Michele Morgan, a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades, commissioned the house at 10050 Cielo Dr. We were introduced to Michele Morgan by AustinAnn in THIS POST.
During WWII. Upon the invasion of France in 1940 by the Germans, Morgan left for the United States and Hollywood where she was contracted to RKO Pictures. Her career there proved rather disappointing, apart from Joan of Paris opposite Paul Henreid in 1942, Higher and Higher opposite Frank Sinatra in 1943. She was tested and strongly considered for the female lead in Casablanca but RKO would not release her for the amount of money that Warner Bros. offered. Morgan did work for Warners in Passage to Marseille opposite Humphrey Bogart in 1944. Nothing major came her way.
Michele Morgan still lives and is 93 years of age. She has six grandchildren and ten great grand grandchildren.
George E. Smith's videos have been featured on this blog before. He has been a collector on Sharon Tate and Cielo Drive since 1972. He has also taken many photos of the Cielo Drive property since 1975.
24 comments:
No wonder Sharon fell in love with that house. I love the wishing well.
Do you guys think that saying Gary Hinman possibly made drugs is mean? Someone suggested that to Patty today. Funny, but Patty has never viewed it that way.
Gary was absolutely a likeable guy as far as Patty can tell. Buddhist, intellectual, socially responsible, and an idealist: one who wanted to make the world a better place. At that time, many people thought that these new chemical compounds were going to really help people: psychedelics are not addictive, people don't steal them and they don't end up on skid row over them. It wasn't shameful to be tinkering with this newfound knowledge. It was a very intellectual, progressive and well meaning thing to do.
Gary was well meaning, absolutely. And, he got killed. Don't y'all want to know why?
Because of his alleged inheritance?
I drove up Benedict Canyon from Sunset Blvd. a couple of days ago (I do these trips on rare occasions) and looked up at that palatial eyesore on the hill that inhabits the property that once housed that charming 1940's ranch home and it made me gag. I imagine not a lot of of people would have wanted to inhabit the old house, not to mention deal with an asset whose property value might be deemed a tad risky, but it's a damn shame someone with money, some taste and cojones didn't buy that property and take a stand against the "ghosts" and real estate speculators by living and enjoying that charming old house. Sure, upgrading some of the amenities and some remodeling would have been expected. But demolishing it and building that monstrosity dishonors those who died there, IMO. Erasing the Tate home does not change what happened on that hill in 1969. But I'm not a Bel Air developer, house flipper or real estate agent so what do I know?
Yeah let's avoid getting to the truth in this case (or any) if it involves disclosing facts that make some victims appear less than perfect.
That same reasoning is exactly why this country is in the condition it's currently in.
The inheritance thing has never made any sense to Patty. What...did he have it lying around in $50 dollar bills? Were they going to take him at gunpoint to the bank? And if they did it this one time, wouldn't there have been others that had the same thing happen to them too? Like, Dennis Wilson for example. He had a shitload more money but he never turned up with an ear cut off.
What is it that makes you believe this Walter White story?
you know I love ya, Patty, but it still amazes me when folk want to apply logic and reason to the Manson story. Why is it so hard to just accept that one Charles Manson was capable of highly impulsive and irrational behavior.
I believe Ella Jo Bailey. I think she was maybe the best witness the state had. The Family needed funds to get to the desert. Ella Jo admitted telling Charlie that she heard Gary had come into an inheritance. I don't think Charlie sent Bobby B and the girls there to kill Gary. I think they all thought they could convince Gary to either join up or make a contribution.
But things turned ugly. And as soon as Charlie sliced Gary it became an armed robbery with assault. Charlie knew what that meant. If Gary lived Charlie was going back inside for good. I've little doubt that Manson's instructions to Bobby on their phone call were explicit.
And then Bobby gets arrested sleeping in Gary's car with blood still on his shoes and the murder weapon in the trunk.
These guys were not master criminals. they were idiots acting impulsively and irrationally. That is why very little in the TLB story makes sense and folk are still arguing over motive 45 years later.
Hey did you hear that? They were just idiots acting impulsively.
No dope there.
Case closed. Shut down the blogs. Stop investigating. Take Bug's word without question. Don't THINK.
In the words of the great (highly underrated) Bugs Bunny...
A-blee-bleet-blee-That's All Folks!
Though I've read about Gary's supposed inheritance many times, I don't recall ever seeing who died and left him the money. If anyone knows who it was, and the will or court proceeding is public record, the story shouldn't be too difficult to check out.
Harold True's statement about the case is one of my favorites, "You can't ascribe reason to crazy people".
Max,
I think it was the even more highly underrated Porky Pig, who said that.
Orwhut, that is something I've tried to learn, too. Both of Gary's paternal grandparents died in 1961. His maternal grandmother died before he was born. The only possibility would be his maternal grandfather who died in 1968 at the age of 93.
