of rages and silenes. SuAanne got out
first, onl# to end up (usted for prostitution in !ew @ork *it# in 196Q. SuAanneJs ne6t stop, 2ust a
few months later, was at the ount# morgue.
=a"id, meanwhile, had gotten out of the house as well, (# dropping out of shool and 2oining the
US !a"# at the age of se"enteen S 2ust as .enn# -rue had done. .ike >imi Fendri6, -lue was
purportedl# (ooted out of the ser"ie, after whih he deided to (eome a folk singer. Fis first
al(um was released in 1966G a later effort was produed (# $raham !ash, who also, as e"er#one
surel# realls, produed a reord for >udee Sill, with whom -lue had muh in ommon 0#ou people
had (etter (e pa#ing attention (eause S IJm warning #ouR S there will, at some point, (e a )uiA on
all this shit, and if #ou miss too man# )uestions on that )uiA, #ou will (e loked out from further
aess to these artilesR1
W W W W >ust kiddingRR I donJt e"en know how to set that shit upR -ut if I did, I would totall#
fuking do itR An#wa#, letJs get (ak to our stor# W
.ike >udee Sill, =a"id -lue was one of the .aurel *an#on stars who ne"er )uite shone as (rightl#
as the# should ha"e. And also like Sill, -lue was one of the first few ats signed (# =a"id $effenJs
fledgling As#lum la(el. /inall#, as with >udee, =a"id was long forgotten (# the time of his death,
on =eem(er 7, 19N7, when the fort#+one+#ear+old -lue dropped dead while 2ogging in !ew @orkJs
:ashington S)uare 9ark. 'he former rising star 0and oasional ator1 la# in the morgue for three
da#s (efore an#one notied that he was missing.
Part ,
Every+ody &as experimenting and ta!ing it all the &ay) It opened up a negative force
of energy that &as almost demonic) Y/rank MaAolla, editor of the film 7erformance
There &ere a lot of &eird people around) There &as one guy &ho had a parrot called
Captain Blood' and he &as al&ays scra&ling real cryptic things on the inside &alls of
my house 9 -eil Youngs too) Y >oni Mithell, desri(ing the .aurel *an#on sene at
the tail end of the 1968s
Li$e Brandon 0e;ilde" <enneth 'nger" Mi&$ey 0olen= and >an 0y$e Par$s"
?i&$y 1elson began his Holly!ood &areer as a &hild a&tor) Fe was the son, as e"er#one surel#
knows, of AmeriaJs fa"orite 1938s '% mom and dad, 5AAie and Farriet !elson. ,ik# (egan his
rok InJ roll areer in 193<, when he was 2ust se"enteen. -# 1967, he had sored no fewer than
thirt# 'op 48 hits, trailing onl# superstars El"is 9resle# and 9at -oone.
'hat reminds me that, (efore I forget, I need to add El"is to the death list as well. And (efore #ou
send me letters of protest, let me assure #ou that I do indeed know what a lot of #ou are thinkingC
-ut =a"e, El"is isnJt deadR I 2ust saw him the other da# at the <+11 right around the orner from
m# house. And, sure, he was looking a little (loated, (ut he was definitel# ali"e. I mean, unless
#ouJre going to tr# to on"ine me that I wathed a dead gu# put awa# a ] l(. -ig -ite.U
5h wait W that might not (e right W what #ou are pro(a(l# reall# thinking isC El"isDR 'he BingDR
@ou anJt (e seriousR Fow the hell does 'he Bing figure into an# of thisD :hat are #ou going to tell
us ne6t S that omedians >ohn -elushi and 9hil Fartman (elong on the death list as wellDU
Uhmm, ha"e #ou (een peeking at m# notes or somethingD -eause I atuall# am, as a matter of
fat, going to inlude Mr. Fartman on the list 0and I ould inlude Mr. -elushi as well, sine he did
die at the *hateau Marmont Fotel, whih happens to lie at the mouth of .aurel *an#on1. -ut weJll
get to 9hil Fartman laterG for now, letJs talk a little (it a(out Mr. 9resle# and his admittedl#
tangential onnetions to .aurel *an#on.
El"is arri"ed in .A in 1936, to (egin what would pro"e to (e a prolifi film areer that would
ontinue throughout the 1968s and would result in the ine6usa(le reation of nearl# three doAen
motion pitures, eah one argua(l# more appalling than the last. In the earl# #ears of his film areer,
El"is reportedl# spent his off+hours hanging out with his two (est Foll#wood pals S a ouple of
#oung roommates and *an#onites named =ennis Fopper and !ik Adams. In later #ears, 9resle#Js
(aking musiians S onsidered to (e among the (est session musiians in the (usiness S were in
high demand among the .aurel *an#on rowd. El"isJ (ass pla#er, for e6ample, an (e heard on
some of the =oorsJ traks. 'he entire (and was reruited (# 9apaU >ohn 9hillips to pla# on his less+
than+memora(le solo pro2et. Mike !esmithJs ritiall#+alaimed post+Monkees pro2et, the /irst
!ational -and, featured 9resle#Js (and as well. $ram 9arsons also hired El"isJ (and to (ak him up
on the two solo al(ums he reorded at what pro"ed to (e the twilight of his life and areer.
'hose two solo efforts (# 9arsons, (# the wa#, prominentl# featured the "oie of a #oung
singer;guitarist named Emm#lou Farris, a relati"el# late arri"al to the an#on sene. Farris is the
daughter S (rae #oursel"es here for a real shoker, folks S of a areer US Marine *orps offier. As
with so man# other haraters in this stor#, she grew up in the outl#ing su(ur(s of :ashington, =*,
primaril# in :ood(ridge, %irginia S whih happens to (e the home of an imposingl# large Arm#
Iresearh and de"elopmentJ installation known as the Farr# =iamond .a(oratories :ood(ridge
,esearh /ailit#. In other words, Emm#lou Farris fit right in with the rest of the .aurel *an#on
rowd.
-ut here I seem to ha"e digressed from our disussion of El"is 0whih was, if I remem(er orretl#,
itself a digression from our disussion of ,ik# !elson1. $i"en though that he had onl# peripheral
onnetions to .aurel *an#on, I guess I donJt reall# ha"e muh more to sa# a(out El"is, other than
that he reportedl# died on August 16, 19<<, the "itim of a drug o"erdose at the #oung age of fort#+
two. As with Morrison, howe"er, there ha"e (een persistent rumors that El"is didnJt atuall# die at
all, (ut rather rein"ented himself to esape from the fish(owl.
As for !elson, in the mid+1968s he suessfull# shed his Iteen idolJ image and emerged as a
respeted pioneer of the ountr#+rok wa"e that *an#onites >akson -rowne, .inda ,onstadt and
the Eagles would soon ride to diAA#ing heights of ommerial suess. 5ne future mem(er of the
Eagles, ,and# Meisner, pla#ed in !elsonJs Stone *an#on -and. As the name of the (and would
seem to impl#, !elson did not li"e in .aurel *an#on (ut rather in one of the man# neigh(oring
an#ons, (ut he and his (and were "er# muh a part of the earl# ountr#+rok sene that inluded
.aurel *an#on (ands like 'he -#rds, 9oo, the /l#ing -urrito -rothers and the /irst !ational
-and.
!elson was killed on !ew @earJs E"e, 19N3, in a rather unusual plane rash. Aording to !elsonJs
:ikipedia entr#, the original !'S- in"estigation long ago stated that the rash was pro(a(l# due
to mehanial pro(lems. 'he pilots attempted to land in a field after smoke filled the a(in. An
e6amination indiated that a fire originated in the right hand side of the aft a(in area at or near the
floor line. 'he passengers were killed when the airraft struk o(stales during the fored landingG
the pilots were a(le to esape through the okpit windows and sur"i"ed.U
I anJt (e the onl# one here who is pondering the o("ious )uestionC e6atl# when was it that the
pilots were a(le to esape through the okpit windowsD I assume that the# did not parahute out
when the airraft was still at altitude, lea"ing the passengers to rash and die. And the# ertainl#
ouldnJt ha"e (ailed out and sur"i"ed while the airraft was oming in for a landing. So was it after
the plane touhed downD If so, e6atl# how muh time was there (etween when the plane touhed
down and when it impated the fatal o(stalesD Fow long was this Iesape window,J as it wereD I
would think it was mere seonds, if e"en that, whih wouldnJt seem to (e enough time to e6eute an
esape. And if the plane was going fast enough on the ground that the impat killed all a(oard, what
are the odds that an#one would sur"i"e suh an esape attemptD I think ma#(e the !'S- needs to
take another look at this one.
/or the final eight #ears of his life, !elson li"ed in a rather unusual home. In 1941, swash(ukling
ator Errol /l#nn had purhased an ele"en+and+a+half+are hunk of the Foll#wood Fills 2ust off
Mulholland =ri"e and had a sprawling home (uilt to his speifiations. Aording to .aurie
>ao(son and Mar :anamaker, writing in Faunted Foll#wood, the mansion featured se"eral
m#sterious seret passagewa#s, and more than a few peepholes.U 'he home appeared to ha"e (een
designed to allow for surreptitious o(ser"ation of guests in the homeJs numerous (edrooms. It is
laimed that /l#nn inorporated the unusual design features so that he ould satisf# his own
"o#euristi impulses. ,esearher;writer *harles Figham, howe"er, has ast /l#nn as a :estern
intelligene asset 0and !aAi s#mpathiAer1. And if /l#nn was an intelligene operati"e, then it is far
more likel# that the home was (uilt not so muh for /l#nnJs personal pleasure, (ut rather as a means
of ompromising prominent pu(li figures 0muh like the home of, for e6ample, *raig Spene1.
After !elsonJs death, the palatial home stood "aant until a urious inident took plaeG referring
one again to >ao(son and :anamaker, we find that A gang (roke in and murdered a girl in the
li"ing room. 'hen a m#sterious fire (urned half the house. 'he ruins were torn down.U Shit like that
has (een known to happen to folks foolish enough to lea"e their e6pensi"e an#on homes sitting
"aant W well, e6ept for the part a(out the gang.U As far as I know, the an#ons ha"e ne"er had
muh of a gangU pro(lem. In the Foll#wood Fills, the words rimeU and gang+relatedU ne"er
show up at a part# together. And when was the last time an#one e"er heard of a gangU kidnapping
a girl and then taking her to a remote, isolated mansion to murder herD
All things onsidered, IJm thinking that perhaps what the authors meant to sa# was that a group of
people (roke in and murdered a girl WU -ut that, of ourse, raises the )uestion of e6atl# what sort
of group of people 2ointl# ommit a premeditated murderD 5ther than death s)uads, the onl# suh
groups that ome to mind are generall# referred to as ults,U whih IJm guessing are far more
ommon in the an#ons than are gangs.U
In addition to ha"ing a fondness for multi+perpetrator murders, it appears as though ults also like to
start fires, oftentimes (eause fires are a reall# effeti"e wa# of destro#ing e"idene. Some of #ou
ma#, howe"er, (e thinking that sine the Foll#wood Fills are plagued (# wildfires on a more or less
annual (asis, then there is nothing partiularl# unusual a(out the fat that !elsonJs home, and more
than a few of the other homes in this stor#, were destro#ed (# fire. /or the most part though, the
fires that destro#ed these strutures were not natural wildfires (ut rather fires of m#sterious origin
that seemed to target speifi (uildings. As Mihael :alker noted, .aurel *an#on would (urn and
(urn again, targeting with unann# preision the homes of its seemingl# enhanted rok
demimonde.U
05ne e6eption was the .aurel *an#on home of (lues+roker >ohn Ma#all, whih (urned down to
its foundation in a feroious wildfire on Septem(er 16, 19<9G that wildfire also laimed the home of
:hisk# owner Elmer %alentine. It was from Ma#allJs -lues(reakers, (# the wa#, that the ,olling
Stones reruited guitarist Mik 'a#lor, who I regretta(l# disparaged in the initial "ersion of the last
installment of this series. 'a#lor was atuall# )uite an aomplished guitarist whose work with the
Stones was fre)uentl# unredited and who was underutiliAed (# the (and. M# apologies to all the
fans of the ,olling Stones that I offended.1
Mo"ing on then to the ne6t new name on our list, we find that on =eem(er Q1, 194Q S preisel#
fort#+two #ears (efore the plane rash that would laim the life of ,ik# !elson S Fenr# >ohn
=eutshendorf, >r., (etter known as >ohn =en"er, was (orn in ,oswell, !ew Me6io. A few #ears
later, the town of ,oswell would make a name for itself and (eome something of a tourist
destination. -ut that is not reall# our fous here toda#, though it should (e noted that Fenr# >ohn
=eutshendorf, Sr. might well ha"e known a little something a(out that inident, gi"en that he was
a areer US Air /ore offier assigned to the ,oswell Arm# Air /ield 0later renamed the :alker Air
/ore -ase1, whih was likel# the origin of the o(2et that famousl# rashed in ,oswell.
After spending his hildhood (eing fre)uentl# uprooted, as did man# of our ast of haraters,
=en"er attended 'e6as 'eh Uni"ersit# in the earl# 1968s. In 1964, he apparentl# heard the all of
the 9ied 9iper and promptl# dropped out of shool and headed for .A. 5ne there, he 2oined up
with the *had Mithell 'rio, the group from whih >im M$uinn had reentl# departed to o+found
'he -#rds. -# !o"em(er 1966, =en"er was front+and+enter at the so+alled I,iot on the Sunset
Strip,J alongside folks like 9eter /onda, Sal Mineo and a popular hus(and+and+wife duo known as
Sonn# and *her.
A deade later, in the latter half of the 19<8s, =en"er ould (e found working alongside a spook#
hap (# the name of :erner Erhard, reator of so+alled IES'J training. After graduating from the
ItrainingJ program, =en"er penned a little ditt# that (eame the organiAationJs theme song. In 19N3,
=en"er testified alongside our old friend /rank ?appa at the 9M,* hearings. 'wel"e #ears later, in
autumn of 199<, =en"er died when his self+piloted plane rashed soon after taking off from
Montere# Airport, "er# near where the Montere# 9op /esti"al had (een held thirt# #ears earlier.
'he date of the rash, uriousl# enough, was one that we ha"e stum(led aross repeatedl#C 5to(er
17.
'he ne6t name we need to add to the list is one that has alread# worked its wa# into this narrati"e a
time or twoC Sonn# -ono. As pre"iousl# noted, -ono (egan his Foll#wood areer as a lieutenant
for relusi"e murder suspet 9hil Spetor. In the earl# 1968s, -ono hooked up with an underage
*heril#n Sarkisian .a9ierre to form a duo known first as *aesar and *leo, and then as Sonn# and
*her. 'he pair were phenomenall# suessful, first on the Sunset Strip and later on tele"ision.
-ono, of ourse, ultimatel# ga"e up the Foll#wood life and found work in a different (ranh of the
federal go"ernmentC the U.S. Fouse of ,epresentati"es.
5n >anuar# 3, 199N, Sonn# -ono died after purportedl# skiing into a tree. At the time, -ono
oupied a seat on the Fouse >udiiar# *ommittee, whih was a(out to ome to sudden prominene
with the in"estigation and impeahment of 9resident -ill. 'he (all was alread# rolling (# the time
of -onoJs death, and on >anuar# 76, 199N, 2ust three weeks after the alleged skiing inident, *linton
held the now+notorious press onferene in whih he uttered the fateful wordsC I did not ha"e
se6ual relations with that skank, (# whih I mean that the e6euti"e penis did not, at an# time,
penetrate her womanl# parts, though it is possi(le that she ma# ha"e taken a few puffs on the
presidential igar, if #ou fellas know what I mean. =oes an#one else ha"e a )uestionDU -# that time,
of ourse, -onoJs seat on the panel had (een set aside for his ro(owife 0who was, perhaps, more
willing to at out the harade1.
And now, as promised, letJs turn our attention to 9hil Fartman. As e"er#one likel# remem(ers,
Saturda# !ight .i"e alumnus Fartman was murdered in his Enino home on Ma# 7N, 199N. 'hat
muh is not in dispute. =eidedl# less lear is the answer to the )uestion of who it was that atuall#
shot and killed Fartman. 'he offiial stor#, of ourse, holds that it was his wife -r#nn, who shortl#
thereafter shot herself S with a different gun, naturall#, and reportedl# after she had left the house
and then returned with a friend, and after the .A9= had arri"ed at the home. 'here is a "er# strong
possi(ilit#, howe"er, that (oth 9hil and his wife were murdered, with the true moti"e for the rime
o"ered up (# trotting out the tired (ut e"er+popular murder;suiide senario.
In most peopleJs minds, of ourse, 9hil Fartman is not assoiated with the .aurel *an#on sene of
the late 1968s and earl# 19<8s. -ut as it turns out, Fartman did indeed ha"e su(stantial ties to that
sene. 'o (egin with, during the time that >imi Fendri6 li"ed in .A 0in the spaious mansion 2ust
north of the .og *a(in on .aurel *an#on -oule"ard1, Fartman worked for him as a roadie. Soon
after that, 9hil found work as a graphi artist and he )uikl# found himself muh in demand (# the
.aurel *an#on rok ro#alt#. In addition to designing al(um o"ers for (oth 9oo and Ameria,
Fartman also, (elie"e it or not, designed a readil# reogniAa(le rok s#m(ol that has endured for
nearl# fort# #earsC the distinti"e *S! logo for *ros(#, Stills and !ash.
Fartman had ties to the darker side of .aurel *an#on as well. Fe was, for e6ample, a high shool
hum of .#nette S)ueak#U /romme, who would later find herself li"ing alongside *harlie Manson
at the infamous Spahn Mo"ie ,anh. In (#gone #ears, (# the wa#, that "er# same Spahn Mo"ie
,anh was fre)uentl# used as a filming loation (# western star 'om Mi6, who was, as we all
know, the man whose name was fore"er tied to the .og *a(in. *uriousl# enough, the .og *a(inJs
guesthouse 0aka the -ird Fouse1, whih is still standing, was designed and (uilt (# arhitet ,o(ert
-#rd, who also, aording to one report, designed the house at 3863 Enino A"enue where 9hil
Fartman was murdered, and the house at 18838 *ielo =ri"e where Sharon 'ate and friends were
murdered.
:hile weJre on the su(2et of the -ird Fouse, I should mention that #ou an find numerous photos
of the guesthouse and the grounds of the propert# at this we(site. !otie that among its other
amenities, the house features a rather medie"al+looking dungeon, (eause one ne"er knows when a
dungeon might ome in hand# for, uhmm, storing roots or something. !otie also that what was
(uilt as a IguesthouseJ pro(a(l# makes #our own home look like it (elongs in a shant#town, whih
would tend to indiate that the propert#Js main residene, the .og *a(in, was a deidedl# opulent
dwelling.
5ne more urious fatoid that I feel ompelled to toss out here, sine I did referene the Spahn
Mo"ie ,anh, is that during the da#s of the Manson lanJs sta# at that now infamous former film
set, there was a similarl# dilapidated mo"ie set that was loated right aross the road from Spahn.
ItJs name, in ase #ou were wondering, was the :onderland Mo"ie ,anh.
Speaking of :onderland, letJs turn our attention ne6t to four indi"iduals whose names will pro(a(l#
not (e familiar to most readersC ,onald .aunius, -ill# =e"erell, -ar(ara ,ihardson and >o# Miller.
All died on >ul# 1, 19N1, all (# (ludgeoning, and all at the same loationC N<6Q :onderland A"enue
in .aurel *an#on. All were mem(ers of a gang that traffiked hea"il# in oaine and oasionall#
in heroin. 'he leader of the group was ,on .aunius, who reportedl# em(arked on his riminal
areer, and esta(lished his drug onnetions, while ser"ing for Unle Sam o"er in %ietnam, whih is
also where he (egan to (uild his arefull#+rafted reputation as a old+(looded killer. At the time
that he (eame a murder "itim himself, .aunius was a suspet in no fewer than twent#+se"en open
homiide in"estigations. Fe was also a drug supplier to "arious mem(ers of the .aurel *an#on
aristora#.
'he death house at N<6Q :onderland A"enue, as it looks toda#
%itim -ill# =e"erell was .auniusJ seond+in+ommand, and "itim >o# Miller was -ill#Js
girlfriend as well as the renter of the .aurel *an#on drug den. %itim -ar(ara ,ihardson was the
girlfriend of another mem(er of the gang, =a"id .ind, who on"enientl# was not at the home at the
time of the mass murder. 'hat ould well ha"e (een due to the fat that .ind was, aording to
"arious ri"al drug dealers, a polie informant for (oth the Saramento and .os Angeles 9olie
=epartments. Fe was also a mem(er of the ultra+"iolent prison gang known as the Ar#an
-rotherhood 0as is, (# se"eral aounts, a gu# that we ha"e (umped into se"eral times during this
2ourne#C -o((# -eausoleil1. .ind, who met .aunius when the two had ser"ed time together, is
alleged to ha"e o"erdosed in 1993, though it is widel# (elie"ed that he atuall# went into the federal
witness protetion program.
'he ne6t name to go on our list is that of -rian *ole, (ass pla#er for 'he Assoiation, an .A folk+
rok (and known for the hit songs Along *omes Mar#U and !e"er M# .o"e.U 'he Assoiation
was not a .aurel *an#on (and (ut the# did ha"e lose ties to the sene. 'he group was formed (#
'err# Birkman and >ules Ale6anderG Birkman had formerl# pla#ed in a (and with /rank ?appa,
while Ale6ander was fresh from a stint in the US !a"#. >err# @ester, a guitarist and ke#(oardist
with the (and, was formerl# with 'he Modern /olk Xuartet, a (and managed (# ?appa manager
Fer( *ohen and produed (# -#rdsJ manager >im =ikson. $uitarist .arr# ,amos had formerl#
(een with the !ew *hrist# Minstrels, whih also produed $ene *lark of 'he -#rds.
5n >une 16, 196<, *ole and his (and were the first to take the stage at the Montere# 9op /esti"al,
followed (# suh .aurel *an#on stalwarts as 'he -#rds, -uffalo Springfield, and the Mamas and
the 9apas. /i"e #ears later, on August 7, 19<7, *ole was found dead in his .os Angeles home. 'he
ause of death was reportedl# a heroin o"erdose. *ole was one month sh# of his thirtieth (irthda# at
the time of his death.
Another new name on the .aurel *an#on =eath .ist is .owell $eorge, the founder and reati"e
fore (ehind the ritiall#+alaimed (ut largel# o(sure (and known as .ittle /eat. $eorge was the
son of :illard F. $eorge, a famous furrier to the Foll#wood mo"ie studios. .owellJs first fora#
into the musi world was with a (and known as 'he /ator#, whih ut some demos with a gu# (#
the name of /rank ?appa. 'he /ator# e"ol"ed into the /raternit# of Man, though without $eorge,
who had left to ser"e as lead "oalist for 'he Standells. $eorge returned, howe"er, to 2oin the (and
in the studio for the reording of their seond al(um. -# that time, as we ha"e alread# seen, the
/raternit# of Man had taken up residene in the .og *a(in, alongside *arl /ranAoni and his fellow
/reaks.
$eorge ne6t 2oined up with /rank ?appaJs Mothers of In"ention, though his tenure there was
destined to (e a short oneG like so man# others, .owell left em(ittered (# ?appaJs ditatorial
approah to making musi and his ondesending treatment of his (andmates. =uring his time with
?appa, $eorge helped /rank out in the studio with the $'5sJ first 0and onl#1 al(um, as did -rits
>eff -ek and ,od Stewart 0who, readers of 9rogrammed to Bill will reall, was one of the last
people known to ha"e (een in the ompan# of a pair of underage girls (efore the# (eame "itims
of a Iserial killerJ in >une 19N81.
After parting ompan# with ?appa, $eorge formed .ittle /eat, a (and omposed mostl# of
musiians from the /raternit# of Man sessions. .owell, who is redited with (eing a pioneer of the
use of slide guitar in rok musi, ser"ed as singer, songwriter and lead guitarist for the (and, whih
released its de(ut al(um in 19<8. 'hough well regarded within the industr# and (# ritis, the
(andJs al(ums failed to sell and $eorge ultimatel# announed the demise the (and and reorded a
solo al(um. After pla#ing a show on >une 79, 19<9 at $eorge :ashington Uni"ersit# in support of
that al(um, $eorge was found dead in an Arlington, %irginia hotel room, "er# near the 9entagon.
*ause of death was said to (e a massi"e heart attak, though $eorge was 2ust thirt#+four #ears old at
the time.
Aording to -arne# Fosk#ns 0writing in Fotel *alifornia1, A regular soial stop+off for $eorge
was a .aurel *an#on house on :onderland A"enue (elonging to 'hree =og !ight singer =ann#
Futton. A drop+in den of de(auher#, the Futton house featured a (edroom with (lak walls and a
giant fireplae. .owell would often swing (# and entertain the likes of -rian :ilson or Farr#
!ilsson.U !ilsson and his regular drinking (udd#, >ohn .ennon, were fre)uent guests at this den of
de(auher#.U
/ormer -eatle >ohn .ennon is, to (e sure, one of the most famous names to (e found on the .aurel
*an#on =eath .ist. .ennon also has the distintion of (eing one of the few .aurel *an#on alumni
whose ause of death is aknowledged to ha"e (een homiide. 'he e6+-eatle, of ourse, ne"er li"ed
in the an#on, (ut he was a fi6ture on the Sunset Strip and at "arious .aurel *an#on hangouts,
fre)uentl# in the ompan# of Farr# !ilsson. And as readers surel# reall, he was gunned down on
=eem(er N, 19N8 S purportedl# (# Mark =a"id *hapman, (ut more likel# (# a seond gunman.
.ennon was, as e"er#one knows, murdered in front of !ew @orkJs =akota Apartments, whih had
(een portra#ed (# filmmaker ,oman 9olanski in the 1968s as a den of Satani ult ati"it# 0in his
film ,osemar#Js -a(#1. !ot long (efore .ennonJs murder, *hapman had approahed oult
filmmaker Benneth Anger and offered him a gift of li"e (ullets. >ust da#s after .ennon was felled,
AngerJs long+dela#ed final ut of .uifer ,ising made its !ew @ork de(ut, not far from the
(loodstained grounds of the =akota Apartments. And not long after that, the I,eagan ,e"olutionJ
(egan to transform Ameria.
E6atl# three weeks after .ennonJs death, 'im Fardin S *an#onite, folk musiian, lose assoiate
of /rank ?appa, author of ,od StewartJs ,eason to -elie"e,U onetime tenant in .enn# -rueJs
.aurel *an#on+ad2aent home, and former U.S. Marine S died of a reported heroin and morphine
o"erdose in .os Angeles. At the time of his death, on =eem(er 79, 19N8, Fardin was 2ust thirt#+
nine #ears old.
Eight #ears later, on >ul# 1N, 19NN, singer;songwriter;ke#(oardist *hrista 9affgen, (etter known as
!io, died of a reported ere(ral hemorrhage in I(iAa, Spain under unusual irumstanes. After
ahie"ing some le"el of fame as a "oalist with the %el"et Underground, !io had left the :arhol
sta(le and migrated west to .aurel *an#on, where she formed a (ond with a then+unknown singer+
songwriter named >akson -rowne, who ontri(uted a few songs to !ioJs 196< de(ut al(um,
*helsea $irl 0so named for !ew @orkJs *helsea Fotel, from where =e"on :ilson took a di"e, and
where the persona of >ohn 'rain murdered the persona of 9hil 5hs1. Also ontri(uting a song to
!ioJs solo de(ut was Mr. 'im Fardin.
5n =eem(er 4, 199Q, some fi"e #ears after !ioJs urious death, /rank ?appa died in his .aurel
*an#on home of inopera(le prostate aner. Some ha"e speulated that the aner ould ha"e
de"eloped as a result of the hemial agents ?appa was e6posed to throughout his earl# hildhood
at the Edgewood Arsenal.
And so it goes. In the ne6t installment, we will add two more famous names to the death list, and
we will use them as spring(oards to launh into two rarel#+told stories that will add new le"els of
omple6it# to the .aurel *an#on saga.
Until then W
Part 1.
By the time 0anson shifted +ase from 8ustic Canyon to an old ranch in Chats&orth'
he:d +egun formulating the notion that he and his follo&ers had to prepare themselves
for a race &ar &ith Blac! 4merica) Y-arne# Fosk#ns 0in Fotel *alifornia, his take
on the .aurel *an#on;Sunset Strip sene1
There &ere a lot of &eird people around) There &as one guy &ho had a parrot called
Captain Blood' and he &as al&ays scra&ling real cryptic things on the inside &alls of
my house 9 -eil Youngs too) Y >oni Mithell, desri(ing the .aurel *an#on sene at
the tail end of the 1968s
0ennis ;ilson" Bea&h Boys
In this outing" !e !ill be teporarily lea#ing Laurel Canyon) But don6t !orry@ !e !on6t be
tra#eling far" and !e6ll be returning soon enough)
'oda# we will (e e6ploring ,usti *an#on, whih lies a(out nine miles west of .aurel *an#on. It
was there, in .ower ,usti *an#on, that -eah -o# =ennis :ilson li"ed in what Ste"en $aines
desri(ed in Feroes and %illains as a palatial log+a(in+st#le house at 14488 Sunset -oule"ard that
had one (elonged to humorist :ill ,ogers.U 'he e6pansi"e home sat on three landsaped ares of
gentl# rolling hills.
In the summer of 196N, as is fairl# well known, *harlie Manson and "arious mem(ers of his
entourage mo"ed in with :ilson. 'e6U :atson, uriousl# enough, was alread# li"ing there. As
man# as two+doAen mem(ers of MansonJs lan spent the entire summer there, with :ilson piking
up the ta( for all e6penses. 'he Mansonites 0mostl# nu(ile #oung women1 regularl# dro"e :ilsonJs
e6pensi"e ars and demolished at least one of them. =ennis didnJt seem to mindG he was (us#
reording Manson in his home studio and in"iting fellow musiians, like !eil @oung, o"er to the
house to hear *harlie perform 0@oung was so impressed that he urged Mo 5stin to sign him1.
'he floor of upper ,usti *an#on
=ennis would later laim that he had destro#ed all the Manson demo tapes, that he remem(ered
almost nothing of his time with *harlie and the /amil#, and that he ertainl# knew nothing a(out
the 'ate and .a-iana murders, whih were ommitted in the summer of 1969, a(out a #ear after
the /amil# had "aated the ,usti *an#on residene.
At some point in time, :ilson had a hange of heart and deided that ma#(e he did indeed know a
little something a(out the murders. I know wh# *harles Manson did what he did,U said =ennis.
Someda#, IJll tell the world. IJll write a (ook and e6plain wh# he did it.U !eedless to sa#, that (ook
was ne"er written and :ilsonJs stor#, if indeed he had one, was ne"er told. Instead, =ennis :ilson
drowned under )uestiona(le irumstanes on =eem(er 7N, 19NQ, in the marina where his (elo"ed
ship was doked.
-ut this stor# isnJt reall# a(out =ennis :ilsonG itJs a(out *harlie Manson and his alleged moti"e for
allegedl# ordering the 'ate and .a-iana murders. Aording to the IFelter SkelterJ senario
populariAed (# lead proseutor;disinformation peddler %inent -ugliosi, Manson was hoping to
spark an apoal#pti rae war. It is said that *harlie (elie"ed that AmeriaJs (lak population would
pre"ail o"er white#, (ut that, ha"ing won the war, the "itors would (e inapa(le of go"erning
themsel"es. And that, alas, is when *harlie and his retinue would emerge from the shadows to take
ommand.
Aording to -arne# Fosk#ns, Manson (egan formulating his rae war theor# during his sta# in
,usti *an#on. If true, then *harlie appears to ha"e (een following in the footsteps of a former
,usti *an#on guru S one who preeded him (# a few deades, and who, like *harlie, had a ertain
fondness for swastikas.
>ust to the north of =ennis :ilsonJs old home is a "ast wilderness of unde"eloped an#on lands.
.ower ,usti *an#on soon gi"es wa# to Upper ,usti *an#on, and all signs of human i"iliAation
a(ruptl# "anish. 'he land remains wild and unde"eloped sa"e for an old fire road that winds along
the summit (etween ,usti *an#on and a neigh(oring an#on. 'hat road is losed to the pu(li and
"ehile traffi is none6istent. Aside from an oasional hiker wandering in from near(# :ill ,ogers
State 9ark, there is nar# a human to (e seen.
A Mansones)ue artifat on the floor of ,usti *an#on
'he farther in one hikes, the more wild and untamed it (eomes. Along with the sights of the it#,
the sounds and the sents )uikl# disappear as well. :ithin a "er# short time, it is surprisingl# eas#
to forget that one is still within the onfines of the it# of .os Angeles. In its fall splendor, the
an#on looks nothing like the .os Angeles that I know and donJt )uite lo"e. It is (eautiful, serene,
pastoral. And #et, filled with mist and hea"il# o"ergrown, it is also "aguel# ominous.
If one knows where to look, there is a narrow onrete stairwa# that is aessi(le from the fire road.
'his stairwa# desends down to the floor of the an#on, and it is a "er#, "er# long desent. /i"e
hundred and twel"e steps long, to (e e6at. As one makes the desent, this stairwa#, whih seems to
go on fore"er, seems wildl# out of plae. :ith time to kill on the wa# down, one finds oneself
pondering 0atuall#, most people pro(a(l# wouldnJt, (ut I did1 how man# man+hours it took to set
forms for 317 poured onrete steps, and how trukloads of onrete had to (e poured out here in
the middle of nowhere.
'he end of the line for the stairwa# leading to the floor of ,usti *an#on.
,eahing the an#on floor, one finds that, though the nati"e flora has struggled mightil# to relaim
the land, remnants of a past i"iliAation an (e seen e"er#where. Some strutures remain largel#
intat S a nearl# 488,888+gallon, spring+fed reser"oir ser"ing a sophistiated pota(le water s#stemG
a onrete+walled struture that one housed twin eletrial generators apa(le of lighting a small
townG more onrete stairwa#s hundreds of steps long, eah snaking its wa# up the an#on wallsG
weathered li"estok sta(lesG professionall# graded and pa"ed roadsG ountless stone retaining wallsG
an inineratorG onrete foundations and skeletal remains of former dwellingsG the rusting arass of
a Mansones)ue %: (usG and, at the former entrane, an imposing set of eletroniall#+ontrolled,
wrought+iron seurit# gates.
'he now olorful water reser"oir.
It is the kind of plae that seems tailor+made for *harlie and his /amil# S remote and seluded, #et
aessi(le (# the /amil#Js ustom+(uilt dune (uggiesG with 2ust enough rum(ling infrastruture to
pro"ide rudimentar# shelter for the lanG and with ela(orate seurit# pro"isions, inluding sentr#
positions and a formerl#+eletrified fene ompletel# enirling the 38+are ompound 0as well as,
(# some reports, an underground tunnel omple61. And it was loated 2ust a short hike up the
an#on from the plae that *harlie Manson alled home in the summer of 196N.
A former entrane to the tunnel omple6D
:hile e6ploring this plae, o("ious )uestions (egin to ome to mind 0the# would, that is, if I didnJt
alread# know the answers, (ut tr# to work with me here1C who de"eloped this remote portion of the
an#onD And wh#D :h# here, in what feels like the middle of nowhereD 'he goal appears to ha"e
(een to reate a hidden and ompletel# self+sustaining ommunit#, and an e6traordinar# amount of
mone# was in"ested in infrastruture de"elopment W (ut wh#D
%er# few Angelenos know of the urious ruins in ,usti *an#on, and fewer still know the histor# of
those ruins. E"er# now and then though, a loal reporter will pa# a "isit and the stor# will make a
one+time appearane in a loal pu(liation, (riefl# asting some light on a (it of the hidden histor#
of .os Angeles. In Ma# 1997, Mar !orman of the .os Angeles -usiness >ournal was one suh
reporter 0Fermit *hi S ,usti *an#onU1.
Murph# ,anhJs generator station as it looks toda#.
Aording to !orman, *ount# reords show I>essie Murph#, a widow,J purhasing 38+plus ares
north of L:illM ,ogersJ propert# in 19QQ, (ut the owners were atuall# named Stephens S !orman,
an engineer with sil"er+mining interests, and :inona, the daughter of an industrialist and a woman
gi"en to things supernatural. .oal lore has it that :inona fell under the spell of a ertain unnamed
gentleman WU 'his trio, along with unnamed others, (egan a 18+#ear onstrution program
osting P4 million W starting with a water tank holding Q<3,888 gallons and a onrete diesel+
powered generator station with foot+thik walls S (oth of whih are still "isi(le. 'he hillsides were
terraed for orhards, an eletrified fene irled the (oundaries and a huge refrigerated loker was
(uilt into a hillside W 'he one thing Murph#;Stephens ouldnJt seem to get right was their main
house. 'he first arhitet hired was :elton -eket, (ut there are also skethes (# .lo#d :right, and
in 1941, 9aul :illiams drafted (lueprints for a sprawling mansion with 77 (edrooms, a hildrenJs
dining room, a g#mnasium, pool and a workshop in the (asement.U
Seurit# gates still stand at the former entrane to the ompound.
'hirteen #ears later, in Septem(er 7883, *eelia ,asmussen of the .os Angeles 'imes added a few
details to the stor# 0,usti *an#on ,uin Ma# -e a /ormer !aAi *ompound,U Septem(er 4, 78831C
Southern *alifornia has (een the radle to man# odd ults, redos, utopias and d#stopias. Among
the most m#sterious are the ruins of a ,usti *an#on enla"e one known as Murph# ,anh W on
L,usti *an#onJsM seluded and woods# floor stand the eeril# (urned+out and graffiti+sarred
remains of onrete and steel strutures, underground tunnels and stairwa#s leading from the top of
the an#on to the (ottom W -ehind the loked and rusted wrought iron entrane gates and flagstone
wall stand the traes of a small ommunit# that had the apait# to grow its own food, generate its
own eletriit# and dam its own water W 'he hillsides were terraed with Q,888 nut, itrus, fruit
and oli"e trees, and fitted with water pipes, sprinklers and an ela(orate greenhouse. A high (ar(ed+
wire fene disouraged intruders W researh indiates that it ould ha"e (een home to up to 48
loal !aAis from a(out 19QQ to 1943 W armed guards patrolled the an#on dressed in the uniform
worn (# Sil"er Shirts, a paramilitar# group modeled after FitlerJs (rownshirts W A man known
through oral histories onl# as IFerr ShmidtJ supposedl# ruled the plae and laimed to possess
metaph#sial powers.U
A portion of the o"er+grown foundation of what was one a state+of+the+art greenhouse.
Ferr Shmidt, needless to sa#, was the gentleman whose spell :inona Stephens fell under.
Aording to Mar !orman, Shmidt on"ined her that the oming world war would (e won (#
$erman#, that the United States would ollapse into #ears of "iolent anarh# and that the hosen
few 0readC the Stephenses, the ertain gentleman and other true (elie"ers1 would need a tight spot in
whih to hole up, self+suffiient, until the fire storm had passed. 'hen the# ould emerge not onl#
intat (ut, thanks to the superiorit# of their politis, rulers of the anthill and, not inidentall#, the
origin of its new population.U
Sound familiarD
Murph# ,anh also reportedl# featured a 78,888+gallon diesel fuel tank, li"estok sta(les, and dair#
and (uthering failities. Along (oth sides of the ompound rise eight rum(ling, narrow stairwa#s
of at least 388 steps eah,U as the .A 'imes noted. 'hose stairwa#s apparentl# led to sentr#
positions high on the an#on walls 0for the reord, the# are not atuall# rum(ling, though most are
o"ergrown with impenetra(le "egetation1. =uring Murph# ,anhJs #ears of operation, near(#
residents reportedl# omplained of late+night militar# e6erises and the sounds of li"e gunfire
ehoing through the an#ons.
'he rusted and twisted remains of a residential struture.
'o summariAe then, it appears that the it# of .os Angeles was home to a seret, militariAed !aAi
ompound that was in operation (oth (efore and during :orld :ar II. ,emnants of that (laked+out
hapter of .A histor# an (e seen to this da#, though few make the trek. 'he purpose of the
dea#ing ompound was to ride out an anarhi, apoal#pti war, so that the hosen few ould
emerge as the rulers of the new world.
It was all so "er# Mansones)ue, and, ironiall# enough, Manson and his rew spent an entire
summer amped out at a home that was within a two+mile hike of this urious plae. It should ha"e
(een something of a Mea for *harlie, and #et he apparentl# knew nothing of its e6istene. It
seems somehow disrespetful that the /amil# didnJt hoose to set up amp here rather than at, sa#,
-arker ,anh. At the "er# least, the# should ha"e paid a "isit.
/ormer fruit and nut orhard with remains of a sophistiated irrigation s#stem.
In the late 1948s, after the lose of the war, Murph# ,anh was reportedl# on"erted into an artistJs
olon#. Arhitet :elton -eket, who designed se"eral of the strutures at the ranh, went on to
design two of .AJs landmark struturesC the *apitol ,eords (uilding and the Musi *enter. In
19<Q, the propert# one known as Murph# ,anh was purhased (# the it# of .os Angeles. As far
as I know, the it# has no plans to reopen the failit#.
O O O O O O O O O O
%an *ortlandt and Unterm#er funtioned as outdoor meeting sites for the ult.UMaur# 'err#,
referring to the ult (ehind the ISon of SamJ murders 0from 'he Ultimate E"il1
>ust to the west of .aurel *an#on, and slightl# to the east of *oldwater *an#on, lies a large estate
known as $re#stone 9ark, home of the long+"aant $re#stone Mansion. 'he home, and the grounds
it sits on, is said to (e, to this da#, the most e6pensi"e pri"ate residene e"er (uilt in the it# of .os
Angeles. *onstruted in the 1978s, the home and grounds arried the then+unfathoma(le prie tag
of P4,888,888 0(# wa# of omparison, the .ookout Inn, (uilt a deade+and+a+half earlier, was
pro2eted to ost from PN6,888+P188,888G in other words, the single+famil# residene ost at least
48 times what the la"ish <8+room inn ost S and the inn re)uired (ringing infrastruture and
(uilding materials to a remote mountaintop1.
