2004 Updates and News

The following were updates and news items during 2004.

DECEMBER NEWS:  Deana Martin has written a book.  She is mentioned in the Manson books due to having met him (he gave her a ring and she testified at his trial).  She discusses this some in the book.  The title is "Memories Are Made of This:  Dean Martin Through His Daughter's Eyes."

DECEMBER UPDATES:  It's Christmas-time so I'm adding a nice big update!  Great thanks to Adrian Dobie for some very rare photos of the Cielo Drive house.  Thanks to Jim Nix and Kevin Reese for recent photos of Cielo Drive.  I've also added a photo of the so-called Twin House that is located just below the site of Sharon's house.  Thanks to "a friend of the website" for photos of two interesting sites in London, England.  Another addition is a photo of Manson's home in McMechen, West Virginia where he lived with his aunt and uncle.

NOVEMBER NEWS:  Terry Melcher passed away at age 62 on November 19.  Read one story here or here.  Read another here or here.  Finally, a longer article is here or here.

SF Weekly has a great article (with photos) on Bobby Beausoleil.  Read it here.  If that link doesn't work, try here (this copy contains extra links, but no photos).  You can buy his album here.

Charles Manson turns 70 years old on Friday, November 12.  He was 35 years old when arrested for the Tate/LaBianca murders.  It has been another 35 years since those crimes.  Bobby Beausoleil turned 57 on November 6.

Roman Polanski's case against Vanity Fair will see some court action in England this month.  The major question is whether he will be allowed to testify via video hook-up.  Read it here.

NOVEMBER UPDATE:  This website has moved to a new host.  If you sent e-mail around the Halloween and it was undeliverable, please try again.

I've added another item in the "Private Collection" area.

OCTOBER NEWS:  The Daily Breeze has a new firsthand account of the Hawthorne shootout.  Notice they used this website as a source!  Read it here.  If you're interested, you can read the police report here.

The 2004 version of "Helter Skelter" has now been official released.  Click here to order from Amazon.

SEPTEMBER NEWS:  I am sorry to announce the recent death of Ken Como due to long-term health problems.  Ken is probably best known to many for his involvement in the Hawthorne shootout and his marriage to Catherine "Gypsy" Share.

It is unclear how Ken came to be involved in the Manson Family, but he was transferred from Folsom Prison to Los Angeles in order to testify for Manson in the Hinman/Shea trial.  Once in LA, he escaped from jail and proceeded to help in the Covina beer distributor and Western Surplus Store robberies in August 1971.  Re-arrested, but seemingly un-jailable, Ken escaped just a couple of months later.  Sandy Good's assistance in this escape is still the reason she is not allowed to visit Charles Manson today.

Ken is sometimes credited with doing what the law couldn't:  splitting up the Manson Family.  It has been said the group splintered into two factions.  One stuck with Manson and the other went with Ken.  Ken's group included Mary Brunner, Nancy Pitman and Catherine Share.  One colorful story tells of Como beating up Manson in the prison yard in 1975.  Guards had to fire their shotguns to break up the fight.  Supposedly, Manson was even moved to Vacaville largely due to the problems he experienced with Ken.  In 1977, Como married Catherine ("Gypsy").  Gypsy's brushes with the law continued and they divorced in 1981.

Although the prison system had trouble keeping a grip on Ken, it was his own health that finally got the better of him.  His health had been poor and he was released from prison in 2003.  His free days were to be short-lived and he passed away in early September 2004.  The Manson legend has lost one of its more colorful characters.

OTHER SEPTEMBER NEWS:  I have another death to report, but this one happened in 2002 and apparently went unnoticed by the media.  Author Nuel Emmons passed away at age 75 in Nice, California on November 19, 2002.  Nuel was the co-author of "Manson in His Own Words."  Nuel was also involved in Charles Manson's 1981 appearance on the "Tomorrow" show where both were interviewed by Tom Snyder.  I think that was Manson's first televised appearance after the convictions.  I can only find one other mention of an interview he gave after the trials and before the Snyder interview.  So, Nuel can probably be credited with re-exposing Manson to the world after ten years behind bars.

SEPTEMBER UPDATES:  I've added a listing of headlines which have appeared over the years.  This will give you a good timeline of events over the years.  Also, the site now has the closed-captioned text from the original 1976 "Helter Skelter" movie.

AUGUST NEWS:  Leslie Van Houten was rejected for parole on August 25.  Read it here or here.

This month marks the 35th anniversary of the Tate/LaBianca murders.  Sharon would now be 61 years old.  Leno would be 79.  Rosemary should be 73.  Jay would be 70.  Wojtek would be 67...

AUGUST DVD NEWS:  The 2004 version of "Helter Skelter" will be released on DVD on October 19.  It will reportedly be the director's cut, widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1.  There will be additional scenes, Jeremy Davies original rehearsal footage and audio commentary.  The price will be around $14 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon, now.  (thanks to Berti for the news tip).

AUGUST UPDATES:  ABC's website has a story about the anniversary of the murders.  It has quotes from Sharon's sister and Jay's nephew.  Read it here (includes photo and video) or here (no photo or video).

JULY NEWS:  The upcoming "Globe" tabloid will have a two-page article on the Manson murders.  This should appear on news stands on Thursday, July 22 and will have quotes from Vincent Bugliosi and 60s historian Hal Lifson.  Look for it on pages 24 and 25.  Thanks to Hal for the tip!

Pat Krenwinkel was denied parole on July 7.  She was given a three-year denial.  Read the story here or here.

