Dead in Hollywood is a true-crime web series of strange and tragic Hollywood deaths.
Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood in publicity stills for the Warner Brothers movie “The Girl He Left Behind (1953).” They also starred together in the movie "The Burning Hills (1956)." Hunter died of a heart attack yesterday, June 8. He was 86.
They would’ve undoubtedly been the hottest couple back in the day if only they were able to come out. Tab Hunter and Anthony Perkins met in 1956, at the pool at the iconic Chateau Marmont on Sunset Blvd. - John Belushi died of a drug overdose in Bungalow 3 at the hotel. The couple had a three-year romance that would’ve ended both of their rising careers if word got out. The pair kept their love a secret from even their closest friends. Hunter later recalled in the Jeffrey Schwarz’s documentary, "Tab Hunter Confidential,” that he would go out on “dates” with starlets like Debbie Reynolds, arranged by the studio and lapped up by movie magazines; sometimes, he and Perkins would double-date with women and then go home together. If you haven't checked out the documentary, "Tab Hunter Confidential," do so tonight in celebration of Hunter's life. Hunter died of a heart attack yesterday, June 8, at the age of 86. He is survived by his partner.
Rest in power Tab Hunter. 🌈 By chance, I posted a variation of this edit on Saturday. Hunter passed away yesterday, June 8, at the age of 86. His partner calls the death “unexpected and sudden.” This photo is of Hunter sharing a laugh with Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood at the Academy Awards.
It's 104 degrees today in L.A.
Before she was Marilyn Monroe, she was Norma Jeane Daughtry. At 16, Norma Jeane has two options: Ship off to yet another orphanage, or marry the boy-next-door and set sail for Catalina - an island off the coast of Southern California. Norma Jeane is no dumb blonde - she isn’t even a blonde. According to Norma Jeane's soon-to-be-husband, James Daughtry, the island paradise is where Marilyn Monroe is born. In an interview, Dougherty says: “I would marvel at how she’d ‘turn on’ when she was walking and knew men were looking at her. She’d do ‘the walk’ seen later in millions of her films, but back then, she was just learning to do it, and she was very, very good at it!”
There's a heatwave in LA right now and I am in desperate need of that Catalina breeze.
Been working on a "Here Lies Sharon Tate" zine and listening to this playlist all day - loud enough so my dog can't hear the fireworks going off everywhere.
Been working on a "Here Lies Sharon Tate" zine and listening to this playlist all day - loud enough so my dog can't hear the fireworks going off everywhere.
DEATH THEORY 3: Marianne Faithfull is known for her legendary music and her rock n’ roll lifestyle of drugs and sex with Mick Jagger, but did you know that in 2014 Faithfull revealed to Mojo that her boyfriend at the time, a heroin dealer named Jean de Breteuil, was responsible for Morrison's demise? “He went to see Jim Morrison and killed him,” Faithfull tells Mojo. “I mean, I’m sure it was an accident. Poor bastard. The smack was too strong? Yeah. And he died. And I didn’t know anything about this. Anyway, everybody connected to the death of this poor guy is dead now. Except me.” The singer goes on, recalling a "sense of foreboding" when Breteuil told her he was heading out to Morrison's Paris apartment. She decided to stay behind and "take barbiturates." My kind of girl.
DEATH THEORY 2: Jim Morrison's friend and famed club manager, Sam Bernett, claims that Morrison died in the bathroom of the Rock & Roll Circus club in Paris - a club Morrison frequently visited while living in France. He says that Morrison shows up the night before he dies to score some heroin. He is successful in his pursuit and disappears into the club's restroom and never comes out. “When we found him dead, he had a little foam on his nose, and some blood too, and the doctor said, ‘That must be an overdose of heroin,'” Bernett says of the singer's death. According to Bernett, the dealers who sold Morrison the bad batch of drugs wanted to cover up the death, so, insisting he was only unconscious, they take him back to his apartment and place him the bathtub. He is found dead in the bathtub on the morning of July 3, 1971 by his girlfriend, Pamela Courson.
This is not a photo of Jim Morrison's apartment in Paris where he died. This is Room 32 at the Alta Cienega Hotel in West Hollywood (1005 N. La Cienega Blvd.). This now run down room was once Jim Morrison's sanctuary where he escapes to whenever his girlfriend, Pamela Courson, kicks him out of their nearby apartment. He'd stumbles back to this room after drunken nights out at Barney's Beanery and unleashes his inner "Lizard King" with his groupies. He stays in this room while recording "L.A. Woman" across the street. The sound booth is now a stall in a restroom with a plaque commemorating Morrison's hit - I should know, I peed in this stall when it was an Italian restaurant. After his death in 1971, his fans made Room 32 their personal shrine to the man - the room now rents by the minute.
The cause of Jim Morrison's death is unknown - he dies in Paris, and an autopsy's not required under French law. The “official” cause of death is listed as “congestive heart failure,” but many theorize that he died of a drug overdose. Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, joined the 27 Club when he died on July 3, 1971. Morrison’s downfall begins at a 1969 Florida concert where he's accused of exposing himself in front of the audience. He is convicted of “indecent exposure and profanity,” leading promoters to cancel the band’s remaining shows. Morrison escapes to Paris in March of ’71 with his girlfriend, Pamela Courson. He gains so much weight in Paris that he becomes unrecognizable, leading many to worry that his health might be in danger. There are three main theories on how Morrison died - If I leave one out, let me know in the comments! THEORY 1: Morrison and Courson spend the night listening to records and snorting heroin - Morrison is known to be afraid of needles. The heroin they smoke is particularly strong and Morrison ODs. He's placed in a warm bath, which is said to help revive people OD-ing on heroin. It didn't work. His body is found the following morning in the bathtub. DEADINHOLLYWOOD.COM #jimmorrison #deadinhollywood #truecrime #zine #hollywood #drugs #OD #thedoors
"If you listen, you can hear it call."