A modest ourt#ard on the grounds of the $re#stone estate.
'he massi"e, 46,888 s)uare+foot edifie sits amid 77 la"ishl# landsaped ares of prime Foll#wood
Fills real estate. 'his rather ostentatious home was (uilt (# u(erwealth# oil t#oon Edward ..
=ohen# as a wedding present for his son, Edward !edU =ohen#, >r.. If that plotline sounds "aguel#
familiar, it is pro(a(l# (eause Edward =ohen# was the inspiration for Upton SinlairJs 5il, and
thus for the homiidal =aniel 9lain"iew harater in 'here :ill -e -lood 0some of the interior
shots near the end of that film, of e6pansi"e, mar(le+floored rooms, ould "er# well ha"e (een shot
in the real $re#stone, though the e6terior shots ertainl# were not1.
Upon the homeJs ompletion, in Septem(er 197N, #oung !ed =ohen# and his new (ride mo"ed into
the hum(le a(ode. :ithin months, the home would (e (loodstainedG soon after, it would (e
permanentl# a(andoned.
'he $re#stone mansion
9oor !ed, #ou see, was found dead in the a"ernous home on /e(ruar# 16, 1979. !ear him la# the
lifeless (od# of his assistant;personal seretar#, Fugh 9lunkett. -oth men had (een shot. =espite
persistent rumors of an inordinatel# long dela# in reporting the deaths, and of the (odies ha"ing
(een mo"ed to re+stage the rime sene, no formal in)uest was e"er onduted and the ase was
written off as a murder;suiide arising from a ga# lo"ersJ )uarrel. 9lunkett was said to (e the
triggerman and the media )uikl# went into a frenA# pla#ing up the sandalous homose6ualit# angle
and portra#ing #oung 9lunkett as positi"el# demented.
It is an#oneJs guess whether or not the two reall# were ga# lo"ers, (ut it matters littleG the rest of the
stor# was almost ertainl# a work of fition. In realit#, (oth men were likel# murdered as part of the
massi"e o"er+up;damage+ontrol operation that followed the dislosure of the Farding+era 'eapot
=ome sandal, whih the =ohen# famil#, as it turns out, was "er# deepl# immersed in. 'he
murder;suiide senario was then trotted out (eause, as we all know, if the alleged perpetrator is
alread# dead, it prett# muh eliminates the need for things like in"estigations and trials.
Another ourt#ard on the $re#stone grounds.
Some fort# #ears after those gunshots rang out in the opulent $re#stone Mansion, a new !ed
=ohen#, sion of the "er# same =ohen# oil lan, would 2oin the ranks of the .aurel *an#on singer+
songwriters lu(. .ike 'err# Melher and $ram 9arsons, =ohen# was "iewed (# some as a Itrust+
fund kid.J Fis losest irle of friends inluded ountr#+rokers >akson -rowne, >.=. Souther and
$len /re#. In addition to reording his own solo al(ums 0his self+titled de(ut was released in 19<Q1,
=ohen# ontri(uted to al(ums (# suh .aurel *an#on superstars as =on Fenle# and $raham !ash.
Strangel# enough, !ew @ork *it# one had a large estate known as $re#stone as well. 'hat
$re#stone was donated to the it# as parkland, and it thereafter (eame known as Unterm#er 9ark S
the same Unterm#er 9ark identified (# Maur# 'err# as one of the two prinipal ritual sites used (#
the 9roess *hurh fation (ehind the ISon of SamJ murders. 'he other site used (# the ult was
%an *ortlandt 9ark, named for >ao(us %an *ortlandt, a former Ma#or of !ew @ork and one of
=a"id %an *ortlandt *ros(#Js forefathers. Another of *ros(#Js forefathers lent his name to
Shu#ler ,oad, whih happens to run along the western (oundar# of the $re#stone 9ark in the
Foll#wood Fills.
5ne of man# gargo#les on the $re#stone grounds.
I ha"e no idea what, if an#thing, an# of that means, (ut I thought it (est that I toss it into the mi6.
O O O O O O O O O
-efore wrapping up this installment, this seems like as good a time as an# to introdue #ou all to a
ouple of .aurel *an#on haraters who we ha"enJt #et met, and who would attain a ertain
amount of fame, though not in the entertainment industr#.
5ne of the two, whom weJll all >err#, had a deidedl# onser"ati"e up(ringing. -orn into a
politiall# well+onneted ,epu(lian famil#, >err# de"oted his earl# #ears to pursuing a areer in
the >esuit priesthood. Fis father, an ati"e ,epu(lian 9art# operati"e, was an aspiring politiian
who initiall# had no luk in getting himself eleted to offie. Ultimatel# though, he sueeded in
apturing the o"eted *alifornia $o"ernorJs seat in 1939, and he did it (# emplo#ing a simple
gimmikC he merel# hanged the ,U after his name to a =.U Fe held the seat for two terms,
through 196<, and then was replaed (# a fellow who had emplo#ed a similar trikC replaing the
=U after his name with an ,.U
'hat gentleman, of ourse, was ,onald :ilson ,eagan, who would go"ern the state through 19<3,
when he handed the reins o"er to >err#, who, like his dad, had deided that he was a li(eral
=emorat. In fat, aording to the media, Edmund $. >err#U -rown, >r. was an ultrali(eral
e6tremist whose politis fell somewhere to the left of /idel *astro and *he $ue"ara.
=uring .aurel *an#onJs glor# #ears, >err# -rown resided in a home on :onderland A"enue, not too
man# doors down from the :onderland death house 0and from the homes of numerous singers,
songwriters and musiians1. Fis irle of friends in those da#s, as some ma# reall, inluded the
elite of .aurel *an#onJs ountr#+rok stars, inluding .inda ,onstadt 0with whom he was long
rumored to (e romantiall# in"ol"ed1, >akson -rowne and the Eagles.
Another figure making the rounds in .aurel *an#on during the same period of time was a gent (#
the name of Mike *ur(. At "arious times, *ur( worked as a musiian, omposer, reording artist,
film produer and reord ompan# e6euti"e. Fe also had the nota(le distintion of ser"ing as the
musial diretor on the notorious doumentar# feature Mondo Foll#wood, whih ostensi(l#
hroniled the emerging .aurel *an#on;Sunset Strip sene. /ilmed from 1963 through 196< 0well
(efore the Manson murders1, the film featured representati"es from the Manson /amil# 0-o((#
-eausoleil1, the Manson /amil#Js "itims 0>a# Se(ring1, the /reak troupe 0%ito, *arl, SAou and
$odo1, and .aurel *an#onJs musial fraternit# 0/rank ?appa and his future wife, $ail Sloatman1. It
also featured aid guru ,ihard -a(awhate"erthefukitwasthathealledhimselfU Alpert.
Mondo Foll#wood, as I mentioned in a pre"ious installment, was the reation of filmmaker ,o(ert
*arl *ohen, who, as it turns out, has an interesting (akground for a gu# whose destin# was to
apture on film the emerging 1968s ounterultural sene. In 1934, *ohen ser"ed in the U.S. Arm#
Signal *orps. 'he following #ear, he was on assignment to !A'5. /ollowing that, he ser"ed in
Speial Ser"ies in $erman#. 'he "er# ne6t #ear, he produed, direted, edited and narrated a
doumentar# short entitled Inside ,ed *hina. 'wo #ears later, he wore all the same hats for a
doumentar# entitled Inside East $erman#. A few #ears later, he put together another doumentar#
entitled 'hree *u(ans.
*ohen has proudl# prolaimed that he was the first 0or at least among the first1 :estern
2ournalists;filmmakers allowed to enter and shoot footage in eah of these ountries. In the ase of
*u(a 0and likel# the others as well1, he did so under the sponsorship of the U.S. State =epartment.
Mr. *ohen would like us to (elie"e that he undertook these pro2ets as nothing more than what he
outwardl# appeared to (e S an independent filmmaker S (ut I ha"e a hunh that few readers of this
site are na^"e enough to (elie"e that a pri"ate itiAen not working for the intelligene ommunit#
ould land suh assignments.
Fa"e I mentioned, (# the wa#, that *ohen is not a fan of this we(siteD I know this (eause he sent a
few e+mails m# wa# in whih he denouned m# site as (eing (ased on slander and third+part#
hearsa#,U or some suh gi((erish, and he followed that up (# issuing some empt# legal threats. As it
turns out though, I donJt muh gi"e a fuk what ,o(ert *arl *ohen thinks of m# we(site.
And now, after that (rief digression, we return to our disussion of .aurel *an#onJs d#nami duo of
>err# -rown and Mike *ur(. In addition to his work on Mondo Foll#wood, *ur( also ser"ed as
Isong produerJ on another ke# ounterultural film of the era, ,iot on the Sunset Strip 0whih,
despite its title, had little to do with the atual e"ent1. In addition, *ur( sored a slew of heapl#+
produed (iker fliks, inluding 'he :ild Angels, =e"ilJs Angels, -orn .osers, 'he Sa"age Se"en
and 'he $lor# Stompers. Along the wa#, he worked alongside man# of .aurel *an#onJs I@oung
'urks,J inluding 9eter /onda and =ennis Fopper.
It is unlear whether the paths of this odd ouple rossed during .aurel *an#onJs glor# #ears, (ut as
fate would ha"e it, the# were to ross in 19<9 in Saramento, *alifornia. Mike *ur(, #ou see, after
(eing enouraged (# ,onald ,eagan to "enture into politis, was eleted to ser"e as $o"ernor >err#
-rownJs seond+in+ommand. And so it was that these two men, (oth "eterans of the 1968s .aurel
*an#on sene, ame to sit side+(#+side in the go"ernorJs mansion, one sporting a =U after his
name, and the other an ,.U
$o"ernor -rown, howe"er, had little time to spend on atuall# go"erning the state of *alifornia.
'ossing his hat into the presidential ring, he spent muh of the first half of his seond term out of
the state, working the ampaign trail. 'his allowed .ieutenant $o"ernor *ur(, as ating go"ernor of
the state, to sign into law a withering arra# of reationar# legislation that was far remo"ed from
what the people had in mind when the# eleted I$o"ernor Moon(eam.J 'his arrangement allowed
the nominal li(eral of the .aurel *an#on tag+team, >err# -rown, to keep his hands lean e"en as his
administration mo"ed far awa# from its originall# stated goals S and e"en as he made little effort to
rein in his wa#ward underling.
'hese da#s, >err# -rown maintains little of his li(eral fa_ade. As *aliforniaJs Attorne# $eneral, he
works hand+in+hand with the stateJs !aAi+lo"ing go"ernor, Ahhnuld ShwarAenegger. 5f ourse, if
his arefull#+rafted image is to (e (elie"ed, ShwarAenegger is pratiall# a li(eral himself. 'he
truth howe"er, is something muh different W or ma#(e not. $i"en that we are li"ing in an era
when a straight+faed media an routinel# desri(e -ill and Fillar# and -arr# 5 as li(erals, then I
suppose >err# and Arnie ha"e as muh right to wear that la(el as an#one. -ut then again, so do
$eorge and >ohn.
$oogle Earth, $re#stoneYlower left orner
Aerial "iew of $re#stone
Aerial "iew of the former Murph# ,anh. Entrane gates and reser"oir an (e seen at top of map.
Part 11
By that' I mean' ;et me a lead singer) %e:s got sort of an androgynous +londe hair'
very pretty) We need a guitar player' sort of hatchet2faced' &ears a hat' plays very fast'
very dramatic) %e must +e very dramatic) ;et me a pound of +ass player' pound of
drummer3they:re ma!ing little card+oard cutouts) They hire a producer' they hire
&riters34nd in the current stuff no&' they don:t even +other getting people to play)
$on:t +other &ith that guitar player' +ass player' drummer 2 nonsense3The people in
those +ands can:t &rite' play' or sing) Y=a"id *ros(#, desri(ing the s#ntheti,
manufatured nature of toda#&s rok (ands
$avid &as o+noxious' loud' demanding' thoughtless' full of himself 2 of the four of
them .$avid Cros+y' #teven #tills' ;raham -ash and -eil Young/' the least talented)
Y=a"id $effen U
=a"id *ros(#
2irst of all" before getting ba&$ into the Laurel Canyon s&ene" I need to say that soe of you
people really need to ello! out on the #isits to y !ebsite) Seriousl#. 'his isnJt a rak+house,
for fukJs sake, so 2ust hill out a little (it. I mean, IJ"e grown austomed to the fat that #ou feel
free to drop in unannouned at all hours of the da# and night, (ut ma#(e, 2ust ma#(e, #ou ould
onsider doing it a (it less fre)uentl#. Is that so muh to askD
=onJt get me wrong here S IJm flattered (# the attention. I reall# am. 'he pro(lem though is that
#ou ha"e o"erloaded m# now+o"erworked we(site, ausing it to spontaneousl# disappear on, of all
da#s, the morning of Septem(er 11, 788N. And to add insult to in2ur#, the generi, no+frills page that
popped up instead, prolaiming that m# site was under house arrest for the rime of e6eeding its
(andwidth alloation, was argua(l# more attrati"e than m# atual homepage.
.ukil#, this pro(lem was )uikl# (rought to m# attention (# a few alert readers and I was a(le to
li(erate m# site (# digging deepl# into m# pokets to ome up with the (ail mone# that the 2ailers
were demanding 0I think the# referred to it as adding resouresU to m# site, (ut I wasnJt reall#
fooled (# that. And I didnJt, (# the wa#, reall# dig that deepl# into m# pokets. -ut thatJs not the
point. !o, the point is that m# site is S and IJm sure that there are man# of #ou who do not know
this S primiti"e (# design. It is m# (elief that the Iretro we(siteJ look will soon (e all the rage, and I
want to (e at the forefront of that mo"ement. E"er#thing old will someda# (eome new again, and
the Inet has (een around for long enough now, gi"en our olleti"el# short attention span, that a
return to (asis S to those first tentati"e (a(#+steps some of us took in reating one of those
newfangled things alled Iwe(sitesJ S is all (ut guaranteed. M# site, needless to sa#, will (eome
the template that will (e followed (# e"er#one who wants to run with the in+rowd. I will, of
ourse, (e regarded as something of a "isionar#. Unfortunatel# though, I will ultimatel# (e re"ealed
as a fraud when, a few #ears down the road, legions of fans suddenl# realiAe that, long after the fad
has passed, m# site is still retro. Self+righteous ritis will denoune me as a poser, a harlatan S
the# ma# e"en in"oke that most demeaning of future slurs and la(el me a I9alin.J -ut (efore that
happens, the (rief time during whih I shall ha"e (asked in the limelight will ha"e made it all
worthwhile. 5f ourse, none of that has muh to do with purhasing additional (andwidth for m#
site, so I guess it does ome down to the mone# issue after all. -eause if #our (eha"ior ontinues, I
fear that the situation ould soon spiral ompletel# out of ontrol, foring me to ome to #ou, like
e"er# other asswipe on the Internet, with hat in hand. -efore long, I ould (e spending all of m#
time organiAing annual fundraising dri"es, with the word IannualJ defined here, as it appears to (e
elsewhere, as Ie"er# twel"e da#s.J And no one reall# wants to see that happen. And #es, (# the wa#,
I do realiAe that I am likel# ontri(uting to the pro(lem (# inluding lots of large olor photos in the
posts, whih presuma(l# hog up lots of (andwidth LthatJs tehno+speak that I am throwing in here to
make me sound reall# smart, when the realit# is that an# attempt that I might make to define the
word I(andwidthJ would sound a lot like the go"ernor of Alaska attempting to e6plain the strategi
signifiane of that froAen stateC @ou ma# not know this, (ut I ha"e (een told (# a real sientist S I
think he was an arhaologist S that at one time there was a land (ridge (etween Alaska and ,ussia
that some a"emen or dinosaurs or something ame aross. Supposedl# that was wa# (ak in olden
times, like e"en (efore >ohn M*ain was (orn. -ut as e"er#one who goes to m# hurh knows,
Iolden timesJ wasnJt reall# that long ago, sine the Earth is onl# a(out 4QN #ears old. 'hatJs wh#
'odd and I (elie"e that that (ridge is still up there somewhere, and if the ,ussians find it (efore we
do, then we ould (e in some serious gosh darn trou(le. 'hatJs wh# I wanted all that earmark
mone# for the I-ridge to !owhere,J (eause that was reall# a seret odename for Ithe (ridge to
,ussia.J 5ne it is found and full# restored, m# hus(and 'odd is going to lead a speial ommando
team on snowmo(iles S heJs (een training for it for #ears, #ou know S and the#Jre going to sneak
aross Si(eria and kik ,ussiaJs little (ehind. IJm not supposed to talk a(out an# of that though, so
tr# to keep it on the down+low. :e donJt want to gi"e 9resident $or(ahe" the heads+up, if #ou
know what I mean W (# the wa#, are we on '% right nowDUM, (ut I prefer to plae the (lame on all
of #ou. So tr# to mellow out 2ust a little (it.1
And #es, I do realiAe that the preeding passage might ha"e (een a (it more topial had I atuall#
gotten it posted when it was written, a ouple of months ago. -ut letJs not dwell on thatG instead,
letJs get (ak to our little stor#, shall weD
At the "er# (eginning of this 2ourne#, I noted that >im MorrisonJs stor# was not in an# wa#
uni)ue.U As it turns out, howe"er, that prolamation is not e6atl# true. It was a true enough
statement in the onte6t in whih it appeared S whih is to sa# that MorrisonJs famil# (akground
did not differ signifiantl# from that of his musial peers S (ut in man# other signifiant wa#s, >im
Morrison was indeed a most uni)ue indi"idual, and )uite possi(l# the unlikeliest rok star to e"er
stum(le aross a stage.
Morrison essentiall# arri"ed on the sene as a full#+de"eloped rok star, omplete with a (aking
(and, a stage persona and an impressi"e olletion of songs S enough, in fat, to fill the =oorsJ first
few al(ums. Fow e6atl# >im Morrison rein"ented himself in suh a radial manner remains
something of a m#ster#, sine (efore his sudden inarnation as singer;songwriter, >ames =ouglas
Morrison had ne"er shown the slightest interest in musi. !one whatsoe"er. Fe ertainl# ne"er
studied musi and ould neither read nor write it. -# his own aount, he ne"er had muh of an
interest in e"en listening to musi. Fe told one inter"iewer that he ne"er went to onerts S one or
two at most.U And (efore 2oining the =oors, he ne"er did an# singing. I ne"er e"en onei"ed of
it.U Asked near the end of his life if he had e"er had an# desire to learn to pla# a musial instrument,
>im responded, !ot reall#.U
,othdell 'rail in .aurel *an#on, where >im Morrison reportedl# li"ed for a time in the late 1968s
So here we had a gu# who had ne"er sang 0apparentl# not e"en in the shower or in his ar, whih
seems rather odd to me1, who had ne"er e"en onei"edU of the notion that he ould open his
mouth and makes sounds ome out, and who ouldnJt pla# an instrument and had no interest in
learning suh a skill, and who had ne"er muh listened to musi or (een an#where near a (and,
e"en 2ust to wath one perform, and #et this gu# somehow emerged, "irtuall# o"ernight, as a full#+
formed rok star who would )uikl# (eome an ion of his generation. And e"en more (iAarrel#,
legend holds that he (rought with him enough original songs to fill the first few =oorsJ al(ums.
Morrison did not, #ou see, do as an# other singer;songwriter does and pen the songs o"er the ourse
of the (andJs areerG instead, he allegedl# wrote them all at one, (efore the (and was e"en formed.
As >im one aknowledged in an inter"iew, he was not a "er# prolifi songwriter. Most of the
songs IJ"e written I wrote in the "er# (eginning, a(out three #ears ago. I 2ust had a period when I
wrote a lot of songs.U
In fat, all of the good songs that Morrison is redited with writing were written during that period S
the period during whih, aording to rok legend, >im spent most of his time hanging out on the
rooftop of a %enie apartment (uilding, onsuming opious amounts of .S=. 'his was 2ust (efore
he hooked up with fellow student ,a# ManAarek to form the =oors. .egend also holds, strangel#
enough, that that hane meeting ourred on the (eah, though it seems far more likel# that the
pair would ha"e atuall# met at U*.A, where (oth attended the uni"ersit#Js rather small and lose+
knit film shool.
In an# e"ent, the )uestion that naturall# arises 0though it does not appear to ha"e e"er (een asked of
him1 isC how e6atl# did >im 'he .iAard BingU Morrison write that impressi"e (ath of songsD IJm
ertainl# no musiian m#self, (ut it is m# understanding that 2ust a(out e"er# singer;songwriter
aross the land omposes his or her songs in essentiall# the same mannerC on an instrument S
usuall# either a piano or a guitar. Some songwriters, I hear, an ompose on paper, (ut that re)uires
a skill set that >im did not possess. 'he pro(lem, of ourse, is that he also ould not pla# a musial
instrument of an# kind. Fow then did he write the songsD
Fe would ha"e had to ha"e omposed them, IJm guessing, in his head. So we are to (elie"e then
that a few doAen omplete songs, ne"er heard (# an#one and ne"er pla#ed (# an# musiian, e6isted
onl# in >im MorrisonJs aid+addled (rain. An#thing is possi(le, I suppose, (ut e"en if we aept that
premise, we are still left with some nagging )uestions, inluding the )uestion of how those songs
got out of >im MorrisonJs head. As a general rule of thum(, if a songwriter doesnJt know how to
read and write musi, he an pla# the song for someone who does and there(# reate the sheet
musi 0whih was the ase, for e6ample, with all of the songs that -rian :ilson penned for the
-eah -o#s1. -ut >im )uite o("iousl# ould not pla# his own songs. So did he, I donJt know, ma#(e
hum themD
'he legendar# :hisk#+A+$o+$o, as it looks toda#
And these are, it should (e larified, songs that we are talking a(out here, as opposed to 2ust l#ris,
whih would more auratel# (e ategoriAed as poems. -eause >im, as we all know, was )uite a
prolifi poet, whereas he was a songwriter onl# for one (rief period in his life. -ut wh# was thatD
:h# did Morrison, with no pre"ious interest in musi, suddenl# and ine6plia(l# (eome a prolifi
songwriter, onl# to 2ust as suddenl# lose interest after mentall# penning an impressi"e atalogue of
what would (eome regarded as rok staplesD And how and wh# did >im ahie"e the aompan#ing
ph#sial transformation that hanged him from a lean+ut, ollegiate, and rather onser"ati"e
looking #oung man into the (rooding se6 s#m(ol who would take the ountr# (# stormD And wh#,
after a few #ears of adopting that persona, did >im transform one again, in the last #ear or so of his
life, into an o"erweight, hea"il#+(earded, relusi"e poet who seemed to ha"e lost his interest in
musi 2ust as suddenl# and ine6plia(l# as he had o(tained itD
It wasnJt 2ust Morrison who was, in retrospet, a (it of an oddit#G the entire (and differed from other
.aurel *an#on (ands in a num(er of signifiant wa#s. As %anit# /air noted man# #ears ago, 'he
=oors were alwa#s different.U All four mem(ers of the group, for e6ample, laked pre"ious (and
e6periene. Morrison and ManAarek, as noted, were film students, and drummer >ohn =ensmore
and guitarist ,o((# Breiger were reruited (# ManAarek from his 'ransendental Meditation lass
S whih is, I guess, where one goes to find musiians to fill out oneJs (and. 'hat lass, howe"er,
apparentl# laked a (ass pla#er, so the# did without S e6ept for those times when the# used session
musiians and then laimed that the# did without.
An#wa#, the point is that none of the four mem(ers of the =oors had (and redentials. E"en a (and
as ontri"ed as the -#rds, as we shall soon see, had mem(ers with (and redentials. So too did
-uffalo Springfield, with !eil @oung and -rue 9almer, for e6ample, ha"ing pla#ed in the M#nah
-irds, (aking a #oung "oalist (# the name of ,ik SuperfreakU >ames 0$oldie M>ohn of
Steppenwolf, oddl# enough, had (een a M#nah -ird as well1. 'he Mamas and the 9apas were put
together from elements of the >ourne#men and the Mugwumps. And so on with the rest of the
.aurel *an#on (ands
'he =oors ould ite no suh (and lineage. 'he# were 2ust four gu#s who happened to ome
together to pla# the songs written (# the singer who had ne"er sung (ut who had a sudden alling
and a magial gift for songwriting. And as #ou would e6pet with four gu#s who had ne"er atuall#
pla#ed in a (and (efore, the# prett# muh suked. -ut donJt take m# word for itG letJs let the (andJs
produer, 9aul ,othhild, weigh inC 'he =oors were not great li"e performers musiall#. 'he#
were e6iting theatriall# and kinetiall#, (ut as musiians the# didnJt make itG there was too muh
inonsisten#, there was too muh (ad musi. ,o((# would (e horrendousl# out of tune with ,a#,
>ohn would (e missing ues, there was (ad mike usage too, where #ou ouldnJt hear >im at all.U
As luk would ha"e it, I ha"e heard some audio of a #oung and )uite ine(riated >im Morrison at the
mirophone, and I would ha"e to sa# that not (eing a(le to hear >im at allU might ha"e, in man#
ases, atuall# impro"ed the performane. -ut suking as a (and, of ourse, does not reall# set the
=oors apart from its ontemporaries. Another thing that was unusual a(out the (and, howe"er, is
that, from the moment the (and was onei"ed, the lineup ne"er hanged. !o one was added, no
one was replaed, no one dropped out of the (and o"er Iartisti differenes,J or to pursue a solo
areer, or to 2oin another (and, or for an# of the other reasons that (ands routinel# hange shape.
'he :hisk# ira 1966, with Arthur .ee and .o"e featured as the house (and 0sreen ap from Mondo -iAarro1
It would (e diffiult to identif# another .aurel *an#on (and of an# longe"it# that ould make the
same laim. After their first two al(ums, the -#rds hanged line+ups with "irtuall# e"er# al(um
release. /rank ?appaJs Mothers of In"ention were in a near+onstant state of flu6. .aurel *an#onJs
ountr#+rok (ands were also onstantl# hanging shape, usuall# (# inestuousl# swapping
mem(ers amongst themsel"es.
-ut not the =oors. >im MorrisonJs (and arri"ed on the sene as a full#+formed entit#, with a name, a
sta(le line+up, a (aklog of soon+to+(e hit songs S and no pre"ious e6periene writing, arranging,
pla#ing or performing musi. 5ther than that though, the# were 2ust #our run+of+the+mill, organi,
grass+roots rok+and+roll (and S with a urious a"ersion to politial ad"oa#.
>im Morrison was, (# "irtuall# all aounts, a "oraious reader. /ormer teahers and ollege
professors e6pressed amaAement at the (readth and depth of his knowledge on "arious topis, and at
the staggering arra# of literar# soures that he ould auratel# ite. And #et he was known to tell
inter"iewers that he LhadMnJt studied politis that muh, reall#.U -ut that was oka#, aording to
drummer >ohn =ensmore, sine a lot of people at our onerts at least, the#Jre sort of S it seems
like the# donJt reall# ome to hear us speak politis.U
'hatJs the wa# it was in the 1968s, #ou seeG the #oung folks of that era 2ust didnJt onern
themsel"es muh with politis, and ertainl# didnJt want their anti+war ions engaging in an#thing
resem(ling politial disourse.
O O O O O O O O O O
=uring the =oorsJ glor# da#s on the Sunset Strip, Morrison struk up an intimate friendshipU with
:hisk#+A+$o+$o owner Elmer %alentine, aording to a %anit# /air artile 0.i"e at the :hisk#U1.
At the time, %alentine was also, oinidentall# of ourse, "er# lose to his own seretar#;(ooking
agent, $ail Sloatman, whom >im had known sine kindergarten through !a"al offiersJ irles.
%alentine was also S (# prett# muh all aounts, inluding his own S a Imade man.J
It was mentioned pre"iousl# that %alentine was a former *hiago "ie op, (ut what wasnJt
mentioned is that he was a full# orrupt op. -# his own aount, he worked as a polie aptainJs
(agman, olleting the filth# lure on (ehalf of the aptain.U Fe also (oasted that, e"en while
working as a "ie op, his night 2o( was running nightlu(s for the outfit S for gangsters.U 5ne
"er# lose friendU from his da#s in *hiago was /eli6 Alderisio, also known as Milwaukee 9hil,
who was argua(l# the most feared hit man in the ountr# in the 1938s and 68s, arr#ing out at least
14 murders for Sam $ianana and other *hiago (osses.U
%alentine was ultimatel# indited for e6tortion, though he managed to a"oid proseution and
on"ition. %enturing out to .A ira 1968, he soon found himself running 9>Js nightlu( at the
orner of *resent Feights and Santa Monia -oule"ards 0whih, as #ou ma# reall, was o+owned
(# Eddie !ash and was the fa"ored hang+out of earl# roker;murder "itim -o((# /uller1. It wasnJt
long though (efore %alentine had his "er# own lu( to run S the legendar# :hiske#+A+$o+$o,
where numerous .aurel *an#on (ands, inluding the =oors in the summer of 1966, ser"ed their
residen#.
'he =oors get their start at .ondon /og while .o"e pla#s two doors down at the :hisk# 0from Mondo -iAarro1
%alentine o("iousl# had onsidera(le finanial (aking to launh his (usiness enterprise, and it
wasnJt muh of a seret on the Strip where that (aking ame from. /rank ?appa one r#ptiall#
referred to %alentineJs (akers as an ethni organiAation,U while *hris Fillman of the -#rds simpl#
noted that, whoe"er finaned Elmer, I donJt want to know.U
%alentine reei"ed far more than 2ust finanial (aking to launh the :hisk#G he got a generous
assist from the media as well. As %anit# /air noted, :ithin months of the :hisk#Js de(ut, .ife
magaAine had written it up, >ak 9aar had (roadast an episode of his post+'onight weekl# program
from the lu(, and Ste"e MXueen and >a#ne Mansfield had installed themsel"es as regulars.U
=uring that "er# same era, it should (e noted, Mansfield was also a high+profile mem(er of the
*hurh of Satan, with lose ties to founder Anton .a%e#, who in turn had ties, as we ha"e alread#
seen, to the dane troupe led (# %ito 9aulekas, whih, as we ha"e also seen, had lose ties to .aurel
*an#onJs "er# first (and, the -#rds.
Fow was that for a segueD
'he -#rds 19<1
As a fledgling (and, the -#rds had an# num(er of pro(lems. 'he first and most o("ious was that
the (andJs mem(ers did not own an# musial instruments. 'hat pro(lem was sol"ed though when
!aomi Firshorn, (est known for funding suh other )uasi+go"ernmental pro2ets as the Firshorn
Museum in :ashington, =.*., stepped up to the plate to pro"ide the (and with instruments,
amplifiers and the like. -ut that didnJt sol"e a (igger pro(lem, whih was that the (andJs mem(ers,
with the e6eption of >im 0later ,oger1 M$uinn, didnJt ha"e a lue as to how to atuall# pla# the
instruments.
*ast to pla# the (ass pla#er was *hris Fillman, who had ne"er piked up a (ass guitar in his life. As
he andidl# admitted #ears later, he was a mandolin pla#er and didnJt know how to pla# (ass. -ut
the# didnJt know how to pla# their instruments either, so I didnJt feel too (ad a(out it.U 5n drums
was Mihael *larke, who had ne"er (efore held a set of drumstiks in his hands, (ut who (ore a
resem(lane to ,olling Stone -rian >ones, whih was deemed to (e of more signifiane than atual
musial a(ilit#. As *ros(# o+author *arl $ottlie( realled, *larke had pla#ed (eatnik (ongos and
onga drum, (ut had no e6periene with on"entional drumming.U
$ene *lark, though (# far the most gifted songwriter in the (and and a talented "oalist as well,
ould pla# the guitar, (ut not partiularl# well, so he was relegated to (anging the tam(ourine,
whih was >im MorrisonJs 0and "arious non+musiall# inlined mem(ers of the 9artridge /amil#Js1
instrument of hoie as well. =a"id *ros(#, tasked with rh#thm guitar duties, wasnJt muh (etter.
*ros(# himself admitted, in his first auto(iograph# 0does an#one reall# need to write more than one
auto(iograph#, (# the wa#D1, that ,oger was the onl# one who ould reall# pla#.U
'he (and had another pro(lem as wellC with the e6eption of $ene *lark, who was good (ut not
terri(l# prolifi, the group was a (it laking in songwriting a(ilit#. 'o ompensate, the# initiall#
pla#ed mostl# o"ers. /ull# a third of the (andJs first al(um onsisted of o"ers of =#lan songs, and
nearl# another third was made up of o"ers of songs (# other folk singer;songwriters. *lark
ontri(uted the fi"e original songs, two of them o+written with M$uinn. As for *ros(#, who
emerged as the (andJs (iggest star, his onl# ontri(ution to the -#rdJs first al(um was (aking
"oals.
*arl /ranAoni perhaps summed it up (est when he delared that the -#rds reords were
manufatured.U 'he first al(um in partiular was an entirel# engineered affair reated (# taking a
olletion of songs (# outside songwriters and ha"ing them performed (# a group of nameless
studio musiians 0for the reord, the atual musiians were $len *amp(ell S #es, that $len
*amp(ell, who also (riefl# ser"ed as a -eah -o# S on guitar, Fal -laine on drums, .arr# Bnehtel
on (ass, .eon ,ussell on eletri piano, and >err# *ole on rh#thm guitar1, after whih the (andJs
trademark "oal harmonies, entirel# a studio reation, were added to the mi6.
As would (e e6peted, the -#rdsJ li"e performanes, aording to -arne# Fosk#ns in :aiting for
the Sun, werenJt terri(l# good.U -ut that didnJt matter muhG the (and got a lot of assistane from
the media, with 'ime magaAine (eing among the first to hampion the new (and. And the# also got
a lot of help from %ito and the /reaks and from the @oung 'urks, as was pre"iousl# disussed.
:e shall return to the -#rds, and to our old friend %ito, in the ne6t outing. /or now, I lea"e #ou
with this urious little stor# a(out -#rd *hris FillmanJs initial arri"al in .aurel *an#on, as told (#
Mihael :alker in .aurel *an#onC In the autumn of 1964, a nineteen+#ear+old (luegrass adept and
"irtuoso mandolin pla#er named *hris Fillman stood at the orner of .aurel *an#on -oule"ard and
Birkwood =ri"e ontemplating a /5, ,E!' sign on a telephone pole aross from the *an#on
*ountr# Store W It didnJt take him long to find La plae to sta#M, and, in the an#onJs emerging
m#thos of enhanted serendipit#, one presented itself as if (# magi. I'his gu# dri"es up and he
sa#s I#ou looking for a plae to rentDJ Fillman realls. II said #eah, and he said. I:ell, follow me
up.J It was this #oung gu# who was a dentist. It was his parentJs house, a (eautiful old wood house
down a dirt road S and he li"ed on the top, and he was renting out the (ottom part. I 2ust went,
I:ow, perfet.J 'he gu# ended up (eing m# dentist for a while W It was the top of the world, a
(eautiful, (eautiful plae. I had the (est plae in the an#on.U
In .os Angeles, #ou see, it is )uite ommon for a "er# wealth# person to offer e6)uisite li"ing
aommodations to a random, sruff# "agrant. I know this to (e true (eause it happened to *harlie
Manson on more than one oasion. In an# e"ent, no one will e"er guess what happened to *hris
FillmanJs mountaintop home, so IJll 2ust go ahead and tell #ouC it (urned to the ground on what
:alker desri(ed as a hot, with# da# in the I68s.U Aording to Fillman, *ros(# was at m#
house an hour (efore the (laAe. I anJt onnet it #etSwhere the Satan fator ame into pla# with
=a"idS(ut IJm working on it.U
I think ma#(e I will work on that as well.
'he :hisk#&s signature &$o+$o =aners& work it out ira 1966 0sreen ap from Mondo Mod1
Part 1*
I:d have to say that' personally spea!ing' Cros+y &as &orse for the good feelings of
.the local/ roc!:n:roll .scene/ than 0anson &as) Y'err# Melher
I had +een to Terry 0elcher:s house on Cielo $rive many times) Y=a"id *ros(# U
'err# Melher 19<4
I( not going to sugar&oat this at all: you people really su&$ !hen it &oes to pi&$ing e out
of a photo lineup) And I&m not talking a(out suking 2ust a little (it here, folks + no, I&m talking
a(out totall# suking ass. And it wasn&t e"en a partiularl# diffiult task, to (e perfetl# honest.
After all, I pro"ided #ou with twent#+one omposite skethes of what I looked like ira 1966, and
#et onl# one of #ou + 2ust oneR + ould orretl# identif# me. So to gi"e the rest of #ou a sporting
hane, I&m going to narrow it down for #ouC I&m one of the three wise men + whih is to sa#, the
three hairless kids + in the top row.
An#wa#, I (elie"e we were disussing the -#rds when lass was last on"ened, so let&s now meet a
formida(le (ehind+the+senes pla#er and the (and&s first produer, 'err# Melher. It is fairl# well
known that Melher was the son of &"irginal& atress =oris =a#, who was 2ust si6teen when
impregnated and se"enteen when 'err# was (orn. Melher&s father was trom(onist Al >orden, who
reportedl# regularl# (eat =a#, and likel# 'err# as well. >orden wasn&t around for long thoughG his
death, when Melher was 2ust two or three #ears old, was naturall# ruled a suiide.
After an e)uall# short+li"ed seond marriage, =oris =a# married her agent and produer, Mart#
Melher, who was uni"ersall# regarded as one of the (iggest assholes in Foll#wood + and that&s not
an eas# title to attain, gi"en the fiere ompetition. .ike >orden, Melher was well known to (e a
t#ranniall# "iolent and a(usi"e man. Fe also reportedl# em(eAAled some P78 million from his
wife;lient. 5n the (right side though, he did adopt and help raise 'err#, who took his name.
'err# Melher was argua(l# one of the most important figures lurking a(out the peripher# of the
.aurel *an#on saga, (# "irtue of the fat that he had deep ties to "irtuall# all aspets of the an#on
sene, inluding the .aurel *an#on musiians, the Manson /amil#, the %ito 9aulekas dane troupe,
and the group of #oung Foll#wood ators generall# referred to as &'he @oung 'urks.&
As it turns out, Melher first met %ito 9aulekas when 'err# was still in high shool in the late
1938s. As Melher later realled, 4%ito was an art instrutor. :hen I was in high shool, we&d go to
his art studio (eause he had naked models.4 A half+a+deade or so later, these two would, eah in
his own wa#, (eome ke# pla#ers in launhing not 2ust the areer of the -#rds, (ut the entire .aurel
*an#on musi sene, as well as the aompan#ing #outh ounter+ultural mo"ement.
Also while still in high shool, Melher (efriended -rue >ohnston, the adopted son of a top
e6euti"e with the ,e6all drugstore hain. :hile growing up on the not+so+mean streets of -e"erl#
Fills and -el Air, the two reorded together as singing duo -rue and 'err#. >ohnstone also pla#ed
in a high shool (and with 9hil Spetor, who, it will (e realled, shared with Melher 0and "arious
others in this stor#1 the distintion of ha"ing lost a parent to an alleged at of suiide.
As I pro(a(l# ha"e alread# mentioned, it would (e Spetor&s rak team of studio musiians,
du((ed 'he :reking *rew, who would pro"ide the instrumental traks for ountless al(ums (#
.aurel *an#on (ands. -rue >ohnston, meanwhile, would go on to (eome a -eah -o#, replaing
:reking *rew mem(er $len *amp(ell, who had (riefl# replaed -rian :ilson after -rian
a(ruptl# deided that he no longer wanted to perform li"e. -rian&s little (rother =ennis, meanwhile,
famousl# forged a lose (ond with 'err# Melher, as well as with $regg >ako(son, a would+(e ator
and talent sout who was married to .ou *ostello&s daughter. *ostello&s onl# son, (# the wa#, .ou
>r., drowned in the famil# pool on !o"em(er 4, 194Q, 2ust (efore reahing his first (irthda#.
` =a"e M$owanY'he *an#on *ountr# Store, where *hris Fillman had a fortuitous enounter.
'he trio of :ilson, Melher and >ako(son, who du((ed themsel"es the 4$olden 9enetrators4
0:ilson referred to himself rather su(tl# as 4'he :ood41, famousl# forged a lose (ond with a
musiian;prophet;penetrator (# the name of *harlie Manson. In 1966, Melher, along with Mark
.indsa# of the (and 9aul ,e"ere and the ,aiders, leased and mo"ed into the soon+to+(e infamous
home at 18838 *ielo =ri"e in -enedit *an#on 0.indsa# would later ha"e the du(ious distintion
of also li"ing for a time in the other infamous an#on death house, on :onderland A"enueG .indsa#
was also a regular "isitor to the .og *a(in1. 'he two were soon 2oined (# Melher&s girlfriend,
atress *andae -ergen. Melher and -ergen remained in the home until earl# 1969, fre)uentl#
entertaining numerous high+profile guests from (oth the musi and film industries.
=uring the summer of 196N, when *harlie Manson and numerous mem(ers of his entourage,
inluding *harles 4'e64 :atson and =ean Moorehouse, were shaking up with Melher&s (est
(udd#, =ennis :ilson, 'e6 and =ean were known to regularl# "isit the Melher;-ergen home on
*ielo =ri"e. *harlie Manson is known to ha"e "isited the Melher home on se"eral oasions as
well, and to ha"e oasionall# (orrowed Melher&s >aguar. >ust after Melher and -ergen "aated
the home, >ako(son reportedl# arranged for Moorehouse to li"e there (riefl#, (efore 'ate and
9olanski took possession in /e(ruar# of 1969. =uring Moorehouse&s sta#, 'e6, who would later (e
portra#ed as the leader of the 'ate and .a-iana hit s)uads, ame alling regularl#. Fis address
(ook would later (e found to ontain a phone num(er for a former 9olanski residene.
