Born "no name Maddox" in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 12, 1934, Manson was the illegitimate son of Kathleen Maddox, a 16-year-old prostitute. His surname was derived from one of Kathleen's many lovers, whom she briefly married, but it signified no blood connection. During 1936, Kathleen filed a paternity suit against one "Colonel Scott" of Ashland, Kentucky, winning the grand monthly sum of five dollars for the support of "Charles Milles Manson." Scott instantly defaulted on the judgment, and he died in 1954, without acknowledging his son.
In 1939, Kathleen and her brother were sentenced to five years in prison for robbing a West Virginia gas station. Charles was packed off to live with a strictly religious aunt and her sadistic husband, who constantly berated the boy as a "sissy," dressing him in girl's clothing for his first day of school in an effort to help Manson "act like a man." Paroled in 1942, Maddox reclaimed her son, but she was clearly unsuited to motherhood. An alcoholic tramp who brought home lovers of both sexes, Kathleen frequently left Charles with neighbors "for an hour," then disappeared for days or weeks on end, leaving relatives to track the boy down. On one occasion, she reportedly gave Charles to a barmaid, in payment for a pitcher of beer.
By 1947, Kathleen was seeking a foster home for her son, but none was available. Charles wound up in the Gibault School for Boys, in Terre Haute, Indiana, but fled after ten months, rejoining his mother. She still didn't want him, and so Manson took to living on the streets, making his way by theft. Arrested in Indiana, he escaped from the local juvenile center after one day's confinement. Recaptured and sent to Father Flanagan's Boy's Town, he lasted four days before his next escape, fleeing in a stolen car to visit relatives in Illinois. He pulled more robberies en route and on arrival, leading to another bust at age 13. Confined for three years in a reform school at Plainfield, Indiana, Manson recalls sadistic abuse by older boys and guards alike. If we may trust his memory, at least one guard incited other boys to rape and torture Manson, while the officer stood by and masturbated on the sidelines.
In February 1951, Manson and two other inmates escaped from the Plainfield "school," fleeing westward in a series of stolen cars. Arrested in Beaver, Utah, Manson was sentenced to federal time for driving hot cars across state lines. Starting off in a minimum-security establishment, Manson assaulted another inmate in January 1952, holding a razor blade to the boy's throat and sodomizing him. Reclassified as "dangerous," Manson was transferred to a tougher lock-up, logging eight major disciplinary infractions - including three homosexual assaults - by August 1952. He was moved to the Chilicothe, Ohio reformatory a month later, and suddenly turned over a new leaf, becoming a "model" prisoner almost overnight. The cunning act was rewarded by parole in May 1954.
Arrested a second time for driving hot cars interstate, in September 1955, Manson got off easy with five years probation. He celebrated by skipping a court date in Florida, on pending charges of auto theft, and his probation was promptly revoked. Picked up in Indianapolis on March 14, 1956, he was sent to the federal prison at Terminal Island, California, winning parole on September 30, 1958. Seven months later, on May 1, 1959, he was jailed in Los Angeles, on charges of forging and cashing stolen U.S. Treasury checks. Once more, he escaped with probation, swiftly revoked with his April 1960 arrest for pimping and transporting whores interstate. Entering the lock-up at McNeil Island, Manson listed his religion as "Scientologist"; his IQ was tested at 121. Paroled on March 21, 1967, over his own objections, Manson was drawn to San Francisco and the teeming Haight-Ashbury district.
It was the "Summer of Love," when thousands of young people flocked to the banner of drugs and "flower power," heeding Timothy Leary's advice to "tune in, turn on, drop out." The streets and crash-pads over-flowed with teenage runaways and drifters, seeking insight on the world and on themselves. Behind the scenes, a minor army of manipulators - gurus, outlaw bikers, pushers, pimps and Satanists - stood ready to squeeze a grim profit from the Age of Aquarius.