This grandfather was listed in the 1940 Census as being an inmate at the Colorado Hospital for the Insane. I have no idea if he was ever released or spent the rest of his days there.
It could be that Gary told Ella Jo his grandfather had died. It's not out of the realm of possibility. Both of Gary's parents were living when Gary died. This grandfather did have other living children besides Gary's mother. There were a few other grandchildren besides Gary, too. That's about as far as I could get with it.
I wouldn't take anything Harold true said as all or anything at all. His involvement it very limited. He didn't know what these people were up to.
A comment like that from someone like him is simply saying what people want to hear - "Yes they were all just a bunch of nuts and that's why I let them in my house and please don't involve me anymore because I don't wish to be associated with this and I really don't know ANYTHING."
Deb,
If YOU couldn't find a will, then finding one might prove more difficult than I thought.
ginny good. Patty is going there next...to ben lomond and boulder creek, pacific heights, the haight, just around the corner from a dude w 300 lbs of pot in his garage. the truth is out there. Follow the timelines, but go back much, much further than 1969. Like, 64 ish.
And yes orwhut you are correct, it was the political piggy Porky and not the BUGs.
Mr Groove has an interesting point, but what IF the developer began construction in early 1969 - would Sharon Tate be alive today?
The CBS nightly news just revealed that, at the last minute, the Secret Service decided to remove the "top" to the president's limo in Dallas. IF the "top" was NOT removed - would Jack Kennedy be alive today? AND how would his Vietnam Conflict have turned out?
Is it possible that Charles Manson was recruited by the CIA for Project MK-Ultra (LSD, Mind Control project), because IF that is the missing piece, every piece to the puzzle FITS. Coincidence OR fact?
AND Patty - at the time, they were called "closet-millionaires."
wait patty missed something...who was a closet millionaire?
orwhut said...
Deb,
If YOU couldn't find a will, then finding one might prove more difficult than I thought.
------------------
There likely is a will but I weighed the probability of being able to actually learn if and what Gary may have inherited from his grandfather against not learning anything. I decided I would not learn much and opted not to spend the money to find out. The will may have told me if Gary was on the list of those who inherited something but it may not say how much. Gary's grandfather was survived by one son, four daughters and six grandchildren that I know of, there could have been more grandchildren.
We know from reading the supplemental police report on Gary's murder that Gary had been in Colorado a month prior to his death and his father had given him $1050. for his upcoming trip to Japan.
http://www.cielodrive.com/gary-hinman-homicide-report-08-09-69.php
If Gary had received an inheritance, why would he have gotten any money from his father for the Japan trip?
Ella Jo may have known about the grandfather's death and assumptions may have been made that Gary would be receiving some money but there is no indication he received any great amount.
Ella Jo was scared shitless and ran for her life...under what circumstances did she say what she said? Deb?
Patty, according to Leary's comment above Ella testified in court that she told Manson that she heard Gary had come into an inheritance, if I'm reading the comment correctly.
k thanks...patty going to go look.
Aug. 13, 1971 - The day after musician Gary Hinman was stabbed to death, Charles Manson told other members of his "family" how he slashed Hinman in the face with a sword and ordered Robert K. Beausoleil "to finish up," a witness in the cult leader's second murder trial testified Thursday.
Ella Jo Bailey, 27, whose identity as a witness was kept secret until last week, said Manson made the statements at the Spahn ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., while recounting some of the incidents which led to the July 1969 slaying of Hinman in his house.
She said she and a friend, Bill Vance, left Manson's group later that day, never to return.
Beausoleil was convicted and condemned to death last year for killing Hinman.
Manson is on trial before a jury in Los Angeles County Superior Court for the murders of Hinman and Donald "Shorty" Shea, an off-and-on worker at the Spahn Ranch, whose body has never been found.
Miss Bailey said Manson told of slashing Hinman from his left car to his chin "to quiet Gary down" after the two men became engaged in an argument.
She said Manson said that after the attack he had Hinman put in his bed, and, at the victim's request, gave him his Buddhist prayer beads.
Manson was disappointed, she testified, that all his group got from Hinman was $27 and two old cars.
During her testimony, Miss Bailey said it was she who unknowingly marked Hinman for death when she suggested that he might have the money to finance a planned move by Manson and his "family" to the desert.
She said Manson was soliciting ideas of how they could raise funds to purchase dune buggies for the trip when she mentioned that she thought, Hinman owned his house and some stocks and bonds.
Later, she said she was asked by Manson to accompany Beausoleil to Hinman's to get Hinman to either join the "family" or sign over his property.
However, Vance told Manson she had other things to do, she testified.
The defense for the second day attempted unsuccessfully to suppress Miss Bailey's testimony.
Deb,
I see you've done your usual excellent investigation of the subject and I agree with your reasoning for not sinking money into the matter.
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