:atson had mo"ed out to .A from 'e6as in 1966 after opting to drop out of ollege, whih those
who knew him "iewed as (eing wildl# out of harater. -# the spring of 196N, when *harles
:atson met *harles Manson at =ennis :ilson&s home, 'e6 was the modish o+owner of *rown :ig
*reations on the orner of Santa Monia -oule"ard and ,odeo =ri"e in -e"erl# Fills. 'hrough that
(usiness enterprise, he had de"eloped e6tensi"e Foll#wood ontats + ontats that ame in hand#
when he (egan handling large drug transations and large piles of ash for *harlie Manson. 'e6
:atson soon grew so lose to Manson that, aording to Ed Sanders, he was known to omplain at
times 4that he atuall# thought he was *harlie.4
Aording to %anit# /air, 'e6 :atson was also 4a regular patron of the :hisk#,4 whih isn&t too
surprising gi"en that Elmer %alentine&s lu( was well known to (e a ma2or drug traffiking site
during the late 1968s. :atson&s fre)uent sidekik =ean Moorehouse, (# the wa#, hailed from Minot,
!orth =akota, identified (# Maur# 'err# as the longtime home of a 9roess *hurh fation with
deep ties to 5ffutt Air /ore -ase. 'hough it is purel# speulation, it seems entirel# possi(le that
Moorehouse ser"ed as a handler for (oth *harlies + Manson and :atson 0perhaps tellingl#,
disinformation+peddler %inent -ugliosi mentions Moorehouse onl# one in his nearl# <88+page
treatment of the Manson ase, in muh the same wa# that =a"id *ros(# ignores %ito 9aulekas in
his word# auto(iograph#1.
In the spring of 1969, the trio of :ilson, Melher and >ako(son got lose to -o((# -eausoleil as
well. >ako(son made at least two trips to the $erard 'heatrial Agen# to hear demo tapes that
-o((# had reorded. 'he agen#, headed (# >ak $erard, speialiAed in suppl#ing topless daners
to seed# lu(s, and ators and atresses for porno film shoots. -eausoleil&s primar# 2o( with the
agen# was to deli"er arloads of girls to the lu(sG more than a few of those girls were mem(ers of
*harlie&s /amil#. In Marh of 1969, 2ust months (efore he was arrested for the torture+murder of
$ar# Finman, -o((# had signed a songwriting ontrat with the agen# and (egun reording
demos.
-eausoleil also aompanied Melher and >ako(son on at least two trips out to the Spahn Mo"ie
,anh, one in Ma# of 1969 and then again the ne6t month. >ako(son was a fre)uent "isitor to
Spahn and was known to (oast of ha"ing held o"er 188 hours of on"ersations with the all+knowing
prophet known as *harles Manson. $regg also lo((ied !-* to shoot a doumentar# film a(out the
Manson /amil#&s &hippie ommune,& and the network was for a time )uite interested in the pro2et.
Along with =ennis :ilson, >ako(son also arranged for *harlie to reord at an unnamed studio in
Santa MoniaG that session was also attended (# 'err# Melher, -o((# -eausoleil and se"eral of the
Manson girls.
.est an#one think otherwise, (# the wa#, the Manson /amil# ertainl# had no shortage of talented
musiians. *on"ited murderer *harles Manson, of ourse, was widel# "iewed (# his
ontemporaries in the an#on as a talented singer;songwriter;guitarist. So too was on"ited
murderer -o((# -eausoleil, who had 2ammed with =ennis :ilson, pla#ed rh#thm guitar for the
pre+.o"e lineup known as the $rass ,oots, knew /rank ?appa and had "isited the .og *a(in, and
later omposed and reorded the film sore for Benneth Anger&s .uifer ,ising. *on"ited
murderer 9atriia Brenwinkle was an aomplished guitarist and songwriter. *on"ited murderer
Ste"e 4*lem4 $rogan was a talented musiian as wellG he later pla#ed in the prison (and assem(led
(# -eausoleil to reord the .uifer ,ising soundtrak. In addition, /amil# mem(ers -rooks 9oston
and 9aul :atkins were aomplished musiians, and *atherine 4$#ps#4 Share was a "irtuoso "iolin
pla#er as well as (eing a singer and oasional atress 0see, for e6ample, ,amrodder, ostarring
-o((# -eausoleil and filmed partiall# at + where elseD + Spahn Mo"ie ,anh1.
` =a"e M$owanYStilt houses along the pri"ate road leading to 18838 *ielo =ri"e as the# appear toda#.
*atherine Share is nota(le in other wa#s as well, inluding her unparalleled feat of raising the (ar so
high on parental suiides that no one else, e"en in .aurel *an#on, is likel# to (e a(le to lear it.
5rphaned as a hild when (oth (iologial parents purportedl# ommitted suiide, $#ps# was
adopted (# a ps#hologist and his wife. Fer adopti"e mother then allegedl# ommitted suiide as
well, lea"ing her to (e raised (# her adopti"e father. Share is also nota(le for (eing the oldest of
*harlie&s girls, nearl# twent#+se"en at the time of the murders 0most of the others were under
twent#+one, and man#, inluding =ean Moorehouse&s daughter ,uth Ann 45uish4 Moorehouse,
were minors1. $#ps# li"ed with -o((# -eausoleil (efore meeting and li"ing with Manson, and she
seemed to ser"e as a reruiter for (oth of them.
Aording to Ed Sanders, $#ps# Share also 4arranged for 9aul ,othshild, the produer of 'he
=oors, to hear the famil# musi.4 It seems as though 2ust a(out e"er#one had an opportunit# to hear
the /amil#&s musi. Some of it was reorded in -eah -o# -rian :ilson&s state+of+the+art home
reording studio. Some was reorded (# 'err# Melher and $regg >ako(son at Spahn ,anh using a
mo(ile reording studio. Some was reorded in Santa Monia. -# some reports, some was reorded
(# a ma2or Foll#wood studio. 5ther reordings were likel# made as well, though no(od# reall#
likes to talk a(out suh things. $regg >ako(son reorded man# of his marathon on"ersations with
*harlie, (ut as with the demo reordings made (# =ennis :ilson, e"er#one likes to pretend that
suh reordings were lost or destro#ed or ne"er e6isted.
'he /amil# was filmed at Spahn ,anh (# Melher as well. /amil# mem(ers also shot an e6tensi"e
amount of film making &home mo"ies,& whih man# witnesses ha"e laimed inluded /amil# orgies
and ritualiAed snuff films. A "ast amount of !-* amera e)uipment and film was found to (e in the
possession of *harlie&s motle# rew, all of whih was laimed to (e stolen. It seems likel#, howe"er,
gi"en the network&s known in"ol"ement with the /amil#, that the e)uipment was pro"ided to them
so that the# ould film their e6ploits.
:hen not hanging out with *harlie and 'e6 and -o((#, 'err# Melher also found time to produe
the reords that first atapulted the -#rds to fameC 4Mr. 'am(ourine Man4 and 4'urn, 'urn, 'urn.4
'he first, reorded in >anuar# 1963 and released a few months later, was the reord that announed
to the world the arri"al of a new (reed of musiC folk+rok. It was reated, simpl# enough, (#
(orrowing from the song(ooks of folk legends 0primaril# -o( =#lan and 9ete Seeger1 and then
pla#ing those songs on amplified e)uipment. =#lan himself followed suit not long after, at the
!ewport /olk /esti"al in >ul# 1963, muh to the onsternation of the gathered rowd of folkies.
In Fotel *alifornia, -arne# Fosk#ns writes that the -#rds were, from the "er# outset, 4onei"ed as
an eletri rok and roll group.4 :hat Fosk#ns doesn&t reall# larif# though is who e6atl# it was
that initiall# onei"ed of this hugel# influential (and in those terms. Surel# it wasn&t the (and
mem(ers themsel"es who deided that the# were going to pioneer a new musial genre, sine the#
pro(a(l# had their hands full with 2ust learning to pla# their instruments.
It would pro(a(l# (e slightl# more aurate to sa# that the -#rds appear to ha"e (een initiall#
onei"ed as an eletri folk+rok group. -# >ul# of 1966, howe"er, when the (and released its third
al(um, featuring the $ene *lark+penned 4Eight Miles Figh,4 it had morphed into something
different and (# doing so helped pioneer another genre of musi + ps#hedeli rok. :ith the later
addition of $ram 9arsons and the growing influene of *hris Fillman, the -#rds would ne6t morph
into a ountr#+rok (and, thus helping to spawn that genre of musi as well.
` Mondo ModY9andora&s -o6, ira 1966
Aording to rok &n& roll legend, the first two -#rds to get together were >ames >oseph M$uinn III
and Farold Eugene *lark. M$uinn hailed from *hiago, the son of (est+selling authors >ames and
=oroth# M$uinn. >im had pla#ed with -o((# =arin, the .imeliters, and the *had Mithell 'rio,
and he was onsidered to (e a talented guitarist. In 1967, he left the *had Mithell 'rio and worked
for a time in !ew @ork *it# as a studio musiian + (efore hearing the all that so man# others
seemed to hear and making his wa# to .os Angeles. 5ne there, he wasted no time hooking up with
$ene *lark.
*lark had (een (orn in 'ipton, Missouri, the seond oldest in a famil# of thirteen si(lings. An
undenia(l# talented songwriter and "oalist, *lark ut his first reord with a loal rok &n& roll
om(o when he was 2ust thirteen #ears old. Fe later 2oined the !ew *hrist# Minstrels, a "oal
ensem(le known during his tenure primaril# for the hit song 4$reen, $reen.4 .ike so man# others,
howe"er, $ene soon found himself paking his (ags for + where elseD + .os Angeles, where he met
up with the reentl#+arri"ed >im M$uinn. 'he newl#+formed folk duo soon added a third "oie to
the mi6 + our old friend =a"id *ros(#, who had formerl# (een a "oalist with .es -a6ter&s
-alladeers.
*ros(# (rought in manager >im =ikson, with whom he had done some solo sessions in 196Q. 'he
#ear (efore that, =ikson had produed a self+titled al(um for a (and known as the Fillmen,
featuring a #oung mandolin pla#er out of San =iego named *hris Fillman. Fillman had ut his first
al(um, with a (and known as the Sotts"ille S)uirrel -arkers, while still in high shool. Fe was a
highl# regarded #oung (luegrass musiian and was generall# onsidered to (e a "irtuoso mandolin
pla#er + whih I guess is wh# >im =ikson ast him to pla# the part of the (ass pla#er in the world&s
first folk+rok (and. And as we alread# know, Fillman had 2ust luked upon lu6urious li"ing
aommodations right in the heart of what was to (eome the musi ommunit#&s epienter, so he
was all set to (eome a rok star.
,aised on a ranh in San =iego, Fillman had tra"eled alone to -erkele# when he was 2ust fifteen,
ostensi(l# to take pri"ate Mandolin lessons. At a(out that same time, his father had + wait for it +
reportedl# ommitted suiide. 'hose two losel# aligned e"ents would ha"e, I would guess, had a
profound impat on the #oung musiian.
Fillman would ultimatel# (eome a skilled (ass pla#er and a ma2or figure in the .aurel *an#on+
spawned ountr#+rok mo"ement. .ike man# others of that (ent, Fillman had (een a huge fan of
Spade *oole# during his formati"e #ears and he later ited *oole# as a ma2or influene on his own
musial diretion. I&m guessing that most readers are not familiar with the stor# of the 4Bing of
:estern Swing,4 whih is kind of a shame (eause as stories go, it&s a prett# good one, so let&s
digress here (riefl# and meet the man who was fre)uentl# ited as one of the forefathers of ountr#+
rok.
` =a"e M$owanY'he ,o6# 'heater, opened (# Elmer %alentine, .ou Adler and =a"id $effen, as it looks toda#.
'hroughout the 1948s and 1938s, =onnell *l#de 4Spade4 *oole# was a popular loal musiian and
(andleader. Fis weekl# shows at the ,edondo -eah 9ier 0whih was lose enough to m# hildhood
home, (# the wa#, that m# friends and I oasionall# rode our (ikes there1 ould draw as man# as
18,888 appreiati"e fans, few of whom knew of his aloholism, "iolent temper, or prior arrest for
attempted rape. Fis popularit# ultimatel# landed him his own loal tele"ision show, 'he Spade
*oole# Four. Fis areer, howe"er, ame to an a(rupt end on April Q, 1961, when he tortured and
murdered his #oung wife, Ella Mae *oole#, while foring his fourteen+#ear+old daughter to wath
in horror.
Aording to ourt transripts, Ella Mae had (een spending a onsidera(le amount of time in the
ompan# of two men, identified as .uther >akson and -ud =a"enport, (oth of whom worked in the
sprawling, *IA+infested medial researh failit# at U*.A. 5n the da# of her death, Ella Mae had
made the rather (old deision to inform Spade that the two men had initiated her into a &free lo"e&
ult and that she had deided to gi"e up her famil# and all her possessions to 2oin the group, whih
was in the proess of (u#ing land near the oean to (uild and operate a pri"ate ompound.
Spade *oole#&s response to his wife&s delaration was to (rutall# (eat, stomp and strangle her to
death, (ut onl# after repeatedl# (urning her with a lit igarette. All of this was witnessed (#
daughter Melod#, who had (een told (# her father that 4now #ou&re going to wath me kill this
whore.4 After doing 2ust that, Spade then asked his daughter if she thought that Ella Mae was reall#
dead, adding, 4:ell, let&s see if she is.4 Fe then proeeded to (urn her lifeless (od# repeatedl# with
another lit igarette, until he apparentl# was satisfied that she was indeed dead.
Unlike so man# other ele(rit# homiide suspets, *oole# was on"ited of first+degree murder and
sentened to ser"e a life sentene. Fe was sent to the rather notorious %aa"ille failit# where he
ser"ed eight #ears (efore (eing offered earl# parole. >ust (efore his sheduled release, he arranged a
!o"em(er 7Q, 1969 ome(ak onert in 5akland for whih his aptors had agreed to release him
on a three+da# pass. 'he onert was reportedl# a huge suess and it looked as though *oole#&s
star was a(out to shine one again upon his pending release from prison. -ut that&s not )uite how
this stor# endsG instead, *oole# walked (ak to his dressing room right after the show and promptl#
dropped dead, thus ending the saga of Spade *oole# and allowing us to return to where we left
off ...
... atuall#, let&s take one more )uik detour here and note that not long after Spade *oole# was
sheduled for release, another peripheral harater in this stor# deided that it might (e a good idea
to whak his wife as well. 4Fum(le4 Far"e Miller was a popular => on .A&s T1 pop musi station
during that era, BF> on the AM dial. =uring the latter half of the 1968s, Miller was #et another of
the pla#ers who helped launh the areers of the .aurel *an#on (ands, (# getting their new singles
on the radio. -ut then he, like *oole#, killed his wife and was sent to prison. Also like *oole#, he
was granted earl# release. -ut unlike Spade, Miller suessfull# resumed his areer. And now, at
long last, we an return to our stor# ...
` =a"e M$owanY*iro&s !ightlu(, ABA 'he *omed# Store, as it looks toda#.
-# mid+1964, the nuleus of what would (eome the -#rds had formed with the (onding of
M$uinn and *lark. -etween the two of them, the# would pro"ide the (and with its signature 17+
string guitar sound, its two lead "oalists, and 0in the earl# #ears, at least1 its (est songwriters.
Along then ame =a"id *ros(#, who added little more than harmon# "oals, at least on the first two
al(ums, (ut who seems to ha"e largel# hi2aked the (and with the help of manager >im =ikson,
who added fake (ass pla#er 0(ut real musiian1 *hris Fillman. *ros(# then rounded out the (and (#
adding fake drummer Mihael *larke.
*larke had (een (orn Mihael =ik in Spokane, :ashington. At se"enteen, =ik ran awa# from
home and hithhiked to the land of enhantment known as *alifornia, apparentl# (eoming Mihael
*larke along the wa#. 'he #ear was 196Q. Aording to rok histor# as told (# =a"id *ros(#,
*larke and *ros(# met in -ig Sur, whih oinidentall# happens to (e the loation of the notorious
Esalen Institute 0where *S!@ would pla# some #ears later1. A #ear later, the "agrant teenager with
no drumming e6periene would find himself ast to pla# the role of the drummer in the (and
designed to (e Ameria&s answer to the -eatles. Aording to *ros(#, *larke&s first .A address was
the home of 'err# Melher.
'he (and, now omplete, first du((ed themsel"es the >et Set and then the -eefeaters, e"en
reording a less+then+memora(le single under the latter moniker, (efore finall# settling on the
-#rds. -efore the end of 1964, >im =ikson had signed the (and to a deal with *olum(ia ,eords.
As -arne# Fosk#ns reounts in :aiting for the Sun, 4'he o("ious ineptitude of Mihael *larke and
shakiness of most of the others was still a pro(lem when >im =ikson got the (and signed to
*olum(ia in !o"em(er. L'he# wereM Assigned to staff produer 'err# Melher ...4
'hat assignment, it would seem, was a rather fortuitous one gi"en that the fledgling (and&s rehearsal
spae 2ust happened to (e in the "er# same (asement studio that Melher snuk off to while in high
shool. >ust two months after signing with *olum(ia, the (and, or rather its surrogates, were alread#
in the studio reording 4Mr. 'am(ourine Man,4 at the insistene of >im =ikson. =espite the
o(2etions of "arious (and mem(ers, =ikson reportedl# pushed hard for the song to (e the (and&s
first single. 5n Marh 76, 1963, 2ust two months after pretending to la# down the instrumental
traks for 4Mr. 'am(ourine Man,4 the -#rds pla#ed their first real li"e show, as the first at at the
refur(ished and reopened *iro&s nightlu(.
I o("iousl# wasn&t there so I an&t sa# for sure, (ut I&m going to go out on a lim( here and guess that
a (and whose entire rh#thm setion was 2ust learning to pla# their instruments pro(a(l# did not put
on a "er# ompelling performane. 'he -#rds apparentl# pla#ed one other li"e show (efore the
*iro&s opening, though the nature of that show appears to (e in dispute 0or perhaps there were two
pre"ious shows1. Aording to >im =ikson, 4'he -#rds first pu(li gig was (ooked (# .enn#
-rue&s mother, Sall# Marr. She got them a 2o( at .os Angeles *it# *ollege, noon assem(l#, for a
half hour.4 Aording to *arl /ranAoni and "arious others, howe"er, it was %ito 9aulekas who
(ooked the -#rds& first li"e show, at a rented hall on Melrose A"enue 2ust a da# or two (efore the
show at *iro&s.
` =a"e M$owanY'he F#att Fouse, ABA the riot house, looms o"er 'he *omed# Store, as it did o"er *iro&s in the
68&s.
In an# e"ent, 4Mr. 'am(ourine Man4 was released a(out a month after the (and had its (ig pu(li
de(ut at *iro&s and the .A musi sene would ne"er (e the same again. -efore long, lu(s (ig and
small were popping up all along the fa(led Sunset Strip and (ands were spilling out of .aurel
*an#on to pla# them. As 'err# Melher realled, 4kids ame from e"er#where. It 2ust happened.
5ne da# #ou ouldn&t dri"e an#more. It was, like, o"ernight + #ou ouldn&t dri"e on the Strip.4
'hat would soon hange though. -# the summer of 196<, the m#thial Summer of .o"e, the lu(
sene on the Strip was )uikl# d#ing. It had (een killed, deli(eratel# or not, (# some of the ke#
pla#ers who had reated itC 'err# Melher, produer of the sene&s first (andG .ou Adler, (usiness
partner of lu( owner Elmer %alentineG and >ohn 9hillips, leader of 'he Mamas and the 9apas and
omposer of suh ditties as 4*alifornia =reaming4 and 4If @ou&re $oing to San /raniso.4 It was
the Montere# 9op /esti"al, #ou see, held on >une 16+1N, 196<, that killed the Sunset Strip sene.
'he (ands that had filled the lu(s (eame, literall# o"ernight, too (ig to pla# suh intimate "enues.
5"er the ourse of the ne6t deade, .aurel *an#on (ands )uikl# mo"ed from lu(s to onert halls
to massi"e sports arenas. -ut here we are, I suppose, getting ahead of oursel"es.
As for the -#rds, the# arried on for a good man# #ears, al(eit with numerous personnel hanges.
/irst out was the man who man# feel was the most talented mem(er of the group, $ene *lark, who
dropped out in Marh of 1966, 2ust one #ear after the (and had first taken the stage at *iro&s. *lark
was also the first original -#rd to pass awa#, on Ma# 74, 1991, at 2ust 46 #ears of age, reportedl#
due to a (leeding uler. 'wo+and+a+half+#ears later, on =eem(er 19, 199Q, Mihael *larke died as
well when his li"er failed. -oth deaths were attri(uted to hroni aloholism.
>im M$uinn, who remained a -#rd through numerous (and lineups, 2oined the Su(ud religious
set in 1963. 'wo #ears later, upon the ad"ie of the ult&s founder, he hanged his name to ,oger. A
deade later, he (eame a (orn+again *hristian. In a similar "ein, *hris Fillman (eame an
E"angelial *hristian in the 19N8s, (ut then later swithed to the $reek 5rthodo6 faith. Fillman
pla#ed in "arious -#rds lineups, with $ram 9arson&s /l#ing -urrito -rothers, and in =a"id $effen&s
failed seond attempt at reating a supergroup, this one known as Souther, Fillman, /ura#. =a"id
*ros(#, of ourse, left the -#rds and (eame 1;Q of =a"id $effen&s first supergroup, *ros(#, Stills
K !ash. 'hese da#s he primaril# spends his time inseminating les(ians and oasionall# reuniting
with former (andmates.
>im =ikson and 'err# Melher ontinued to work with some of the -#rds, partiularl# $ram
9arsons and *hris Fillman. Melher formed a partiularl# lose (ond with his fellow &trust+fund
kid,& $ram 9arsons, as did Melher&s sometime sidekik, >ohn 9hillips. -oth Melher and 9hillips,
of ourse, knew *harlie Manson 0Melher ra"ed a(out him to !ed =ohen#1, whose former prison
(udd#, 9hil Baufman, was 9arsons& road manager 0and remator1. I&m prett# sure though that I
alread# mentioned that, (ut what I ha"en&t #et worked into this narrati"e is that the =oors& road
manager, -ill Siddons, was one a paramour of Mansonite .#nette 4S)ueak#4 /romme.
'he /amil#&s fingerprints, as alwa#s, an (e found in nearl# e"er# nook and rann# of the .aurel
*an#on sene.
Part 1/
-o one could recall ever seeing or hearing a+out ;ram +eing involved in a protest of
any sort) YAuthor -en /ong 'orres, who inter"iewed sores of people lose to $ram
9arsons while researhing Fikor# :ind
$ram 9arsons
Tiing is a &urious thing) ;hen I first started this series in May of *..:" the fa&t that Ji
Morrison(s father had ser#ed as the &oander of the ships in#ol#ed in the Gulf of Ton$in
(in&ident( had gone #irtually unreported for soe four%and%a%half de&ades) ,eaders were
shoked + shoked, I tell #ouR + when I (egan this series (# trotting out that re"elation. Some e"en
aused me of making it up, or of somehow twisting the fats.
-ut as fate would ha"e it, as =eem(er of 788N rolled around, the mainstream media was suddenl#
awash with reports of the unusual Morrison famil# onnetion. 5n =eem(er N, for e6ample, the
Los 4ngeles Times arried a report on Admiral $eorge Stephen Morrison, desri(ed therein as 4a
retired !a"# rear admiral and the father of the late rok ion >im Morrison.4 Aording to the 'imes
report, 4Morrison had a long areer that inluded ser"ing as operations offier a(oard the airraft
arrier Midwa# and commanding the fleet during the <=>? ;ulf of Ton!in incident, whih led to an
esalation of Amerian in"ol"ement in %ietnam.4 0emphasis added1
'he "er# ne6t da#, on =eem(er 9, the -e& Yor! Times followed suit with a report (# :illiam
$rimesC 4$eorge S. Morrison, &ho commanded the fleet during the ;ulf of Ton!in incident that led
to an esalation of the %ietnam :ar and whose son >im was the lead singer of the =oors ... A(oard
the flagship arrier -on Fomme ,ihard, Mr. Morrison ommanded Amerian na"al fores in the
gulf when the destro#er Maddo6 engaged three !orth %ietnamese torpedo (oats on Aug. 7, 1964. A
skirmish and onfused reports of a seond engagement two da#s later led 9resident .#ndon -.
>ohnson to order airstrikes against !orth %ietnam and to re)uest from *ongress what (eame
known as the 'onkin $ulf ,esolution, allowing him to arr# out further militar# operations without
delaring war.4 0emphasis again added1
Mr. $rimes has penned a rather harita(le aount of the 'onkin $ulf inident, to (e sure, (ut what
is of far more interest here is the fat that the media is talking a(out the Morrison;'onkin
$ulf;=oors onnetion at all. :hat makes it oka# to do so now, it would appear, is the fat that
Admiral Morrison e6ited this world on !o"em(er 1<, 788N, at the ripe old age of N9. Fis death was
reportedl# due to unspeified in2uries sustained in a fall. Aording to his o(ituaries, his
distinguished areer inluded raining (om(s down on >apanese i"ilians and 9aifi Islanders
during the final #ear of :orld :ar II, and ser"ing as 4an instrutor for seret nulear+weapons
pro2ets in Al(u)uer)ue.4
5n =eem(er <, the da# (efore $eorge Morrison&s name turned up in the .A 'imes& o(ituaries,
another ke# name from the .aurel *an#on saga appeared there as wellC Elmer %alentine, o+owner
of the hottest lu(s on the Strip in the late 1968s and earl# 19<8s + the :hisk#+A+$o+$o, the ,o6#,
and the ,ain(ow. %alentine died of unspeified auses on =eem(er Q, 788N, at the age of N3. 5n
=eem(er 9, the !ew @ork 'imes ran his o(ituar# right alongside that of Morrison. %alentine was
therein harateriAed as 4a self+desri(ed rooked op who fled *hiago to start a new life on the
Sunset Strip.4
In addition to :hisk# a $o $o, Elmer %alentine founded the ,o6# 'heatre in .os Angeles. 0Art Strei(er;AU$US';file
78881
Some sri(es, I suppose, would find it a (it disonerting to find that some of the haraters in their
work+in+progress had suddenl# started dropping dead. After all, the ause of death in (oth ases is a
(it fuAA#, and Morrison dropped 2ust four da#s after 9art 11 was posted and %alentine followed suit
6 da#s after 9art 17 went up. -ut the# were (oth )uite elderl#, of ourse, so ma#(e it was 2ust their
time to go.
An#wa#, the real fous of this hapter is singer;songwriter;guitarist;ke#(oardist $ram 9arsons, and
the $ram 9arsons stor#, as it turns out, is essentiall# a miroosm of the .aurel *an#on stor#. Most
of the lassi elements are present and aounted forC the ro#al (loodlines, the not+so+well+hidden
intelligene onnetions, the oult o"ertones, the e6tra"agantl# wealth# famil# (akground, an
ininerated house or two, and, of ourse, a whole lot of urious deaths. :ithout further adieu then,
let&s get to know a little more a(out Mr. 9arsons.
/irst of all, let&s (egin with the o("iousC $ram 9arsons was far from (eing the (iggest star to emerge
from the .aurel *an#on sene. In his short lifetime, he failed to ahie"e an# signifiant le"el of
ommerial suess. !one of his al(ums, whether reorded solo or with the International
Su(marine -and, the -#rds, or the /l#ing -urrito -rothers, lim(ed "er# high on the sales harts.
-ut to man# fans and musiians alike, he is onsidered a hugel# influential and tragiall#
o"erlooked figure.
It is safe to sa# that 9arsons does not ha"e nearl# the num(er of fans that, sa#, =a"id *ros(# or
/rank ?appa ha"e. *ompared to ontemporaries who died during the same era and at roughl# the
same age + artists like >im Morrison, >anis >oplin and >imi Fendri6 + 9arsons is all (ut unknown.
-ut the fans that he does ha"e tend to (e partiularl# ra(id ones, and if #ou happen to (e one of
them, #ou might want to skip this hapter. And the ne6t, atuall#, (eause this is kind of a long
stor#.
:e (egin (ak a(out, oh, a thousand #ears ago, with /erdinand the $reat, the first Bing of *astille
on the I(erian 9eninsula. It is to him that the wealth# *onnor famil# laims their famil# lineage an
(e traed. Also in the famil# tree was Bing Edward II of England, son of Edward I and Eleanor of
*astille. Aording to some soures, Eddie II was murdered (# ha"ing a red+hot iron rod sho"ed up
his ass, though most of his lo#al su(2ets pro(a(l# didn&t shed man# tears. -ringing the ro#al
(loodline to Ameria was one *olonel $eorge ,eade, (orn in the UB in 168N and married in
@orktown, 9enns#l"ania sometime thereafter.
,eade&s offspring would ultimatel# spawn Ingram *eil *onnor, >r., a well+to+do gent who settled in
*olum(ia, 'ennessee. .ike his father (efore him, *eil attended *olum(ia Militar# Aadem#. In
Ma# 1948, at the outset of :orld :ar II, he then enlisted in the US Arm# Air /ore as a 7nd
.ieutenant. In Marh of 1941, *eil, who during the war would (eome known as 4*oon =og,4
though no one seems to remem(er wh#, was shipped off to Fawaii. !ine months later, of ourse,
9earl Far(or ame under attak (# >apanese (om(ers.
!ot to worr# though + *eil was ne"er in harm&s wa#, ha"ing opted to forgo li"ing in offier&s
)uarters on the militar# (ase in fa"or of sta#ing at a lu6urious, massi"e estate near =iamond Fead
owned (# u(er+wealth# heiress -ar(ara Futton. Futton, for those who don&t know, was the
granddaughter of /rank :oolworth, the founder of the :oolworth&s fi"e+and+dime store hain. She
was also the daughter of /rankl#n .aws Futton, a o+founder of E./. Futton, one of the nation&s
most prestigious (rokerage firms until it ran afoul of the law for suh rimes as hek kiting, mone#
laundering and mail fraud. -ar(ara was also the niee of Mar2or# 9ost Futton, the daughter of *.:.
9ost, founder of what would (eome $eneral /oods.
.ike so man# of the other haraters who ha"e populated this stor# 0inluding $ram 9arsons1,
-ar(ara was traumatiAed in hildhood (# the alleged suiide of a parent. Aording to news reports,
it was 3+#ear+old -ar(ara who diso"ered her mother Edna&s lifeless (od# in Ma# of 191<. An
empt# (ottle of str#hnine was reportedl# reo"ered (# polie from a near(# (athroom. 'here was
no autops# performed and no offiial in)uest was e"er onduted, as would (e e6peted when an
e6tremel# wealth# person dies under )uestiona(le irumstanes.
In 19Q8, 2ust after the onset of the last $reat =epression, -ar(ara was thrown a la"ish de(utante (all
attended (# those at the "er# top of the food hain, inluding mem(ers of the Astor and ,okefeller
families. 'he ne6t #ear, she inherited a fortune estimated to (e worth the e)ui"alent of P1 (illion
toda#. She was 2ust nineteen at the time. 'wo #ears later, she reei"ed further inheritane that raised
her net worth to an estimated P7+P7.3 (illion 0in toda#&s dollars1. Muh of the rest of the ountr#
was (usil# wallowing in a(2et po"ert#.
Ms Futton li"ed a "er# trou(led life, with numerous failed marriages and relationships. 5ne of her
man# paramours was 9hillip "an ,ensselaer, who later penned a (ook a(out her life whih he
entitled 0illion $ollar Ba+y. %an ,ensselaer, it will (e realled, was from the same famil# tree as
.aurel *an#on&s own =a"id *ros(# + the man whom $ram 9arsons would (riefl# replae in the
-#rds. And that, (o#s and girls, (rings us (ak to our man+of+the+hour.
0I almost added 4after that (rief digression4 to the preeding sentene, (ut then I remem(ered that,
though I rarel# read ommentar# on m# work on the we(, I did stum(le aross something the other
da#. 'he re"iew was positi"e o"erall, though it did note that m# we(site design was, uhmm, I think
the word was 4atroious,4 and that I had 0this ma# not (e an e6at )uote1 4an unnatural fondness for
the word &digress.&4 I ould, I suppose, mount a spirited defense against the harges, (ut the
e"idene appears to (e o"erwhelming. -ut here I reall# ha"e digres ... let&s 2ust get (ak to our stor#,
shall weD1
As :orld :ar II drug on, Ingram *eil *onnor, >r. worked his wa# up the hain of ommand to the
rank of Ma2or. In the 9aifi theater of operations, he was a deorated hero and a s)uadron
ommander who flew numerous om(at missions. After the war, he ontinued to ser"e in the Air
/ore at a (ase in -artow, /lorida, "er# near the Sni"el# famil# home in :inter Fa"en. 5n Marh
77, 1943, the spring e)uino6, 4*oon =og4 *onnor married A"is Sni"el#.
'he Sni"el# lan had first ome to Ameria ira 1<88, a(out a entur# after the arri"al of the man
who spawned the *onnor lan. Aording to historial reords and genealogial harts, >ohann
>ao( Shne(ele, a Swiss Mennonite, was (orn in 1639. :hen in his late 38s, around 1<13 or
shortl# thereafter, he "entured aross the Atlanti and settled near *ornwall, 9enns#l"ania. >ohann
died and was (uried in 1<4Q near .anaster, 9enns#l"ania.
-rought o"er with him to Ameria was his son >ao(, (orn on the winter solstie of 1694, and his
daughter Maria, (orn in 1<87. In 1<74, in Mannheim, 9enns#l"ania, Maria Shne(ele married the
son of immigrants Fans Fershe and Anna $eunder. 'hat son had AmerianiAed his name and
(eome known as Andrew Fershe#. 'he Shne(ele name was likewise AmerianiAed to Sna"el# 0or
Sni"el#1. 'he Fershe# and Sna"el# lans would ontinue to happil# intermarr#, ultimatel#
produing, in 1N3<, Milton Sna"el# Fershe#, the son of Fenr# Fershe# and /ann# Sna"el#.
Milton S. Fershe#, of ourse, would go on to found the world&s largest produer of hoolate
onfetions. .ess well known is that Fershe# failed misera(l# in his first se"eral attempts to launh
a and# ompan#, in 9hiladelphia, *hiago and !ew @ork *it#. All of those "entures were finaned
with Sni"el#;Sna"el# famil# mone#. Fershe# ultimatel# sueeded in launhing the suessful
.anaster *aramel *ompan# in 1NNQ. In 1988, he sold the aramel ompan# to fous e6lusi"el#
on hoolate onfetions. :ith proeeds from that sale, he purhased 48,888 ares of unde"eloped
land and (uilt not onl# the world&s largest hoolate failit#, (ut an entire ompan# town.
'he moral of this stor#, in ase #ou missed it, is that without the Shne(ele;Sna"el#;Sni"el# famil#
fortune, there ne"er would ha"e (een an# suh thing as a Fershe# (ar or a town known as Fershe#,
9enns#l"ania.
As for Maria&s (rother, >ao( Shne(ele, he died in August of 1<66 in *um(erland *ount#,
9enns#l"ania, (ut not (efore fathering an astounding nineteen hildren. 5ne of those was son
Andrew, who himself fathered fourteen kids. /rom that (ranh of the famil# tree would emerge
>ohn Andrew 49apa >ohn4 Sni"el#, (orn in 1NNN, who headed off to /lorida in the earl# 1988s to
seek his fortune. -# the 1938s, Sni"el# $ro"es was the largest shipper of fresh fruit in the state of
/lorida.
A"is Sni"el#, who e6hanged "ows with Ingram *eil *onnor, >r., was the daughter of 9apa >ohn.
5n !o"em(er 3, 1946, *oon =og and A"is ga"e (irth to their first hild and onl# son, Ingram *eil
*onnor III, later known as $ram 9arsons. Soon after, the famil# reloated to :a#ross, $eorgia,
where, as with :inter Fa"en, the Sni"el# famil# owned a massi"e amount of land de"oted to itrus
fruit prodution. It was there that #oung Ingram 4$ram4 *onnor was raised.
'he *onnor famil# home in :a#ross, as would (e e6peted, was large and lu6urious, and there
were numerous ser"ants in attendane, all of whom had onsidera(l# more skin pigmentation than
did the *onnors. *oon =og and A"is entertained fre)uentl#, and (oth were well known to (e hea"#
drinkersG there were hushed rumors that the# were &swingers& as well. As $ram&s #ounger sister,
known as .ittle A"is, would later reall, 4'hings were might# strange around the house.4
In Septem(er of 193<, when $ram was not #et ele"en, he was sent off to attend the -owles Shool,
a om(ination prep shool and militar# aadem# in >akson"ille, /lorida. 5n his entr#
)uestionnaire, he was asked for his top three ollege hoiesG $ram hose Annapolis, :est 9oint,
and $eorgia 'eh. :hile attending -owles, he (eame a mem(er of the *enturions, the shool&s
"ersion of an elite fraternit#.
'he following #ear, 2ust (efore *hristmas 193N, Ingram *eil 4*oon =og4 *onnor, >r. was found
sprawled aross his (ed in the famil# home, a (ullet hole in his right temple. A .QN handgun was
found near(#. 'here was no note to (e found. *eil&s (rother 'om had "isited 2ust the month (efore,
around 'hanksgi"ing, and *oon =og had told him that he&d ne"er (een happier and that life with
A"is was wonderful. *uriousl#, his death was initiall# ruled to (e aidental.
>ust ten months (efore *eil&s death, 9apa >ohn Sni"el#, A"is& dad, had also died, and now she
found herself with (oth of the men in her life gone. And #et, aording to a famil# mem(er, she
ne"er appeared to grie"e and she displa#ed a 4total lak of remorse4 o"er an#thing she ma# ha"e
done to dri"e *oon =og to allegedl# ommit suiide 0(# some reports, she had (een ha"ing an
affair1.
Some si6 months after *eil&s death, A"is, $ram and .ittle A"is (oarded a train for a ross+ountr#
trip. 'he# were gone the entire summer. !ot long after returning, the famil# mo"ed from the house
that *eil had died in and A"is soon met ,o(ert Ellis 9arsons, who owned a (usiness that ostensi(l#
speialiAed in leasing hea"# onstrution e)uipment. 9arson&s lients, uriousl# enough, happened
to (e in *u(a, then under the (rutal hand of -atista, and in "arious South Amerian ountries that
were also under the thum( of US+installed ditators
It is unlear, (# the wa#, where the 4Ellis4 in 9arsons name omes from, so it would pro(a(l# (e
irresponsi(le to mention the Ellis famil# that is an intermarried (ranh of the -ush famil#, (ut with
the *u(a onnetion and all, it&s hard for the mind not to wander there.
'he Sni"el# lan took an immediate dislike to 9arsons, who was desri(ed (# one famil# mem(er
as a 4greed# son of a (ith.4 !e"ertheless, A"is )uikl# married him and -o( 9arsons )uikl# took
ontrol of her life. 5ne of his first mo"es was to adopt $ram and A"is, e"en going so far as to ha"e
new (irth ertifiates drawn up listing him as their (iologial father 0how e6atl# does one go a(out
doing that, (# the wa#D1 Fe also promptl# impregnated A"is and on"ined her to file a P1.3
million lawsuit against her (rother, >ohn, >r., and her sister, E"al#n. 'he suit was settled out of
ourt, with A"is reei"ing an unspeified num(er of itrus gro"es, (ut the real reperussions would
(e felt some fifteen #ears later with the (ankrupt# of muh of the famil# (usiness in 19<4.
In 1968, 2ust a #ear after marr#ing, -o( and A"is added daughter =iane to the famil#. Also added
was eighteen+#ear+old (a(#sitter -onnie, whom -o( immediatel# (egan an affair with, whih
apparentl# was not a "er# well+kept seret. :hat was a somewhat (etter kept seret is that, in the
earl# 1968s, following the *u(an re"olution, ,o(ert Ellis 9arsons (eame in"ol"ed in the &*u(an
ause,& whih is to sa# that he had "er# lose ties to the leaders of an e6ile group that was (eing
trained in 9olk *ount#, /lorida to o"erthrow the *u(an go"ernment.
5n one oasion 0or at least one oasion that is aknowledged1, he (rought #oung $ram along to
"isit the group&s training amp. As luk would ha"e it, a team from .ife magaAine happened to also
(e there that da# and $ram + wouldn&t #ou know itD + was photographed at the amp. :hen A"is
was informed of that de"elopment, she worked )uikl# to insure that those photos were ne"er
pu(lished. 'o this da#, the# ha"e ne"er surfaed.
=uring that same era, -o( 9arsons on"erted a downtown warehouse that he owned into a teen
nightlu( to showase the talents of his &son,& Ingram 4$ram4 9arsons, who sang and pla#ed
ke#(oards and the guitar. *ira 196Q, $ram got a folk om(o together that was known as the Shilos.
=uring the summer of 1964, the summer (efore $ram&s senior #ear of high shool, the (and spent a
month in !ew @ork. =uring that (rief time, 9arsons met and (onded with -randon =e:ilde, ,ihie
/ura#, and >ohn 9hillips, then of the >ourne#men. Fe would meet up with all three again a ouple
#ears later in .aurel *an#on.
=espite his earl# preferene for Annapolis or :est 9oint, $ram applied to Far"ard and >ohns
Fopkins. =espite deidedl# unimpressi"e grades and test sores, he was aepted (# Far"ard,
purportedl# due to an essa# he su(mitted that he likel# didn&t atuall# write. =uring his last #ear of
high shool, $ram and the Shilos (ooked an hour gig at the ampus radio station at -o( >ones
Uni"ersit# ... #es, that -o( >ones Uni"ersit#.