In San Francisco, Manson displayed a surprising charisma, attracting young drop-outs of both sexes, drawn from all strata of white society. Some, like Mary Brunner, were college graduates. Others, like Susan Atkins and Robert Beausoleil, were involved with Satanic cults. Most were hopelessly confused about their lives, adopting Manson as a combination mentor, father-figure, lover, Christ incarnate, and the self-styled "God of Fuck." They drifted up and down the state in fluctuating numbers, with the "family" having an unknown number of members in excess of 100 at its peak. From Mendocino and the Haight to Hollywood, Los Angeles, Death Valley, Manson's nomads followed their leader as the Summer of Love became a nightmare. Along the way, they rubbed shoulders with the Church of Satan, the Process Church of Final Judgment (worshipping Satan, Lucifer and Jehovah simultaneously), the Circe Order of Dog Blood, and the homicidal "Four Pi Movement." Manson grew obsessed with death and "Helter Skelter," his interpretation of a Beatles song predicting race war in America. In Manson's view, once "blackie" had been driven to the point of violence, helpless whites would be annihilated, leaving Manson and his family to rule the roost.
On October 13, 1968, two women were found beaten and strangled to death near Ukiah, California. One, Nancy Warren, was the pregnant wife of a highway patrol officer. The other victim, Clida Delaney, was Warren's 64-year-old grandmother. The murders were ritualistic in nature, with 36 leather thongs wrapped around each victim's throat, and several members of the Manson "family" - including two later convicted of unrelated murders - were visiting Ukiah at the time.
Two months later, on December 30, 17-year-old Marina Habe was abducted outside her West Hollywood home, her body recovered on New Year's Day, with multiple stab wounds in the neck and chest. Investigators learned that Habe was friendly with various "family" members, and police believe her ties with the Manson group led directly to her death.
On May 27, 1969, 64-year-old Darwin Scott - the brother of Manson's alleged father - was hacked to death in his Ashland, Kentucky, apartment, pinned to the floor by a long butcher knife. Manson was out of touch with his California parole officer between May 22 and June 18, 1969, and an unidentified "LSD preacher from California" set up shop with several young women, in nearby Huntington, around the same time.
On July 17, 1969, 16-year-old Mark Walts disappeared while hitchhiking from Chatsworth, California, to the pier at Santa Monica, to do some fishing. His battered body, shot three times and possibly run over by a car, was found next morning in Topanga Canyon. Walts was a frequent visitor to Manson's commune at the Spahn Movie Ranch, and the dead boy's brother publicly accused Manson of the murder, though no charges were filed.
Around the time of Walts' death, a "Jane Doe" corpse was discovered near Castaic, northeast of the Spahn Ranch, tentatively identified from articles of clothing as Susan Scott, a "family" member once arrested with a group of Manson girls in Mendocino. Scott was living at the ranch when she dropped out of sight, and while the Castaic corpse remains technically unidentified, Susan has not been seen again.
In the month between July 27 and August 26, 1969, Manson's tribe slaughtered at least nine people in Southern California. Musician Gary Hinman was the first to die, hacked to death in retaliation for a drug deal gone sour, "political" graffiti scrawled at the scene in his blood, as Manson tried to blame the crime on "blackie." On August 9, a Manson hit team raided the home of movie director Roman Polanski, slaughtering Polanski's wife - pregnant actress Sharon Tate - and four of her guests: Abigail Folger, Jay Sebring, Voytek Frykowski, and Steven Parent. The following night, Manson's "creepy crawlers" killed and mutilated another couple, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, in their Los Angeles home.
An atmosphere of general panic gripped affluent L.A., the grisly crimes demonstrating that no one was safe. On August 16, sheriff's deputies raided the Spahn Ranch, arresting Manson and company on various drug-related charges, but Charles was back on the street by August 26. That night, he directed the murder and dismemberment of movie stuntman Donald "Shorty" Shea, a hanger-on who "knew too much" and was suspected of discussing family business with police.
