Tragic Hollywood, Beautiful, Glamorous And Dead

by Jackie Ganiy

  According to David, it started almost immediately after he had moved in. He describes unexplained knocks on his front door, and wine glasses flying off counters in front of dozens of witnesses. He even claims to have been woken in the middle of the night by a male apparition standing in his bedroom, that he later identified as Jay Sebring. One night, as friends gathered in the movie room, they all reported hearing strange, mournful voices coming from the intercom system. They were so clear that Oman thought there were intruders in the home, he immediately searched the house. While he was upstairs, his friends said that the voices moved from the intercom to inside the room with them. The witnesses claimed the voices sounded panicked or distressed, but that they could not make out what was being said.

  A séance was held at the home. The medium, while trying to contact the spirit of Sharon Tate, became incapacitated with abdominal pain, as if she were being stabbed. All of the lights went out, and a candle flame bent at a weird, right-degree angle. One woman’s chair was pulled back by unseen hands, and everyone heard a bone-chilling, female scream.

  Mr. Oman does not know why his home, which was built long after the murders occurred, would be attracting the spirits from 10050 Cielo Drive, but he puts forth an interesting theory. In an interview for the SyFy show, Paranormal Witness, he said that perhaps these poor, doomed souls did not realize they were dead, and were simply running to his house to get some help and escape their fate.

  Whatever the causality, if you are inclined to walk alone in the quiet streets of Benedict Canyon on a windless August night, listen carefully. Was that a scream, or just the summer wind bouncing off the hills? Can you ever really be sure?

  Section VIII

  Conclusion

  Rudolph Valentino’s funeral in New York.

  Once again, we return to that mythical place, that magical, mystical town called Hollywood, where illusion is a business, and tragedy an unfortunate side-effect. The few whom this town blessed with her fickle gifts of fame, fortune, and glory found they were a mixed blessing, at best. Why does fame seem to result in a relentless stumble into the same vices and pitfalls that befall all of us? Because stars are not allowed to be unhappy! In the eyes of the fans, those people out there in the dark (to roughly quote Norma Desmond) must be happy, because they are stars. They are beautiful, rich and beloved. They have achieved everything that is of value (or so it would appear) in this shallow, paper-doll culture, and if that isn’t enough, then fuck it, we are all doomed. There is an almost mocking hostility when we watch them fall, as if their failure was somehow our victory.

  In reality, of course, none of it is true. Stars aren’t special, unique, plucked from the masses and forever destined to live rarified, happy lives devoid of everyday problems. Stars are just people, people who chose to make their living entertaining other people. They are no less inclined to mental breakdowns and substance abuse than anyone else, and in many cases, due to their artistic temperament and talent, are often more inclined to fall victim these issues. They don’t fail in obscurity like the rest of us. Their failures are public, humiliating and unforgiving. Their mistakes are debated, written about ad nauseam, and discussed for decades. It’s hardly surprising that tragedy is woven through the mansions, the sound stages, the Bentleys, and the Ferraris to the same extent that contentment is. In Hollywood, all that glitters is not gold, and lasting happiness is, by default, a mirage.

  A young Barbara La Marr.

  Select Bibliography & Credits

  Books & Periodicals

  CRIVELLO, KIRK. Fallen Angels. Berkley Publishing Group, 1990.

  DAVIS, RONALD L. Hollywood Beauty: Linda Darnell and The American Dream. University of Oklahoma Press, 1991.

  FARLEY, TOM, JR. & COLBY, TANNER. The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts. Viking Adult, 2008.

  FINSTAD, SUZANNE. Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood. Three Rivers Press, 2002.

  GILMORE, JOHN. L.A. Despair: A Landscape of Crimes and Bad Times. Amok Books, 2005.

  HASPIEL, JAMES. Marilyn: The Ultimate Look at the Legend. Henry Holt & Co., 1991.

  HEYMANN, C. DAVID. Liz: An Intimate Biography of Elizabeth Taylor. Carol Publishing, 1995.

  HYAMS, JOE. James Dean: Little Boy Lost. Random House, 1994.

  NASH, ALANNA. Baby, Lets Play House: Elvis Presley and the Women Who Loved Him. It Books, 2010.

  OGDEN, TOM. Haunted Hollywood: Tinseltown Terrors, Filmdom Phantoms, and Movieland Mayhem. Globe Pequot, 2009.

  OTFINOSKI, STEVEN. Latinos In The Arts (A to Z of Latino Americans). Facts on File, 2007.

  PARSONS, LOUELLA. “The Real Life Story of Clara Bow” The San Antonio Light, May 15 – June 4, 1931.

