Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Pop Culture»People
    People 3 Mins Read

    Charles Manson

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    Charles Milles Manson was born in November 1934 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Kathleen Maddox, an unmarried 16-year-old girl, and an unnamed father.

    He would rapidly fall foul of the law, and by age 32 had spent more than half his life in prisons and juvenile facilities.

    As a petty criminal, Charles Manson had been taught to play guitar by 1930’s bank robber Alvin Karpis (one of the last surviving members of the Ma Barker gang) while in prison for fraud, and boasted he would be “bigger than The Beatles“.

    manson_01

    When he was released from Terminal Island in Los Angeles in March 1967 he was so institutionalised he begged to remain in jail. He liked jail. He had captained the basketball team there, made friends, read widely and continued his criminal education. In Jail, Manson felt like a somebody.

    Manson drifted north to San Francisco, arriving to see the Summer of Love unfold. He found it all too easy to bend teenage girls to his will, especially if they were already addled from acid. Very soon he had an entourage – “The Family” – who survived by panhandling and petty crime.

    In 1968, Manson and his coterie of followers moved into Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson’s home and persuaded him to record one of Manson’s songs, Cease To Exist (with modified lyrics as Never Learn Not To Love).

    Charlie became fascinated with just how far he could push the faithful. He wanted to find out if The Family would kill for him. He would have his answer in the late summer of 1969, at three different crime scenes . . .

    manson_05The first was the home of music teacher Gary Hinman who, on Charlie’s instructions, was stabbed to death by Family member Bobby Beausoleil, aided by Mary Brunner and Susan Atkins, apparently over money and drugs.

    Two weeks later, on the night of 8 August, came the killings that made world headlines.

    While Charlie sat outside in the car, Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Linda Kasbian and Patricia Krenwinkel entered 10050 Cielo Drive, Beverly Hills – the rented home of film director Roman Polanski and his wife, Sharon Tate. They killed eight-months-pregnant Tate and her friends Wojciech Frykowski, hairdresser Jay Sebring and Abigail Folger, plus passer-by Steven Parent.

    The next night the Tate killers, plus Leslie Van Houten and Steve ‘Clem’ Grogan hit the Waverly Drive home of supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary, killing them in a similar manner.

    mansonFor months the LAPD failed to connect the killings, but once Manson and his followers had been arrested, prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi leaned on Family testimony that revealed Manson’s belief in – and desire for – an apocalyptic race war based on his interpretation of the Book of Revelation and The Beatles‘ White Album.

    Manson was sentenced to death but cheated the gas chamber when the California State Supreme Court suspended the death penalty in 1972.

    Manson will reside in maximum security detention until the end of his days.

    TRIVIA NOTE
    An oft-repeated urban-myth claims Manson was one of the 400 people who turned up to auditions for The Monkees in September 1965.

    Manson was in fact still an inmate in McNeil Island penitentiary in Washington at that time and didn’t return to Los Angeles until 1967.

    Related Posts

    • Fred Dagg
      Fred Dagg
      Fred Dagg was actually New Zealand-born comedian and political satirist…
    • John Peel
      John Peel
      John Peel (born John Ravenscroft in 1939) cut his teeth…
    • Richardsons, The
      Richardsons, The
      Charlie Richardson was born in Camberwell, south-east London in 1934.…
    • GTOs, The
      GTOs, The
      The GTOs were a "group of groupies" in the late 1960s,…
    • Jeremy Thorpe
      Jeremy Thorpe
      John Jeremy Thorpe was born on 29 April 1929, the…
    • Jack Ruby
      Jack Ruby
      Jack Ruby was born Jacob Leon Rubenstein on 25 March…
    • Pelé
      Pelé
      Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pelé was Brazil's soccer superstar,…
    • George Martin
      George Martin
      George Martin was born on 3 January 1926 in Highbury,…

    Crime
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleMao Tse-tung
    Next Article Mandy Rice-Davies

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Why Don’t You . . . ?
      1 9 7 3 – 1 9 9 5 (UK) The full title of this Saturday […]
    • Crystal Tipps and Alistair
      1 9 7 2 (UK) 50 x 5 minute episodes Crystal Tipps and […]
    • Huntingtower
      1 9 7 8 (UK) 6 x 30 minute episodes Set in the 1920s, this […]
    • Hot Rod Rumble (1957)
      The scene is a party somewhere in teenland: Big Arnie (Richard […]
    • Ben (1972)
      Just your typical “8-year-old-boy-with-heart-condition […]
    • Island Son
      1 9 8 9 (USA) 19 x 60 minute episodes Dr Daniel Kulani (Richard […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.