...pretend you're Marilyn Monroe.
In’73, River Phoenix's family joins a controversial Christian movement: The Children of God (COG). The movement starts in ’Huntington Beach, CA in ’68 as Teens for Christ. The family settles in Caracas, Venezuela as COG missionaries. Phoenix rarely speaks of the cult. His mother quotes him in a ’94 “Esquire” article as having said, "They're disgusting, they're ruining people's lives.” An earlier interview in “Details” magazine, Phoenix himself states that he lost his virginity at age four while in the Children of God… "but I've blocked it out.” When Phoenix resumes having sex at 15, the act takes place in a tent in the family’s backyard decorated by his parents. COG encourages members to imagine Jesus joining them during sexual intercourse and masturbation. Male members are cautioned to visualize themselves as women, in order to avoid a homosexual relationship with Jesus. Makes total sense, right?
Phoenix's parents grow disillusioned with the Children of God, opposing to the group's practice of "Flirty Fishing.” COG is being distorted by their leader, David Berg, who is becoming powerful and wealthy. Berg seeks to attract rich disciples through sex. He is accused of leading a cult which promotes the sexual abuse of women and children. Berg is also accused of pedophilia - he later recalls in his letters how he is taught to masturbate in church by another boy his age. When his mother caught Berg, he is forced to masturbate in front of his father. Oftentimes Berg will explicitly describe his sexual preferences and says that the one thing he regrets is… “Never sleeping with my mother.”
During the first 25 years, Children of God share their message with over 260 million people in over 100 countries. According to The Family International, 18 million of those people became followers of Christ. All religions are cults and all cults are dangerous
In the late 70s, Phoenix’s family leaves the movement, moving to LA. Phoenix is the eldest of 5 children. The family officially changes their name to Phoenix, after the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes, symbolizing a new beginning.
Dead in Hollywood: River Phoenix (Issue #4)
“I always thought Divine was Jayne Mansfield and Godzilla put together to scare hippies. That was my choice from the very beginning.” -John Waters
Doll Parts: Jayne Mansfield is en route to New Orleans after an appearance in Biloxi, Mississippi when a dense insecticide fog of anti-mosquito spray drifts across the highway. Mansfield is set to appear on WDSU's Midday Show the following day, but at 2:25AM on June 29, 1967, Mansfield's '66 Buick Electra crashes into the tractor-trailer, shearing off the top of the Electra. The three adults in the front seat - Mansfield, her lawyer/companion, and their 20-year-old driver - die instantly. Mansfield's children sleep in the backseat and survive with minor injuries. The gruesome crash scene photos spawn one of Hollywood's darkest legends. At the time of Mansfield's death, rumors circulate that the star was decapitated in the car crash. The stories are fueled by photos of the star's blonde hair tangled in the car's windshield. Although Mansfield's mode of death is gruesome, she was not beheaded. Scalping is a closer description of Mansfield's fate - according to the police report, "the upper portion of this white female's head was severed.” Mansfield's death certificate notes a “crushed skull with avulsion (forcible separation or detachment) of cranium and brain.” Her skull was cracked or sliced open, and a sizeable piece of it was carried away. Kenneth Anger’s 1975 "Hollywood Babylon" contains the "controversial" photo of Mansfield's wrecked Electra which shows Mansfield’s dead dog lying beside the car as well as a clump of blonde hair.
"I didn't feel like a married woman. The most important thing my marriage did for me was to end forever my status as orphan," Marilyn says in her autobiography, "My Story.” "Jim was a nice husband. He never hurt me or upset me - except on one subject. He wanted a baby." The thought of having a baby makes the hairs on Norma Jeane's arm stand on end. Can you blame a child bride for not wanting to bring a kid into this world? Daughtry - who she calls either Jimmie or Daddy - never truly ‘gets’ Norma Jeane. "She was just a housewife," remembers Jimmie/Daddy, "We used to go down to the beach and have luaus on Saturday nights." The couple's favorite song is Glen Miller's "Moonlight Serenade." They listen to it together on the beach in Avalon and dreamily hold each other in their arms. If you haven’t held someone in your arms on Catalina, what are you doing with your life?
At 16, Norma Jeane has two options: Ship off to another orphanage, or marry the boy-next-door and set sail for Catalina Island. According to Norma Jeane's then-husband, James Daughtry, the island paradise is where Marilyn Monroe is born. Dougherty states, “I would marvel at how she’d ‘turn on’ when she was walking and knew men were looking at her. She’d do ‘the walk’ seen later in millions of her films, but back then, she was just learning to do it, and she was very, very good at it!”
“Oh it’s hard to explain the feeling I had.” -Marilyn Monroe describing her time on Catalina Island
Photo: Marilyn on Catalina Island when she was still Norma Jeane. Background photos: The famous Catalina tiles that I snapped pictures of when I was visiting the island this past weekend.