  PAYTON, BARBARA. I Am Not Ashamed. Holloway House, 1963.

  SNAUFFER, DOUGLAS. The Show Must Go on: How the Deaths of Lead Actors Have Affected Television Series McFarland, 2008.

  STENN, DAVID. Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow. Doubleday, 1993.

  Television & Radio

  Dana Plato. Documentary. A&E Productions.

  Dorothy Stratten. Documentary. A&E Home Video, 2005.

  Final 24: “River Phoenix”. Documentary. Cineflix, 2006.

  The Howard Stern Show: “Dana Plato”. Radio Program. NBC Universal, May 7, 1999.

  Harlow: The Blond Bombshell. Documentary. Turner Pictures, 1993.

  Making The Misfits. Documentary. Image Entertainment, 2002.

  Marilyn on Marilyn. Documentary. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 2001.

  Reel Life: “Marilyn Monroe”. Documentary. Reelz Channel, 2012,

  Sharon Tate: Murdered Innocence. Documentary. A&E Productions, 2002.

  Photography & Graphics

  All images included in this book, except for those listed below, are from the author’s personal collection, in the public domain, or from the New York Public Library Billy Rose Collection.

  Thomas: Painting by Alberto Vargas is Public Domain from here.

  Wood: Photo is Public Domain from here.

  Ledger: photo by Howie Berlin used by (CC BY-SA 2.0) unmodified from here.

  Ledger: photo by Tea Drinker used by (CC BY-ND 2.0) unmodified.

  Ledger: Page 67 image by Ben Foster used by (CC BY-SA 3.0) unmodified.

  Leigh: As Scarlett, image by Wilfredor is Public Domain from here.

  Griffith: Grave photo by Jeffery Scott Holland used per his terms.

  Chaplin: The carny photo is Public Domain from here.

  Chaplin: A Dogs Life photo by First National Studios is Public Domain from here.

  Chaplin: Family photo is Public Domain from here.

  Chaplin: Grave photo by Giramondo1 used unmodified by (CC BY-ND 2.0).

  Dandridge: Photo by Kate Gabrielle used unmodified by (CC BY 2.0).

  Neal: Detour still is Public Domain from here.

  Clift: Photo by Film Star Vintage used unmodified by (CC BY 2.0) from here.

  Dean: Photo of deadly intersection used unmodified under (CC BY 2.5) from here.

  Phoenix: Image by Enrico used unmodified by (CC BY 2.0).

  Phoenix: Awards ceremony photo by Alan Light used unmodified by (CC BY 2.0) from here.

  Flynn: Page 160 photo is Public Domain from here.

  Flynn: Coffin on platform photo via Los Angeles Times photographic archive - Digital collections — UCLA Library used under (CC BY 4.0), from here.

  Farley: Art by Dylan John Mazziotti used unmodified by (CC BY 2.0).

  Farley: Tomb photo by Jde2399 is Public Domain from here.

  Prinze: Page 187 photo is Public Domain from here.

  Prinze: Tomb photo by Alan Light used unmodified by (CC BY 2.0), from here.

  McDonald: Spinning tales to reporters photo is Public Domain from here.

  Hemingway: Face photo by David H. Kennedy used unmodified by (CC BY-SA 2.0).

  Velez: Viper in furs photo by ADiamondFellFromTheSky used unmodified by (CC BY-NC 2.0).

  Velez: Strictly Dynamite still by RKO Radio Pictures is
Public Domain from here.

  Seberg: Grave photo by Mu used unmodified by (CC BY-SA 3.0) from here.

  Tate: Grave photo by IllaZilla used unmodified by (CC BY-SA 3.0) from here.

  Harlow: Tomb photo by Lisa Burks from here.

  Monroe: Face image by Mikel Agirregabiria used by (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0), with minor cropping and scaling.

  Monroe: Concerned in evening gown photo by Richard Avedon is used by (CC BY 2.0), from here.

  Monroe: Niagara still is Public Domain from here.

  Monroe: Reading New York photo by Elliot Erwitt used unmodified by (CC BY 2.0), from here.

  Monroe: Cosmic image via Choo Yut Shing used unmodified by (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

  Monroe: Prince/Showgirl image is Public Domain from here.

  Monroe: Rose in mouth photo by Ana Carolina Braga used unmodified by (CC BY-NC 2.0).

  Monroe: Kennedys photo by Cecil W. Stoughton is Public Domain from here.

  Monroe: Beach by George Barris is Public Domain from here.

  Reeves: Superman on the clock image by James Vaughan, used unmodified by (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0), from here.

  Tate House: Cielo Drive photo by George/Encato_Sunland used unmodified by (CC BY-NC 2.0) from here.