Ironically, Manson's downfall came about through a relatively petty crime. On the night of September 18-September 19, 1969, members of the family burned a piece of road-grading equipment that was "obstructing" one of their desert dune buggy routes. Arson investigators traced the evidence to Manson, and he was arrested again on October 12. A day later, Susan Atkins was picked up in Ontario, California, and she soon confided details of the Tate-LaBianca murders to cellmates in Los Angeles. Sweeping indictments followed, but even Manson's removal from circulation could not halt the violence.
On November 5, 1969, family member John Haught - alias "Zero" - was shot and killed while "playing Russian roulette" in Venice, California. Eleven days later, another "Jane Doe" - tentatively identified as family associate Sherry Cooper - was found near the site where Marina Habe's body had been discovered in 1968. On November 21, Scientologists James Sharp, 15, and Doreen Gaul, 19, were found dead in a Los Angeles alley, stabbed more that 50 times each with a long-bladed knife. Investigators learned that Gaul had been a girlfriend of Bruce Davis, a family member subsequently convicted of first-degree murder in L.A.
And Manson's arm was long. Joel Pugh, husband of Mansonite Sandra Good, flew to London in late 1968, accompanied by Bruce Davis. Their mission included the sale of some rare coins and the establishment of connections with Satanic orders in Britain. Davis returned to the United States in April 1969, but Pugh lingered on, and his body was found in a London hotel room on December 1, his throat slit with razor blades, his blood used to inscribe backwards writing" and "comic book drawings" on a nearby mirror.
Charged with the seven Tate-LaBianca murders, Manson and three of his female disciples - Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten - went to trial in June 1970. The defense rested its case on November 19, and attorney Ronald Hughes disappeared eight days later, after he was driven to Sespe Hot Springs by two family associates called "James" and "Lauren." The lawyer's decomposing corpse was found in Sespe Creek five months later, around the time Manson's death sentence was announced, and positive identification was confirmed through dental X-rays.
Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi believes that he has traced the fate of "James" and "Lauren" suspected of guilty knowledge in Hughe's death. On November 9, 1972, hikers found the body of 26-year-old James Willett, shotgunned and decapitated, in a shallow grave near Guerneville, California. Three days later, Willett's station wagon was spotted outside a house in Stockton, and police arrested two members of the Aryan Brotherhood inside, along with three Manson women. Lauren Willett, wife of James, was buried in the basement, and an initial tale of "Russian roulette" was dropped in April 1973, when four of the suspects pled guilty to murder charges.
Meanwhile, the Manson trials continued in Los Angeles. Trigger man Charles "Tex" Watson was convicted and sentenced to die for the Tate-LaBianca murders in 1971. During August of that year, six family members - including original disciple Mary Brunner - tried to steal 140 weapons from a Hawthorne gun shop, planning to break Manson out of jail, but they were captured in a shootout with police. All were subsequently convicted, and Brunner was also sentenced for participation in the Hinman murder. Robert Beausoleil and Susan Atkins picked up additional death sentences for that slaying, while Manson, Bruce Dais, and Steve Grogan were convicted in both the Hinman and Shea murders. Various death sentences were overturned by the US Supreme Court's 1972 ruling against Capital Punishment, and all of the family hackers are now technically eligible for parole. In Manson's absence, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme held the family reins, corresponding with Charlie in prison and spreading his gospel on the streets, forging new alliances with sundry cults and racist groups. In September 1975, she tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford, but her pistol misfired and Squeaky was sentenced to life imprisonment.