At his high shool graduation in >une of 1963, $ram was in his ap and gown and all set to proeed
with the eremonies when he was pulled aside and informed that his mother A"is had suddenl#
passed awa#. Seemingl# unaffeted, he hose to partiipate in the eremonies. A lassmate and
friend has said that there was no sign that an#thing was trou(ling $ram that da# as he went through
the graduation rituals.
A"is had died in the hospital, reportedl# of alohol poisoning, right after -o( 9arsons had smuggled
her in a (ottle of soth. $ram&s mother was 2ust fort#+two at the time of her death. Fis father, *oon
=og, had onl# made it to the age of fort#+one. !either of their kids, $ram or .ittle A"is, would
make it e"en that far.
Soon after his mother&s death, $ram reei"ed a draft notie from the Seleti"e Ser"ie. !ot to worr#
though + -o( )uikl# got him a 4+/ deferment and $ram happil# went off to Far"ard, enrolling in
Septem(er of 1963. -# /e(ruar# of 1966, 2ust fi"e months later, $ram had had enough of Far"ard
and he withdrew. Aording to some soures, he ne"er reall# went to Far"ard at all, (ut rather spent
all his time taking in the folk musi sene in *am(ridge and putting his own (and together.
$ram arri"ed at Far"ard a few #ears too late to ath the peak of the folk musi sene in
*am(ridge. In the earl# 1968s, the ollege town had (een one of the radles of the resurgent folk
mo"ement, hosting suh luminaries as >oan -aeA, -o( =#lan, -o( !euwirth, 'om ,ush, 9ete
Seeger, ,ihard and Mimi /arina, $eoff and Maria Muldaur, Eri Andersen and >oni Mithell.
'he epienter of the *am(ridge folk sene was the legendar# *lu( 4<, opened in 193N as a 2aAA and
(lues "enue. A "er# #oung >oan -aeA, whose reputedl# *IA+onneted father worked at near(#
MI', was the first folkie to take the stage, not long after the lu( opened. =#lan reportedl# first
performed there in 1961, taking the stage (etween the (illed ats. 'he sene hit its peak in the
summer of 1967, whih was the *am(ridge e)ui"alent of the Faight&s Summer of .o"e.
'he *am(ridge sene, and others in $reenwih %illage and elsewhere, were neessar# preursors to
the .aurel *an#on sene. 'he an#on sene was essentiall# reated (# taking the musi of that
earlier sene, partiularl# the work of =#lan and Seeger, and mi6ing it with the instrumentation
(eing utiliAed aross the pond (# a (and known as the -eatles. It is entirel# fitting then that, as with
.aurel *an#on, the *am(ridge sene ame omplete with its own resident ps#ho killer.
In addition to the folk sene hitting its peak in the summer of 1967, something else newsworth#
happened in *am(ridge that summerC a lot of women started turning up dead + si6 of them in that
first summer alone, and se"en more o"er the ne6t ouple of #ears. And as Susan Bell# noted in The
Boston #tranglers, one of those "itims was killed right aross the street from *lu( 4<C 4>ust aross
the street from L"itim -e"erl# Samans&M apartment, a "er# #oung and not #et famous >oan -aeA and
an e)uall# #outhful and unknown -o( =#lan were pla#ing to re"erentl# hushed audienes at the
*lu( 4<.4
As the title of Bell#&s (ook implies, there atuall# was no suh person as the -oston Strangler, (ut
that didn&t stop authorities and the media from pinning all the murders on one Al(ert =eSal"o, far
(etter known as the -oston Strangler. And so it was that 2ust as .aurel *an#on would ha"e *harlie
Manson as its unoffiial masot, the earlier sene in *am(ridge had Al(ert =eSal"o. And neither of
them, uriousl# enough, appear to ha"e atuall# ommitted an# murders, though a whole lot of
people ertainl# did get murdered.
/olkie ,ihard /arina, (# the wa#, was the hus(and of Mimi -aeA, >oan&s #ounger sister. /arina had
attended *ornell Uni"ersit# as an engineering ma2or. *ornell also happened to (e where >oan and
Mimi&s dad, Al(ert -aeA, onduted lassified researh. Al(ert -aeA tended to mo"e around a lot,
popping up for "ar#ing periods of time at Stanford, U* -erkele#, *ornell, and MI', all of whih
ha"e (een repeatedl# identified as hot(eds of MB+U.',A researh.
Al(ert -aeA also tra"eled a(road, to /rane, SwitAerland, and, in 1931, to -aghdad, Ira), where he
spent a #ear purportedl# teahing ph#sis and (uilding a ph#sis la(orator# at the Uni"ersit# of
-aghdad. 1931 also happened to (e the #ear that Mossadegh was dul# eleted in neigh(oring Iran
and the *IA immediatel# (egan planning a oup to oust him, (ut I&m sure that that is 2ust a
oinidene.
An#wa#, /arina married Mimi when he was twent#+si6 and she was 2ust se"enteen. 'he two of
them, along with >oan, (eame stars of the *am(ridge folk musi sene, whih the# were
introdued to when their dad mo"ed the famil# to -oston in 193N when he went to work at MI'.
,ihard and Mimi&s marriage was a short one, alas, as ,ihard /arina was killed in a motor#le
aident in *armel, *alifornia, on, of all da#s, April Q8, 1966. 5n that "er# same da#, in near(# San
/raniso, Anton SAandor .a%e# delared it to (e the dawn of the Age of Satan.
-ut perhaps I&"e gotten sidetraked here...
=uring $ram&s (rief time at Far"ard, he (egan gathering together what would (eome
the International Su(marine -and. :hen he dropped out in earl# 1966, he and his new (andmates
mo"ed to the -ron6 in !ew @ork, where $ram rented an 11+room part# house where mari2uana and
.S= flowed freel#. 5ne unoffiial mem(er of his (and was hild+ator+turned+aspiring+musiian
-randon =e:ilde, known in the 1938s as 4the king of hild ators.4 9arsons and =e:ilde worked
together on demo tapes during their time in !ew @ork.
In !o"em(er;=eem(er 1966, nine months after lea"ing Far"ard for !ew @ork, $ram "entured out
to *alifornia. :hile there, he met a ertain !an# ,oss, who at the time was li"ing with =a"id
*ros(#. In -en /ong+'orres& %ic!ory Wind, ,oss pro"ides some interesting (iographial detailsC 4I
grew up with =a"id *ros(# here in town ... I was thirteen when we met. =a"id and I were part of
the de(utante set ... M# father was a aptain in the ,o#al Air /ore of England ... I married Eleanor
,oose"elt&s grandson, ,e6, at si6teen, se"enteen. I was still married to ,e6 when I was with
=a"id ... 'he marriage lasted a ouple of #ears. I got an apartment and started designing restaurants
for Elmer %alentine of :hisk#+a+$o+$o.4
At age nineteen, ,oss went with *ros(# 4up to his little (ahelor apartment, where I drew
pentagrams on the wall.4 Soon after, *ros(# (ought a house on -e"erl# $len and ,oss mo"ed in
with him. 'hat is where $ram 9arsons found !an# ,oss and stole her awa# from =a"id *ros(#C
4-randon =e:ilde, who was a good friend of =a"id&s and 9eter /onda&s, (rought $ram up to our
-e"erl# $len house one *hristmas time.4 Aording to !an#, $ram )uikl# stole her heart.
Shortl# after, in earl# 196<, 9arsons permanentl# reloated to .os Angeles with his (and in tow.
Aording to /ong+'orres, $ram + who reei"ed up to P188,888 a #ear from his trust fund, a
onsidera(le amount of mone# in the mid+1968s + 4found a house for the rest of the (and on :illow
$len A"enue, off .aurel *an#on -oule"ard and 2ust north of Sunset.4 Fe and !an# found an
apartment together near(#.
Meanwhile, (ak home, -o( 9arsons had married -onnie shortl# after the death of A"is, and the
newl#wed ouple had then mo"ed with .ittle A"is and =iane to !ew 5rleans. -ak in :a#ross,
the *onnor famil# home that had (een a(andoned after *oon =og&s 0alleged1 suiide had (een
oupied sine 1968 (# the famil# of Sheriff ,o(ert E. .ee. In late 196N, on the e"e of the eletion
that put ,ihard !i6on in the :hite Fouse, the statel# home e6ploded from within and aught fire.
'he ause of the e6plosion was ne"er determined.
Part 13
"h' and as I &atched him on the stage
0y hands &ere clenched in fists of rage
-o angel +orn in hell
Could +rea! that #atans spell
4nd as the flames clim+ed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I sa& #atan laughing &ith delight
The day the music died
Y=on M.ean, Amerian 9ie
$ram 9arsons
An&e ens&on&ed in the hills abo#e Los 'ngeles" Gra Parsons and his band began re&ording
!hat !ould pro#e to be their only albu" Safe at Home" !hi&h soe pop usi& historians
regard as the first &ountry%ro&$ albu" but others regard as a straight &ountry albu
perfored by guys !ho loo$ li$e they should be playing in a ro&$ band) :hate"er the ase, (#
the time the al(um was released, in 196N, $ram had dis(anded the International Su(marine -and
and unoffiiall# 2oined the -#rds, replaing the reentl# departed =a"id *ros(#, who had
determined that there wasn&t )uite room in the (and for (oth he and his ego.
9arsons& time with the -#rds was rather (rief, 2ust four to fi"e months, after whih he was replaed
(# "irtuoso guitarist *larene :hite, who had (een part of the *am(ridge folk sene. =espite his
(rief tenure, 9arsons is redited with ha"ing a ma2or influene on the al(um that the (and produed
during that period, #&eetheart of the 8odeo, whih is also regarded (# some musi afiionados as
the first true ountr#+rok al(um.
Soon after lea"ing the -#rds, 9arsons ran into ,ihie /ura#, who was asting a(out for a new (and
after the (reakup of .aurel *an#on&s own -uffalo Springfield. $ram and /ura# onsidered working
together (ut )uikl# realiAed that the# wanted to go in different musial diretions, so /ura# went to
work putting 9oo together while 9arsons assem(led the /l#ing -urrito -rothers. -# 1969, $ram&s
new (and had taken shape, with $ram suppl#ing lead "oals and guitar, *hris Fillman also on
guitar, *hris Etheridge on (ass, and 4Sneak# 9ete4 Bleinow on pedal steel guitar. :ith "arious other
loal musiians sitting in, the (and reorded and released The ;ilded 7alace of #in, whih is
pro(a(l# also regarded (# some as the first true ountr#+rok al(um. -#rd Mihael *larke would
later 2oin the (and, as would soon+to+(e+Eagle -ernie .eadon.
Also in 1969, late in the #ear, 7Q+#ear+old $ram hooked up with 16+#ear+old $rethen -urrell. Fis
new lo"e interest was the daughter of high+profile news anhor .arr# -urrell, who was "er# well+
onneted in Foll#wood. -efore long, $rethen had mo"ed into 9arsons& plae at the notorious
*hateau Marmont Fotel, with her parents& (lessings + (eause most wealth# parents, I would think,
want their teenage daughter li"ing in a de(auhed rok star&s drug den. Another guest at the hotel at
that same time, inidentall#, was ,od Stewart 0at whose home, readers of 7rogrammed to @ill will
reall, one of the "itims of the so+alled Sunset Strip Billers would later (e last seen1.
At the tail end of 1969, 9arsons and his fellow -urrito -rothers had the du(ious distintion of
pla#ing as one of the opening ats at the ,olling Stones& infamous free show at Altamont. $ram had
(eome a "er# lose onfidant of the Stones, partiularl# Beith ,ihards, and he would later (e
redited with (eing the inspiration for the ountr# fla"or e"ident on the Stones& Let it Bleed al(um.
9arsons had first met up with the Stones when the# were in .os Angeles in the summer of 196N to
mi6 their Beggar:s BanAuet al(um. Also hooking up with the Stones around that same time was 9hil
Baufman, a reentl#+released prison (udd# of *harlie Manson. Baufman initiall# li"ed with the
Manson /amil# after (eing released in Marh of 196N, and he thereafter remained what Baufman
himself desri(ed as a 4s#mpatheti ousin4 to *harlie. Fe also went to work as the ,olling Stones&
road manager for their 196N Amerian tour, whih is the t#pe of 2o( apparentl# (est filled (# e6+
on"it friends of *harles Manson.
In late summer of 1969, following the pro(a(le murder of -rian >ones in >ul#, the Stones were (ak
in .A to omplete their Let It Bleed al+um and prepare for #et another tour. Aording to -en /ong+
'orres, writing in %ic!ory Wind, 4Mik and Beith sta#ed at Stephen Stills&s LsiM house near .aurel
*an#on ... -efore Stills, the house had (een oupied (# 9eter 'ork of the Monkees.4 0/or the
reord, other reports hold that the 9eter 'ork house was in, not near, .aurel *an#on.1
5n =eem(er 6, 1969, temporar# .aurel *an#on residents Mik and Beith, along with permanent
.aurel *an#on residents *ros(#, Stills, !ash K @oung and the /l#ing -urrito -rothers, all gathered
at a desolate speedwa# known as Altamont to stage a free onert. -# the time it was o"er, four
people were dead and another N38 onert+goers were in2ured to "ar#ing degrees, mostl# (#
mem(ers of the Fell&s Angels swinging leaded pool ues.
'he Angels had, of ourse, (een hired (# the Stones to ostensi(l# pro"ide seurit#. 'hat
deision is almost uni"ersall# ast as an innoent mistake on the part of the (and, though suh a
laim is diffiult to (elie"e. It was ertainl# no seret that the reationar# motor#le lu(s, formed
(# former militar# men, were openl# hostile to hippies and anti+war ati"istsG as earl# as 1963, the#
had (rutall# attaked peaeful anti+war demonstrators while polie, who had ourteousl# allowed
the Angels to pass through their line, looked on. It was also known that the Angels were hea"il#
in"ol"ed in traffiking meth, a drug that was widel# (lamed for the ugliness that had desended
o"er the Faight.
9erhaps less well known was that more than a few of those (iker gangs had unomforta(l# lose
ties to *harlie Manson, partiularl# a lu( known as the Straight Satans, one of whose mem(ers,
=ann# =e*arlo, wathed o"er the /amil#&s arsenal of weapons. At least one of the performers
taking the stage at Altamont, uriousl# enough, also had lose ties to the motor#le lu(sG as was
re"ealed in his auto(iograph#, *ros(# 4had friends in e"er# -a# Area hapter of the Fells Angels.4
'he death that the onert at Altamont will alwa#s (e remem(ered for, of ourse, is that of Meredith
Funter, the #oung man who was sta((ed to death (# mem(ers of the Fell&s Angels right in front of
the stage while the (and 0in this ase, the ,olling Stones1 pla#ed on. 'he song the# were pla#ing,
ontrar# to most aounts of the inident, was #ympathy for the $evil, as was initiall# reported in
,olling Stone magaAine (ased on the aounts of se"eral reporters on the sene and a re"iew of the
unedited film stok.
Most aounts laim that Funter was killed while the (and performed Bnder 0y Thum+. All suh
laims are (ased on the mainstream snuff film ;imme #helter, in whih the killing was deli(eratel#
presented out of se)uene. In the a(sene of an# alternati"e filmi "ersions of Funter&s death, the
Ma#sles (rothers& film (eame the default offiial orthodo6#. 5f ourse, someone went to great
lengths to insure that there would (e onl# one a"aila(le "ersion of e"entsG as 8olling #tone also
reported, shortl# after the onert, 45ne weird Altamont stor# has to do with a #oung -erkele#
filmmaker who laims to ha"e gotten NMM footage of the killing. Fe got home from the affair
Saturda# and (egan telling his friends a(out his amaAing film. Fis house was knoked o"er the ne6t
night, ompletel# rifled. 'he thief took onl# his film, nothing else.4
*ontrar# to the impression reated (# ;imme #helter, Funter was killed not long into the Stones&
set. -ut as the film&s editor, *harlotte ?werin, e6plained to #alon some thirt# #ears later, the lima6
of the mo"ie alwa#s has to ome at the endC 4:e&re talking a(out the struture of a film. And what
kind of onert film are #ou going to (e a(le to ha"e after some(od# has (een murdered in front of
the stageD Fanging around for another hour would ha"e (een reall# wrong in terms of the film.4
:hat wasn&t wrong, apparentl#, was deli(eratel# altering the se)uene of e"ents in what was
ostensi(l# a doumentar# film.
5ne of the #oung ameramen working for the Ma#sles (rothers that da#, uriousl# enough, was a
gu# (# the name of $eorge .uas 0it is unlear whether it was .uas who aptured the on"enientl#
uno(struted footage of the murder.1 !ot long after, .uas (egan a meteori rise to the "er# top of
the Foll#wood food hain. Also present that da#, and featured in the film g#rating atop a raised
platform near the stage, was the Bing of the /reaks himself, %ito 9aulekas.
Man# of the aounts of the traged# at Altamont inlude the demonstra(l# false laim that Funter
an unmistaka(l# (e seen drawing a gun 2ust (efore (eing 2umped and killed (# the Angels 0some
aounts e"en ha"e Funter firing the alleged gun1. 'he rele"ant frames from the film are inluded
here for #our re"iew. :hat an ertainl# (e fairl# learl# seen is the large knife (eing (rought down
into Funter&s (ak. -ut a gun (eing (randished (# Mr. FunterD If #ou an see one, then #ou either
ha"e far (etter e#es than I, or a far more ati"e imagination. 5r (oth.
'he Angel who was harged with the murder and then ultimatel# a)uitted, Alan =a"id 9assaro,
was found floating faedown in a reser"oir in Marh of 19N3 with P18,888 in his poket. =espite a
widespread (elief to the ontrar#, 9assaro&s a)uittal was not (ased on the 2ur# ha"ing (een
on"ined that Funter had drawn a gun, (ut rather on the fat that the knife wounds that killed
Funter were apparentl# upstrokes, whih meant that the# were not the wounds inflited on+amera
(# 9assaro. Fe and;or someone else ontinued to sta( Funter after he was down, and it was those
wounds, whih the ameras didn&t learl# reord, that killed him.
A(out one #ear after Altamont, otherwise o(sure singer;songwriter =on M.ean penned the l#ris
to what was destined to (eome one of the most ioni songs in the annals of popular musiC
4merican 7ie. 'hose l#ris are essentiall# a hronologial reitation of "arious tragedies that
shaped the world of popular musi. !ot long after a referene to the August 1969 Manson murders
and their onnetion to the .aurel *an#on musi sene 0Felter Skelter in a summer swelter, 'he
(irds flew off with a fallout shelter, Eight miles high and falling fast1, and 2ust (efore a referene to
the 5to(er 19<8 death of >anis >oplin 0I met a girl who sang the (lues, And I asked her for some
happ# news, (ut she 2ust smiled and turned awa#, I went down to the sared store, :here I&d heard
the musi #ears (efore, (ut the man there said the musi wouldn&t pla#1, an (e found a "erse,
reprodued at the top of this post, in whih M.ean harateriAes the death of Funter as a ritualiAed
murder.
I, of ourse, would ne"er make suh a wild and rekless laim.
Augustus 5wsle# Stanle# IIIY*hronile 196<
As was the ustom with (ig e"ents in the mid to late+1968s, partiularl# in the northern *alifornia
area, Altamont was drenhed in aid. And as was also the ustom at that time, that aid was
pro"ided free+of+harge (# Mr. Augustus 5wsle# Stanle# III, also known as 'he -ear. At the so+
alled 4Fuman -e+In4 staged in >anuar# of 196<, for e6ample, 5wsle# had kindl# distri(uted
18,888 ta(s of potent .S=. /or the Montere# 9op /esti"al 2ust fi"e months later, he had ooked up
and distri(uted 14,888 ta(s. /or Altamont, he did likewise.
'he 1968s were, #ou see + and #ou an look this up if #ou don&t (elie"e me + the era of (rotherl#
lo"e. So if someone happened to ha"e, sa#, a ahe of aid with a street "alue of P78,888+PQ8,888
0a onsidera(le amount of mone# in the 1968s1, he was naturall# e6peted to hand it out for free to
thousands of random strangers. 5f ourse, pro(a(l# the onl# person who routinel# had suh "ast
stokpiles of .S= was the premier aid hemist of the hippie era, Augustus 5wsle# Stanle#.
!o one + not Ben Bese#, not ,ihard 4-a(awhate"erthefukhealledhimself4 Alpert, not e"en
'imoth# .ear# + did more to &turn on& the #outh of the 1968s than 5wsle#. .ear# and his ohorts
ma# ha"e aptured the national media spotlight and reated pu(li awareness, (ut it was 5wsle#
who flooded the streets of San /raniso and elsewhere with onsistentl# high )ualit#, ine6pensi"e,
readil# a"aila(le aid. -# most aounts, he was ne"er in it for the mone# and he routinel# ga"e
awa# more of his produt than he sold. :hat then was his moti"eD Aording to Martin .ee and
-rue Shlain, writing in 4cid $reams, 45wsle# ulti"ated an image as a wiAard+alhemist whose
intentions with .S= were priestl# and magial.4
'o (e sure, 5wsle# is re"ered (# man# as something of an ion of the 1968s ounterulture + a man
moti"ated (# nothing more than an altruisti desire to &turn on& the world. -ut then again, the trio
listed in the preeding paragraph are re"ered (# man# as well, so #ou&ll e6use me if I&m a (it
hesitant to em(rae 5wsle# as some sort of anti+hero + espeiall# gi"en his rather pro"oati"e
(akground and famil# histor#.
Augustus 5wsle# Stanle# III is the son, naturall# enough, of Augustus 5wsle# Stanle# II, who
ser"ed as a militar# offier during :orld :ar II a(oard the USS .e6ington and thereafter found
work in :ashington, =.*. as a go"ernment attorne#. Fe raised his son primaril# in + where elseD +
Arlington, %irginia. @oung 5wsle#&s grandfather was Augustus 5wsle# Stanle#, who ser"ed as a
mem(er of the U.S. Fouse of ,epresentati"es from 198Q through 1913, as the $o"ernor of
Bentuk# from 1913 through 1919, and as a U.S. Senator from 1919 through 1973. Senator
Stanle#&s father, a minister with the =isiples of *hrist, ser"ed as a 2udge ad"oate with the
*onfederate Arm#. Fis mother was a niee of :illiam 5wsle#, who also ser"ed as a $o"ernor of
Bentuk#, from 1N44 through 1N4N, and who lent his name to 5wsle# *ount#, Bentuk#.
=uring 5wsle# III&s formati"e #ears, he attended the prestigious *harlotte Fall Militar# Aadem#
in Mar#land, (ut was reportedl# tossed out in the ninth grade for (eing into6iated. !ot long after
that, at the tender age of fifteen, 5wsle# "oluntaril# ommitted himself to St. EliAa(eth&s Fospital in
:ashington, =.*.. St. EliAa(eth&s, it should (e noted, had a far more sinister name upon its founding
in 1N33C the $o"ernment Fospital for the Insane. Fe remained onfined there for, uhmm, &treatment&
for the ne6t fifteen months. =uring that time, his mother, in keeping with one of the reurrent
themes of this saga, passed awa#.
5wsle# apparentl# resumed his eduation following his urious onfinement, (ut he had reportedl#
dropped out of shool (# the age of eighteen. !e"ertheless, he apparentl# had no trou(le at all
gaining aeptane to the Uni"ersit# of %irginia, whih he attended for a time (efore enlisting in the
U.S. Air /ore in 1936, at the age of twent#+one. =uring his militar# ser"ie, 5wsle# was an
eletronis speialist, working in radio intelligene and radar.
After his stint in the Air /ore, 5wsle# set up amp in the .os Angeles area, ostensi(l# to stud#
(allet. =uring that same time, he also worked at 9asadena&s >et 9ropulsion .a(orator#, whih was
undou(tedl# the primar# reason for his mo"e to .A. In 196Q, 5wsle# mo"ed one again, this time
to -erkele#, *alifornia, whih 2ust happened to (e ground+Aero of the (udding anti+war mo"ement.
Fe ma# or ma# not ha"e (riefl# attended U* -erkele#, whih is where he allegedl# ri((ed the
reipe for .S= from the uni"ersit# li(rar#.
5wsle# soon (egan ooking up (oth Methedrine and .S= in a makeshift (athroom la( near the
ampus of the uni"ersit#. 5n /e(ruar# 71, 1963, that la( was raided (# state narotis agents who
seiAed all his la( e)uipment and harged Stanle# with operating a meth la(. As -arr# Miles
reounted in %ippie, 4-erkele# was awash with speed and 5wsle# was responsi(le for muh of it.4
!e"ertheless, 5wsle# walked awa# from the raid unsathed, and, with the help of his attorne#, who
happened to (e the "ie+ma#or of -erkele#, he e"en suessfull# sued to ha"e all his la( e)uipment
returned. Fe )uikl# put that e)uipment to work produing some 4,888,888 ta(s of nearl# pure .S=
in the mid+1968s.
Also in /e(ruar# of 1963, 5wsle# and his fre)uent sidekiks, the $rateful =ead, mo"ed down to
the :atts area of .os Angeles, of all plaes, to ostensi(l# ondut &aid tests.& 'he group rented a
house that was on"enientl# loated right ne6t door to a (rothel, uriousl# paralleling the modus
operandi of "arious intelligene operati"es who were 0or had (een1 in"ol"ed in onduting their
own &aid tests.& 'he (and departed the ommunal dwelling in April 1963, 2ust a few months (efore
:atts e6ploded in "iolene that left thirt#+four orpses littering the streets.
5wsle# had (een with the =ead from the (and&s earliest da#s, as (oth a finanial (aker and as their
sound engineer. Fe is redited with numerous eletroni inno"ations that hanged the wa# that li"e
rok musi was presented to the masses + and likel# not in a good wa#, gi"en that his work as a
sound tehniian undou(tedl# drew hea"il# upon his militar# training.
In 196<, 5wsle# unleashed on the Faight a partiularl# nast# halluinogen known as S'9.
=e"eloped (# the friendl# folks at =ow *hemial, S'9 had (een tested e6tensi"el# at the
Edgewood Arsenal as a possi(le (iowarfare agent (efore (eing distri(uted to hippies as a
rereational drug. 5wsle# reportedl# o(tained the reipe from Ale6ander Shulgin, a former Far"ard
man who de"eloped a keen interest in ps#hopharmaolog# while ser"ing in the U.S. !a"#. Shulgin
worked for man# #ears as a senior researh hemist at =ow, and later worked "er# losel# with the
=EA.
In 19<8, 5wsle# (egan ser"ing time after a on"ition on drug harges. 'hat time was ser"ed,
appropriatel# enough, at 'erminal Island /ederal *orretional Institution, the "er# same prison that
had, 2ust a few #ears earlier, housed (oth *harlie Manson and 9hil Baufman. A few #ears later, it
would also (e home to (oth 'imoth# .ear# and his alleged 0(ut not atual1 nemesis, $. $ordon
.idd#. After his release, 5wsle# ontinued to work as a sound tehniian, e"entuall# graduating to a
new mediumC tele"ision.
After that rather length# digression, we return now to our regularl# sheduled programC the $ram
9arsons saga. Along with Mik and the (o#s, $ram made a hast# e6it from the haos at Altamont
"ia the Stones& pri"ate heliopter. 'he ne6t #ear, his /l#ing -urrito -rothers released their seond
al(um, Burrito $eluxe, whih was produed (# >im =ikson, the man who pla#ed suh a pi"otal
role in shaping .aurel *an#on&s first (and, the -#rds. -# >une, 9arsons had (een (ooted out of the
(and, reportedl# due to hroni alohol and drug a(use. Fe )uikl# signed with AKM ,eords and
was partnered with our old friend 'err# Melher.
$ram (eame a regular "isitor to Melher&s -enedit *an#on home, where the self+destruti"e pair
worked on songs together, with $ram on guitar and Melher on piano. >ohn 9hillips (eame a lose
assoiate of 9arsons at this time as well. Meanwhile, sister A"is had (een institutionaliAed (ak in
!ew 5rleans. She had gotten pregnant, after whih -o( 9arsons had mo"ed )uikl# to ha"e her
ommitted and to ha"e her marriage annulled. .ittle A"is reahed out repeatedl# to (ig (rother
$ram for help, (ut got none.
In late 5to(er of 19<8, $ram went to AKM and signed out the master tapes of ten songs that he
had reorded with MelherG those tapes were ne"er seen or heard again, as seems to happen from
time+to+time with reordings made with Melher. =uring roughl# that same period of time, 9arsons
was (usted with a (riefase full of presription drugs. As would (e e6peted, howe"er, the harges
were )uietl# dropped and $ram walked awa# unsathed.
'here are man# who laim, (# the wa#, that the musiians under e6amination in this series were
relentlessl# perseuted (# agents of the state, ostensi(l# to silene their "oies of protest. -ut if that
is true, then wh# is it that on more than one oasion when the state seems to ha"e had solid
e"idene of rimes that ould (ring prison time, no ation was takenD 5ur old friend =a"id *ros(#,
for e6ample, has andidl# aknowledged that 4the =EA ould ha"e popped me for interstate
transport of dope or dealing lots of times and ne"er did ...4 And >ohn 9hillips, (usted for wholesale
traffiking of pharmaeutials, was, (# his own aount, 4looking at fort#+fi"e #ears and got thirt#
da#s.4 Fe (egan ser"ing his sentene on April 78, appropriatel# enough, and ser"ed 2ust twent#+four
da#s + in a minimum seurit# prison that offered 4residents4 suh ati"ities as 4(asket(all, aero(is,
soft(all, tennis, arher#, and golf,4 and that featured a 4deliious kosher kithen, an ela(orate salad
(ar, and a tast# (runh on Sunda#s.4
Sorr#, (ut we seem to ha"e drifted off ourse one again. I&ll tr# to sta# foused on the $ram
9arsons stor# for the rest of this post.
In 19<1, $ram married $rethen -urrell. 'he la"ish affair was held, uriousl# enough, at the !ew
5rleans home of step+dad -o( 9arsons, a fat that has left $ram&s hronilers somewhat puAAled.
-o( 9arsons was, after all, the man who had + at least in the e#es of man# famil# mem(ers +
terroriAed and institutionaliAed $ram&s #ounger sister, arried on a sandalous affair with the
famil#&s (a(#sitter, murdered $ram&s mother and su(se)uentl# married that (a(#sitter, and
repeatedl# looted the famil# offers. And #et it was -o( 9arsons, of all people, whom $ram trusted
to host his wedding, suggesting a (ond (etween the two that would seem to def# on"entional
e6planations.
'hat same #ear, $ram spent some time in /rane, hanging out one again with the ,olling Stones.
'he following #ear, he was signed to ,eprise ,eords (# Mo 5stin and he and $rethen mo"ed
(ak into the *hateau Marmont, where $ram and Emm#lou Farris (egan working on the songs that
would make up his first solo al(um. Emm#lou, as /ong+'orres notes, had (een raised on 4"arious
militar# (ases around %irginia,4 so she )uikl# fit right in with the .aurel *an#on rowd.
In 19<Q, with his first solo al(um, entitled simpl# ;7, due for release, 4$ram and $rethen finall#
mo"ed out of the *hateau Marmont and found a oA# (rown wood+shingled house on .aurel
*an#on -oule"ard, whih wound its wa# north from Foll#wood through the stars& fa"orite an#on.4
:orking one again with Emm#lou, $ram (egan working on traks for what would (e his
posthumousl#+released seond solo al(um, ;rievous 4ngel.
As >ul# of 19<Q rolled around, a series of tragedies (efell 9arsons and the people around him. In
>ul# of the pre"ious #ear, $ram&s friend -randon =e:ilde + who had introdued $ram to 9eter
/onda, =ennis Fopper, -rue =ern and >ak !iholson, resulting in $ram&s in"ol"ement in The
Trip + had (een killed in a traffi aident. A #ear later, on >ul# 13, 19<Q, $ram&s friend and fellow
musiian, *larene :hite, was hit (# a ar and killed. Aording to /ong+'orres, 4Around the same
time that *larene :hite was killed, Sid Baiser, a familiar fae in the .os Angeles rok sene, a
lose friend of $ram&s and, not so inidentall#, a soure of high+)ualit# drugs, died of a heart
attak.4 >ust after those two deaths, 4In late >ul# 19<Q ... L$ram&sM house in .aurel *an#on (urned
down.4
5ther soures, for the reord, ha"e plaed that house in 'opanga *an#on rather than .aurel *an#on.
:hate"er the ase, $ram was home when the house aught fire and was (riefl# hospitaliAed for
smoke inhalation. Fa"ing lost their home and all their possessions, $ram and $rethen 4mo"ed into
$rethen&s father&s spaious home on Mulholland =ri"e in .aurel *an#on.4 -eause the -urrells,
naturall# enough, also li"ed in e"er#one&s fa"orite an#on.
$ram wouldn&t li"e in the -urrell estate long thoughG on Septem(er 19, 19<Q, Ingram *eil *onnor
III died in a nondesript room at the >oshua 'ree Inn. Fis death is usuall# attri(uted to a drug
o"erdose, (ut to6iolog# reports suggest otherwise. 9arsons& death reei"ed minimal press
o"erage, partl# (eause, as fate would ha"e it, singer;songwriter >im *roe went down in a (laAe
of glor# the "er# ne6t da#, on Septem(er 78, 19<Q. -ut though the media had mo"ed on, the $ram
9arsons stor# wasn&t )uite o"er #et.
9arsons had (een a regular "isitor to >oshua 'ree !ational 9ark, where one of his fa"orite pastimes
was said to (e ingesting halluinogeni drugs and then searhing for U/5s. Sometimes he would
take friends, suh as Beith ,ihards of the ,olling Stones, along with him to help with the searh.
I&m no e6pert, to (e sure, (ut it seems to me that if #our goal is to sueed in spotting U/5s, then
the dropping+aid strateg# is pro(a(l# a prett# good approah. -ut again, that&s not reall# m# area
of e6pertise.
In Septem(er of 19<Q, $ram was aompanied to >oshua 'ree (# his personal assistant, Mihael
Martin, Martin&s girlfriend, =ale MElro#, and 9arson&s former high shool sweetheart, Margaret
/isher. As the stor# goes, the group soon ran out of pot and )uikl# dispathed Martin (ak to .A to
pik up a fresh suppl#. Fe was, therefore, offiiall# not there at the time of $ram&s death, though
wh# he hadn&t returned has ne"er (een e6plained, espeiall# gi"en that his 2o( was, speifiall#, to
keep an e#e on $ram and monitor his drug intake.
Fow $ram 9arsons died is an#one&s guess. 'here are as man# "ersions of the e"ent as there were
witnesses to it. Atuall#, that&s not )uite true + there are more "ersions than there were witnesses,
(eause some of those witnesses ha"e told more than one stor#. 5ffiiall#, 9arsons died of an
o"erdose, (ut forensi testing re"ealed no morphine or (ar(iturates in his (lood. Morphine showed
up in his li"er and urine, (ut as e6perts ha"e noted, those to6iolog# results indiate hroni, (ut not
reent, use.
9olie seem to ha"e had little interest in getting at the truth and made no apparent effort to reonile
the "arious onfliting aounts. =etails of the inident + suh as how long $ram had (een left
alone, whether he was still ali"e when diso"ered, who made that diso"er#, et. + were wildl#
inonsistent in the aounts of /isher, MElro#, and /rank and Alan -ar(ar# 0the Inn&s owner and
his son, who were also witnesses, and whose aounts onflited (oth with eah other and with the
girls& aounts1.
At the hospital, polie spoke (riefl# with the two girls and then released them. :ithin two hours,
9hil Baufman was on the sene to pik up /isher and MElro#. -#passing the polie and the
hospital, Baufman went diretl# to the Inn, whih the girls had returned to, and )uikl# hustled
them straight (ak to .A. 9olie ne"er spoke to either of the women again, despite the onfliting
aounts and the open )uestion of what e6atl# it was that killed $ram.
5n the autumnal e)uino6 of 19<Q, Baufman and Martin, dri"ing a dilapidated hearse pro"ided (#
MElro#, arri"ed at .AV to laim the (od# of $ram 9arsons. Apparentl# no one, inluding the
polie offier who was near(#, found it at all unusual that two drunken, dishe"eled men in an
o("iousl# out+of+ser"ie hearse 0it had no liense plates and se"eral (roken windows1 had arri"ed
without an# paperwork to laim the (od# of a deeased ele(rit#. In fat, aording to Baufman&s
du(ious aount, the op e"en helped the pair load the asket into the hearse + and then looked the
other wa# when Martin slammed the hearse into a wall on the wa# out of the hangar.
Baufman and Martin then dro"e the (od# (ak out to >oshua 'ree, doused it with gasoline and set it
a(laAe. .oal polie initiall# speulated that the remation was 4ritualisti,4 whih indeed it was,
(ut suh reports were, and ontinue to (e, soffed at.
5n Septem(er 76, .A9= deteti"es, led (# anhorman .arr# -urrell, ame knoking on Baufman&s
door with warrants to ser"e. -iAarrel# enough, diretor Arthur 9enn was there with a full rew
shooting senes for the film -ight 0oves with star $ene Fakman 0(eause when #ou&re a friend of
*harlie Manson&s, it would appear, e"er#one in Foll#wood wants to hang out with #ou1. :hile the
rew ontinued working, Baufman was taken in, (ut he was (ak 2ust a few hours later. In the end,
he and Martin were fined PQ88 eah plus reim(ursement for the ost of the offin.
In >anuar# 19<4, four months after his death, ;rievous 4ngel was released to ritial alaim and
pu(li indifferene. .ater that #ear, $ram&s adopti"e father, -o( 9arsons, died as well, reportedl# of
alohol+related illness. Fe had apparentl# (een making mo"es aimed at gaining ontrol of the
deeased musiian&s estate. In keeping with famil# tradition, -o( failed to make it to the age of fift#
0$ram&s real dad, *oon =og, had died at fort#+one, his mother at fort#+two, and $ram at 2ust
twent#+si61.
-# sheer oinidene, no dou(t, the deaths of $ram and -o( 9arsons were followed (# the
(ankrupt# of muh of the Sni"el# famil# (usiness, whih also ourred in 19<4. Around that same
time, .ittle A"is ga"e (irth to daughter /lora. Si6teen #ears later, (oth were killed in a (oating
aident in %irginia. A"is had made it all the wa# to age fort#.
Part 14
The Byrds !ere the #ery first fol$%ro&$ band to ta$e flight" and the one that a&hie#ed the
greatest fae" but to any dis&erning ears" Laurel Canyon(s other fol$%ro&$ po!erhouse" the
Buffalo Springfield" !as the ore talented band)
-uffalo Springfield
In the literature hroniling the 1968s musi sene, few stories are repeated more fre)uentl# than
the legend surrounding the formation of what would later (e regarded as perhaps the first
&supergroup.& All suh aounts un)uestioningl# retell the stor# as though it were the gospel truth,
seemingl# o(li"ious to the impro(a(ilit# of "irtuall# e"er# aspet of the legend. And uriousl#,
"irtuall# e"er# "ersion of the stor# ontains some form of the word 4serendipit#,4 as though
e"er#one has (een op#ing off the same kid&s homework.
As the stor# goes, Stephen Stills and ,ihie /ura#, formerl# of the Au $o+$o Singers, had reentl#
transplanted themsel"es to .os Angeles after the (reakup of the manufatured folkie group. Stills
had (een the first to reloate, in August of 1963. /ura# flew out to 2oin him in /e(ruar# 1966, after
spending a little time working at defense giant 9ratt K :hitne#, and the two set their sights on
putting together a folk+rok (and.
Meanwhile, up in 'oronto, !eil @oung and -rue 9almer were pla#ing in a (and known as the
M#nah -irds + a (and fronted (# an A:5. !a"# man known as ,ik# >ames Matthews, who
would later morph into funkmeister;torturer;rapist ,ik >ames, (ut whose real name was >ames
Am(rose >ohnson, >r.. 'he M#nah -irds (roke up in Marh of 1963, 2ust after authorities ame
alling on Matthews and tossed him in the -rookl#n -rig. !ow in searh of a new (and, @oung
made the urious deision to head out to .A, for no (etter reason than that he had what 9almer
desri(ed as 4a hunh, a feeling that ... Stephen Stills was in .A.4
Ste"en Stills
5f ourse, @oung had no lue if Stills was in fat there, nor did he know an#one else in .A. And
#ou would think that he would ha"e realiAed that, e"en if Stills was there, there was "irtuall# no
hane of finding some random person in a it# of millions, espeiall# when the person doing the
searhing had no idea how to get around the it#. -ut no matter. !eil had a alling, so he 2umped
into an old hearse, of all things, reruited 9almer to ride shotgun, and the two set off on the length#
trek to .os Angeles.
'he# arri"ed, the legend tells us, on April 1, 1966 + April /ool&s =a#, appropriatel# enough + and
(egan the searh for Stills. Se"eral da#s of searhing #ielded no results, howe"er, and on the
afternoon of April 6, the frustrated pair deided to head off to San /raniso in the hopes that
ma#(e the# would ha"e (etter luk finding Stephen there. 9erhaps the# were going to go on a tour
of all the (ig ities in Ameria, in the hopes that somewhere along the wa# the# might find Stephen
Stills.
-ut as fate would ha"e it, 2ust as the# were a(out to head out of town, Stephen Stills found them. As
-arne# Fosk#ns tells the stor# in his %otel California, 4Earl# in April 1966, Stills and ,ihie /ura#
were stuk in a Sunset Strip traffi 2am in -arr# /riedman&s -entle#. As the# sat in the ar, Stephen
spotted a 193Q 9ontia hearse with 5ntario plates on the other side of the street. &I&ll (e damned if
that ain&t !eil @oung,& Stills said. /riedman e6euted an illegal U+turn and pulled up (ehind the
hearse. 5ne of rok&s great serendipities had 2ust ourred. @oung, a lank# *anadian, had 2ust dri"en
all the wa# from =etroit in the ompan# of (assist -rue 9almer. 'he#&d aught the (ug that was
drawing hundreds of other pop wanna(es to the :est *oast.4
'he pair had atuall# dri"en out from 'oronto, not =etroit, and the hearse was a 1939 model (#
most aounts, and Stills and /ura# were in a "an rather than a -entle#, (ut suh inonsistenies are
t#pial of all Foll#wood legends. In an# e"ent, >ohn Einarson, in or What It:s Worth, supplies a
somewhat longer, and more h#per(ole+filled, "ersion of the legendC 4:hat transpired ne6t is no
longer onsidered simpl# a hane enounter. 'ransending mere fat, the e"ents of the ne6t few
minutes ha"e taken on m#thi proportions to (eome, in the annals of popular ulture, legendar#.