"Fearless Vampire Killers," starring Sharon Tate, is coming to DVD on October 5.

Dennis Wilson's house at 14400 Sunset Boulevard has mostly been demolished.  This is the place where Manson met Wilson and the Family lived for a while in 1968.

JULY UPDATES:  Added some Spahn Ranch raid info to the Alias list.

JUNE NEWS:  The California Supreme Court declined to review a Court of Appeal ruling upholding the denial of parole to convicted killer Leslie Van Houten.  Read here or here.

A realtor has confirmed that 964 Old Topanga Canyon Road was recently for sale at the price of $1,025,000.  This was Gary Hinman's address.  Read the listing here.

In other June news, Leslie Van Houten is appealing her parole case to the California State Supreme Court. (see above about the denial).

JUNE UPDATES:  Thanks to Adrian Dobie for scanning color versions of the photos of Sharon at the Cielo house.

I've started compiling a page about references to Charles Manson in the films of John Waters.

I've updated the page (twice) about movies filmed at Spahn Movie Ranch.  Of greatest interest, the director of "Diamond Stud" claims two Manson Family girls performed a nude fight scene in that movie.

Great new addition of the 1981 Charles Manson interview by Tom Snyder (great thanks to Aaron Bredlau for spending hours transcribing).

Minor changes to the Book and Music pages.

I've begun putting together a page of various TV appearances.

MAY NEWS:  CBS has a small webpage online about the recent "Helter Skelter" movie.  Of most interest, it has a trailer that you can watch.  (thanks to Holly and Vonda for the tip).

There's an odd story concerning a niece of Rosemary LaBianca who is being sought for the possible murder of her mother (Rosemary's sister-in-law).  The niece also accused her mother of involvement in the Labianca murders.  Read it here.

MAY UPDATES:  I've added short and long outlines of the new "Helter Skelter" movie.  Also, check out the TV Guide article for updates on the prisoners.

APRIL NEWS:  Manson follower Bruce Davis was denied parole for the 22nd time on April 8.  He received a one-year denial.  Read it here or here.  The San Luis Obispo Tribune ran a lengthy article about Davis.  Read it here or here.  Another short article is here.

On April 23, William Goucher was denied parole for another year.  I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to write a letter.

The news is from 2001, but I've added an obituary for attorney Paul Caruso.  Of some interest, Paul also represented Eddie Nash who is infamous for the Wonderland murders.

There will be a new book in August by Michael Pellowski entitled "The Charles Manson Murder Trial:  A Headline Court Case."  Amazon lists it at $21 and only 128 pages.  It's also listed as a children's book, so don't expect too much.

APRIL MOVIE NEWS:  Check out "All Your TV" for some photos from the new "Helter Skelter" movie (thanks to Kanarek for the link).  The original "Helter Skelter" movie will be released on April 20.  You can pre-order now.  It will have no extras but does have a scene selection menu.  Although unrelated to the Manson case, "In Cold Blood" is finally available on DVD.

MARCH NEWS:  Leslie Van Houten has been dealt a setback by the 4th District Court of Appeal.  Read it here, here and here.

MARCH MOVIE NEWS:  The long-awaited Jim VanBebber film, "The Manson Family," has an updated website.  Bootlegged, rough-cut copies have circulated for a while under the title "Charlie's Family."  The new website has a trailer for the movie and a lot of still shots.  A summer DVD release is rumored.  Thanks to Dennis Lacalandra for the update.

FEBRUARY UPDATES:  The Daily Breeze has a new interview with Dennis Rice.  Click here or here.  I've added a page about Dennis with a photo you probably haven't seen before.  I've also added a new article about The Process and their connection to a large animal sanctuary (thanks to Bo Emerson for finding this article).  This led to a slight update in my page about The Process.

FEBRUARY MOVIE NEWS:  The new "Helter Skelter" movie may be cut by CBS censors due to Janet Jackson's Superbowl fiasco.  Read about it here, here or here.  For a photo of the movie's Manson character, click here.  Also, Rolling Stone has a small article about the upcoming "Live Freaky, Die Freaky."

HELTER SKELTER DVD:  The 1976 movie "Helter Skelter" is coming to DVD on April 20.  Click here to pre-order.

JANUARY NEWS:  Muse Films is supposedly working on a movie version of "The Family."  Currently, the casting includes Mena Suvari, Amy Smart, Jeremy Sisto, Bijou Phillips, Jeremy Davies (as Charles Manson), Anna Farris, Dominique Swain and Tom Seizmore.  Weirdly, Jeremy Davies is playing Charles Manson in the upcoming TV movie, "Helter Skelter," too.  This could indicate the Muse project isn't really going to happen (especially since it has had financial backing trouble in the past).

"HELTER SKELTER" MOVIE UPDATE:  The new 3-hour movie about Charles Manson is scheduled for broadcast on Sunday, May 16.

DOCUMENTARY UPDATE:  The previously mentioned documentary has been cancelled.  It was to be on the History Channel but was cancelled partially due to problems with getting permission to film at Barker Ranch.

UPCOMING DVD RELEASES:  The 1976 movie of "Helter Skelter" is coming to DVD (April 20).  Also, Jim VanBebber's "Charlie's Family" is coming out but the title has been changed to "The Manson Family."  Click here for the official website.  (Thanks to Dennis Lacalandra and Chris for the updates).

2003 UPDATES:  Updates and news for the year 2003 can be viewed here.

2002 UPDATES:  Updates and news for the year 2002 can be viewed here.

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