As for the family patriarch, commutation of his death sentence launched Manson on a seemingly endless tour of the California prison system - from San Quentin to Vacaville, on to Folsom, back to San Quentin, and so on. Wherever he went, the pattern was identical: conflicts with authority and other inmates, various beatings and murder attempts (to date, he has been poisoned, set on fire, and badly beaten several times), half-hearted hunger strikes, and raving television interviews. In March 1974, Manson was diagnosed as an "acute psychotic"; two months later he assaulted a guard; two months after that, he was caught passing notes about a planned escape attempt. The Aryan Brotherhood, once Manson's de facto bodyguard, soon turned against him, one member sexually assaulting him at San Quentin, others beating him up at Folsom, another team slipping rat poison into his favorite soft drink. Still, there were rumors of Charlie orchestrating payback: one of his AB tormentors was stabbed to death at Folsom, while another was shotgunned by the proverbial persons unknown, shortly after his parole. Both crimes were probably related to the Brotherhood's traffic in drugs or continual feuding with blacks, but Manson was pleased to take credit for the murders with a wink and a grin.
While eligible for parole since 1972, no convicted "family" killer has yet been released. Susan Atkins and Tex Watson claim to have "found God" in prison, Watson founding his own ministry with a small but loyal cadre of disciples in the free world. Krenwinkel and Van Houten insist they have changed, matured, but no public official mindful of his future in elective office is prepared to take them at their word. As for Manson himself, his yearly parole hearings - those he deigns to attend - have been converted into a theater of the grotesque, with Manson rambling incoherently, sometimes for hours on end, on topics ranging from the Brazilian rain forest to his "frame-up" by an unjust society. Sometimes he doesn't show at all: in 1979, for example, he passed on the hearing and sent the parole board a "Get Out of Jail Free" card from his Monopoly set. And there is always more trouble waiting for Manson, wherever he goes. In August 1997, he was sentenced to serve seven months at California's "super-max" Pelican Bay State Prison, after he was convicted of selling drugs to other inmates. He completed that sentence in June 1998 and was transferred to yet another lockup. Also in that year, Manson had a parole hearing that was videotaped and broadcast by Court-TV. He was of course denied. Seven months later he was put in the hole, where he served two months, and was charged with "illegal business dealings." During the following eight months he was placed on "restricted status" and had visits and phone calls curtailed. Since then Manson has continuously gone between "the hole" and the protective housing unit. Manson's most recent and 10th parole hearing was on April 24, 2002. He refused to attend. It is believed that he did not attend because he did not want to be seen in shackles but the prison would not allow him to go without handcuffs. His parole was again denied.
The house at 10050 Cielo Drive, rented by Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate was demolished in 1994. An Italian-style mansion has been built in its place and the street address has been changed. Originally, the mansion was priced at $12.5 million, but the price was reduced to $7.7 million. As of the end of 1999, the house still remained vacant. Most agencies refuse to list it and believe that it will probably stay vacant.
The 43-acre property in Chatsworth, formerly known as Spahn Ranch, was sold for an undisclosed amount to the Church of Rocky Peak.
"LOOK DOWN ON ME, YOU WILL SEE A FOOL.
LOOK UP AT ME, YOU WILL SEE YOUR LORD.
LOOK STRAIGHT AT ME, YOU WILL SEE YOURSELF."
CHARLES MILLES MANSON
CHARLES MANSON – A Musical Motive?
By RonnieI. INTRO:
I was first drawn into the world of Manson intrigue when they showed the Helter Skelter mini-series in 1976. Having just discovered The Beatles, I was fascinated by all the Beatles "clues" that were mentioned in the first episode - and went out the very next day and purchased the Beatles "White Album". Soon afterwards, I got the book, HELTER SKELTER and I was hooked. Sure, it was interest in the Beatles that first hooked me, but then I became fascinated by the failings of the hippie mentality of the '60s that the Manson murders represented. Almost ten years went by until my interest in Manson reemerged, this time by finding a vinyl copy of his album LIE at a record convention. The spooky-looking photo on the cover just made the album seem more foreboding. I couldn't wait to hear Charlie's songs with all the dark messages about the coming apocalypse. I was thinking, "this has got to be earth-shattering stuff, right? I mean, if he had all these music people under his spell, there has got to be something about Charlie's music?" So I rushed home to put the album on the turntable…only to be terribly disappointed. This was no 'hippie messiah', with a new philosophy that was going to change the world. Charlie was simply a second-rate folkie hack. Sure, Charlie had a decent voice and a better than average grasp of songwriting, but overall, I can see why ALL of the music labels rejected him. Had there not been the notorious Manson murders, I seriously doubt that any of Charlie's music would have made it to vinyl at all.