More than pure luk, oinidene or serendipit#, at that "er# moment the planets aligned, stars
rossed, e"er#one&s karma turned positi"e, di"ine inter"ention intereded, the hand of fate re"ealed
itself + whate"er #ou su(sri(e to in order to e6plain the une6plained. 'hough eah of the fi"e
partiipants in that moment in time tell it slightl# differentl#, the fat remains that the oupants of
the white "an, indi"iduall# or olleti"el#, depending on who&s retelling it, notied the (lak hearse
with the foreign plate heading the other diretion. 5ne the light of reognition ame on, the "an
hastil# pulled an illegal, and likel# diffiult in rush hour, U+turn, maneu"ering its wa# through the
line of north(ound ars, horn honking frantiall# all the while, to pull up (ehind the hearse. 5ne of
the passengers leapt out, ran up and pounded on the dri"er&s side window of the strange "ehile,
#elling to the startled tra"elers inside who had taken no notie of the (laring ar horn diretl#
(ehind them. &Fe# !eil, it&s me, Ste"e StillsR 9ull o"er, manR& 'he dri"ers of the two "ehiles
managed to find ur( spae or a "aant store parking lot, again depending on whose "ersion is (eing
related, and the fi"e piled out to em(rae and introdue one another ... 5n April 6, 1966, in that late
afternoon line of traffi, the ourse of popular musi was altered fore"er.4
An#one who atuall# li"es and dri"es in .A likel# knows that 4diffiult4 is not reall# the word to
desri(e the feasi(ilit# of making an impromptu U+turn in rush hour traffi on the Sunset StripG the
orret word would (e 4impossi(le,4 whih is the same word that auratel# desri(es the
likelihood of that "an 4maneu"ering its wa# through the line of north(ound ars,4 or of it finding
4ur( spae4 on Sunset -oule"ard. -ut let&s 2ust pla# along and assume that !eil @oung and Stephen
Stills, eah of whom, for some reason, had (een dreaming a(out forming a (and with the other, had
a random, hane enounter on Sunset -oule"ard. In that (rief moment in time, a (and was formed
+ or at least 4;3 of a (and.
,etiring to the home of -arr# /riedman, who would later legall# hange his name to /raAier
Mohawk, the )uartet of musiians )uikl# deided that their newl#+formed (and would onl#
perform original material. :ith no less than three singer;songwriter;guitarists on (oard 0/ura#,
@oung and Stills1, along with a (ass pla#er 0-rue 9almer1, all that was needed was a drummer.
'hree da#s later, on April 9, 1966, the# a)uired one, in the form of =ewe# Martin, formerl# with
the =illards.
'he =illards, as it turns out, had 2ust deided to go (ak to their aousti (luegrass roots, so the# no
longer needed a drummer. 'he# also apparentl# had no further need for a whole (unh of new
eletri instruments and staks of amplifiers, so =ewe#, aording to legend, (rought all of that with
him. -eause the =illards, #ou know, were 2ust going to throw it all awa# an#wa#. So now, with the
stars all properl# aligned, the (and was not onl# omplete (ut the# eah had shin# new eletri
instruments to pla# + and it all had magiall# ome together in 2ust <7 hours.
'here was still muh work to (e done, of ourse. /or one thing, the# all had to learn to pla# those
shin# new eletri instruments. And the# all had to learn to pla# together as a (and. And the# had to
(uild up a repertoire of original songs. And the# had to rehearse and polish those songs. -ut not to
worr#G the# had, as we&ll see, at least a ouple of hours to work on eah of those things.
Unlike, sa#, the -#rds, the mem(ers of the -uffalo Springfield were, (# all aounts, talented
musiians from the outset. Stills and @oung were (oth skilled lead guitarists and songwriters,
though @oung&s "oals were, to (e sure, an a)uired taste. /ura# was an aomplished rh#thm
guitarist and songwriter, as well as (eing the group&s (est lead "oalist. -rue 9almer was a
respeted (ass pla#er who, shokingl#, atuall# had e6periene pla#ing the instrument. And =ewe#
Martin, se"eral #ears older than the rest of the rew, had drummed for suh rok and ountr#
legends as the E"erl# -rothers, *harlie ,ih, ,o# 5r(ison, 9ats# *line, and *arl 9erkins.
!one of that, howe"er, e6plains the a(surdl# meteori rise of the -uffalo Springfield. 5n April 11,
1966, 2ust fi"e da#s after the )uartet had purportedl# first met, and 2ust two da#s after the# had
added a drummer and instruments, the (and pla#ed its first lu( date at one of Foll#wood&s most
prestigious "enuesC the 'rou(adour. /our da#s later, on April 13, the# pla#ed the first of si6 dates
around the southland opening for the hottest (and on the StripC the -#rds. 'hat mini+tour was
followed almost immediatel# (# a si6+week stand at the hottest lu( on the Strip, the :hisk#. 'hat
gig wrapped up on >une 78, 1966.
A month later, on >ul# 73, the (and landed the opening slot on the most antiipated onert of the
#ear + the ,olling Stones show at the Foll#wood -owl, sponsored (# loal radio station BF>. 'he
station, (# the wa#, had 2ust (een launhed the pre"ious #ear, in Ma# of 1963, 2ust a few weeks after
the -#rds had taken the world (# storm with the release of Mr. 'am(ourine Man and sparked a folk+
rok re"olution. >ust as new lu(s had magiall# appeared along the Sunset Strip in antiipation of
the a(out+to+e6plode musi sene, so too did a radio station magiall# appear to promote those new
lu(s and the artists filling them. Suh things tend to happen, as we know, rather, uhmm,
serendipitousl#.
'hree da#s after the Stones onert at the -owl, -uffalo Springfield released its first single, the !eil
@oung+penned !owada#s *lan# *an&t E"en Sing, whih failed to onnet with the reord+(u#ing
pu(li. Se"eral months later, the (and would release what was to (e its onl# hit single, and what
would (eome the most reogniAa(le &protest& song of the 1968s. -ut (efore we get to that, let&s start
(ak at the (eginning ... atuall#, let&s "eer off on a tangent first, and then start (ak at the
(eginning.
As was dul# noted in the last installment of this series, the law enforement ommunit# had ample
opportunit# to silene the muses of the 1968s ounterulture. 'hat the state onsistentl# hose not to
utiliAe that power sa#s muh a(out the legitima# of that ounterulture. /or if these ioni figures
posed a demonstra(le threat to the status )uo, then wh# would the# not ha"e (een silenedD :h#,
for e6ample, were three mem(ers of the -uffalo Springfield + !eil @oung, ,ihie /ura# and >im
Messina, along with Eri *lapton, /ura#&s wife, the (and&s road manager, and nine others + arrested
in a drug (ust at a 'opanga *an#on home, onl# to then walk awa# as if nothing had happenedD :h#
was this ase, and so man# others like it, not aggressi"el# proseutedD
'he state had other means to silene #oung ritis, of ourse, one of the (est (eing the militar#
draft. As ,ihie Unter(erger noted in 'urnR 'urnR 'urnR, 4Most folk rokers 0if the# were male1,
like their audiene, were of draft age.4 -ut uriousl# enough, 4%er#, "er# few had their areers
interrupted (# the draft.4 Atuall#, Unter(erger appears to 2ust (e pla#ing it safe with the 4"er#, "er#
few4 wordingG after reading through (oth of Unter(erger&s (ooks and numerous other tomes
o"ering similar ground, I ha"e #et to read a(out an# folk roker whose areer was affeted (# the
draft in the 1968s.
:hat #ou will find in the literature are numerous mentions of "arious people reei"ing their draft
noties, (ut those are in"aria(l# followed (# amusing anedotes a(out how said people (eat the
draft (oard (# pretending to (e ga# or raA#. 5f ourse, if it were reall# that eas# to fool the draft
(oard, then Unle Sam pro(a(l# wouldn&t ha"e (een a(le to ome up with all those (odies to send
o"er to %ietnam.
Fundreds of thousands of #oung men from all aross the ountr# were swept up and fed into the
war mahine, (ut not one of the musial ions of the :oodstok generation was among them. Fow
ould that (eD Should we 2ust onsider that to (e another one of those great serendipitiesD :as it
mere luk that kept all the .aurel *an#on stars out of 2ail and out of the militar# during the
tur(ulent deade that was the 1968sD
!ot likel#. 'he realit# is that &'he Esta(lishment,& as it was known in those da#s, had the power to
pre"ent the musial ions of the 1968s from e"er (eoming the megastars that the# (eame. 'he
state, aka orporate Ameria, ould )uite easil# ha"e pre"ented the entire ounterultural mo"ement
from e"er reall# getting off the ground + (eause then, as now, the state ontrolled the hannels of
ommuniation.
A real grass+roots ultural re"olution would pro(a(l# ha"e in"ol"ed a (unh of star"ing musiians
(arel# srathing out a li"ing pla#ing tin# offee shops in the hopes of ma#(e someda# landing a
reord deal with some tin#, loal independent la(el and then, 2ust ma#(e, if the# got reall# luk#,
getting a little airpla# on some o(sure ollege radio stations. -ut that&s not how the &68s folk+rok
&re"olution& pla#ed out. !ot (# an# streth of the imagination.
As Unter(erger dul# notes in his e6pansi"e, two+"olume re"iew of the folk+rok mo"ement, 4muh
folk+rok was reorded and issued (# huge orporations, and (roadast o"er radio and tele"ision
stations owned for the most part (# the same or similar pillars of the esta(lishment.4 ,ight from the
start, in fat, it was the largest reord la(els leading the folk+rok harge. 'he "er# first of the folk+
rok (ands, the -#rds, signed with *olum(ia ,eords + whose name, in ase #ou were wondering,
is deri"ed from a little plae known as the =istrit of *olum(ia, where the la(el was founded and
head)uartered some 178 #ears ago.
.aurel *an#on&s other folk+rok powerhouse, the -uffalo Springfield + the (and that was supposed
to (e as (ig as the -#rds and the -eatles and the -eah -o#s + signed with Atlanti ,eords.
Atlanti had (een founded in 194< (# Ahmet Ertegun and dentist;in"estor Fer( A(ramson. -orn in
Istan(ul, 'urke# in 197Q, the #ear the 'urk ,epu(li was esta(lished, Ahmet was the son, and the
grandson, of areer diplomats;i"il ser"ants. Fis father was named the first 'urkish representati"e
to the .eague of !ations in 1973 and thereafter ser"ed as the 'urk ,epu(li&s am(assador to
SwitAerland, /rane, and England. In 19Q3, he was named the first 'urkish am(assador to the
United States and he promptl# reloated the famil# to + where elseD + :ashington, =*.
Ahmet Ertegun
/rom a(out the age of twel"e, Ahmet grew up along =*&s Em(ass# ,ow, attending elite pri"ate
shools with the sons and daughters of senators, ongressmen, and spooks. In 194<, three #ears
after his father died, Ertegun founded Atlanti ,eords. At first, the la(el was home to 2aAA and
,K- artists, inluding ,a# *harles, the ompan#&s first (ig star. In the late 1938s, Ertegun took on
his first assistantC a gu# (# the name of 9hil Spetor, who, rumor has it, was reentl# on"ited of
(lowing a hole in .ana *larkson&s head. Atlanti soon shifted fous and rok luminaries like Eri
*lapton, .ed ?eppelin and the ,olling Stones would later 2oin the la(el&s sta(le of talent.
It would appear then that the two reord la(els that signed and launhed .aurel *an#on&s first two
folk+rok (ands were not onl# ma2or reord la(els, the# also 2ust happened to (e orporate entities
that had deep ties to the nation&s apitol and power enter.
It was the ma2or reord la(els, not upstart independents, that signed .aurel *an#on&s newl#+formed
(ands. It was the ma2or la(els that pro"ided them with instruments and amplifiers. It was the ma2or
la(els that pro"ided them with studio time and session musiians. It was the ma2or la(els that
reorded, mi6ed and arranged their al(ums. It was the ma2or la(els that released and then hea"il#
promoted those al(ums. And so as not to (e left out, the orporate titans of all three (ranhes of the
mainstream media + print, radio and tele"ision + did their part to help out the titans of the reord
industr#.
Unter(erger notes that 4AM radio 0and sometimes prime+time network tele"ision1 would at as a
primar# onduit for this ounterultural e6pression.4 *onser"ati"e, orporate+ontrolled AM
stations aross the ountr# almost immediatel# (egan gi"ing serious airpla# to the new sounds
oming out of Southern *alifornia, and network tele"ision ga"e the rising stars unpreedented
o"erage and e6posureC 4prime+time "ariet# hours were muh more likel# to showase rok ats
than the# would (e in su(se)uent deades. !ew releases (# the -#rds were often aompanied (#
large ads in trade magaAines that simultaneousl# plugged the reords and upoming '%
appearanes.4
'he (o#s in the -uffalo Springfield, for e6ample, managed to find themsel"es appearing as guests
on an impressi"e arra# of network tele"ision shows, inluding Amerian -andstand, 'he Smothers
-rothers Show, She(ang, the =ella ,eese Show, the $o Show, the And# :illiams Show,
Foll#wood 9alae, :here the Ation Is, >oe# -ishop&s late night show, and a loal program known
as -oss *it#. 'he# also made guest appearanes, uriousl# enough, on primetime hits like Manni6
and 'he $irl /rom Unle.
'he print media did its part as well to raise awareness of the new musi;ounterultural sene. In
Septem(er 1963, the nation&s premier newsweeklies, 'ime and !ewsweek, 4ran "irtuall#
simultaneous stories on the folk+rok raAe,4 2ust months after the first folk+rok release, the -#rd&s
Mr. 'am(ourine Man, had lim(ed to the top of the harts. 'he ountr#&s (iggest dail# newspapers
himed in as well, pro"iding an inordinate amount of o"erage of the emerging sene. -# the end of
196<, the mo"ement had its "er# own pu(liation, ,olling Stone magaAine. Initiall# designed to
look as though it were a produt of the underground press, it was, without )uestion, "er# muh a
orporate mouthpiee.
Another a"enue of the print media pro"ided the sene with onsidera(le e6posure as wellG as
Einarson notes, man# of the .aurel *an#on stars, partiularl# mem(ers of the -uffalo Springfield
and the Monkees, were 4the darlings of the *alifornia teen magaAines,4 inluding 'eenset, 'een
Sreen, and 'iger -eat.
As the stor# is usuall# told, the 1968s ounterultural mo"ement posed a rather serious threat to the
status )uo. But if that !ere truly the &ase" then !hy !as it the Bpillars of the establishent"B to
use Cnterberger(s !ords" that laun&hed the o#eent to begin !ithD ;hy !as it (the an(
that signed and re&orded these artistsD 'nd that hea#ily prooted the on the radio" on
tele#ision" and in printD 'nd that set the up !ith their #ery o!n radio station and their #ery
o!n publi&ationD 'nd insured that ne! &lubs sprung up li$e ushroos along Sunset
Boule#ard so that all the ne! bands !ould ha#e #enues to playD
'here are some readers, no dou(t, who will sa# that this was simpl# a ase of orporate Ameria
doing what it does so wellC making a profit, off of an#thing and e"er#thing. -linded (# greed, the
na#sa#ers will laim, the orporate titans inad"ertentl# reated a monster. 4Mo"e along now folks,
there&s nothing more to see here ...4
'he )uestion that is (egged (# that e6planation, howe"er, is wh#, after it had (eome a(undantl#
lear that a monster had allegedl# (een reated, was nothing done to stop the growth of that
monsterD :h# did the state not utiliAe its law enforement and riminal 2ustie powers to silene
some of the most prominent ounterultural "oiesD And wh# did the draft (oard + in e"er# known
ase, without e6eption + allow those same "oies to skip out on their militar# ser"ieD
It&s not as if the state would ha"e had to resort to hea"#+handed measures to silene these allegedl#
trou(lesome "oies. -eing that the "ast ma2orit# of them were draft+age males who were openl#
using and;or ad"oating the use of illegal su(stanes, the# were pratiall# (egging for the powers+
that+(e to take ation. And #et that ne"er happened.
And now, while #ou ponder all of that, I&ll irle (ak around and tell the -uffalo Springfield stor#
from the (eginning, starting in 1943 when Stephen Arthur Stills was (orn to :illiam and 'alitha
Stills. As >ohn Einarson reounts in or What It:s Worth, Stephen&s 4roots are firml# planted in
Southern soil. Fis famil# traes its histor# (ak to the plantations of the rural ante(ellum South.
After the Union armies laid waste to muh of the Southern farm eonom#, the famil# reloated to
Illinois.4
Einarson desri(es :illiam Stills as 4somewhat of a soldier of fortune, an engineer, (uilder, and
dreamer who fre)uentl# uprooted the famil# to follow his dreams and shemes.4 'hat is, I suppose,
as good a definition as an# for what he atuall# appears to ha"e (eenC a militar# intelligene
operati"e who was fre)uentl# on assignment in *entral Ameria. Stephen&s hildhood was spent in
Illinois, 'e6as, .ouisiana, /lorida, and "arious parts of *entral Ameria, inluding *osta ,ia, El
Sal"ador and the 9anama *anal ?one.
At a fairl# #oung age, he attended the Admiral /arragut Militar# Aadem# in St. 9eters(urg,
/lorida. In later #ears, his authoritarian manner and militar# (earing would earn him the nikname
4'he Sarge.4 Fe 2oined his first (and, the ,adars, as a drummer. In his ne6t (and, the *ontinentals,
he pla#ed the guitar, alongside another #oung guitarist named =on /elder, who would later turn up
in .aurel *an#on as a mem(er of the Eagles, (ut we&ll get to that later.
Aording to Einarson, 4An unfortunate inident with the administration at his 'ampa -a# high
shool resulted in Stephen&s dismissal in 1961, after whih he 2oined his wa#ward famil# then
settled in *osta ,ia.4 :hat that 4unfortunate inident4 ma# ha"e (een has (een left to the reader&s
imagination. In an# e"ent, Stephen&s ne6t few #ears are rather murk#. Some reports ha"e him
graduating from a high shool in the 9anama *anal ?one. 5thers ha"e him shuffling (ak and forth
(etween /lorida and *entral Ameria. Stills himself has at times laimed that he ser"ed a stint in
%ietnam. :hate"er the ase, in Marh of 1964 he surfaed in !ew 5rleans with his sights set on a
areer in musi.
-# the summer of 1964, he had drifted to !ew @ork&s $reenwih %illage, where he (eame fast
friends with folkie 9eter 'orkelson, who was, like so man# others in this stor#, a hild of
:ashington, =*. 'he two pla#ed together (riefl# as a duo (efore 'orkelson 4migrated to
*onnetiut then %eneAuela.4 !othing unusual a(out that, I suppose. 'orkelson would soon show
up in .aurel *an#on, as Monkee 9eter 'ork. Stills would also audition for the show, (ut his (ad
teeth and thinning hair would render him unfit for a leading role on prime+time '%.
In >ul# 1964, Stills found work as one of the nine mem(ers of the Au $o+$o Singers, the newl#+
formed house (and for !ew @ork&s famed *af\ Au $o+$o. Singing alongside of Stills was a #oung
,ihie /ura#, the son of a pharmaist who had run a famil# drugstore in @ellow Springs, 5hio.
/ura#&s father died when ,ihie was 2ust thirteen, as tends to happen from time to time in this stor#.
-# !o"em(er 1964, the Au $o+$o Singers alread# had an al(um out. -ut trou(le soon arose, due
primaril# to the fat that the (and was under ontrat to Morris .e"#, a known organiAed+rime
figure who would soon (e indited on an arra# of riminal harges. 'he (and soon (roke up and
/ura# headed off to *onnetiut where a ousin got him a 2o( at 9ratt K :hitne#. :hile working
there, he took a little time off to audition for a slot in the *had Mithell 'rio, (ut he was (eat out (#
a militar# (rat from ,oswell named >ohn =eutshendorf, later to (eome >ohn =en"er.
Stephen Stills, meanwhile, hung out in !ew @ork for a while longer (efore heeding the all of the
9ied 9iper and heading out to .A in August of 1963. 'hat was the summer, aording to Einarson,
that 4the epienter of Amerian rok&n&roll shifted oasts, .os Angeles replaing !ew @ork as the
power (ase of the musi industr#.4
,ihie /ura# apparentl# soon found himself missing Stills (ut didn&t know how to reah his former
(andmate, so he sent a letter to Stills& dad in El Sal"ador, aording to legend, and :illiam Stills
forwarded the message to Stephen. And what e6atl#, #ou ma# (e wondering, was the elder Stills
doing in El Sal"ador ira 1963;66D =etails aren&t readil# a"aila(le, (ut as :illiam -lum has dul#
noted in @illing %ope, 4'hroughout the 1968s, multifarious Amerian e6perts oupied themsel"es
in El Sal"ador (# enlarging and refining the state&s seurit# and ounter+insurgen# apparatusC the
polie, the !ational $uard, the militar#, the ommuniations and intelligene networks, the
oordination with their ounterparts in other *entral Amerian ountries ... as matters turned out,
these were the fores and resoures whih were (rought into ation to impose widespread
repression and wage war.4
Meanwhile, up in *anada, !eil @oung and -rue 9almer were handling guitar and (ass duties for
the M#nah -irds. !eil 9eri"al Benneth ,agland @oung was (orn on !o"em(er 17, 1943 in
'oronto to Sott @oung, a sportswriter and no"elist, and Edna 4,ass#4 ,agland, a *anadian
tele"ision personalit#. Sott @oung had spent a onsidera(le amount of time a(road during :orld
:ar II, first as a 2ournalist and then as a mem(er of the ,o#al *anadian !a"#. Sott&s father 0!eil&s
grandfather1, like ,ihie /ura#&s, had (een a pharmaist;drug store owner.
As Einarson reounts, 4!eil @oung and Stephen Stills had more in ommon than musi. -oth had
grown up in transient families, !eil&s 2ournalist father Sott uprooting his mother Edna &,ass#,& !eil,
and older (rother -o( se"eral times during !eil&s first 13 #ears.4 !o"elists, I&m guessing, need to
mo"e around a lot.
>ust after his se"enteenth (irthda#, !eil formed his first (and, the S)uires, and (egan pla#ing loal
gigs. It was during those earl# #ears, aording to legend, that @oung and Stills first (riefl# rossed
paths up in *anada. 'hat meeting would, a ouple #ears later, allegedl# send @oung and 9almer +
also (orn in 'oronto, to a "iolinist father and artist mother + off on a ross+ountr# )uest to find
Stephen Stills.
'he M#nah -irds, (# the wa#, also at one time featured !ik St. !iholas and $oldie M>ohn, (oth
of whom defeted to a ri"al loal (and known as the Sparrows. 'he Sparrows, after a lead singer
replaement, would morph into Steppenwolf. And Steppenwolf, like the other (and spawned (# the
M#nah -irds, would migrate to + guess whereD + .aurel *an#on.
Part 1-
't the tie of the (serendipitous( en&ounter on Sunset Boule#ard" Stills !as li#ing at the hoe
of Barry 2riedan" a forer &ir&us &lo!n" fire%eater" T> produ&er" and freelan&e publi&ist) 'o
sa# that his home was a (it odd would pro(a(l# (e an understatement. Aording to folkie !urit
:ilde, 4It had a (athtu( in the middle of the li"ing room and a seret room (ehind the (athroom
where people arried on liaisons.4 'he massi"e (athtu( sat right in front of the e)uall# massi"e
fireplae. As /riedman himself would later aknowledge, 4'his was a "er# strange house.4
A sign (# the front door of this residene identifies it as the Foll# Mont *astleU
!ot strange (# an#on standards, perhaps, (ut strange nonetheless. Stranger homes an ertainl# (e
found, suh as in the Foll# Mont neigh(orhood near the (ase of near(# -eahwood *an#on. 5ne
suh home, pitured a(o"e, is desri(ed in the (ook Faunted Foll#wood. 'he house isn&t atuall#
haunted, of ourse, (ut it does ontain some rather unusual features, as a past owner diso"eredC
4the house&s most startling feature + a seret passagewa# (ehind a (uilt+in (ookshelf he&d diso"ered
during remodeling. It onneted to a series of su(terranean tunnels linking se"eral houses on the
hillside...:hile e6ploring the tunnel (eneath his house, $re# found a makeshift gra"e. 'he
headstone read &,egina 1977.&4
!othing weird a(out that, I suppose. !or a(out the fat that the house pitured (elow, whih sits
right ne6t+door, is also linked through the underground tunnel omple6.
An#wa#... as I was sa#ing, /riedman had taken (oth Stills and /ura# under his wing, pro"iding
them with a plae to li"e and rehearse, doling out spending mone#, and introduing them to musi
industr# ontats. /riedman was there when the fa(led meeting took plae, and it was to his home
that the group ad2ourned after stopping on the Strip. It was also /riedman who found them their
drummer, :alter Milton =wa#ne Midkiff, otherwise known as =ewe# Martin.
/riedman, as it turns out, was working for -#rds& manager >im =ikson, who also managed the
=illards. =ikson hooked /riedman up with Martin, and with a full slate of eletri instruments, 2ust
as he had set the -#rds up with instruments and a (ass pla#er. =ikson and /riedman would soon
(eome neigh(ors when /riedman mo"ed from his odd house on /ountain A"enue to a home on
,idpath in + all together nowR + .aurel *an#on.
'hat home, on N374 ,idpath, would (eome a rather notorious part# house. As >akson -rowne,
who /riedman later took under his wing, realled, 4It was alwa#s open house at 9aul ,othhild&s
and -arr# /riedman&s4 09aul ,othhild, for those who ha"e forgotten, was the produer of the
=oors, and in ase I hadn&t mentioned it (efore, an e6+on"it1. -arne# Fosk#ns writes in Fotel
*alifornia that 4/riedman ... orhestrated senes of se6ual and naroti depra"it# that soon spun out
of ontrol.4 Among the regular "isitors was 4a gaggle of girls who mainl# li"ed at Monkee 9eter
'ork&s house4 + whih was also, as we all know, in .aurel *an#on.
N374 ,idpath in .aurel *an#on, as it looks toda#
>ust a few doors down from /riedman, at N384 ,idpath, li"ed -arr# >ames, who also pla#ed a
(ehind+the+senes role in the suess of the -#rds. Mihael 5hs, (rother of folk legend;self+
professed *IA operati"e 9hil 5hs, worked as >ames& assistant. A "er# #oung >akson -rowne,
fresh from the 4imposing -rowne famil# home in the ton#, old+mone# neigh(orhood of Fighland
9ark,4 li"ed with >ames for a #ear, during whih time /riedman worked to (uild a (and around
-rowne. 'oward that end, he reruited someone else who ame from 4old+mone#,4 a kid (# the
name of !ed =ohen#.
Most mem(ers of the Springfield also took up residene in our fa"orite seluded an#on. ,ihie
/ura# initiall# mo"ed in with Mark %olman of the 'urtles, who alread# had a plae on .ookout
Mountain A"enue. After marr#ing in Marh of 196<, /ura# got his own plae right on .aurel
*an#on -oule"ard. !eil @oung, e"er the reluse, found himself what has (een desri(ed as a
4shak4 at N431 Utia =ri"e. And Stills e"entuall# mo"ed into 9eter 'ork&s home, also on .aurel
*an#on -oule"ard. It is unlear whether 9almer and Martin took up residene in the an#on.
N384 ,idpath, whih is now, uriousl# enough, the *hilean *onsulate
Martin was older than the rest of the (and, ha"ing (een (orn on Septem(er Q8, 1948 in 5ntario. In
the "er# earl# 1968s, he ser"ed a (rief stint in the U.S. Arm#, though he appears to ha"e (een, like
@oung and 9almer, a *anadian itiAen. $o figure. /ollowing that, as pre"iousl# noted, he pla#ed
with man# ountr# and rok legends (efore (riefl# 2oining up with the =illards. :ith him added to
the Springfield, the (and was omplete.
It wouldn&t sta# that wa# for an# length of time, howe"er. -rue 9almer had a ha(it of getting
himself arrested on a regular (asis, usuall# on drug harges. Some of those arrests led to
deportations, sine (oth he and @oung were in the ountr# illegall#. Fe ne"er seems to ha"e had
muh trou(le getting (ak into the ountr#, howe"er, and needless to sa#, none of his rimes seem
to ha"e atuall# (een proseuted in an# meaningful wa#. -ut he did go missing on a fairl# regular
(asis. =uring the (and&s two+#ear run, Ben Bo(lun, >im /ielder 0formerl# of ?appa&s Mothers of
In"ention1, and >im Messina all filled in on (ass for "ar#ing lengths of time. And =oug Fastings
filled in for a sometimes a(sent !eil @oung, who had a ha(it of oasionall# )uitting the (and,
primaril# due to ego lashes with 'he Sarge.
'he IshakJ at N431 Utia, as it looks toda#
'he (and&s seond single, reorded and mi6ed on =eem(er 3, 1966, and written 2ust a ouple
weeks (efore, was released loall# in =eem(er 1966 and nationall# in earl# >anuar# 196<. It
would (e the group&s onl# hit single and it is remem(ered toda# as the )uintessential protest song of
the 1968s. 'hat song, of ourse, is /or :hat It&s :orth, the opening lines of whih kiked off this
series.
As a protest song, it must (e said, it doesn&t )uite measure up. /irst of all, despite what is ommonl#
(elie"ed nowada#s, the song is not a ommentar# on %ietnam :ar protests. /ar from it. 'he e"ent
under onsideration was the so+alled ,iot on the Sunset Strip, whih in"ol"ed a(out 1,888 kids
who were demonstrating against the imposition of a urfew and the announement that a popular
lu( + 9andora&s -o6, at N11N Sunset -oule"ard + was slated to (e losed.
Senes from a IriotJ 0sreen ap from Mondo Mod1
9andora&s was a small offee shop that featured poetr# readings, folk musi... and .aurel *an#on
(ands like .o"e and -uffalo Springfield. 'his aused a (it of a pro(lem though, as the lu( sat on a
traffi island at the intersetion of Sunset and *resent Feights 0the gatewa# to .aurel *an#on1, and
o"erflow rowds would spill out onto the (oule"ard, (loking traffi. E"en (efore the pro(lems
(egan, the (uilding was sheduled to (e demolished as part of a planned road+widening pro2et.
!e"ertheless, the announement of its losing sparked a demonstration, and on the night of
!o"em(er 17, 1966, 788 ops s)uared off against perhaps 1,888 kids. 'he .A9=, (eing the .A9=,
(egan raking heads and arresting e"er#one in sight. 9rotestors responded (# throwing roks,
setting a ar a(laAe, and attempting to ignite a (us. 5ne month later, a song ommemorating the
e"ent would (e (laring from ar radios aross the it#. Eight months after that, 9andora&s would (e
(ulldoAed.
E"en if the song had (een a(out anti+war protests, it still would (e an odd hoie for a protest song.
.#ris suh as 4Singing songs and arr#ing signs, mostl# sa# hoora# for our side,4 seem to largel#
dismiss the onerns of protesters. And the line 4no(od#&s right if e"er#(od#&s wrong4 seems to
suggest that protesters are no (etter than that whih the# are protesting against.
Another urious iron# a(out the song is that it was authored (# Stephen Stills, aka 'he Sarge, an
authoritarian, law+and+order kind of gu# if e"er there was one. Stills himself later heaped derision
on the "er# notion of a protest songC 4:e didn&t want to do another song like /or :hat It&s :orth.
:e didn&t want to (e a protest group. 'hat&s reall# a op+out and I hate that. 'o sit there and sa#, &I
don&t like this and I don&t like that& is 2ust stupid.4
:riting insipid pop ditties a(out >udi *ollins, I suppose, was a muh smarter ourse of ation.
:hile /or :hat It&s :orth is now the (est+remem(ered &protest& song of the 1968s, the most
suessful one at the time was -arr# M$uire&s reording of 9./. Sloan&s 'he E"e of =estrution,
whih was also a urious hoie for a &protest& song, for reasons (est e6plained (# 9aul >ones of the
(and Manfred MannC 4I think that -arr# M$uire must ha"e (een paid (# the State =epartment.
'he E"e of =estrution protests a(out nothing. It is simpl# a &'h# =oom at Fand& song with no
point.4
@et another urious &protest& song of the 1968s was $len *amp(ell&s rendering of -uff# St. Marie&s
anti+war standard, Uni"ersal Soldier. 'he "er# same $len *amp(ell told %ariet# magaAine that draft
ard (urners 4should (e hung... If #ou don&t ha"e enough guts to fight for #our ountr#, #ou&re not a
man.4 A #oung -o( Seger, meanwhile, penned and reorded -allad of the @ellow -eret, a "iious
put+down of draft dodgers, (ut that might (e a (it off+topi.
,eturning then to the -uffalo Springfield, I think it is safe to sa# that, to most musi fans, there is a
world of differene (etween a (and like the Springfield and a (and like the Monkees. 'hat
pereption, howe"er, is not neessaril# aurate. As Unter(erger has written, 4there was not nearl#
as muh gauhe ommerialism separating the Monkees and the (old Sunset Strip "anguard as is
ommonl# (elie"ed. 'he -#rds, -uffalo Springfield, and -arr# M$uire might ha"e (een landing
hit reords with soial protest (oth gentle and inendiar#, (ut the# were tethered to a orporate
media esta(lishment in order to deli"er those messages. 5n tele"ision&s :here the Ation Is #ou
ould see the -#rds lip+s#nhing 'he -ells of ,h#mne# in front of "auous, grinning (eah (unnies
and musle men a"orting on di"ing (oards and plasti inner tu(es. :hen -uffalo Springfield
mimed to /or :hat It&s :orth on 'he Smothers -rothers Show, the# suffered the insertion of a shot
of 'om Smothers pointing a gun at the amera during the line &there&s a man with a gun o"er there,&
to a (urst of uproarious anned laughter.4
'he ties (etween the (ands atuall# ran far deeper than their mutual fondness for hees# tele"ision
appearanes. Stephen Stills, it will (e realled, auditioned to (e a Monkee, as did singer;songwriters
Farr# !ilsson and 9aul :illiams, and =ann# Futton of 'hree =og !ight. Stills and 'ork remained
lose friends and fre)uentl# 2ammed together. Indeed, (oth 'ork and fellow Monkee Mike# =olenA
2oined the Springfield on stage at "arious loal e"ents. And Stills, @oung and =ewe# Martin all sat
in on Monkees reording sessions.
5n >ul# 7, 196<, guitarist e6traordinaire >imi Fendri6 pla#ed the :hisk# and reportedl# (lew the
roof off the plae 0figurati"el# speaking, that is1. Shortl# thereafter, he mo"ed into 9eter 'ork&s
house in .aurel *an#on. -# the middle of >ul#, Fendri6 had 2oined the Monkees tour as their
opening at. Fe was dropped after 2ust a few dates, howe"er, due to the fat that Monkees fans
ouldn&t )uite wrap their heads around >imi&s (rand of musi.
'hroughout the summer of 196<, Stephen and =ewe#&s Mali(u home (eame the site of informal
2am sessions in"ol"ing Stephen Stills, >imi Fendri6, -udd# Miles, =a"id *ros(#... and Monkee
9eter 'ork. Stills pla#ed (ass, deferring lead guitar duties to Fendri6. All of them ultimatel# ended
up li"ing at 'ork&s .aurel *an#on spread, whih, as pre"iousl# mentioned, featured a gaggle of
#oung groupies who spent an inordinate amount of time lounging around the pool in "arious states
of undress.
'hose 2am sessions, (oth in Mali(u and .aurel *an#on, were undou(tedl# fueled (# massi"e
amounts of .S=. Aording to an anon#mous insider inter"iewed (# >ohn Einarson, 45wsle#
Leditor&s noteC remem(er himDM used to gi"e -rue L9almerM (aggies full of aid, a thousand ta(s of
purple. Somehow he (efriended -rue so we Lthe (and and "arious hangers+onM ne"er laked for
.S=.4
'here was #et one more urious tie (etween the Monkees and the SpringfieldC while together in
*hiago, unnamed mem(ers of (oth (ands were allegedl# immortaliAed (# the notorious *#nthia
9laster *aster. 5ur old friend /rank ?appa would soon take *#nthia under his wing and reloate her
to .A to ontinue her, uhmm, work, 2ust as he had taken the nu(ile #oung women who would
(eome the $'5s under his wing. It ould reasona(l# (e argued, I suppose, that ?appa did more
than an#one to reate one of the more peuliar artifats of the 1968sC the super+groupie.
Ahmet Ertegun, (# the wa#, pla#ed a ke# role in launhing the areer of Mr. ?appa, so muh so that
/rank named one of his sons after him. Meanwhile, ?appa&s shad# manager, Fer( *ohen, 4was
in"ol"ed with the L-uffalo SpringfieldM finaniall#... Stephen knew Fer(ie from !ew @ork,4
aording to Einarson. 'he .aurel *an#on rowd, to (e sure, was a lose+knit group + all the more
so (eause so man# of them seem to ha"e known one another (efore arri"ing there.
>ust a ouple of weeks (efore >imi&s :hisk# de(ut, he had daAAled the rowd at the Montere# 9op
/esti"al, where the (and under re"iew toda#, the -uffalo Springfield, had also pla#ed + though (#
most aounts, not "er# well. !eil @oung was taking one of his lea"es+of+a(sene from the (and
and =oug Fastings filled in on seond lead guitar. In addition, Stills (rought his (udd# =a"id
*ros(# out on stage to 2oin the (and, whih (# man# aounts was a rather poor deision on
Stephen&s part.
In /or :hat It&s :orth, Einarson pro"ides the following e"aluation of *ros(#&s performaneC 4Fis
profile was so low ke# man# took no notie of him there sa"e for his e"er+present (lak ow(o#
hat, and his musial ontri(utions, (oth instrumentall# and "oall#, were (arel# audi(le.4 Some of
those who had (een on stage with *ros(# had a somewhat less harita(le "iew. Aording to (assist
-rue 9almer, 4*ros(# stunk to high hea"en. Fe didn&t know what he was doing... he was all ego.
Fe ame on for fort# minutes and em(arrassed us.4 $uitarist Fastings agreed, e6plaining that
*ros(#&s 4pro(lem was that he ouldn&t pla# rh#thm guitar "er# well, though he thought he ould...
that was one of the reasons wh# we sounded so (ad at Montere#.4
Fas an#one notied, (# the wa#, that I am not a huge fan of =a"id *ros(# and that I seem to relish
tossing in gratuitous )uotes )uestioning his talentsD
After spending the &Summer of .o"e& 2amming with mem(ers of (oth >imi Fendri6&s -and of
$#ps#s and the Monkees, the -uffalo Springfield hit the road in !o"em(er 196< to (egin a tour
opening for the -eah -o#s, a pairing nearl# as odd as the Monkees and >imi Fendri6. -rue
9almer, whom we ha"e alread# learned was not one to mine words, had this to sa# a(out the -eah
-o#s as a performing (andC 4'he# were real lous# musiians (ut the# had terrifi harmon# and a
name. 'he# were a studio group. 5n stage it was like the Monkees. 'he# would spend weeks and
months in the studio with -rian :ilson perfeting harmonies and o"erdu(s, (ut #ou put them on
stage and the# stunk.4
'hat tour inluded a stop, uriousl# enough, at :est 9oint Militar# Aadem#, whih is, as we all
know, a regular stop on most rok tours. :hile on the road, the mem(ers of the Springfield formed
a lose (ond with =ennis :ilson, a (ond that would (e (uilt upon in April of 196N when the
Springfield again went out on tour with the -eah -o#s. 'hat tour was launhed on April 3, almost
two #ears to the da# from the fa(led meeting that allegedl# forged the (and. It was the last ma2or
tour the group would undertake.
>ust after returning from the 196N tour, =ennis :ilson (onded with another loal musiian, a gu#
(# the name of *harlie Manson. :hen =ennis introdued his new friend *harlie to his (uddies in
the -uffalo Springfield, !eil @oung in partiular was )uite smitten + so muh so that he reportedl#
went to reord mogul Mo 5stin and reommended that 5stin sign *harlie right awa#.
Fow man# of #ou, (# the wa#, were getting a little worried that Manson wasn&t going to make an
appearane in this hapter of the .aurel *an#on sagaD
5n April 7N, the (and (egan pla#ing its last series of loal "enues. 5n Ma# 3, at the .ong -eah
Arena, the -uffalo Springfield pla#ed together as a (and for the last time. 'he# had (een sheduled
to pla# two shows that da#, the first at a "enue in 'orrane 0#our fearless sri(e&s hometown1, (ut
that earlier show ne"er materialiAed.
'he (and released their third and final al(um, .ast 'ime Around, some three months later. As with
al(ums (# the -#rds and the International Su(marine -and, the Springfield&s final al(um is often
ited as (eing a pioneering effort in the reation of the ountr#+rok genre. It appears, (# the wa#,
that there wasn&t atuall# a single al(um that ould (e onsidered the &first& ountr#+rok al(um,
sine the three al(ums most fre)uentl# singled out for that distintion + the -#rd&s Sweetheart of the
,odeo, the International Su(marine -and&s Safe at Fome, and the -uffalo Springfield&s .ast 'ime
Around, were all released, uriousl# enough, within da#s of eah other in >ul# of 196N.
'hat was 2ust one urious shift that ourred in the loal musi sene. 'he folk+rok mo"ement, #ou
see, didn&t reall# last "er# long in its original inarnation. It )uikl# splintered into three distint
new genresC ountr#+rok, ps#hedeli rok, and the &introspeti"e singer+songwriter& shool of folk+
rok most losel# assoiated with former mental patient >ames 'a#lor. !one of these musial
genres, nota(l#, posed the slightest threat to the status )uo. 'he na"el+gaAers eshewed soial
onerns in fa"or of fousing on tales of personal anguish, the aid rokers largel# preahed the
mantra of &turn on, tune in, drop out,& and the ountr#+rokers largel# stuk to traditional + whih is
to sa#, )uite onser"ati"e + ountr# musi themes.
/ollowing the (reakup of the -uffalo Springfield, ,ihie /ura# and sometime (assist >im Messina
went on to form the (and 9oo. 'hrough "arious formations, the (and was ritiall# alaimed (ut
ne"er had a great deal of ommerial suess. >im Messina ultimatel# left to (eome half of
.oggins and MessinaG his replaement, ,and# Meisner, went on to (eome an Eagle. A gu# (# the
name of $regg Allman, who pla#ed (riefl# with 9oo during its formati"e da#s, went on to front
the Allman -rothers.
9oo de(uted at the 'rou(adour, whih ser"ed as the (reeding ground for the ountr#+rok
mo"ement, in !o"em(er 196N. 'heir first al(um, 9ikin& Up the 9iees, hit the shel"es si6 months
later, three months after the release of the de(ut al(um (# ountr#+rok ri"als 'he /l#ing -urrito
-rothers, formed (# former -#rds $ram 9arsons and *hris Fillman.
-#rd =a"id *ros(#, meanwhile, teamed up with the Springfield&s Stephen Stills and e6+Follie
$raham !ash 0who had arri"ed in .aurel *an#on in =eem(er 196N + and soon after mo"ed in with
>oni Mithell1 to form a (and first known as the /roAen !oses, a name inspired (# the trio&s
fondness for oaine. -# the late 1968s, the drug that would later (eome the drug of hoie of the
diso rowd had alread# (egun pouring into .aurel *an#on. As glam+roker Mihael =es-arres
realled, 4E"er# drug dealer was in .aurel *an#on.4 Along with the drugs ame lots of guns and
huge piles of ash. -efore long, aording to .aurel *an#on hroniler Mihael :alker, 4oaine
(eame a pseudo+urren#, like igarettes in prison.4
A deade later, the world would ath a glimpse of that dark an#on underurrent when four
(attered (odies were (agged and remo"ed from a house on :onderland A"enue... (ut we&"e alread#
o"ered that.
'he newest .aurel *an#on (and, of ourse, was )uikl# renamed *ros(#, Stills K !ash, and (# the
summer of 1969, the# had the top selling al(um in the ountr#. It would remain on the harts for an
unpreedented two #ears. :hen the (and got read# to hit the road though, there was a little
pro(lemG gi"en that Stills was the onl# serious musiian in the (and, and it was he who had pla#ed
"irtuall# all the instruments on that de(ut al(um, it was going to (e diffiult, as -arne# Fosk#ns
noted, 4to translate their la#ered studio sound to the stage.4 'he solution was, as Einarson has
written, to (ring !eil @oung on (oard, 4to pro"ide more umph to their li"e sets.4 And so it was that
(# the end of the #ear, *S! had (eome *S!@.
!ow the (and 2ust needed a rh#thm setion. =allas 'a#lor, who had pla#ed on sessions for the first
al(um, was reruited as a permanent drummer. Stills and @oung summoned -rue 9almer to ome
down from *anada to handle (ass duties. Aording to 9almer, howe"er, that didn&t work out,
primaril# (eause one he got to .A and 4started rehearsing at Stephen&s house with *ros(# and
!ash, it (eame real e"ident that the# were nothing (ut (akup singers. 'he# didn&t like it and
deided to hange it. 'he# ouldn&t take thatG the# thought the# were too (ig, too famous, too
talented. 'he# weren&t talented, the# were (akup singers... It looked to them as if it was *ros(# and
!ash (aking up -uffalo Springfield, (eing nothing more than harmon# singers for Stephen, !eil,
m#self, and =allas 'a#lor.4
Aording to 9almer, the first *S! al(um was 493 perent Stephen doing e"er#thing and he&s got
his (akup singer (o#s with him. Fe&s (een dragging them around with him for 73 #ears.4
*onsidering that Stills omposed the ma2orit# of the material, pla#ed most of the instruments, and
produed and arranged the al(um, 9almer&s assessment seems a reasona(le one. In an# e"ent, *S!@
didn&t last too long, dissol"ing after their 19<8 tour. Stills ne6t reruited the u(i)uitous *hris
Fillman to form Manassas, whih also pro"ed to (e short+li"ed. !ot long after, =a"id $effen
teamed Fillman with ,ihie /ura# and >.=. Souther to reate the Souther, Fillman, /ura# -and,
whih was supposed to (e the seond oming of *S! (ut whih also pro"ed to (e short+li"ed.
=uring the (and&s (rief tenure, our old friend 9hil Baufman was on hand to ser"e as road manager.
*ros(#, Stills and !ash was not the onl# .aurel *an#on (and to release a de(ut al(um in 1969.
'hree =og !ight, mentored (# -eah -o# -rian :ilson, released their self+titled de(ut in >anuar#,
and in >une, a ps#hedeli rok (and from the .* issued its first .9. 'hroughout 196N, the (and,
then known as !aAA, was a regular presene on the Sunset Strip, where the# gained a reputation for
(eing hea"# on the theatris (ut light on the musiianship.
'he (and was fronted (# %inent /urnier, the (o#friend of Miss *hristine of the $'5s. Miss
9amela, aka 9amela =es -arres, desri(ed /urnier as 4a rih kid from 9hoeni6.4 A staunh
supporter of the olonial oupation of %ietnam 0isn&t it time we stopped alling these things
&wars&D1, %ine would later (eome a golf partner of u(er+onser"ati"e Senator -arr# $oldwater.
/urnier would soon hange his own name, and the name of his (and, to Alie *ooper, after deiding
that he was the reinarnation of a with who purportedl# li"ed in the se"enteenth entur#. 5ur old
friend /rank ?appa signed the (and and its de(ut al(um, 9retties /or @ou, was the first release on
?appa&s Straight la(el. After transforming into a shok+rok (and, the group would hit it (ig a few
#ears later with the release of Shool&s 5ut.
*ooper had a urious onnetion to another rather eentri an#on haraterC -rian :ilson of the
-eah -o#s. In later #ears, (oth *ooper and :ilson would reei"e &treatment& from a ertain =r.
Eugene .and#, whose handling of :ilson would (eome )uite ontro"ersial. Aording to "arious
soures lose to :ilson, .and# )uikl# took ontrol of "irtuall# all aspets of -rian&s life.
5n 5to(er 19, 19<N, aadem# award+winning ator $ig @oung and his fifth wife, Bim Shmidt,
were found shot through the head in their !ew @ork *it# apartment. 'he 64+#ear+old @oung +
raised, as would (e e6peted, in :ashington, =* + had 2ust married the #oung art galler# worker
three weeks earlier. 'here was no note found and no one lose to the pair ould ome up with a
moti"e for either to ommit suiide, so the inident naturall# was written off as a murder;suiide.
@oung had 2ust taped an episode of the >oe /ranklin tele"ision show that da# and he presuma(l# had
gi"en no indiation that an#thing was amiss. 'he show ne"er aired.
5ne other urious side noteC at the time of the murder;suiide, @oung was reei"ing &treatment& from
Eugene .and#.
As for the original mem(ers of the -uffalo Springfield, Stephen Stills and !eil @oung are still
known to perform at times. ,ihie /ura# founded the *a"alr# *hapel near -oulder, *olorado,
where he still ser"es toda# as senior pastor. -rue 9almer died of a heart attak on 5to(er 1, 7884.
And =ewe# Martin was apparentl# found dead (# his roommate 2ust a few months ago, on /e(ruar#
1, 7889. !o pu(lished reports ha"e gi"en a ause of death. Fe had (een li"ing, uriousl# enough, in
an apartment in %an !u#s, *alifornia, 2ust a fifteen+minute dri"e from the home of #our fa"orite
sri(e.
Part 15
L$eneM used to slip into these dream states, whih I thought was reall# amaAing. FeJd
go into these dream states and la# down on the ouh and go, IIJll (e right (ak,
9atrik.JU Y9at ,o(inson, a friend and (andmate of $ene *lark
L$eneM had these multiple personalities.U Y>ohn @ork, another friend and (andmate of
$ene *lark
L$eneM did seem like he had a lot on his mind and would often appear distrated. @ouJd
sa#, IFe#, $ene, what are #ou thinkingDJ and he would go, IFuhD 5h,J like he was (eing
(rought (ak to realit#.U Y-ernie .eadon, #et another friend and (andmate of $ene
*lark
$ene *lark
In any !ays" the Gene Clar$ story reads a lot li$e the Gra Parsons story) Both !ere
&onsidered by their peers to be aong Laurel Canyon6s brightest stars" yet both are no!
largely forgotten) -oth of their li"es were ut tragiall# short 0though *lark li"ed onsidera(l#
longer than 9arsons1. -oth of their deaths were o"ershadowed to some e6tent (# unusual e"ents that
ourred 2ust after their passing. -oth were onsidered pioneers of the ountr#+rok genre. -oth
pla#ed for a time with the -#rds. -oth reorded duets with Emm#lou Farris, and (oth emplo#ed
man# of the same musiians on their "arious solo pro2ets. -oth had legions of female admirers.
-oth had a keen interest in U/5s and (elie"ed in alien "isitations. -oth were notorious drug and
alohol a(users.
=id an#one notie an#thing unusual, (# the wa#, a(out that last senteneD 9ro(a(l# not, though
there is an o("ious redundan# on displa#. If I had written something slightl# different, like drug
and heroin a(usersU or drug and oaine a(users,U #ou likel# would ha"e piked up on it right
awa#. -ut (eause I used a phrase that e"er#one is austomed to seeing and hearing, drug and
alohol a(users,U none of #ou (atted an e#e. I ha"e no idea though what m# point is here, so letJs
2ust mo"e on.
Farold Eugene *lark was (orn on !o"em(er 1<, 1944, in 'ipton, Missouri, though the #ear of his
(irth was fre)uentl# reported as 1941. It seems )uite likel# that $ene *lark himself was the soure
of that erroneous (iographial detail, to a"oid )uestions a(out the fat that his father was o"erseas
for all of 1944.
'ipton is a small town S the kind of town where e"er#one knows one another (# name. In fat,
'ipton is kind of like a (ig park where the same o"ersiAed famil# reunion is held e"er# da# of the
#ear. As -onnie *lark .ai(le told author >ohn Einarson, :hen I was in 'ipton, Missouri, the #ear
m# grandfather died, in 1934, I found out I was related to almost e"er#one in the ommunit#.
E"er#one had married people the# knew through the "arious families like /ahert# and
Sommerhauser. I ouldnJt throw a stone without hitting a famil# mem(erRU
'ipton was founded (# Mr. :illiam 'ipton Seel#, a rather wealth# and influential gent who opened
a general store ira 1NQ8. A ommunit# soon sprang up around his store, as tended to happen in
those da#s, and Seel# named his new little fiefdom ,ound Fill. A deade or so later, in the 1N48s, a
group of $erman immigrant families arri"ed in the area S the !ieuffers, the .utAs, the Bammerihs,
the Shmidts, the Foens, the Shreks and the Sommerhausers. 'hese families proeeded to
intermarr# to a rather e6treme degree.
In the 1N38s, Seel# lo((ied hard to ha"e (oth the 9aifi ,ailroad and the -utterfield 5"erland
Mail route pass through his little kingdom. 'hose efforts pro"ed suessful, though the railroad was
routed a few miles north of ,ound Fill. Around that new railroad station was (orn Seel#Js seond
town, tin# 'ipton, where $ene *lark would spend the earl# #ears of his life.
Meanwhile, 2ust (efore 1N88, a group of Irish families led (# a Mr. Edmund /ahert# settled in
southwestern Illinois. In addition to the /ahert#s, the group inluded the :helans, the 5JFaras and
the 5J!eills. 'hese families also proeeded to intermarr#. Some fations of the famil# e"entuall#
rossed o"er the (order into 9err#"ille, Missouri, where the# (eame sla"e owners. >ames and
Felena /ahert# split from the rest of the Missouri herd and mo"ed to *ole *amp, not too far
southwest of 'ipton. Aording to hroniler Einarson, the mo"e was reommended (# a priest
who feared too muh in(reeding among the families.U
5sar /ahert#, $ene *larkJs maternal grandfather, was (orn and raised near 'ipton, as was the
woman who was to (e his wife and $eneJs grandmother, ,osemar# Sommerhauser. -efore long, the
/ahert#s and the Sommerhausers were intermarr#ing at a furious pae. Aording to -onnie *lark,
'he /ahert# and Sommerhauser families had dou(le ousins going on.U
IJm not sure what that means e6atl#, nor do I reall# want to know, (ut it anJt (e a good thing.
5n the summer solstie of 1978, ,osemar# Sommerhauser /ahert# ga"e (irth to Mar# >eanne
/ahert#, $ene *larkJs mother. After ompleting elementar# shool, Mar# >eanne was sent awa# to
work as a domesti ser"antU for an unnamed wealth# famil# li"ing near Bansas *it#, Bansas. 'he
=epression #ears were prett# rough, from what I hear, (ut selling off #our (arel#+teenaged daughter
seems a (it harsh.
'he other half of $ene *larkJs famil# tree is, uriousl# enough, shrouded in m#ster# and sere#.
As hroniler Einarson notes, Unlike >eanne /ahert# *larkJs well+doumented famil# histor#, the
lineage of $eneJs father, Bell# $eorge *lark, is far more murk# and m#sterious.U Indeed,
EinarsonJs e6tensi"e researh turned up little more than the fat that Bell# *lark was (orn on
!o"em(er 11, 191N in .ene6a, Bansas, and that, aording to famil# lore, there might (e !ati"e
Amerian (lood in the famil# tree that has (een onealed.
5r ma#(e 9op *larkJs histor# is murk# for other reasons. Ma#(e he wasnJt e"en $eneJs dad. :hat
we do know is that Bell# *lark apparentl# )uit high shool and went to work for the parks
department as a groundskeeper. :hile tending the grounds at the Mil(urn *ountr# *lu(, he met
#oung >eanne /ahert#, who apparentl# was taken there fairl# fre)uentl# (# her Iemplo#ersJ S
(eause most wealth# people, I think we an all agree, take their #oung ser"ants with them to the
ountr# lu(.
After a relati"el# (rief ourtship, the two married on Ma# 79, 1941 and promptl# started a famil#.
-onnie *lark was (orn on Marh 1Q, 1947, 2ust 9a months after the ouple e6hanged "ows. Bell#
Batherine was to (e the oupleJs seond hild, (ut she was, alas, reportedl# still(orn S on the
summer solstie of 194Q. !othing suspiious a(out that. !or a(out the peuliar fat that, while
$ene and other mem(ers of the famil# would (e laid to rest in the Sommerhauser famil# plot at St.
Andrews emeter# in 'ipton, Bell# BatherineJs is a solitar# stone at the far south end of the
emeter#.U
A few months after Bell# Batherine *larkJs urious death, Bell# $eorge *lark was alled up for
radio and gunner# shool. /ollowing training, he was assigned to a unit that ser"ed as $eneral
$eorge 9attonJs mop+up rew. *larkJs rew landed at .eFa"re, /rane and steadil# made their wa#
towards $erman#. -# Ma# of 1943, immediatel# following the fall of the 'hird ,eih, *lark was in
-erlin.
Meanwhile, the third *lark hild, $ene, was (orn in !o"em(er 1944. 5ffiiall#, >eanne *lark was
impregnated while her hus(and was (riefl# home on lea"e, presuma(l# in /e(ruar# 1944, though it
seems unlikel# that he would ha"e (een at home at that time. In an# e"ent, $ene spent the first
#ears of his life in a house at Q84 Morgan Street, diretl# aross the street from a funeral home.
Bell# *lark returned home at the end of :orld :ar II and promptl# impregnated his wife one
againG !an# 9atriia *lark was (orn on >ul# 19, 1946. 'he famil# would ontinue to grow until
there were no fewer than 18 *lark si(lings, all li"ing in a tin# house far off the (eaten path. As a
former lassmate and friend realled, @ou had to take a dirt road up and it was the onl# house (ak
in the woods, wa# up high. I ouldnJt (elie"e the first time $ene took me there W It was kind of
spook# in a wa#.U
As -onnie *lark has aknowledged, the *larks were known as a "er# strange famil# in the
ommunit#.U I anJt imagine wh#, though it ma# ha"e had something to do with the famil#Js rather
unusual hoie of rereational ati"ities, suh as throwing kni"es at laundr# detergent (o6esC $ene
was "er# good at it. :e (oth were. 'his was one of the things we did as a famil# funtion,U noted
-onnie.
$ene would ha"e a lifelong fasination with kni"es S and guns. Aording to friend >oe .arson,
after *lark (egan making mone# with the -#rds, he started (u#ing guns.U In the o"er photo for
one of $eneJs solo al(ums, he is sitting on a pini ta(le. As (rother ,ik *lark has noted, there
are (ullet holes in the ta(le where we would shoot at ans and (ottles from the (ak porh with
$eneJs guns.U 5ne of those guns was an anti)ue rifle gi"en to $ene (# fellow gun afiionado =a"id
*ros(#.
Fas an#one else notied, (# the wa#, that a lot of those peaenik hippie t#pes in .aurel *an#on
seem to ha"e (een paking heatD
Shokingl# enough, most of the mem(ers of that strange famil#U li"ing in the (akwoods did not
fare so well as the# grew into adulthood. As of the time of the writing of EinarsonJs Mr. 'am(ourine
Man 078831, one *lark si(ling had (een diagnosed as a paranoid shiAophreni 0whih is, in realit#,
an ar(itrar# Idiagnosis,J (ut letJs not get into that1, another suffered from se"ere (outs of linial
depression, another was homeless due to untreated mental illness, another was on ps#hiatri meds
most of her life (efore d#ing suddenl# in 19N<, another was (ipolar, and #et another was diagnosed
with se"ere mental retardation.
E"en more shokingl#, m#sterious father Bell# *lark was said to (e a raging aloholi who suffered
from se"ere mood swingsR
$eneJs formal eduation (egan in 1949 at a strit *atholi shool in ,a#town. Aording to (ig
sister -onnie, there were trul# some a(usi"e people LthereM. I an remem(er some of those nuns
(eing real nightmares.U -# 1968, the famil# had mo"ed to -onner Springs, Bansas, where $ene
attended high shool. Fe was known to hang with a rough rowd during his high shool da#s, and a
few of his (uddies from those #ears ended up ser"ing prison time.
5n August 17, 196Q, $ene *lark, still a few months sh# of his nineteenth (irthda#, was ine6plia(l#
offered a spot in the !ew *hrist# Minstrels "oal groupG he was on a plane to *alifornia the "er#
ne6t da#. 'he Minstrels were a "er# (us# touring group, a"eraging some Q88 dates a #ear, so $ene
would spend a lot of time on airplanes during his si6+month tenure as a Minstrel. *uriousl# though,
fear of fl#ing would (e ited a ouple #ears later as $eneJs reason for lea"ing the -#rds.
5ne of the gigs the group pla#ed, on >anuar# 14, 1964, was at the :hite Fouse as speial guests of
.#ndon >ohnson, who had taken offie less than two months earlier following the assassination of
>ohn Benned#. After the performane, $ene and other Minstrels 0inluding -arr# M$uire, who, as
was disussed in the last hapter, released E"e of =estrution a ouple #ears later1 went out on the
town and partied with >ohnsonJs two daughters, .#nda -ird and .ui -aines, who were 2ust
nineteen and si6teen at the time.
As the stor# goes, $ene )uit the !ew *hrist# Minstrels a ouple of weeks later, in /e(ruar# of
1964, after hearing the first al(um released (# an o(sure -ritish (and known as the -eatles. *lark
immediatel# headed out to .os Angeles, as would so man# others, where he regularl# hung out at
the 'rou(adour, 2ust off the Sunset Strip. It was there that he met one >ames >oseph M$uinn III,
who had, uriousl# enough, one (een in the !ew *hrist# Minstrels himself, for e6atl# one da#.
'he two )uikl# formed a folk duo and (egan writing songs, hoping to soon get (ookings at the
'rou(adour and other loal lu(s. -ut aording to M$uinn, the pair ne"er got to the stage of
performing as a duo W *ros(# ame along )uite )uikl#.U M$uinn was initiall# )uite war# of the
interloper, (ut the three ne"ertheless (eame a trio known at first as the >et Set. :ith *ros(#, of
ourse, ame >im =ikson, who would transform the trio into the -#rds.
Aording to %ern $osdin S who, along with his (rother, ,e6, pla#ed with man# of the .aurel
*an#on musiians S it was >im =ikson who put the -#rds together, #ou might sa#. If IJm telling
the truth, this is what I thinkC I donJt think the -#rds had an# ideas whatsoe"er, and >im =ikson put
it all together for them.U =ikson originall# en"isioned the (and as a -eatles)ue )uartet, with $ene
as lead "oalist;rh#thm guitarist, ,oger on lead guitar and "oals, and *ros(# on (ass and "oals
0ala 9aul M*artne#1.
'his arrangement pro"ed unworka(le, howe"er, sine *ros(# was reportedl# una(le to sing and
pla# (ass at the same time. 'his then led =ikson to reruit mandolin pla#er *hris Fillman to take
o"er (ass duties, lea"ing *ros(# with little to do other than pro"ide harmon# "oals. 'hat didnJt sit
well with .ord *ros(#, so he (egan a relentless ampaign aimed at eroding $eneJs onfidene in
his own guitar pla#ing. *ros(#Js onstant ridiule paid off and he soon enough took o"er rh#thm
guitar duties.
'he fi"e+man (and was (# then ompleteC $ene would pro"ide most lead "oals and (ang the
tam(ourine, >im;,oger M$uinn would pro"ide the (andJs signature 17+string guitar sound and
harmon# "oals, *ros(# would pro"ide ser"iea(le 0at (est1 rh#thm guitar work and harmon#
"oals, and *hris Fillman and Mihael *larke would pretend 0initiall# at least1 to pla# the (ass
guitar and the drums.
'he (and released its first single as the -eefeaters. 'he reord was produed (# >im =ikson, who
would go on to guide the -#rdsJ areer, and 9aul ,othshild, who would go on to guide the =oorsJ
areer. 'he single, released (# Elektra ,eords, went nowhere. -# !o"em(er of 1964 though, the
(and, renamed the -#rds, was signed with *olum(ia ,eords. >ust two months later the# would
reord Mr. 'am(ourine Man and (eome huge stars. -ut there was a hurdle to o"erome firstG as
Einarson notes, L$eneM had reei"ed his draft notie. ,oger and Mihael had alread# dodged that
(ulletG now it was $eneJs turn.U
!ot to worr# thoughG $ene was a(le to dodge that (ullet as well. Aording to Einarson, $ene was
deemed unfit for militar# ser"ie due to an old foot(all disease,U whih is identified as 5sgood
ShlatterJs =isease.U /or the reord, 5sgood ShlatterJs is not a foot(all disease.U IJm not at all
on"ined, to (e perfetl# honest, that 5sgood ShlatterJs is a disease at all. I was diagnosed with
the same thing when I was a kid and the onl# differene (etween me and other kids was that I had a
IdiseaseJ while the# had Igrowing pains.J Aording to the medial ommunit# though, it is a real
hildhood disease with no known treatment that one IoutgrowsJ as one approahes adulthood.
.ukil# for $ene, it apparentl# didnJt pre"ent him from pla#ing foot(all, (ut it did keep him out of
the ser"ie S whih was pro(a(l# a good thing, (eause, after all, what use does the militar# ha"e
for a (ig, strong, powerfull#+(uilt former athlete who knew his wa# around a "ariet# of weaponsD
And now, with that out of the wa#, a orretion is in orderG regretta(l#, I laimed in an earlier
hapter that *lark was a "er# good (ut not a terri(l# prolifi songwriter. 'hat is atuall# far from
the truth 0the fat that no one has alerted me to that egregious error, (# the wa#, illustrates how
little+known *lark is toda#1. :ithout )uestion, $ene was an astoundingl# prolifi songwriter. I had
assumed otherwise due to the fat that relati"el# few of his ompositions appear on -#rdsJ al(ums,
whih instead feature a lot of o"ers.
'he truth though is that $ene had more than enough songs S and reportedl# good songs S to fill the
earl# -#rdsJ al(ums. E"en *ros(# has aknowledged that *lark was prolifi. Fe would show up
e"er# week with new songs and the# were great songs.U *ros(# wasnJt so generous though with his
assessments of $eneJs talents (ak in the da#. Aording to most aounts, it was the 2ealous# of
*ros(# and M$uinn that kept $eneJs traks off the reords.
In those da#s, there wasnJt a lot of mone# to (e made (# performing and reording musi. 'he real
mone# was in song ro#alties, so *lark was paid onsidera(l# more than the rest of the (and. As
M$uinn put it, $ene was into /erraris and we were still star"ing.U 'hat disproportionate
ompensation )uikl# dro"e a wedge (etween *lark and the other 7;Q of the original trio. At times,
$ene e"en shared writing redits on his songs 2ust to get them onto al(ums. 'he lassi Eight Miles
Figh, for e6ample, was written (# $ene (ut redited to *ros(# and M$uinn as well 0*ros(#
reportedl# ontri(uted 2ust one line of l#ris and M$uinn handled the arrangement of $eneJs
omposition1.
O O O O O O O O O O O O O
'here was this persona and the rest of $ene was somewhere in there. Fe was hard to
get to know W Fe ould (e "er# warm and lo"ing, (ut that ould hange in a
heart(eat.U -onnie *lark, $eneJs sister
In later #ears, toward the end, he would ha"e reall# (ad nightmares. Fe would wake up
in the middle of the night sreaming WU Bai *lark, $eneJs son
It is often diffiult for those who knew him S e"en famil# mem(ers S to reonile the
two $ene *larksC the heerful, engaging #et sh# loner with the "i(rant imagination, and
the frustrated, mood# reluse who was sometimes prone to "iolene.U *hroniler >ohn
Einarson
As has (een noted pre"iousl#, %ito 9aulekas pla#ed a ke# role in the earl# da#s of the -#rds. And so
it is that we find referenes to %ito and his entourage in EinarsonJs telling of the $ene *lark stor#C
%ito and *arl were legendar# hipsters on the ..A. sene and were into .S= long (efore an#one
else. It was at their studio that $ene (elie"ed the -#rds trul# found their magi as a group.U
Aording to Morgan *a"ett, the son of 5sar+winning sreenwriter /rank *a"ett, 'he# had this
group of hippies (efore that term ame into use. Somehow the# had hooked up with the -#rds.U
:hen the (and launhed its first national tour in >ul# 1963, Along for the trip were ..A. sene+
makers %ito and *arl and their entourage of raAed hippie daners whose uninhi(ited g#rations
aused )uite a stir in the heartlands of Ameria.U Atuall#, %ito sta#ed home while *arl /ranAoni
led the fation of the troupe that hit the road with the -#rds. Assisting /ranAoni was -#rdsJ roadie
-rian M.ean, who shortl# thereafter would (eat out Mansonite -o((# -eausoleil for the rh#thm
guitarist position in .o"e.
As troupe daner .iAAie =onohue would later reall, man# of those in AmeriaJs hinterlands
thought we were from outer spae. In 9aris, Illinois, the# atuall# threw us off the dane floor.U
$ene *lark would later remem(er that the (and ould ha"e pla#ed out of tune all da#. !o(od#
e"er heard us an#wa#.U Aording to man# aounts, the (and oftentimes did pla# out of tune all
da#. And all night as well.
:hen the (and followed up its first national tour with a tour of the UB, the# were not well reei"ed
S in large part (eause the# were notoriousl# una(le to keep their instruments in tune. 5ften the
(and would spend more time tuning their instruments (etween songs than the# did atuall# pla#ing
those songs. And (# most aounts, the (o#s made "irtuall# no attempt to forge a onnetion with
the audiene. $ene did though forge a (ond with the ,olling StonesJ -rian >ones, whose life would
(e tragiall# ut short a ouple #ears later.
Sometime after that tour, mem(ers of the -#rds famousl# met with mem(ers of the -eatles and the#
all dropped aid together. Some aounts hold that this meeting took plae in the *ielo =ri"e home
where Sharon 'ate would later (e (uthered, (ut it appears to ha"e atuall# taken plae in another
home in -enedit *an#on, one that ma# ha"e (een formerl# owned (# ?sa ?sa $a(or. .aurel
*an#on stalwart 9eter /onda was reportedl# in attendane, and legend holds that it was he who
supplied a "er# high >ohn .ennon with the line I know what itJs like to (e dead.U
In Marh of 1966, a press release announed $ene *larkJs departure from the -#rds. M$uinn has
alleged that =ikson and o+manager Eddie 'iknor enouraged $ene to split from the (and so that
the# ould e6ploit his solo potential. If so, then the# must ha"e (een greatl# disappointed, as *lark
ne"er ame lose to li"ing up to that potential.
5ne of the first offers $ene reei"ed upon his departure from the -#rds was from drummer =ewe#
Martin, who in"ited *lark to 2oin the newl#+formed -uffalo Springfield. *lark delined, hoosing
to form his own (and, the first of whih was du((ed the $roup. As Einarson e6plains, Si6 weeks
after rehearsals (egan, $ene *lark and the $roup de(uted at the :hisk#+A+$o+$o on >une 77 for a
two+week stand, on the heels of a daAAling si6+week stint (# new group -uffalo Springfield.U 5ne
of the opening ats during the $roupJs two+week engagement was a loal (and known as the =oors.
Around that same time, *lark (egan ha"ing an affair with Mihelle 9hillips, who li"ed with hu((#
>ohn 9hillips 2ust a ouple of (loks down the an#on 0$ene at the time was li"ing at 7814 ,ossila
9lae, whih appears to ha"e (een either renum(ered or mowed down1. Also li"ing with >ohn and
Mihelle 9hillips, of ourse, was daughter MaBenAie 9hillips, who some of #ou ma# ha"e seen
working the talk+show iruit not long ago, plugging a (ook a(out her inestuous relationship with
her father.
/ollowing what were reportedl# unproduti"e reording sessions, $eneJs first post+-#rds formation
(roke up. 5n >ul# 18, he was signed as a solo artist and he entered the studio the ne6t month
aompanied (# doomed guitarist *larene :hite, -rian :ilson handler %an =#ke 9arks, our old
friend $len *amp(ell, the u(i)uitous *hris Fillman, and %ern and ,e6 $osdin, who had gotten
their start alongside S who elseD S *hris Fillman in the formation known as the Fillmen.
In >anuar# of 196<, *larkJs first solo al(um was released as $ene *lark with the $osdin -rothers.
.ike man# of the other reords we ha"e stum(led upon while on this 2ourne#, some fans and ritis
regard the reord as the first ountr#+rok al(um 0released a #ear+and+a+half (efore the ountr#+rok
fora#s (# the -#rds and the -uffalo Springfield1. 'he al(um, unfortunatel#, was )uikl#
o"ershadowed (# the -#rdJs own @ounger than @esterda#, whih *olum(ia released 2ust two weeks
after releasing $eneJs solo effort.
-# Marh of 196<, *lark had put together a new "ersion of the $roup, whih de(uted at the :hisk#
with *lark, *larene :hite and two mem(ers of the Mamas and the 9apas touring group, whom
$ene had met through his paramour, Mihelle 9hillips. At the tail end of 196<, $ene (riefl#
re2oined the -#rds, replaing the fired =a"id *ros(#. 'he reunion lasted onl# a few weeks (ut it
was long enough for $ene to ontri(ute to 'he !otorious -#rd -rothers, released in >anuar# 196N.
:hen $ene had left the -#rds, (# the wa#, he had done so empt# handed. !ot so with *ros(#, who
was gi"en a su(stantial settlement upon his departure. Fe used that mone# to purhase a #aht,
whih he du((ed the Ma#an. *ros(# thereafter was known to spend e6tended periods of time
a(oard the Ma#an, sailing to and from "arious loations. Fe was not the onl# an#on musiian to
own and operate suh a "essel. >ohn 9hillips had one as well. So did =ennis :ilson. All three of
them also had a passion for ontrolled su(stanes. And guns. I wonder if thereJs some kind of
onnetion thereD
/ollowing his (rief reunion with the -#rds, *lark omposed the original sore for Mari2uana, a
short anti+drug film hosted (# Sonn# wath out for that treeRU -ono. Fis ne6t pro2et, du((ed the
/antasti E6pedition of =illard and *lark, featured $ene, =oug =illard 0formerl# of the =illards,
from whom -uffalo Springfield, it will (e realled, had o(tained their instruments1, -ernie .eadon
0who had (een a peripheral mem(er of San =iegoJs Sotts"ille S)uirrel -arkers, alongside *hris
Fillman, and who would later (eome an Eagle1, and, of ourse, *hris Fillman.
-# this time $ene had married and his wife, *arlie, was an a"id reader of oult literature,
partiularl#, as she realled, this lad# named Madame -la"atsk#.U
*ira 19<1, *lark was approahed (# his friend and fellow *an#onite, =ennis Fopper, to ompose
songs for the soundtrak to FopperJs Amerian =reamer. Around that same time, aording to
Einarson, $eneJs running (uddies inluded =a"id *arradine and >ohn -arr#more.U A rather
urious group of friends, to sa# the least.
Aording to authors suh as *raig Feim(ihner 0-lood on the Altar1, Martin 9. Starr 0'he
Unknown $od1, and >ohn *arter 0Se6 and ,okets1, =ennis Fopper and =a"idJs dad, >ohn
*arradine, were (oth mem(ers of the infamous Agape .odge of the 5'5, alongside doomed roket
sientist >ak 9arsons, ator =ean Stokwell, and doppelgangers .. ,on Fu((ard and ,o(ert
Feinlein 0who was also, it will (e realled, a .aurel *an#on resident1. Aording to $regor# Mank
0Foll#woodJs Fellfire *lu(1, >ohn *arradine and >ohn -arr#more were also mem(ers of the so+
alled -und# =ri"e -o#s,U a group that engaged in suh praties as inest, rape and anni(alism.
And aording to Ed Sanders 0'he /amil#1, among the upsale homes "isited (# a 9roess *hurh
work group was the >ohn -arr#more mansion, loated at 1Q81 Summit ,idge =ri"e.U
5f ourse, 2ust (eause *larkJs inner irle seems to ha"e (een drawn from "arious nefarious oult
groups doesnJt mean that we should leap to an# onlusions a(out $ene himself, e"en if his wife
was an a"id oultist, and e"en if he was the produt of a multi+generational ult town, and e"en if
his si(ling was sarified still(orn on a ma2or oult holida#, and e"en if his first home was right
aross the street from a (od# drop funeral home.
Mo"ing on then, the #ear 19<7 saw #et another (rief -#rds reunion, with another reord released in
/e(ruar# of 19<Q. $ene ne6t (egan reording sessions for a new solo pro2et, finaned (# his friend
$ar# .egon, the hus(and of porn star and I"or# Soap model Maril#n *ham(ers. >oining $ene on
some of the traks was Emm#lou Farris, whose hu((# 'om Sloum S a desendant of famed
e6plorer >oshua Sloum S was a mem(er of $eneJs inner irle.
After reloating to Al(ion, *alifornia for a time with his wife and kids, *lark mo"ed (ak to .aurel
*an#on, where he mo"ed into a home on Stanle# Fills with his new girlfriend, 'erri Messina. -orn
into a onsidera(le amount of mone#, Messina was the daughter of a prominent area ph#siian. In
196Q, she had enrolled in theater arts at U*.A, whih )uite likel# would ha"e plaed her in the
ompan# of a ouple of other U*.A theater arts students S >im Morrison and ,a# ManAarek.
She and $ene mo"ed in together in the summer of 19<<. Aording to Einarson, Messina laterall#
workLedM in film editing, L(utM she was (etter known in e6lusi"e irles as a supplier of oaine.U
And heroin. As has (een pre"iousl# disussed, during that time period the entire .aurel *an#on
lifest#le re"ol"ed around oaine,U and $ene fell into line, (eoming a legendar# partier.U
*an#on resident Ben Mansfield realled those dark #earsC 'hat partiular point in m# life, and
most of us, was the raAiest time of all, when we were all into drugs the most. 'omm#Js 0Ba#e1
house was one of the houses we hung out at a lot. =a"id *arradine was m# neigh(or in .aurel
*an#on. 5ur two properties were side (# side. =a"id had a group alled :ater. I ould tell #ou
some wild an#on stories W .ooking (ak itJs not a nie memor#. E"en though we thought we
were ha"ing a good time, I donJt think we reall# were. Shortl# after 'omm# Ba#eJs little girl,
Eloise, died in an unfortunate aident, it 2ust seemed like e"er#(od#Js life got dark and we all kind
of lost hope there for a while.U
'here seems to ha"e (een a little (it of a pro(lem with little kids in the I68s and I<8s d#ing in
unfortunate aidentsU in .aurel *an#on. I wonder if Eloise fell through a sk#lightD
*ira 19<N, *lark teamed with former (andmates Fillman and M$uinn for a ontri"ed reunion
tour. An al(um followed in earl# 19<9, with a seond released in earl# 19N8. =uring that time,
aording to (rother =a"id *lark, $ene was hanging around with these reall# gross haraters who
were 2ust a (unh of (urnouts and he wasnJt muh (etter. *ath# E"el#n Smith was there.U !ot long
after, Smith would attain a ertain amount of notoriet# for her in"ol"ement in the urious death of
>ohn -elushi at the *hateau Marmont, at the mouth of .aurel *an#on.
/ollowing the release of the seond reunion al(um, *lark and a lose friend, guitarist >esse Ed
=a"is, left .A for 5ahu, Fawaii, supposedl# to get lean. 'he# returned at the end of 19N1, with
$ene one again settling into his fa"orite an#on. Among his lose friends at that time were former
hild star Burt ,ussell and his then+wife, atress Season Fu(le#, who had also taken up residene in
.aurel *an#on.
$eneJs solo areer sputtered on for another deade, though no one reall# paid muh attention. In
>anuar# 1991, the original mem(ers of the -#rds ame together for their indution into the ,ok
and ,oll Fall of /ame. *lark died 2ust four months later, reportedl# of a heart attak. Fe was 2ust 46
at the time. 'hree #ears earlier, his one+time sidekik >esse Ed =a"is had dropped dead on the
summer solstie of 19NN. Fe was onl# 4Q.
'he irumstanes of *larkJs death remain murk# to this da#. As Einarson has noted, :hat
transpired o"er the last three da#s of $eneJs life remains louded (# ontro"ers# W onspira#
theories a(oundG ausations ha"e (een le"eled.U /or the most part though, $ene has now (een all
(ut forgotten. Fis "ast stokpile of unreleased material, howe"er S muh of whih m#steriousl#
disappeared after his death S likel# li"es on, al(eit redited to others.
Aording to Einarson, *lark had (een fighting to sta# so(er, (ut it is agreed that he (egan
drinking again on the e"ening of :ednesda#, Ma# 77 W :hat happened ne6t depends entirel# on
who is telling the stor#. L5ne witnessM laims he searhed the house for drugs and did not find an# S
ontrar# to laims (# others that drugs and drug paraphernalia were present in the house W there
are those onspira# theorists who ontinue to insinuate that drugs and ertain haraters were,
indeed, present that night, and that $eneJs death was a result of misad"enture, neessitating a
paniked lean+up ampaign that morning.U
'here were apparentl# numerous people present at *larkJs home on the morning of Ma# 74, 1991,
as $ene la# dead on the li"ing room floor. 5ne of those people was Saul =a"is, who took it upon
himself to ontat the media with the news, another (one of ontention with some, gi"en that Saul
was not ser"ing as $eneJs manager at the time.U Another was the manager of the propert#, identified
as ,a# -err#, who had ser"ed during :orld :ar II in Speial 5ps. :hile people milled a(out the
house, arguing o"er the spoils W $eneJs (od# ontinued to lie on the li"ing room floor, fae up.U
=a#s later, =a"id *arradine aused )uite a stir at $eneJs open+asket memorial ser"ie. /ormer
(andmate 9at ,o(inson remem(ered it wellC :hen *arradine ame up, he wasnJt as muh drunk
as he was on aid, I think, and his girlfriend and (usiness manager at the time was there with him.
And weJre standing there and *arradine sa#s, I@ou oksuker WJ and gra(s $ene (# the lapels.
:hen #ou pull some(od# up from a offin and the# ha"e nothing inside for guts the# (end higher
up. It was reall# shoking to see that. And *arradine goes, I@ou pissed on m# daughter when she
was thirteen.J And he said it prett# loud and then he sa#s, II saw him sniker, (o#s, heh heh.J 5h,
man, that was weird.U
@ou think soD 9erhaps weirder still is that man# of those who were in attendane remem(er hearing
something a little differentC @ou fuked m# daughter when she was thirteen.U Ma#(e *arradine
had mistaken *lark for ,oman 9olanski. 5r >ohn 9hillips. 5r ma#(e thatJs 2ust what e"er#one was
doing in .aurel *an#on.
In an# e"ent, none of the original mem(ers of the -#rds (othered to attend the ser"ie. :hen it was
o"er, $ene was laid to rest in tin# 'ipton.
Part 1:
5ur musi was far from politial or antiwar W I ne"er felt omforta(le with politial
ad"oa#.U >ohn 9hillips
'here were no politial speehes or o"ert protest songs performed.U >ohn 9hillips,
disussing the Montere# 9op /esti"al, of whih he was a ke# organiAer
Thus far on this Eourney" !e ha#e seen ho! !hat are arguably the t!o ost bloody and
notorious ass urders in the history of the City of 'ngels F the Manson 2aily urders of
the o&&upants of the hoe on Cielo 0ri#e in Benedi&t Canyon" and the so%&alled 2our%An%
The%2loor bludgeoning urders of four Laurel Canyon drug dealers on ;onderland '#enue
F !ere dire&tly &onne&ted to the Laurel Canyon usi& s&ene)
-ut the it# of .os Angeles an (oast of one other partiularl# notorious murder, whih stands to
this da# as (oth the most gruesome single+"itim murder and the most famous unsol"ed murder in
the it#Js histor#.