The story of Charles Manson has entrenched itself into urban legend, so I wont go into too much of his background. What is important is that in 1967, Charlie was released from prison after serving half of his life in various institutions. And yes, that means that he could not have auditioned for the Monkees because he was still incarcerated in 1966. In prison, he learned two things that would help him cast his spell over gullible hippies: he learned guitar from Alvin "Old Creepy" Karpis of the Ma Barker gang and he delved into scientology. He also asked Karpis for music contacts when he got out of prison. Another inmate who did give Charlie a musical contact was Phil Kaufman who gave him the name of somebody at Universal Studios in Hollywood (where Charlie would record the first of many demos in late '67). It is also claimed that the Beatles captivated Manson. Karpis remembered, "He was constantly telling people he could come on like the Beatles, if he got the chance."
II. DID CHARLIE HAVE MUSICAL TALENT?
Charlie must have had some musical talent, and made quite a few contacts with those in the music business. Phil Kaufman described Charlie's music as, "He sounded like a young Frankie Laine and was really quite good." Beach Boys drummer, Dennis Wilson later said, "Charlie didn't have a musical bone in his whole body." Yet, he did get Charlie studio time at brother Brian Wilson's studio. Even Neil Young knew Manson. "He had this kind of music that nobody else was doing. I thought he really had something crazy, something great. He was like a living poet." John Phillips of the Mamas and Papas was less enthusiastic. When others would suggest that he record Manson, Phillips recalled, "I'd just shudder every time. I'd say no, I think I'll pass."
Yet, Dennis was willing not only to introduce him to his music industry contacts (such as Terry Melcher), but also recorded Charlie at his brother's home recording studio. I think that Charlie used the drugs and the girls in his entourage to 'enhance' his music. Studs like Dennis Wilson and Terry Melcher simply went along for the ride, and the ever-available girls and drugs just made it seem like Charlie's music was special. You can almost hear them thinking out loud, "why else would all these chicks be hanging around this elfish little hippie? It's gotta be the music." But alas, once the drugs wore off, Dennis discovered that Charlie's girls gave him the clap and Manson's entourage fleeced him of about $100,000 (in the summer of 1968) - the reality set in.
However, Dennis did convince the Beach Boys to record one of Charlie's songs on their new 20/20 album. "Cease To Exist" was recorded under the new title of "Never Learn Not to Love". The song was the b-side of a Beach Boys single, which only made it to number 61. In May of 1969, Manson informed his parole officer that he had a song on the charts. Charlie could later claim the notoriety of being the only notorious mass murderer to have a song on the charts!
Charlie could write decent, interesting songs. But, after hearing his first recordings, its not hard to see why the various record labels weren't pounding on Charlie's door with contracts waiting. Charlie was obviously nervous at this first recording session and his performance suffers. Plus, the music just wasn't there yet - there are no entertaining gems like "Garbage Dump" or "Cease To Exist" that Charlie would record in 1968 (songs which became the LIE album). However, these first recordings do give a clue to Charlie's "gift of the gab" and his between songs banter is a curious relic indeed of Charlie-speak. However, I found it interesting that in the time between his first recordings in fall of 1967 and the LIE album recordings in 1968, Charlie's skill at songwriting jumped enourmously. But still, there was something lacking…Charlie's recorded performances sounded too unpolished.