5n >anuar# 13, 194<, the mutilated (od# of aspiring atress EliAa(eth Short was found posed in a
field. 'he ritualistiall# (uthered (od# was nude, slied leanl# in half, and ompletel# drained of
(lood. 9arts of the (od# had (een remo"ed, after whih the orpse had (een thoroughl# sanitiAed.
-ruising learl# indiated that the #oung girl had (een sa"agel# (eaten. /orensi e"idene
suggested that she had (een fored to eat fees during her tortuous ordeal. She was )uikl# du((ed
the I-lak =ahlia,J and it is (# that name that she is known and written a(out toda#.
EliAa(eth Short arrest photo from 194Q for underage drinking
Muh of what has (een written a(out the (rief life of Ms. Short is ontraditor#. Among the fats
that seem to (e agreed upon is that she had reentl# worked at a militar# failit# that is now known
as %anden(erg Air /ore -ase, and that she had some kind of lose onnetion to a US !a"al
hospital in San =iego, where she ma# ha"e also worked. 'hat is, in an# e"ent, what she had
indiated in a letter to her mother.
'his murder ourred some twent# #ears (efore .aurel *an#onJs glor# da#s. It would seem rather
foolish then to suggest that all three of .os AngelesJ most notorious murder ases were onneted to
the peae+and+lo"e sene flowering in .aurel *an#on in the 1968s and 19<8s. -ut that is,
ne"ertheless, e6atl# what I am going to do. It is, admittedl#, an indiret onnetion, and, sine the
ase remains offiiall# unsol"ed, it is a tentati"e one as well, (ut it is a onnetion nonetheless.
/or those who are unfamiliar with the -lak =ahlia murder, or who ha"e onl# read a(out the ase
and ne"er atuall# seen the (rutalit# inflited upon Ms. Short, please (e ad"ised that #ou are a(out
to see for #ourself 2ust how (ar(ari this rime was. 'he images are a(solutel# horrif#ing S (ut that
is, unfortunatel#, what elite ritualiAed rime looks like. @ou ha"e (een warned.
>ohn L9hillipsM was the ultimate ontroller.U Mamas and the 9apas produer;manager
.ou Adler
She was pratiall# his sla"e.U Mihelle 9hillips, desri(ing >ohnJs third wife,
$ene"ie"e :aite
5ur stor# (egins on August Q8, 19Q3, with the (irth of >ohn Edmund Andrew 9hillips to parents
*laude and Edna 9hillips. *laude was a retired Marine *orps offier and engineer. Fis father, >ohn
Andrew 9hillips, a prominent arhitet, one da# m#steriousl# fell to his deathU on a onstrution
site, aording to >ohn 9hillipsJ auto(iograph#, 9apa >ohn. 'hat kind of thing tends to happen to
famil# mem(ers of people assoiated with .aurel *an#on.
>ohnJs mother, Edna, had what most folks would onsider a rather unon"entional up(ringing. Fer
mother was a ps#hi;faith healer, and man# of her ele"en si(lings were well known loall# as
gunfighters and (andits. :hen Edna was 2ust a #ear old, she was S and I am neither making this up
nor stealing it from the plot of some hak Foll#wood film S purportedl# kidnapped (# $#psiesR Fer
father allegedl# found her a #ear later down in Me6io. Fow he would ha"e done so remains
something of a m#ster# 0though IJm guessing that ma#(e he had some help from Al(ert =eSal"oJs
mother, who supposedl# likewise traked down #oung Al(ert after his father had sold him to a
farmer as a sla"eG ha"e I mentioned latel#, (# the wa#, that to full# understand the .aurel *an#on
stor#, #ou reall# need to read 9rogrammed to BillD1.
Edna was 2ust fifteen when she met and (egan a relationship with *laude 9hillips, who aording to
legend had supposedl# won an 5klahoma (ar from a fellow ser"ieman in a poker game on the wa#
home from /rane at the lose of :orld :ar II S whih seems a(out as redi(le as "arious other
aspets of 9hillips famil# histor#,as told (# >ohn. -# eighteen, Edna had gi"en (irth to the oupleJs
first hild, ,osie 9hillips, (orn on !ew @earJs E"e, 1977.
,osie would later (eome a areer emplo#ee of the 9entagon, where >ohnJs first wife, the daughter
of an intelligene operati"e, would also find work. @ears later, aording to >ohn, ,osieJs daughter
9att# would (e found dead of an o"erdose in a girlfriendJs apartment in !orth Foll#wood W 'here
were m#sterious )uestions surrounding her death.U As I 2ust noted a few paragraphs (ak, that kind
of thing tends to happen.
.lo#d :right Ma#an ,e"i"al Fouse
In the late 1978s, *laude 9hillips was ommissioned to Faiti, where he remained for four #ears. Fe
was then sent (ak to Xuantio, then shipped off to Managua, !iaragua, (efore finall# returning to
Ale6andria, %irginia, where >ohn 9hillips, who would grow up to (eome argua(l# the most
important musi figure in the an#on, grew up and went to shool.
>ohn attended a series of strit *atholi and militar# shools and ser"ed as an altar (o#. Aording
to his own aount though, he also had a darker side, whih inluded fora#s into "andalism, auto
theft, (reaking and entering, fighting, and other assorted mishief. Fis mother, meanwhile, routinel#
ruised for men S when not spending time with a US Arm# *olonel named $eorge .a#. >ohn
would later (e told that his real father was a US Marine *orps dotor named ,oland Meeks, who
died in a >apanese 95: amp during ::II.
9hillips pla#ed (asket(all at $eorge :ashington Figh Shool, from where he graduated in 193Q. Fe
then sored an appointment to Annapolis !a"al Aadem#, (ut soon dropped out. 5ne of his first
pa#ing 2o(s was working on a fishing harter (oat. As >ohn later realled it, the rew onsisted of
him, a retired !a"# offier, and four retired Arm# generals. Seems like a perfet fit for one of the
future guiding lights of the hippie mo"ement. 9hillips also, for a (rief time, tried his hand at selling
emeter# plots.
As pre"iousl# noted, >ohnJs first wife was the aristorati Susie Adams, desendent of 9resident
>ohn Adams and oasional pratitioner of "oodoo. 'heir first son, >effre#, was (orn on /rida# the
1Qth in =eem(er of 193<. Shortl# after that, >ohn found himself in, of all plaes, Fa"ana, *u(a,
2ust as it was a(out to fall to the re"olutionar# fores of /idel *astro. Aording to 9hillips, he and
his tra"eling ompanions were one whisked off the street (# a diretor, straight into a '% studio
to appear on a li"e Fa"ana "ariet# show.U
Man# of #ou, IJm sure, ha"e had a similar e6periene.
Some months later, in late 193N, 9hillips flew to .os Angeles and (egan performing on amateur
nights at 9andoraJs -o6 on the legendar# Sunset Strip. Fis first (and, 'he >ourne#men, featured
9hillips, Sott MBenAie and =ik :eismann. It was while touring with this formation that >ohn
9hillips met a "er# #oung Foll# Mihelle $illiam.
Mihelle was (orn !o"em(er 18, 1944 in .ong -eah, *alifornia, to a father "ariousl# desri(ed as
a merhant mariner, a mo"ie prodution assistant, and a self+taught intelletual. :hen MihelleJs
mother, a -aptist ministerJs daughter, reportedl# died of a (rain aneur#sm when Mihelle was 2ust
fi"e, $ardner $ilU $illiam took his daughters and promptl# reloated to Me6io, ostensi(l# to
attend ollege on the $I -ill. 'he# remained there for se"eral #ears. Upon their return to Southern
*alifornia, $il found work as an .A *ount# pro(ation offier. Aording to >ohn, $ilJs work often
re)uired him to go out of town,U though one would think that that would make it rather diffiult for
him to keep ta(s on his harges.
In 193N, while future+hus(and >ohn was "aationing in war+torn *u(a, Mihelle found a new
mother+figure in twent#+three+#ear+old 'amar Fodel. 'amarJs father, =r. $eorge Fodel, was
desri(ed (# %anit# /air in =eem(er 788< as the most pathologiall# deadent man in .os
AngelesU and the it#Js "enereal+disease Aar and a fi6ture in itJs A+list demimonde.U Also noted in
the artile was that $eorge Fodel shared with Man ,a# a lo"e for the work of the Mar)uis de Sade
and the (elief that the pursuit of personal li(ert# was worth e"er#thing.U In other words, Fodel
em(raed that all+purpose .uiferian reed, =o what thou wilt.U
'amar and her si(lings had grown up in her fatherJs Foll#wood house, whih resem(led a Ma#an
temple, was designed (# /rank .lo#d :rightJs son, and was the site of wild parties, in whih Fodel
was sometimes 2oined (# diretor >ohn Fuston and photographer Man ,a#.U 'he lu6urious home
0pitured here as it looks toda#1 reportedl# features, among other amenities, a su(terranean walk+in
"ault, whih is alwa#s a nie thing to ha"e around.
:ithin the walls of that singularl# odd Foll#wood Fills home, whih lies a(out three miles due east
of the mouth of .aurel *an#on, 'amar talks of how she often Iunomforta(l#J posed nude W for
Idirt#+old+manJ Man ,a# and had one wriggled free from a predator# >ohn Fuston.U Fer own
father, not so shokingl#, had ommitted inest with her. I:hen I was 11, m# father taught me to
perform oral se6 on him.JU Fer father also plied her with eroti (ooks, grooming her for what he
touted as their transendent union,U and freel# shared her with his wealth# and influential friends.
=r. $eorge Fodel
'o the girlJs horror, she (eame pregnantU at the tender age of fourteen S with her fatherJs hild.
'o her greater horror, she sa#s, Im# father wanted me to ha"e his (a(#.JU A friend, ne"ertheless,
took her to get an a(ortion. =r. $eorge was so inensed that, aording to 'amar, he struk her on
the head with his pistol,U prompting her step+mother 0who also happened to (e >ohn FustonJs e6+
wife1 to assist her in going into hiding.
=r. $eorge Fodel was arrested and harged with, among other things, offering his #oung daughter
to se"eral friends at an org#. 'he sensational 1949 inest trial featured a witness who took the stand
to desri(e (eing h#pnotiAed (# Fodel at a part#G she also laimed that she had witnessed him
attempt to h#pnotiAe other #oung women.
Allegations that the rih and powerful were da((ling in inest, h#pnotism;mind ontrol, pedophili
orgies, and .uiferian philosophies must surel# ha"e (een shoking to Angelenos in the 1948s, as
the# would still (e to most Amerians toda#, (ut to these 2aded e#es and ears, it 2ust sounds like
(usiness as usual. Also sounding like (usiness as usual is that 'amar was roundl# "ilified (# (oth
the press and the defense team 0led (# >err# $iesler1, and =r. $eorge Fodel was a)uitted.
/ar more shoking e"en than all of that is the then+unknown fat that, e"en while Fodel was
standing trial on the sensational harges, he was, and still is toda#, a prime suspet in the -lak
=ahlia murder aseR 'here ha"e (een, of ourse, numerous suspets identified in the ase, inluding
ator;diretor 5rson :elles. -ut $eorge Fodel does seem to (e a muh more likel# suspet than
most of those who ha"e (een identified. And his possi(le guilt, needless to sa#, does not e6lude
others from likel# ompliit# as well. 'he mistake that "irtuall# all in"estigators of this ase ha"e
made is assuming that there is onl# one ulprit.
'he most likel# senario is that Fodel ommitted the rime in on2untion with "arious others in his
pedophili, .uiferian soial irle. Man ,a#, for e6ample, is a ompelling suspet, gi"en that the
posing of Ms. ShortJs (od# appears to mimi 'he Minotaur, one of his (etter+known photographs.
Man ,a#, (# the wa#, was something of the ,o(ert Mapplethorpe of his era S the same ,o(ert
Mapplethorpe, it should (e noted, whom in"estigati"e 2ournalist Maur# 'err# has similarl# linked to
the Son of Sam ase and "arious other ritualiAed murders 0for more on $eorge Fodel, Man ,a# and
the -lak =ahlia murder, see -lak =ahlia A"enger (# Ste"e Fodel L$eorgeJs son and a former
.A9= homiide deteti"eM and E6)uisite *orpse (# Mark !elson and Sarah Fudson -a#liss1.
MinotaurC Man ,a#
Fow it is that the fourteen+#ear+old daughter of a lowl# pro(ation offier fell into the or(it of the
daughter of the wealth# and influential $eorge Fodel 0FodelJs former home is urrentl# "alued at
P4.7 million1 has ne"er (een e6plained, (ut 'amar, desri(ed (# Mihelle as the epitome of
glamour,U )uikl# took the #oungster under her wing, (u#ing her lothes, enrolling her in modeling
shool, teahing her to dri"e, and pro"iding her with a fake I= and a stead# stream of presription
drugs S o(tained, one would presume, from her father.
Aording to Mihelle, 'amar put on perfet airs around m# dad and when it (eame neessar#
she would sleep with him.U :hate"er works, I guess. 'hat perhaps e6plains wh#, in earl# 1961, $il
didnJt ha"e a pro(lem with allowing his underage daughter to mo"e to San /raniso with the
daughter of a "iolent pedophile. Soon enough, 'amar found herself in a relationship with
>ourne#man Sott MBenAie, and (andmate >ohn 9hillips (egan oming (# 'amar and MihelleJs
room on a nightl# (asis.
It wasnJt long (efore Mihelle, still 2ust se"enteen, was romantiall# in"ol"ed with twent#+si6+#ear+
old 9hillips, despite the fat that >ohn was still married to Adams, with whom he (# then had two
hildren, .aura MaBenAie 9hillips ha"ing (een (orn on !o"em(er 18, 1939 in Ale6andria. /ather
$il, who had himself reentl# taken a si6teen+#ear+old (ride 0one of a string of si6 wi"es1, still
wasnJt onerned. And itJs pro(a(l# safe to assume that 9hillipJs father, who had pursued his (ride
when she was 2ust fifteen, wouldnJt ha"e (een too onerned either.
In 5to(er 1967, a #ear or so after meeting Mihelle, >ohn uriousl# found himself in >akson"ille,
/lorida 0alongside !a"al Air Station >akson"ille and !a"al Station Ma#port1 for two weeks of
rest and rehearsalU during the *u(an Missile *risis. /or a gu# who ne"er felt omforta(le with
politial ad"oa#,U >ohn seems to ha"e had a keen interest in *u(an affairs. 'wo months later, on
!ew @ears E"e 1967, Foll# Mihelle $illiam (eame >ohn 9hillipJs seond wife. She also 2oined
his reonfigured (and, as did *anadian =enn# =ohert#, who had formerl# (een with the
Mugwumps alongside *ass Elliot. 'his new lineup was du((ed the !ew >ourne#men.
'he newl#+formed trio promptl# em(arked on a urious *ari((ean ad"enture, arri"ing first at St.
>ohns, where >ohn has laimed that the# snorkeled on aidU for se"eral weeks. 'he# ne6t ferried
o"er to St. 'homas, where the# set up amp at a di"e (eahfront (oardinghouse known as =uff#Js.
Soon enough, Ellen !aomi *ohen, (etter known as *ass Elliot, showed up with >ohnJs nephew,
who was a hildhood friend of hers. *ass had (een (orn in -altimore (ut had grown up in
Ale6andria, where, like 9hillips, she had attended $eorge :ashington Figh Shool.
As the legend goes, *ass waited ta(les at the di"e while the trio performed folk songs. :hat the#
were reall# doing there remains something of a m#ster#, though in 9apa >ohn, 9hillips did drop a
lueC 'he town was rawling with drunken Marines and sailors on their wa# home from %ietnam.U
Mo"ing on from the (oardinghouse, the group ne6t took o"er an unfinished home on *ree)ue Alle#,
where, aording to >ohn, the# were known as the islandJs open house and e"er#one was welome
to our ommune.U At some point though the go"ernor supposedl# ordered them off the island
(eause he thought his nephew was doing drugs with the raAies at *ree)ue Alle#.U 'he (and had
formaliAed its new lineup of >ohn 9hillips, Mihelle 9hillips, =enn# =ohert# and *ass Elliot, and
the# had a whole al(umJs worth of material written. 'hat first al(um would feature suh enduring
lassis as *alifornia =reaminJ, Monda#, Monda#, and $o :here @ou :anna $o. 5n none of the
(ands su(se)uent al(ums would the# produe an#where near the le"el of songwriting that the# were
allegedl# a(le to ahie"e on that *ari((ean ad"enture.
'hough isolated on that *ari((ean island, the songs the group (rought (ak to .A with them 2ust
happened to (e of the soon+to+emerge folk+rok "ariet#. In 9apa >ohn, 9hillips )uotes =ohert# as
sa#ing that e"er#one was e"ol"ing toward the same sound at the same time without reall#
ommuniating with eah other a(out it.U It was, I suppose, 2ust the wa# things were fated to (e S or
it ould (e that e"er#one was following the same sript, written (# unseen others.
-efore helping to spearhead the folk+rok mo"ement though, the )uartet first had to get off the
island, whih 9hillips presents as a high+risk "entureC :e tried to get off the island )uietl#. :e split
in groups at the airport to look inonspiuous W :e went at night so there wouldnJt (e an# redit
heks done on me.U
:ithin a month of arri"ing in .A, the (and had a produer;manager 0.ou Adler, a >ewish kid who
had grown up in a tough, Fispani setion of East .A1 and a reord deal, and >ohn and Mihelle
were at home in a omforta(le house on .ookout Mountain in .aurel *an#on. 'he# would soon (e
a(le to afford to purhase >eanette M=onaldJs former -el Air mansion at <NQ -el Air ,oad, whih
featured hand+ar"ed wooden gargo#lesU and a walk+in "ault (eneath the house,U whih, as I
alread# mentioned, is a "er# hand# feature. Sitting on fi"e ares, the la"ish home, with fi"e ,olls
,o#es in the dri"ewa#, was the site of "irtuall# nonstop part#ing.
'he new lineup, of ourse, needed a name, and >ohn pushed hard for the oult+(ased Magi
*#rle, whih the (and was (riefl# known as (efore ultimatel# settling on 'he Mamas and the
9apas. 'here would (e other indiations as well that 9hillips had a keen interest in the oult. Fe
would later, for e6ample, start his own la(el and all it :arlok ,eords. And his third wife,
$ene"ie"e :aite, was an a"id follower of Aleister *rowle#.
'he Mamas and the 9apas pro"ed to (e a rather short+li"ed (and, reording and performing 2ust
from 1963 to 196N 0with a (rief reunion in 19<1 to satisf# ontratual o(ligations to their reord
ompan#1. =uring that time, the (and produed fi"e al(ums and ele"en top 48 singles. 'o date, the
lineup has sold nearl# 188,888,888 al(ums.
'he first single, released in 1963, was $o :here @ou :anna $o, whih failed to hart. 'heir ne6t
release, *alifornia =reaminJ, shot up to T4. 'heir freshman al(um, If @ou *an -elie"e @our E#es
and Ears, released in earl# 1966, rose to the "er# top of the harts, their onl# al(um to do so. 'heir
onl# T1 single, Monda#, Monda#, followed the release of the al(um. It was all downhill from there.
:hile reording their seond al(um in >une 1966, Mihelle was disharged from the (and due to
the fat that she was ha"ing an affair with =enn# =ohert#, whih was ausing se"ere frition in the
group. -# August, she was (ak, though that didnJt pre"ent the groupJs seond al(um from
performing rather poorl#. 'he third, reorded in 196< and ironiall# entitled =eli"er, failed to li"e
up to its name. 'hen in >une of that #ear, 'he Mamas and the 9apas deli"ered a losing set at the
Montere# 9op /esti"al that almost e"er#one agrees suked ass.
It wasnJt hard though for the (and to sore that o"eted losing slot, gi"en that 9hillips had pla#ed a
ke# role in organiAing the e"ent. Montere# pro"ed to (e, aording to -arne# Fosk#ns, the
moment when the underground went mainstream.U As ,olling Stone noted in its /ortieth
Anni"ersar# Edition, 'he plan for a new kind of festi"al was spearheaded (# >ohn 9hillips, the
leader of the Mamas and the 9apas, and .ou Adler, an influential produer and the (andJs manager.U
Also noted was that the road to Montere# (egan with Alan 9ariser, a #oung heir to a paper+
manufaturing fortune,U 2ust as the road to :oodstok (egan with >ohn ,o(erts, a #oung heir to a
pharmaeutial manufaturing fortune, (ut thatJs another stor# entirel#.
'wo months after Montere#, the (and made their final tele"ision appearane on the Ed Sulli"an
Show. 'wo months after that, the )uartet headed off to Europe while reording their fourth al(um,
'he 9apas and the Mamas. 'hat al(umJs first single was the .aurel *an#on+inspired 17CQ8 0@oung
$irls are *oming to the *an#on1. Shortl# thereafter, the (and (roke up. >ohn tried his hand at a solo
areer with the wildl# unsuessful result (eing the release of 'he :olf Bing of .A. 'o satisf#
reord la(el demands, the group (riefl# reformed for their fourth al(um, 9eople .ike Us.
/ollowing that unsuessful "enture, the (and one again dissol"ed.
Part 1,
'his is going to (reak #our heart, (ut muh of the musi #ou heard in the I68s and
earl# I<8s wasnJt reorded (# the people #ou saw on the al(um o"ers. It was done (#
me and the musiians #ou see on these walls W Man# of these kids didnJt ha"e the
hops and were little more than garage (ands W At onerts, people hear with their
e#es. 'eens ut groups slak in onert, (ut not when the# (ought their reords.U Fal
-laine, longtime drummer for the :reking *rew, )uoted in the :all Street >ournal on
Marh 7Q, 7811
Before o#ing ahead !ith the John Phillips saga" I first need to pose an eGtreely iportant
+uestion to all y readers: is anyone out there in the ar$et for a slightly used" &o#ert fil
studioD If so, then all #ou need do is pull a(out P6.7 million out of #our penn# 2ar 0though in
toda#Js housing market, #ou might (e a(le to ut a (etter deal1 and .ookout Mountain .a(orator#
an (e #oursR And if #ou at fast, #ou might (e a(le to get a pakage deal on the la( and the Fodel
houseR 0the photos in this post are of the la( as it looks toda# as a on"erted residential dwelling1.
.ookout Mountain .a(orator#
Another item worth notingC as reported (# the San /raniso *hronile on >anuar# 7N, 7811, ,on
9atterson, the flam(o#ant, free+spirited reator of the ,enaissane and =ikens fairs, died >an. 13 at
a friendJs house in Sausalito after an illness. Fe was N8.U As staff writer *arol#n >ones noted,
9attersonJs reation was sort of a medie"al preursor to -urning Man.U And -urning Man is, of
ourse, a rather e6pliitl# oult ritual first performed on the Summer Solstie of 19N6 and now
performed e"er# summer in !e"adaJs -lak ,ok =esert (efore an audiene of 38,888H.
,on 9atterson, 9hotoC ,a#mond %an 'assel, "ia ,ed -arn 9rodutions
:hat does an# of that though ha"e to do with .aurel *an#onD As we ha"e seen so man# times
(efore, all roads on the *onspira# Superhighwa# seem to lead to .aurel *an#onC In the
(eginning, the ,enaissane /aire was an e6periment in Mr. 9attersonJs (ak#ard. In the earl# 1968s,
Mr. 9atterson and his wife, 9h#llis, who were (oth interested in theater and art, (egan hosting
hildrenJs impro"isational theater workshops at their .aurel *an#on 0.os Angeles *ount#1 home.U
5ne naturall# wonders whether aspiring thespian and golden hild $odo 9aulekas 0originall# ast, it
will (e realled, to pla# Satan in Benneth AngerJs .uifer ,ising1 was in"ol"ed in those workshops.
In an# e"ent, there is ertainl# nothing reep# a(out hildrenJs workshops (eing hosted in a small,
tight+knit ommunit# that was home to more than its fair share of pedophiles, so letJs 2ust mo"e
along.
5ne last item of note, this one from, of all plaes, the pages of Sports Illustrated ira >une 79,
19N1. 'he following e6erpt is from a short piee written (# pu(lisher 9hilip Fowlett to introdue
readers to writer -2arne ,ostaingC -orn in .inoln, !.@., ,ostaing grew up in "arious plaes in
*onnetiut, where he attended what he realls as an e"en doAen shools. II got m# -.A. and
masterJs in English from the Uni"ersit# of *onnetiut,J he sa#s. I'hen I did part of a 9h.=. at the
Uni"ersit# of :ashington (efore going into the Arm# Intelligene *orps in 1939. :e had 9aul
,othhild, who later (eame produer for 'he =oors and >anis >oplin, to gi"e #ou some idea of
what the unit was like.JU
IJm guessing that it was like ountless other intelligene units designed to hurn out shapers of
pu(li opinion, whether ators, no"elists, newsmen, or, in this ase, sportswriters and produers of
popular musi. It is )uite shoking, of ourse, to learn that the handler of two of .aurel *an#onJs
most influential and ground(reaking (ands 0.o"e and the =oors1 had an intel (akground.
Apparentl# the searh is still on for an#one of an# prominene in the .aurel *an#on sene who
didnJt ha"e diret onnetions to the intelligene ommunit#.
An#wa# W during the he#da# of the Mamas and the 9apas, >ohn and Mihelle 9hillips knew, and
regularl# pla#ed host to, "irtuall# e"er#one of importane in the an#ons. In addition to all the
singers and musiians li"ing in .aurel *an#on, the power oupleJs irle of friends inluded :arren
-eatt#, 9eter and >ane /onda, >ak !iholson, 'err# Melher and girlfriend *andae -ergen,
Marlon -rando, ,oman 9olanski and Sharon 'ate, A(igail /olger and %o#tek /r#kowski, soon+to+
(e+dead gossip olumnist Ste"e -randt, .arr# Fagman, presidential (rother+in+law 9eter .awford
0fresh from his pro(a(le in"ol"ement in the murder of Maril#n Monroe1, =ennis Fopper, ,#an
5J!eal, Mia ,osemar#Js -a(#U /arrow, ethereal /reemason 9eter Sellers, and ?sa ?sa $a(or.
And a short, sraggl# singer;songwriter (# the name of *harlie Manson.
.ookout Mountain .a(orator#
'here were, to (e sure, numerous ties (etween >ohn 9hillips, the I:olf Bing of .A,J and *harles
Manson. And ties as well (etween (andmate *ass Elliott and Manson. And (etween 9hilips and
*ass and the *ielo =ri"e "itims. >ohn 9hillips, for e6ample, had in"ested P18,888 in >a# Se(ringJs
(usiness "enture, Se(ring International 0rumored to ha"e (een a front for "arious illegal ati"ities,
inluding drug traffiking1. Mihelle 9hillips had a (rief affair with ,oman 9olanski in .ondon
while 9olanski was married to the soon+to+(e+dead Sharon 'ate 0during that same so2ourn to
.ondon, 'ate was reportedl# initiated into the pratie of withraft1.
Mama *ass, as pre"iousl# noted, li"ed aross the street from the house oupied (# /olger and
/r#kowski at 7<<4 :oodstok ,oad. -oth homes were fre)uentl# "isited (# known drug dealers.
,egulars at *assJs home inluded 9i =awson 0also a regular at the /r#kowski;/olger home and at
the 'ate;9olanski home1, the son of a US State =epartment offiial who, aording to >ohn 9hillips,
was suspeted (# authorities of using diplomati pouhes to mo"e drugs (etween ountries,U and
-ill# =o#le, a loal dealer who was infamousl# filmed while (eing flogged at the 'ate;9olanski
house 2ust three da#s (efore the murders 0aording to =ennis Fopper1. Another regular was -ill
MentAer, later on"ited of the (rutal murder of *otton *lu( produer ,o# ,adin and la(eled
IManson IIJ (# 2ournalist Maur# 'err#. 'he .A9= one desri(ed MentAer as a mem(er of some
kind of hit s)uad.U
So dark was the sene at the home of the I.ad# of the *an#onJ that, aording to 'err#, four of the
.A9=Js initial prime suspets in the 'ate killings were drug dealers assoiated with Elliott. And #et,
uriousl# enough, all of the an#onJs peae+and+lo"e spewing musiians were regulars at Mama
*assJs home as well. As ,olling Stone noted in its /ortieth Anni"ersar# Edition, JMamaJ *ass
ElliottJs oA# an#on house funtioned as a sort of rok salon.U In a similar "ein, -arne# Fosk#ns
wrote in Fotel *alifornia that *ass kept permanent open house.U
Also noted in Fosk#nJs tome was that the .aurel *an#on sene all spun around him and *ass,U
with the himU in this ase (eing =a"id %an *ortlandt *ros(#, who, like *ass, had an insatia(le
appetite 0(# his own aount1 for potent pain killers like =emerol, =ilaudid and 9erodan. *ros(#
was one of man# *an#onites who regularl# dropped (# *assJs plae to hang out and engage in
impromptu 2am sessions, and to mingle with some seriousl# disreputa(le haraters.
Also a regular at *assJs plae, (# some reports, was *harlie Manson himself. Aording to Ed
Sanders, it was at *assJs home that *harlie first met her neigh(or, offee heiress A(igail /olger
0who helped finane Benneth AngerJs films, like the one that was supposed to star $odo 9aulekas
(ut instead starred Mansonite -o((# -eausoleil1. Aording to 'err#, the rather notorious group
known as 'he 9roessC *hurh of the /inal >udgment S whih e"idene suggests had deep ties to
the Manson, Son of Sam, and *otton *lu( murders S ati"el# sought to reruit Mama *ass, as well
as >ohn 9hillips and 'err# Melher.
'he 9roess, *hurh of the /inal >udgment&s magaAineC =eath Issue
A few further (its of MansonaliaC 'err# has written that the /amil#Js ioni (us was seen parked at
the home of >ohn and Mihelle 9hillips in the fall of 196N. ,eports also hold that Manson attended
a !ew @earJs E"e part# at the oupleJs home on =eem(er Q1, 196N, 2ust months (efore the
murders. So lose were the ties (etween the Mamas and the 9apas and the Manson lan that (oth
>ohn 9hillips and Mama *ass were slated to appear as witnesses for the defense at the /amil#Js
trial, though not surprisingl#, neither was e"er alled.
/or a (and that sang a(out (eing safe and warm, if I was in .A,U the mem(ers of the Mamas and
the 9apas kept some prett# dangerous ompan# in the it# of angels W whih reminds me that, not
long after the (and hit the harts, 'amar Fodel reei"ed a postard from Mihelle 9hillips asking
her to wath their sheduled performane on the Ed Sulli"an Show and then meet the group at San
/ranisoJs /airmont Fotel (efore a sheduled onert. 'amar showed up with father $eorge at her
side, the two apparentl# still maintaining a lose relationship, and 'amar, $eorge, >ohn, Mihelle,
=enn# and *ass em(arked on a drug+fueled pre+show od#sse#.
-# 19<8, >ohn and Mihelle had di"ored. Man# #ears later, Mihelle would re"eal that their time
together had inluded at least one episode of domesti "iolene, one that she was still relutant to
disussC It was serious. I ended up in the hospital. 'hatJs all IJll sa# a(out it.U 'he union had
#ielded >ohn a seond daughter, $illiam *h#nna 9hillips, (orn /e(ruar# 17, 196N in .os Angeles.
5n >anuar# Q1, 19<7, >ohn 9hillips married for the third time, to atress and *rowle# afiionado
$ene"ie"e :aiteG on the wedding guest list were soon+to+(e+go"ernor >err# -rown and soon+to+(e+
lieutenant+go"ernor Mike *ur(. 'he oupleJs time together would (e marked (# wildl# out+of+
ontrol drug onsumption and the (irth of two more offspringC 'amerlane, whose name is
presuma(l# in part an homage to 'amar Fodel, and -i2ou .ill#, who was taken awa# and plaed in
foster are in -olton .anding, !ew @ork after her drug+addled parents were deemed unfit to raise
her.
In >une 19<7, shortl# after marr#ing :aite, 9hillips mo"ed into a an#on home at 414 St. 9ierre
,oad that had (een (uilt (# :illiam ,andolph Fearst. 'he ,olling Stones had 2ust "aated the
propert#, and their trust# sidekik, $ram 9arsons, would grow "er# lose to >ohn 9hillips. 9arsons,
of ourse, would soon turn up dead, while >ohn would head off to .ondon, where he reportedl#
planned to reord a solo al(um with assistane from Mik >agger and Beith ,ihards. 'hat pro2et
ne"er got off the ground, howe"er, as 9hillipJs additions rendered him impossi(le to work with,
e"en for a world+lass drug a(user like ,ihards.
.ookout Mountain .a(orator#
*ass Elliott turned up in .ondon the "er# ne6t #ear, (ut unlike her former (andmate, her trip a(road
was to (e one+wa#G on >ul# 79, 19<4, she was found dead in oasional *an#onite Farr# !ilssonJs
.ondon flat. Ms Elliott, it seems safe to sa#, knew a little too muh a(out the dark side of .aurel
*an#on.
/ollowing the dissolution of the Mamas and the 9apas, *ass had gone on to a suessful solo areer
and had (eome a familiar fae on Amerian tele"ision sreens. In addition to hosting two prime+
time network speials, she had guest+hosted the 'onight Show and had appeared on suh popular
earl#+19<8s shows as 'he ,ed Skelton Show and .o"e, Amerian St#le.
She had (een married twie, first in 196Q to "oalist >im Fendriks in what was reportedl# a
platoni arrangement aimed at getting Fendriks a draft deferment. =uring that first marriage,
whih was annulled in 196N, *ass had gi"en (irth to a daughter, 5wen %anessa Elliott, (orn on
April 76, 196<. Fendriks, howe"er, was reportedl# not the father and *ass steadfastl# refused to
re"eal who 5wenJs true father was. In 19<1, following the (reakup of the (and, *ass married again,
this time to -aron =onald "on :eidenman, a wealth# -a"arian heir. 'hat marriage ollapsed after
2ust a few months though and *ass was single when she died 2ust a few #ears later. 5wen, alread#
fatherless, was 2ust se"en.
=enn# =ohert#, meanwhile, went on to host a popular "ariet# show in *anada, as well as
performing in "arious formations of the !ew Mamas and the 9apas. Fe passed awa# on >anuar# 19,
788<, reportedl# due to kidne# failure.
Mihelle 9hillips released an unsuessful solo al(um, (ut then swithed gears and went on to a
suessful ating areer, graing the small sreen in suh hit shows as BnotJs .anding, Fotel, and
-e"erl# Fills, 98718. She ontinued to ha"e numerous flings and has married se"eral more times.
At si6t#+se"en, she is the onl# li"ing mem(er of the original Mamas and the 9apas.
.ookout Mountain .a(orator#
,eturning now to >ohn 9hillips, in 19<3 he so(ered up enough to put together the soundtrak for the
film 'he Man :ho /ell to Earth, a surreal "enture featuring the talents of fledgling ator =a"id
-owie and diretor !iholas ,oeg, who had pre"iousl# olla(orated with *rowle#ite =onald
*ammell on the hea"il# oult+influened 9erformane. ,oegJs film, uriousl# enough, inludes a
ameo appearane (# Apollo astronaut >im .o"ell. At that same time, 9hillips was working on
ompleting a horrifiall# (ad, And# :arhol+produed musial entitled Man on the Moon, whih
losed 2ust two da#s after opening.
As a side note, 9hillips at one time had =on Miami %ieU >ohnson in mind to pla# the lead in his
spae opera. .ike the rest of the Foll#wood nota(les in this stor#, >ohnson was a an#on dweller at
the time. Fis ne6t+door neigh(or was a gu# (# the name of *huk :ein, an a"id oultist and
(udd# of :arhol who, in addition to managing (iAarre nightlu( ats, direted the 19<7 new age
doumentar# ,ain(ow -ridge, filmed less than two months (efore star >imi Fendri6 turned up
dead. :ein shared a urious nikname with fellow *an#onite *harlie MansonC I'he :iAard.J -ut I
ma# ha"e drifted a little off+topi here W
Some of #ou ma# ha"e notied, (# the wa#, that I am all (ut ured of m# former addition to the
word Idigress,J thanks to a twel"e+step program IJ"e (een working m# wa# through. I an now "eer
off on wild tangents ha"ing little to do with the main topi of disussion S like filling #ou in, for
e6ample, on none6istent twel"e+step programs S and not feel the slightest ompulsion to point out
the temporar# loss of fous.
An#wa# W for the remainder of his areer, 9hillipsJ musial output onsisted primaril# of
oasionall# writing songs for and with others, his most well known ontri(ution (eing his o+
writing duties on the wrethedl# awful Bokomo, reorded (# the -eah -o#s.
In 19N1, 9hillips found himself faing harges of traffiking large "olumes of narotis. -# his own
aount, he had an arrangement with a pharma# that allowed him to o(tain large amounts of
narotis without presriptions 0daughter -i2ou would later sa# that he had atuall# purhased the
pharma#, guaranteeing "irtuall# unlimited aess1. 'he harges were )uite seriousG in 9hillipJs own
words, he was looking at fort#+fi"e #ears and got thirt# da#s.U Fe (egan ser"ing his sentene,
appropriatel# enough, on April 78, and he was released 2ust three+and+a+half weeks later.
Fe should ha"e gotten at least ninet# da#s 2ust for Bokomo. It ne"er hurts to ha"e friends in high
plaes.
9hillipJs irle of friends, in the post+Mamas and 9apas #ears, inluded >. 9aul $ett#, >r., -o((#
Benned#, >r., and 9riness Margaret. $ett# and Benned#, (oth plagued (# demons of their own,
were likel# (eing supplied (# 9hillips. Another name in 9hillipsJ rolode6 was *olin 'ennant, the
wealth# heir of a massi"e petrohemial onglomerate in the UB. 'ennant owned a pri"ate island in
the -ritish :est Indies where wealth# friends like >ohn 9hillips and Mik and -iana >agger ould
engage in unknown ati"ities in omplete selusion.
Upon (eing released from his preposterousl# short period of onfinement, 9hillips put together a
"ersion of the Mamas and the 9apas that inluded daughter MakenAie 9hillips and original lead
"oalist =enn# =ohert#. Sott MBenAie, who had summoned all the runawa#s aross the ountr#
to ome to San /raniso with flowers in their hair, later replaed =ohert#. .aurie -ee(e
su(se)uentl# replaed MakenAie 9hillips, after whih =ohert# returned one again to replae >ohn
9hillips. 'he (and finall# alled it )uits in 1994.
9hillips had di"ored :aite in 19N3. In 1997, he reei"ed a li"er transplant and a new lease on life.
>ust months later, he was photographed drinking in a (ar in 9alm Springs. In 199N, 9hillips and the
other sur"i"ing mem(ers of the Mamas and the 9apas were induted into the ,ok and ,oll Fall of
/ame. 'hree #ears later, on Marh 1N, 7881, 9hillips died of heart failure. 'he saga wasnJt )uite
o"er, howe"erG 9hillipsJ daughters would arr# on with the famil# tradition S while spilling some
dark famil# serets along the wa#.
5ldest daughter MakenAie (egan her ating areer at the tender age of twel"e when she landed a
role in what was to (e $eorge .uasJ (reakthrough film, Amerian $raffiti. >ust a few #ears (efore,
it will (e realled, .uas had (een an unknown ameraman at the ,olling StonesJ notorious
Altamont onert. =uring filming of $raffiti in 19<7, >ohn 9hillips, who IJm sure had lots of
important (usiness to attend to and therefore little time to look after his daughter, signed o"er legal
guardianship of MakenAie to produer $ar# BurtA.
A few #ears later, in 19<3, MakenAie landed a role on what would )uikl# (eome a hit tele"ision
series, 5ne =a# at a 'ime. =uring the third season, howe"er, MakenAie was arrested for pu(li
drunkenness and oaine possession, after whih her su(stane a(use pro(lems ontinued to spiral
out of ontrol, ausing fre)uent pro(lems and onsidera(le tension on the set of her hit show.
9ro"iding a template for *harlie Sheen to later follow, she was fired from the prodution in 19N8.
After two nearl# fatal o"erdoses, she was in"ited (ak (# produers in 19N1. 'he following #ear
though she ollapsed on the set and was one again fired. :hat had one seemed a "er# promising
ating areer was o"er as )uikl# as it had (egun.
/rom the late 19N8s through the earl# 1998s, she performed intermittentl# with the reformed
Mamas and 9apas. In 1997, she reportedl# entered a long+term reha( program that she didnJt
emerge from for nine months. /ollowing that, she kept a low profile for man# #ears. In August
788N, howe"er, she was arrested at .AV for heroin and oaine possession and on Falloween da#
788N, she entered a guilt# plea and was one again sent to reha(.
A #ear later, in Septem(er 7889, MakenAie released her tell+all memoir, Figh on Arri"al, whih
painted a dark and distur(ing piture of her late father. In addition to introduing her to drugs at the
age of ele"en (# in2eting her with oaine, MakenAie laimed that 9apa >ohn had raped her on the
e"e of her first marriage, and had engaged in an inestuous affair with her that spanned a deade
and ended onl# when she (eame pregnant and did not know who the father was S a senario, it
should (e noted, with remarka(le parallels to the ordeal endured (# MihelleJs surrogate mother,
'amar Fodel.
>ohn 9hillipsJ memoir o"ering the time period in )uestion makes no mention of the illiit
relationship with his daughter. Fe does laim that MakenAie was one raped at knifepoint (# an
unknown assailant. Fe also notes, shokingl# enough, that MakenAieJs house in .aurel *an#on
was destro#ed (# fire.U 'hat, as we all know, hardl# e"er happens.
'he #ear after dropping her (om(shells, MakenAie appeared on what is argua(l# the most
appalling Irealit#J show to e"er hit the airwa"es, *ele(rit# ,eha(, in a role far remo"ed from her
glor# da#s on a hit primetime show. 'hat same #ear, sister *h#nna 9hillips entered reha( as well,
though she was seeking relief from, uhmm, Ian6iet#.J
*h#nna first aptured the spotlight in 1998 as 1;Q of the "oal group :ilson 9hillips, alongside of
*arnie and :end# :ilson, offspring of the relusi"e -rian :ilson 0the onl# -eah -o#, (# the wa#,
to not (e in"ol"ed with the aforementioned Bokomo, and argua(l# the onl# reall# talented -eah
-o#1. 'hat group though pro"ed to (e "er# short+li"ed, as did *h#nnaJs musial areer.
In 1993, *h#nna married ator :illiam -aldwin. In 788Q, she (eame what %anit# /aire desri(ed
as a fer"ent (orn+again *hristian. She was (aptiAed in (rother+in+law Stephen -aldwinJs (athtu(.U
'he magaAine also )uoted *h#nna as sa#ing that (eing a mom is hallenging for me S m#
perspeti"e is warped.U
-i2ou 9hillips
.ike her older sisters, -i2ou .ill# 9hillips S (orn April 1, 19N8, 2ust a #ear (efore her father was
harshl# punished for running a ma2or narotis traffiking operation S merged into the fast lane at a
"er# #oung age. Fer mother was addited to heroin while arr#ing her and -i2ou has andidl#
desri(ed herself as a rak (a(#.U ,aised partiall# in a foster home, she was reunited with her
father (# the ourts when in the third grade. 'hat wasnJt neessaril# a good thing.
=esri(ed (# Inde6 magaAine as a wild hild who, through fate and irumstane, was somehow
allowed to partake of !ew @orkJs ne(ulous nightlife at an age traditionall# more suited to pla#ing
with dolls,U she was a o"er model from a "er# #oung age. She was also, perhaps not surprisingl#,
the fourteen+#ear+old star of a *al"in Blein ad ampaign that man# people 0as well as the US
>ustie =epartment1 onsidered to (e (ordering on hild pornograph#, and that -i2ou herself has
referred to as the kidd# porn ads.U
-i2ou told her inter"iewer from Inde6 that lurking (ehind the senes of that notorious *al"in Blein
photo shoot S IJm guessing as a tehnial ad"iser S was this porn gu#.U 'he inter"iewer identified
that porn gu#U as ,on >erem#, pro(a(l# the worldJs most famous, and argua(l# the worldJs most
ine6plia(le, porn star.
I should, I suppose, )ualif# that last statementC ,on >erem#Js fame is ine6plia(le in the sense that it
is hard to imagine that an#one, male or female, reall# wants to see ,on >erem# naked. Fe is not,
howe"er, 2ust an# olJ porn star. 'o the ontrar#, he is a porn star whose mother was an asset of the
5SS, preursor to the *IA, and whose ph#siist father had pro(a(le intel onnetions as well. And
he is a porn star who attended high shool with none other than future *IA diretor $eorge 'enet,
and a porn star whose unle had ties to notorious gangster -en2amin -ugs#U Siegel.
Fe is, in other words, an e6tremel# well hung onneted porn star.
-i2ou has alluded to the fat that MakenAie was not the onl# 9hillips daughter to reei"e unwanted
attention from 9apa >ohn. In her musi an (e found l#ris suh as he touhed me wrong.U Asked
diretl# a(out suh referenes, she told an inter"iewer that she had made this deision not to talk to
the press a(out an#thing thatJs gone on in m# life, (ut 2ust to write musi a(out it. 'he# an
interpret it themsel"es,U though she then )uikl# added, ItJs (latantl# o("ious.U
'he #oungest of the 9hillips lan also aknowledged that she has a =add#U tattoo on her rear.
'hat was LdoneM during a time,U she said, when I was a prett# sik pupp#.U
-i2ou made her film de(ut in 1999 and has had a num(er of low+profile film and tele"ision roles
sine then. Most reentl#, she had a reurring role on the freshman season of ,aising Fope as, of all
things, a serial killer. She is urrentl# an a"id Sientologist. Man# of the pro(lems she has faed,
she ultimatel# realiAed, stem from the fat that sheJd ne"er (een shown respet (# LherM parents.
LSheJdM alwa#s (een treated like an o(2et, not like a human.U
Part *.
:hat struk (oth of us was that there were huge gaps in FoudiniJs life stor# and some puAAling
inonsistenies. So we em(arked on a 2ourne# to diso"er the real man. Earl# on, we diso"ered an
important onnetion that most (iographers seemed to miss.U /rom the Introdution to 'he Seret
.ife of Foudini, (# :illiam Balush and .arr# Sloman, 7886
's noted earlier in this series" there is &onsiderable debate o#er the +uestion of !hether Harry
Houdini e#er li#ed in the Laurel Canyon hoe $no!n lo&ally as the 7Houdini House9 Hthe
History Channel6s Brad Melt=er6s 0e&oded re&ently aired an episode on Houdini that
in&luded a segent filed at the site" !hi&h !as unreser#edly identified as the forer
Houdini estate@ the series" ho!e#er" doesn6t appear to be o#erly &on&erned !ith a&&ura&yI)
E"en if Foudini did li"e in the home that now lies in ruins, his stor# would seem to ha"e little
rele"ane here. After all, Farr# Foudini, widel# onsidered to (e the onsummate entertainer of his
era, reahed the peak of his areer long (efore there was a .aurel *an#on S (efore there was e"en
that magial plae known as Foll#wood. :hat then is there to gain through an e6amination of the
life of Farr# FoudiniD Xuite a (it, as it turns out.
:hat are generall# laimed to (e the (asi details of Farr# FoudiniJs life an (e found in ountless
pu(lished (iographies and we( posts. -orn Erik :eisA in -udapest, Fungar# on Marh 74, 1N<4, he
was the fourth of se"en hildren (orn to ,a((i Ma#er Samuel :eisA and the former *eelia Steiner.
'he famil# later hanged the spelling of their names and Foudini (eame Ehrih :eiss, known (#
friends and famil# as Ehrie,U whih ultimatel# (eame Farr#.U Fis stage surname was an homage
to famed /renh magiian ,o(ert Foudin.
In mid+1N<N, ,a((i Me#er, with his fi"e sons and pregnant wife in tow, set sail for Ameria,
arri"ing on >ul# Q, 1N<N. 'he famil# first put down roots in Appleton, :isonsin (efore later
mo"ing, in 1NN<, to !ew @ork *it#. /our #ears later, Foudini launhed his areer as a magiian, at
first performing (asi ard triks. Fe had little suess and at times would make ends meet (#
performing in irus freak shows.
In 1N9Q, he met singer;daner :ilhelmina -eatrie ,ahner, known as -ess,U who would (eome
(oth his wife and lifetime stage assistant. 'he pair though, performing as 'he Foudinis,U
ontinued to find suess an elusi"e goal.
'o sa# that FoudiniJs fortunes hanged in 1N99 would (e a (it of an understatement. As reounted
(# Balush and Sloman, :ithin months, he had gone from heap (eer halls and dime museums to
the (ig+time S "aude"ille. In one #earJs time, he had gone from literall# eating ra((its for sur"i"al
to making what toda# would e)ual P43,888 a week.U After finall# hitting it (ig, howe"er, Foudini
then did something rather ine6plia(le S he a(ruptl# sailed off to England to (egin a length#
European tour.
Balush and Sloman pose the o("ious )uestionC :h# would someone who had finall# made it (ig
risk e"er#thing and lea"e (ehind lurati"e ontrats to go to England with no real prospets in
sightDU :h# indeedD Suh a mo"e in those da#s would normall# (e an at of areer suiide, (ut
things worked out a little differentl# for FoudiniG e"er#where he went S first in England and then in
Sotland, Folland, $erman#, /rane and ,ussia S he was lauded (# the press and )uikl#
atapulted into the national limelight.
After a four+#ear a(sene, Foudini returned to the U.S. in 1984 and resumed his lurati"e areer.
/or man# #ears, he was the highest+paid performer on the "aude"ille iruit and he would
fre)uentl# perform pu(lil# to huge rowds in stunts that were sometimes arranged with orporate
sponsors to promote their (usinesses. In 1917, he introdued what would (eome his most famed
esape at, the *hinese :ater 'orture *ell.
In 191N, Foudini deided to tr# his luk with the fledgling new entertainment medium known as
motion pitures, starring first in a multi+part serial and then in 'he $rim $ame 019191 and 'error
Island 019781. It was during this time that he is said to ha"e taken up residene in .aurel *an#on, at
the orner of .aurel *an#on -oule"ard and .ookout Mountain A"enue. /ollowing that, he mo"ed
to !ew @ork and started up his own prodution ompan#, the Foudini 9iture *orporation, whih
released 'he Man /rom -e#ond 019711 and Faldane of the Seret Ser"ie 0197Q1, after whih
Foudini ga"e up his less+than+suessful film areer.
/or the last few #ears leading up to his death on 5to(er Q1, 1976, Foudini primaril# foused on
de(unking ps#his and mediums, leading some to speulate that the spiritualist mo"ement ma#
ha"e (een (ehind his untimel# demise. 'o this da#, s\anes are regularl# held around the world in
attempts to ontat the famed magiian and esape artist.
And that, in a nutshell, is the Farr# Foudini stor# as it is usuall# told. -ut telling stories as the# are
usuall# told is a rather (oring pursuit, so we are, shokingl# enough, going to take a slightl#
different approah to see if ma#(e there isnJt an entirel# different stor# hidden in the o(sure details
of FoudiniJs life, (eginning with his sudden rise to fame after wallowing in o(surit# for #ears.
As noted (# Balush and Sloman, 'he #oung Foudini W ouldnJt make enough mone# to sueed
at magi. Fungr# and restfallen, he was read# to gi"e up his dream, until he walked into a *hiago
polie station and met a deteti"e who would hange his life. Immediatel# after this fateful
enounter, his piture graed the front page of a *hiago newspaper. 'hat piture atapulted him to
renown.U :ithin months, Foudini was argua(l# the most famed entertainer in the ountr#.
'hat deteti"e was >ohn :ilkie, a ma2or pla#er in the formation of the International Assoiation of
9olie *hiefs 0founded in *hiago in 1N9Q, at the outset of what has (een du((ed the =eade of
,egiide, whih set the stage for :orld :ar I1 and the ominousl# titled !ational -ureau of
Identifiation, and ultimatel# the hief of the U.S. Seret Ser"ie, AmeriaJs premier intelligene
operation during that era. It should pro(a(l# (e noted here that one of FoudiniJs nephews, .ouis
Braus, worked for the 'reasur# =epartment, o"erseer of :ilkieJs Seret Ser"ie.
Authors Balush and Sloman are of the opinion that, It was forward+thinking for the hief of
AmeriaJs onl# intelligene operation to (e using entertainers for o"ert ati"ities in 1N9N.U Ma#(e
so, (ut the authors dul# note that suh ations were not unpreedentedG nearl# four deades earlier,
A(raham .inoln had reruited an eighteen+#ear+old magiian named Foratio $. *ooke to ser"e as
a *i"il :ar sp#. .inoln and *ooke were lose enough that he was reportedl# present at the
presidentJs death(ed. .ater, near the end of his life, *ooke (eame a lose friend of Farr# Foudini.
It ould also (e noted that an entertainer of a different "ariet#, stage ator >ohn :ilkes -ooth, also
appears to ha"e ser"ed as an intelligene operati"e during the *i"il :ar, so the pratie of utiliAing
entertainers for o"ert operations learl# didnJt (egin with :ilkie, who was himself a magiian and
a disiple of esape artist ,. $. Ferrmann. In addition to Foudini, :ilkie reruited other magiians
as well, inluding Ferrmann, .ouis .eon, and hea"#weight priAefighter;magiian -o(
/itAsimmons.
Another of FoudiniJs o"ert (akers was Senator *haune# =epew, an unle of magiian $anson
=epew and a former mentor to then+%ie+9resident 'heodore ,oose"elt 0who would soon (e
atapulted into the presiden# (# the assassination of :illiam MBinle#, one of the final "itims of
the =eade of ,egiide1. Foudini would soon gain another hidden (aker S :illiam Mel"ille, head
of Sotland @ardJs Speial -ranh and the most "isi(le law enforement offiial in the UB. Mel"ille
would ultimatel# (eome the first hief of -ritainJs MI+3.
As Balush and Sloman diso"ered, :ithin da#s of arri"ing in England, Foudini met with a
prominent Sotland @ard inspetor and one again, his areer took off.U 'hat inspetor, of ourse,
was Mel"ille, whom Foudini seretl# met with on >une 14, 1988, fi"e da#s after arri"ing on
EnglandJs shores. Fe had left the U.S. on Ma# Q8 using a passport issued 2ust two da#s earlier S a
passport that ontained more than its fair share of anomalies.
'he doument listed his (irthda# as April 6, though his atual (irthda# is said to (e Marh 74. It
laimed that he was (orn in 1N<Q, making him one #ear older than he atuall# was. Most uriousl#
of all, the doument indiated that Foudini was a nati"e (orn itiAen, though he most assuredl# was
not. Fe had (een allowed to surrender his pre"ious passport, issued to a naturaliAed itiAen, in
e6hange for the offiiall#+issued (ut learl# fraudulent passport that he used to tour Europe.
$i"en his (akground as (oth a magiian and a Mason 0(# his own aount1, it goes without sa#ing
that sere#, deeption, and illusion were seond+nature to Foudini. Fe also, as Sloman and Balush
noted, had the unusual a(ilit# to interat with a ountr#Js polie offiials and do demonstrations
inside their 2ails,U and he was known to (e rather profiient at the art of (reaking+and+entering.
!eedless to sa#, these a(ilities would ha"e ser"ed Foudini well in the world of espionage.
So too would man# of the de"ies he (oasted of in"enting. Aording to Balush and Sloman,
LFoudiniM told the !ew @ork Ferald that he in"ented ru((er heels and ameras that work onl#
one. 'he -oston 'ransript reported that he in"ented Ian en"elope whih annot (e unsealed (#
steam without (ringing to light the word IopenedJ and a wash whih will remo"e printerJs ink from
paperJ W In his own *on2urerJs Monthl#, he touted the use of hloride of o(alt for sending
in"isi(le messages.U
A friend of FoudiniJs, fellow magiian -ill# ,o(inson, was also well+"ersed in the traderaft of the
intelligene ommunit#. In his (ook Spirit Slate :riting and Bindred 9henomena, ,o(inson
detailed thirt#+se"en methods for seret writing LwhihM would pla# an important part in sp#
ommuniation during :orld :ar I.U Fe also detailed how to read other peopleJs letters without
opening the en"elopes (# using alohol to render them temporaril# transparent,U and offered readers
su(tle methods to share information while (eing losel# srutiniAed.U
Balush and Sloman share what (eame of ,o(inson not long after penning the (ookC 'hen,
"irtuall# o"ernight, he hanged his name and appearane, left the ountr#, and (roke man# of his
onnetions. @ears later, his onl# (rother wouldnJt e"en (e a(le to find him.U ,o(inson died in 191N
while performing a (ullet ath trik that he had performed man# times (efore. Foudini would
write that it seems as if there were something peulkar LsiM a(out the whole affair.U
In addition to possessing skills and knowledge that were ideall# suited to the spook trade, Foudini
also ran what ould (est (e desri(ed as his own personal sp# ring. In addition to an unknown
num(er of fulltime onfederates 0mostl# #oung women, inluding one of his niees1, Foudini
emplo#ed female operati"es on an ad ho (asis when he ame to town.U 9ro(a(l# the most
important of these operati"es was a #oung fellow magiian named Amedeo %aa, whose
relationship with Foudini was unknown to "irtuall# e"er#one throughout the esape artistJs life. So
seret was the lose relationship (etween the two that e"en Farr#Js wife and (rother,
magiian;onfederate Fardeen, were unaware of it.
Foudini was a man for whom sere# seems to ha"e (een something of an o(session. Fis home was
said to (e laed with seret passagewa#s and hidden rooms, and his desk ontained hidden
ompartments. 'here are indiations that, while on the road, he would fre)uentl# maintain, for
unknown purposes, a seond hotel room in a different hotel. A man named Edward Saint 0aka
*harles =a"id M#ers1, who was lose to -ess, one laimed that Foudini had safes and "aults in
his home, and "aults in (anks that his law#ers had aess toG (ut one seret, now made pu(li for
the first time, is the fat that Foudini had one safet# deposit "ault in a (ank or trust ompan# in the
East under some familiar name other than Foudini, and of whih the seret loation rested onl# in
FoudiniJs (rain. In this "ault was kept highl# seret papers.U As far as is known, no one S not e"en
$eraldo ,i"era S has loated that seret "ault.
:ith his espionage traderaft and du(ious passport in tow, Foudini tra"eled to $erman# in
Septem(er 1988 after taking the -ritish Isles (# storm. As was the ase in England and Sotland,
the press immediatel# showered the "isiting entertainer with aolades. 'here was one ke#
differene in the press o"erage thoughC 'he newspaper aounts of FoudiniJs demonstrations at
$erman polie stations portra# him as a polie onsultant rather than a mere entertainer W /or a
"aude"ille performer, Foudini seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time and ha"e
unpreedented aess at the -erlin polie station.U
As he had in the US and the -ritish Isles, Foudini esta(lished some unusual onnetions for a stage
performer. 5ne assoiate of his in $erman# was a hemist named Fans $oldshmidt, who a few
#ears earlier had patented a inendiar# ompound known as thermite. Foudini noted that he was in
-erlin when $oldshmidt performed his first test on a safe. Fe didnJt e6plain wh# a stage esape
artist would (e at suh a demonstration.U /or the reord, Foudini does not appear to ha"e (een in
the "iinit# of the thermite demonstration gi"en in lower Manhattan on Septem(er 11, 7881.
After performing to muh alaim in $erman#, Foudini ontinued his pre+:orld :ar I tour (#
"isiting /rane and ,ussia 0the ountries that Foudini "isited on this unusual tour S ,ussia,
$erman#, /rane and -ritain S had the urious distintion of (eing the ma2or pla#ers in the soon+to+
unfold $reat :ar, (ut IJm sure thatJs 2ust a (iAarre oinidene1.
In *Aarist ,ussia, the magiian had offiial permission to appear in an# it# in ,ussia, an
e6traordinar# set of irumstanes that (espeaks the lose relationship (etween Superintendent
Mel"ille and the 5khrana, the imperial ,ussian seret polie.U FoudiniJs ,ussian tour was (ooked
(# a gu# named Farr# =a#, a m#sterious e6patriate Amerian who hanged his name and met
Foudini in .ondon around the same time as FoudiniJs first meeting with Mel"ille W L=a#M
e"entuall# (eame a mem(er of 9arliament and did o"erseas espionage for the -ritish go"ernment.U
/or man# #ears thereafter, the shadow# =a# would handle FoudiniJs European (ookings.
/ollowing the length# tour of pre+war Europe, Foudini returned to Ameria with muh press
fanfare. 5ne of his most high+profile stunts upon his return was esaping from the hea"il# fortified
*ell T7 at the United States >ail in :ashington, =*. 'he ell had famousl# housed *harles >ulius
$uiteau, on"ited assassin of 9resident >ames $arfield, prior to $uiteauJs hanging at the failit# on
>une Q8, 1NN7. $uiteau, who, like his father, was losel# affiliated with a religious ult known as the
5neida *ommunit#, shot $arfield on >ul# 7, 1NN1, after ha"ing learned how to use a handgun 2ust a
few weeks earlier. Fe laimed to (e ating on orders from $od.
'he gunshot wounds inflited (# $uiteau were not fatal. $arfield died nearl# three months later, on
Septem(er 19, 1NN1, from infetions resulting from 0pro(a(l# deli(eratel#1 poor medial are.
Aording to :ikipedia, 5f the four presidential assassins, $uiteau li"ed longer than an# after his
"itimJs death 0nine months1.U $i"en that .ee Far"e# 5swald sur"i"ed >/B (# 2ust two da#s and
.eon *AolgosA sur"i"ed :illiam MBinle# (# 2ust fift#+three da#s, this would (e a true statement
were it not for the fat that there is ompelling e"idene suggesting that >ohn :ilkes -ooth li"ed
for se"eral deades after the death of A(raham .inoln. And then, of ourse, there is the )uestion of
whether these four men S -ooth, $uiteau, *AolgosA and 5swald S were the atual presidential
assassins.
-ut here, I suppose, I ha"e digressed 0#es, I am offiiall# (ringing that word (ak out of
retirement1.
Foudini, needless to sa#, sueeded in esaping from $uiteauJs former ell S and also rearranged all
the prisoners residing on the 2ailJs fa(led ImurdererJs row.J 'o do so, of ourse, he would ha"e
needed a master ke#, whih someone learl# pro"ided to him. -ut wh#D Suh were the perks
pro"ided an entertainer who appeared to (e working as an agent for U.S. go"ernment agenies,
international polie assoiations, and a speial (ranh of Sotland @ard.U
A ouple #ears after his esape from the US >ail, there was a urious inident at the Foudini
household. 5n 5to(er 73, 198<, an intruder made a onerted effort to kill the performer, slashing
at the sleeping figure more than 188 times with a raAor. Farr# Foudini, howe"er, was not home at
the time. 'he "itim of the attak was his (rother .eopold, who losel# resem(led Farr#.
Fousehold ser"ant /rank 'homas was arrested and harged with the attak, though there was sant
e"idene linking him to the rime and no known moti"e. Indeed, 'homas had arri"ed the ne6t
morning for work seemingl# unaware the attak had taken plae.
Fad Foudini (een home at the time, there might ha"e (een a different outome, gi"en that some
reports ontend that the esape artist arried a handgun at all times. ,emarka(l#, Foudini was a(le
to keep his name out of all press aounts of the rime and trial despite the fat that the attak
ourred at his home, he appears to ha"e (een the intended "itim, and the alleged assailant was his
own ser"ant.
5n !o"em(er 76, 1989, Foudini (eame the first man to suessfull# fl# a powered raft on the
Australian ontinent. Fe heerfull# dispathed pu(liit# photos featuring him in a plane surrounded
(# $erman soldiers S a mo"e he would soon regret when those $erman soldiers found themsel"es
on the opposite side of the (attlefields of :orld :ar I. /ollowing AmeriaJs entr# into the war,
Foudini would attempt to destro# all photographs doumenting his training of $erman pilots.
'he magiianJs first flight, and all his su(se)uent Australian flights, were arranged (# .ieutenant
$eorge 'a#lor of the Australian Intelligene *orps. *uriousl#, despite FoudiniJs a"id earl# interest
in a"iation, he did not, as far as is know, e"er fl# again after lea"ing Australia.
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
In other news, it appears that, while .ookout Mountain .a(orator# has (een out of (usiness for
man# #ears, the spirit of the landestine film studio is still "er# muh ali"e and well, as e"idened
(# the IBon# 7817J "ideo.
Part *1
:h# people e"en said =r. *randon ommitted illegal operations on little hildren and
murdered them.U Mina;Marger# *randon
An 'pril *," 1,11" Houdini debuted his faed Chinese ;ater Torture Cell es&ape in
Southapton" Jngland" though he had perfe&ted and &opyrighted the a&t !ell o#er a year
earlier) 'he inherentl# dangerous stunt aused )uite a sensationC >ust the sight of the apparatus was
enough to gi"e #ou shi"ers and make #ou (elie"e, as one riti noted, that #ou were a(out to
witness a ritual sarifie.U
Around that same time, Foudini was, for reasons unknown, (usil# (u#ing moth(alled eletri hairs
at autions aross the ountr#.
In 191Q, FoudiniJs (elo"ed mother passed awa#, whih apparentl# resulted in Farr# learning some
deep famil# seret. /ollowing her death, Foudini sent the following r#pti note to one of his
(rothersC 'ime heals all wounds, (ut a long time will ha"e to pass (efore it will heal the terri(le
(low whih Mother tried to sa"e me from knowing.U 'he meaning of this rather pro"oati"e note
remains a m#ster#. Foudini, (# the wa#, was in =enmark when his mother died, and he re)uested a
dela# of her funeral to allow himself time to return to the States. =espite strit prohi(itions in
>ewish law, the entertainerJs re)uest was, of ourse, granted.
In =eem(er 1914, 2ust a few months after the staged pro"oation that allegedl# triggered :orld
:ar I, Foudini was summoned to the nationJs apitol for a pri"ate audiene with then+9resident
:oodrow :ilson. It is an#oneJs guess what (usiness the two men disussed, (ut it pro(a(l# had
little to do with stage triks.
A #ear+and+a+half later, on that most notorious of dates, April 78, an estimated 188,888 people
gathered in :ashington, =.*. to wath Foudini perform a straight2aket esape. 5ther than for a
presidential inauguration, it was said to (e the largest rowd e"er assem(led in downtown
:ashington. 5ne #ear later, in April 191<, the US delared war on $erman#.
/or the duration of the United StatesJ in"ol"ement in the war, Foudini spent a onsidera(le amount
of time aiding the war effort, (oth through fundraising and (# fre)uentl# "isiting the front lines,
where he ostensi(l# went from amp to amp pro"iding entertainment for the troops.
FoudiniJs Foll#wood areer also (egan 2ust as the US was entering the war. It has often (een said
that one of his first redits was as a speial+effets onsultant on the M#steries of M#ra liffhanger
serial, though others ha"e laimed that Foudini had no in"ol"ement in the prodution. *uriousl#,
the real onsultant for the pro2et is said to ha"e (een oultist;intelligene asset Aleister *rowle#.
FoudiniJs first feature+length film, 'he $rim $ame, opened to ra"e re"iews. Ensoned in
Foll#wood, Foudini )uikl# made friends with mega+stars *harlie *haplin and ,osoe /att#U
Ar(ukle, (oth of whom would soon (e aught up in sandals S a areer+ending one in Ar(ukleJs
ase. 'he fledgling ator ne6t (egan work on 'error Island, filmed largel# on *atalina Island.
Unlike his feature de(ut, Island opened to poor re"iews, leading a disouraged Foudini to launh
his own prodution ompan# to reate his own starring "ehiles.
>ust after ompleting 'error Island, in =eem(er 1919, Foudini was in"ol"ed in #et another urious
inident. Fa"ing in2ured his ankle performing the water torture esape, he paid a "isit to a dotor
who e6amined the performer and pronouned him in imminent danger of death.U Foudini
ne"ertheless li"ed on for se"eral more #earsG the dotor, meanwhile, turned up dead within two
weeks.
-# the end of 1971, the Foudini 9iture *orporation had two feature+length films in the an S 'he
Man /rom -e#ond and Faldane of the Seret Ser"ie. 'he first, o+written (# Foudini himself and
released on April 7, 1977, in"ol"ed a (iAarre plot re"ol"ing around a man found froAen in arti ie
and (rought (ak to life, a ase of mistaken identit#, onfinement in a mental institution, esape
from that same institution, and an a(dution. Faldane, released the following #ear, was FoudiniJs
first attempt at direting himself. It featured the magiian as his real+life alter ego, (ut its
performane at the (o6 offie signaled the end of FoudiniJs film areer.
/or the rest of his #ears, Foudini de"oted a onsidera(le amount of time to in"estigating and
de(unking the spiritualist mo"ement, whih flourished in the post+:orld :ar I #ears as legions of
fake ImediumsJ pre#ed upon the grief of those who had lost lo"ed one in the war, promising to
reonnet them with those in the IspiritJ world. -# design or otherwise, FoudiniJs rusade ser"ed
primaril# to pu(liiAe the mo"ement. FoudiniJs interest in the mo"ement was said to ha"e (een
spawned (# the death of his (elo"ed mother.
Foudini had a num(er of friends in the spiritualist mo"ement, most nota(l# and prominentl# Sir
Arthur *onan =o#le, reator of fitional deteti"e Sherlok Folmes and possi(le perpetrator of the
infamous 9iltdown Foa6 of 1917. -oth =o#le and Foudini were also had onnetions to .e ,oi
and Marger# *randon, and that is where this stor# takes a deidedl# dark turn.
Marger#, (orn Mina Stinson in *anada in 1NNN, had mo"ed with her famil# to -oston,
Massahusetts at a #oung age. As a teenager, she is said to ha"e (een a musial prodig# and to ha"e
pla#ed "arious musial instruments in loal orhestras, and to later ha"e worked as an atress,
seretar# and am(ulane dri"er. In 191<, the then+married Mina was hospitaliAed and operated on
(# =r. .e ,oi $oddard *randon, a man who oupied a prestigious position in -oston soiet#.
*randon was a diret desendent of one of the original twent#+three Ma#flower passengers and a
mem(er of the -oston @aht *lu(. Fe had graduated from Far"ard Medial Shool and had also
o(tained a MasterJs =egree in 9hilosoph# from Far"ard, where he also ser"ed as an instrutor. >ust
(efore meeting Mina, he had ser"ed as a !a"al offier and as head of the surgial staff at a US
!a"al hospital during ::I.
Shortl# after meeting the dotor, Mina di"ored her first hus(and and, in 191N, (eame the muh
older .e ,oi *randonJs third wife. 'he two seemed hopelessl# mismathed, she (eing #oung,
"i"aious and, (# all aounts, "er# attrati"e, while he was said to (e rather arrogant, unpleasant
and antisoial. !e"ertheless, the pair )uikl# (eame the talk of -ostonJs high soiet#, partiularl#
after the summer of 197Q, when the# (egan holding regular Is\anesJ in their home.
5ne regular mem(er of the oupleJs inner irle was a fellow (# the name of >oseph =e:#koff, a
wealth# steel t#oon who had (een (orn in 9oland and eduated in England and *Aarist ,ussia
(efore settling in Ameria to pratie law. Fe was ultimatel# 2ailed in -oston on em(eAAlement
harges, then later fled to *hiago after em(eAAling #et more mone#. Fe soon turned up in, of all
plaes, Fa"ana, *u(a, where, aording to Balush and Sloman, in 1N9N he was reruited (# >ohn
:ilkie, the Seret Ser"ie hief, as a o+optee and was in"ol"ed in sp#ing for the United States
during the Spanish+Amerian :ar.U
'hat would (e, needless to sa#, the "er# same >ohn :ilkie who had kik+started Farr# FoudiniJs
areer that "er# same #ear. As a reward for his ser"ie, =e:#koff, who had a histor# of
"iolene,U was gi"en the ontrat to sal"age the -attleship Maine in the Fa"ana Far(or.U 'he
Maine had (een sunk in what appears to ha"e (een a false+flag operation arried out (# US
intelligene operati"es to 2ustif# launhing a (lood# olonial war.
Although fragmentar#, there is lear e"idene that .e ,oi and Mina *randon, in on2untion with
"arious others 0inluding =e:#koff1, (egan to Iadopt,J sometime soon after getting married, an
untold num(er of hildren who su(se)uentl# went missing. A num(er of letters that =r. *randon
penned on the su(2et and dispathed to his (udd# =o#le appear to ha"e gone missing as well. As
Balush and Sloman note, Strangel#, man# of the letters regarding the in"estigation into the (o#s
ha"e (een e6punged from *randonJs files.U As faithful readers know, there is nothing strange a(out
that at allG it is prett# muh par for the ourse.
In one sur"i"ing letter, sent on August 4, 1973, *randon notes that a(out =eem(er first I had Mr.
=e:#koff (ring o"er a (o# from a .ondon home for possi(le adoption W In April 1973, our
Seret Ser"ie =epartment at :ashington reei"ed a letter sa#ing that I had first and last si6teen
(o#s in m# house for ostensi(le adoption, and that the# had all disappeared.U /our #ears earlier, a
-oston newspaper had reported that two (o#s had (een resued from a raft. 5ne, eight+#ear+old
>ohn *randon, was Marger#;MinaJs son from her pre"ious marriage. 'he other was a ten+#ear+old
English IadopteeJ who was reportedl# so unhapp# at the *randon home that he was frantiall#
attempting an esape, with the #ounger (o# in tow 0not unlike the Ste"en Sta#ner stor#1. 'wo
#ears later, when Marger# (egan her mediumship, there was no trae of that (o# in the household.U
9erhaps he was the IhomelessJ (o# whose dead (od# was reportedl# found on the outskirts of
>oseph =e:#koffJs large estate in ,amse#, !ew >erse# during that time period.
-# 1974, =r. *randon was openl# asking his man# friends in the -ritish spiritualist mo"ement to
(e on the lookout for suita(le (o#s to adopt.U Around that same time, as another assoiate noted in
a letter, *randon was (eing sued for P48,888 for operating on a woman for aner, when she was
simpl# pregnant, and destro#ing the foetus W A highl# inredi(le stor# whih persists is that a (o#
who was in his famil# some weeks m#steriousl# disappeared. Fe laims that the (o# is now in his
home in England, (ut still offiial letters of in)uir# and demand are reei"ed from that ountr#. 'his
is no mere rumor, for I was shown some of the original letters W 'he matter has (een going on for
more than a #ear. It is "er# m#sterious.U
In response to )uestions raised a(out the disappearane of one partiular (o#, Marger#;Mina
omplained that people wrote asking his wherea(outs, and the prime minister of England a(led to
ask where he was and demanded a a(le repl#. :h# people e"en said =r. *randon ommitted
illegal operations on little hildren and murdered them.U Aording to Marger#, the poor little
fellow had adenoids and had to (e irumised,U so *randon opted to perform the surger# at home.
It was widel# rumored that the good dotor had performed another proedure at home as well S
surgiall# altering his wifeJs "aginal opening to allow her to Imagiall#J produe "arious items at
s\anes.
5n one oasion, Marger# opened a loset in her home and showed an assoiate a olletion of
photos of well o"er a hundred hildren, most of them reall# lo"el#.U Marger# told the woman that,
'hose are =r. *randonJs aesareansYarenJt the# sweetD All aesareans.U $i"en that *randon
wasnJt known for deli"ering (a(ies at all, the notion that he had deli"ered o"er a hundred of them
"ia aesarean was an a(surdit#. :ho then were all these hildren and what (eame of themD
Suh is the fragmentar# e"idene trail indiating that an untold num(er of #oung (o#s fell into the
nefarious hands of a a(al of wealth# indi"iduals with onnetions to the intelligene ommunit#.
!earl# a full entur# ago. !ot to worr# though S the disappearanes were in"estigated (# >ohn
:ilkieJs Seret Ser"ie and a -ritish M9 (# the name of, uhmm, Farr# =a#. And IJm sure the# got
to the (ottom of the sordid affair, 2ust as .ouis /reeh is undou(tedl# now getting to the truth of the
Sandusk# ase.
!ot long (efore his death, Foudini, who had an e6tensi"e li(rar# of literature on the oult, (egan
working with horror writer and raist oultist F.9. .o"eraft on "arious magaAine artiles. In 1976,
he hired .o"eraft 0who ould, (# the wa#, trae his lineage to the Massahusetts -a# *olon#1 and
*lifford Edd#, >r. 0another oultist and horror writer and one of FoudiniJs o"ert operati"es1, to o+
write a (ook de(unking superstition 0despite the fat that wife -ess was known to har(or numerous
superstitions, some of them apparentl# )uite (iAarre1.
Aording to Balush and Sloman, Shortl# after meeting with Edd# and .o"eraft, -ess was
striken with a nonspeifi form of poisoning.U Indeed, there is e"idene suggesting that (oth Farr#
and -ess Foudini suffered from some form of poisoning prior to Farr#Js death. In addition,
Foudini is said to ha"e suffered from se"ere mood swings and to ha"e had some aggressi"e
onfrontationsU in the weeks leading up to his death, (oth of whih were out of harater for the
illusionist 0though -ess is widel# reported to ha"e suffered from e6treme mood swings throughout
her life1.
As the stor# goes, Foudini, who prided himself on (eing a(le to take a punh from prett# muh
an#one, was suker+punhed in his dressing room (# a M$ill Uni"ersit# student, whih aused his
appendi6 to (urst and ultimatel# led to his death on 5to(er Q1, 1976. FoudiniJs ph#siians
dutifull# swore out affida"its ertif#ing the ause of death to (e traumati appendiitis,U though
the medial ommunit# now aknowledges that suh a medial ondition has ne"er e6isted. !o
autops# was performed.
As pre"iousl# noted, the house in .aurel *an#on uni"ersall# known as the IFoudini FouseJ (urned
to the ground e6atl# thirt#+three #ears later, on 5to(er Q1, 1939. 9reisel# fift#+two #ears 0the
magiianJs age at the time of his death1 after that, the Magi *astle in the Foll#wood Fills e6ploded
into flames on 5to(er Q1, 7811. -uilt as a %itorian mansion in 198N, the on"erted struture
opened in 196Q as the Magi *astle, a rather reep# mem(ers+onl# lu( featuring hidden rooms and
seret passagewa#s. Aording to reports, the onl# room in the (uilding left unsathed (# the fire
was the Foudini ,oom.
'he mid+1978s were not a good time for the Foudini;:eiss (rothers. -rother $ottfried :eiss, (orn
two #ears (efore Farr#, died in 1973. Farr# followed suit the ne6t #ear. -rother !athan :eiss, (orn
four #ears (efore Farr#, died soon after, in 197<. Shit happens, I guess.
5n >une 77, 197<, FoudiniJs European (ooking agent, Farr# =a#, reported that his apartment had
(een ransaked. 'hat da# would ha"e also (een the FoudiniJs wedding anni"ersar# S assuming, that
is, that Farr# was atuall# legall# married to -ess, whih ma# not ha"e (een the ase. 'wo months
after the (reak+in at =a#Js apartment, 'heodore IFardeen,J who had inherited all of (rother Farr#Js
props, effets and papers, reported that his home had also (een (roken into while he had (een on the
road.
>osel#n $ordon :hitehead, the gu# redited with gut+punhing Foudini, was a rather urious gent.
'hough a ollege student at the time of the inident, he was alread# in his thirties. Fis father was a
-ritish diplomat ser"ing in the 5rient. After FoudiniJs death, :hitehead is said to ha"e (eome a
reluse li"ing something of a hermeti e6istene. Fe did ha"e at least one lose assoiate though S
.ad# -eatrie Isa(el Marler, a wealth# heiress and the wife of Sir Fer(ert Meredith Marler, a
prominent *anadian politiian and diplomat who one ser"ed as *anadaJs am(assador to the US.
After FoudiniJs death, it was widel# rumored that -ess S who in addition to suffering from wild
mood swings was also an aloholi and a drug addit who was oasionall# suiidal S ran an illegal
speakeas#;(rothel in on2untion with a woman named =ais# :hite, who was said to ha"e (een
Farr#Js mistress. !othing weird a(out that. :hite was not, (# the wa#, the onl# woman who
laimed or was rumored to ha"e had an affair with the performer.
In mid+1943, 'heodore Fardeen,U one of FoudiniJs two sur"i"ing (rothers and the one who had
inherited all of his effets, heked into =otorJs Fospital for a sheduled operation. 5n >une 17,
1943, Fardeen left the hospital in a (o6. It was reported at the time that Fardeen had (een planning
to pen a (ook on his (rother and had (egun work on the pro2et (efore heking into the hospital.
!earl# two deades later, on 5to(er 6, 1967, .eopold :eiss S Farr#Js last li"ing si(ling and the
one who had (een (rutall# attaked in his (rotherJs home S is said to ha"e 2umped off a ledge and
fallen si6 stories to his death. 'he last of FoudiniJs serets went to the gra"e with him.
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
It has often (een noted that Foudini took far longer to perform man# of his stage esapes than was
atuall# neessar#, and that he was fre)uentl# out of "iew of the audiene during suh times. 'his
has generall# (een assumed to ha"e (een for dramati effet. Authors Balush and Sloman though
offer a far more ompelling possi(ilit#C 5ne e6planation is that suh hallenges ga"e Foudini (oth
the opportunit# and an ali(i to ondut a mission while he was performing.U
It was, in other words, the perfet o"er, for how ould a man (e responsi(le for something that
ourred elsewhere when he was performing on stage for a apti"e audiene at the timeD 'here are,
it should (e noted, lear parallels here to the stor# told (# *huk -arris, who has laimed that he
was similarl# slipping off to ondut o"ert missions while performing his duties as a haperone for
the =ating $ame.
5f ourse, no one took -arris seriousl# (eause we all know that suh things donJt reall# happen in
the real world S or at least not in the world that the media present to us as the real world.
It should also (e noted here that Foudini possessed, as do most magiians, seemingl# superhuman
a(ilities, suh as the a(ilit# to disloate his shoulders at will to slip out of straight2akets. Fe ould
also regulate his heart rate, respiration rate and other meta(oli funtions suh that he ould sur"i"e
for e6tended periods of time with little a"aila(le o6#gen, thus failitating his esapes.
Suh a(ilities are rather ommonplae in the world of magi. 5ne magiian was found to (e a(le to
identif# what ard a person was holding (# "irtue of the fat that he had suh e6traordinar# "isual
auit# that he ould see the refletion of the ard in the su(2etJs pupils. Man# magiians are a(le to
pik up a stak of ards and know (# feel e6atl# how man# ards the# are holding, and are a(le to
distinguish indi"idual ards (# su(tle thikness "ariations indistinguisha(le to people with normal
a(ilities.
Fow do people gain suh inredi(le ph#sial a(ilitiesD 9ro(a(l# the (est wa# of understanding suh
phenomena is as a funtion of trauma+(ased, earl# hildhood training.
It appears then that, at the end of the da#, the ators populating the Farr# Foudini stor# are the
usual ast of haratersC intel operati"es, Masons, pedophiles, mind+rapists, oultists, and, of
ourse, entertainers. 'he more things hange, the more the# sta# the same.
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
I, for one, am pleasantl# surprised to see that the hak filmmaker who su(2eted the world to 4Bon#
78174 is now appearing in some of the most entertaining "ideos e"er to hit the we(.