III. CHARLIE IN THE STUDIO
In the recording studio, Charlies showed a complete lack of direction and motivation. This is more than a little baffling, especially for someone that spent such a large amount of time and energy to get a record deal. Charlie usually arrived at recording studios unprepared and unwilling to take any suggestions as to recording procedure by the producer. Who knows, maybe Charlie thought the tape would magically pick up the vibe that he got when he was the center of the party, singing with girls and drugs. He would also bring his whole 'Family' in, each with assorted instruments. This must have been a recording technician's nightmare, since Charlie refused to be recorded alone. Bobby Beausoleil said, "You just can't do a good recording like that! I tried to tell him, "You know, if you want to add this, we can always overdub," but it wasn't working.' But Manson wanted all the Family included, replying, "What fun would it be without all of us?"
Dennis arranged for Charlie to be recorded at Brian Wilson's home recording studio. Stephen Despar was a recording technician for the Beach Boys, described the sessions. "He brought nothing, except half a dozen girls, and they stayed in the studio with him and smoked dope." Despar also added, "He had musical talent." Manson explained, "I never really dug recording, you know, all those things pointing at you. You get into the studio, and it's hard to sing into micro-phones. My relationship to music is completely subliminal, it just flows through me."
IV. MUSIC MOTIVES?
If the murders were NOT retaliation for Charlie's rejection by the music 'establishment', there are however many interesting coincidences. There are ties to both the Cielo Drive and the Waverly Drive crime scenes and Manson was familiar with both places. Manson was introduced to Terry Melcher, while Melcher was still living at 10050 Cielo Drive. Another incident places Charlie at 10050 Cielo Drive, when Dennis drove Melcher home, as Charlie sat in the back seat. Rudy Altobelli, a business manager for show-business personalities, lived in the guesthouse at Cielo Drive. He had contact several times with Manson when he came to the house looking for Terry Melcher. During one visit, Charlie even met Sharon Tate.
Manson had also attended parties with Phil Kaufman at 3267 Waverly Drive, a house that Harold True was renting. The La Blanca's owned the house next door, 3001 Waverly Drive. Kaufman states that, "Manson had the La Biancas killed when he was looking for Harold and me. I had previously fallen out with Charlie over his music and he was after me."
V. CONCLUSION
Charlie pursued his musical aspirations through 1969. Terry Melcher came to hear Manson play at Spahn ranch but wasn't impressed enough to offer a contract. While Family members claimed that Melcher discussed a recording contract, Melcher denied ever discussing this. Gregg Jakobson probably hit the nail on the head when he told Terry Melcher, "This guy should be captured on film. You're never gonna capture this guy on tape." Ultimately, Charlie failed to convince anyone to sign him to a record contract. Was this the spark or just a coincidence in the resulting murders? Manson allegedly told a friend that summer, "How are you going to get to the establishment? You can't sing to them. I tried that, I tried to save them, but they wouldn't listen. Now we've got to destroy them."
Of all the books that have been written about Charles Manson over the years, each one has its own theory as to why the murders were committed. Of course, the "Helter Skelter" theory is the most popular, simply due to the enormous popularity of the book and TV movie (and it is being re-filmed for another go around on TV next year!). While the Helter Skelter motive has the dramatic mixture of the Beatles, the Bible, LSD, sex and the apocalypse - it doesn't answer the 'motive' question 100%. Were the Manson murders just payback for drug burns? (There is evidence that Frykowski was trying to be a dealer for the drug MDA and rumors that Mrs. LaBianca was a dealer of drugs as well). Was it just coincidental that both of these houses had 'musical' ties? When you mix all the drugs, sex and music…who knows what really went down? Only Charlie truly knows. But, I have a feeling that Charlie will take his true motives to the grave.
But when it comes to describing the music of Charles Manson, I think that the reviews of the LIE album best sums up his music: "Trite…lighweight folk-pop…mediocre…coffee-shop strummer."
