This post will briefly touch on a period in Abigail Folger's life, from approximately August 1967 to August 1968, when she lived in New York City. For those unacquainted with Abigail's life before or after this period, please refer to the following posts by David
The Coffee Heiress (Part One)
The Coffee Heiress, Part 2: Gibbie's Books
The Coffee Heiress Part 3: A Yellow Firebird and a Yellow Bicycle
The Coffee Heiress, Part 4: The Estate of Abigail Ann Folger
The Coffee Heiress: Some Final Words
It has basically been accepted that Abigail Folger accompanied Andreas (Andy) Brown to New York, driving across the country from San Francisco in August of 1967. Abigail was said to be interested in "probing the other side of life," although this comment needs to be verified. Mr Brown, on the other hand, was most certainly en route to New York with one certified goal in mind: he was to purchase the famous Gotham Book Mart at 41 W 47th Street from the iconic Frances Stelof, who opened the store in 1920.
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| Frances Stelof and Andy Brown |
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| Exterior of Gotham Book Mart |
Upon arrival in New York, Abigail rented an apartment in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and took a job for a short time with a publisher, before joining Andy Brown at the Gotham Book Mart where she subsequently found employment. The aforementioned is basically well known, and is derived from what others have said about Abigail. What has been historically missing, of course, is biographical information on that period in Abigail's life from her perspective.
Always unsatisfied with the lack of original material on Abigail, I have embarked on a research mission, with the hopes of finding biographical material that originated from Abigail herself.
Knowing that historically Abigail was introduced to Voytek Frykowski by the writer Jerzy Kosinski in New York, in either December of 1967 or January of 1968, I set out to research the archived papers of Kosinski at Yale University, hoping to find some clues there. This is no small task, as the archives are contained in some 194 boxes, spanning 80 linear feet, which include personal papers, photographs, correspondence, and ephemera.
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| Jerzy Kosinski and Roman Polanski |
It is in one box of correspondence, early in my research, that I chanced upon a unique discovery. I found a letter, typewritten by Abigail Folger on her personal stationery, to a friend, dated May 23, 1968. I have not seen this letter published or discussed anywhere before. It is three pages long, and is unsigned. Although additional pages of the letter may exist, they may be somewhere in the vast archive, so hopefully this and other materials may materialize as I continue my search.
I have obtained permission to publish the letter, and do so here for what is likely the first time in 52 years:
(Letter of Abigail Folger from the Katherina Von Fraunhofer-Kosinski Collection of Jerzy Kosinski General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.)
Anyone with knowledge of Abigail and Voytek will recognize immediately what she is speaking about in her letter. Yet this may be the first time that the words come from Abigail herself. I find it revelatory that she describes Voytek as "the most intelligent and most worldly person I have ever met." We now also know that by May of 1968 she and Voytek were indeed living together.
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| Abigail and Voytek in Central Park |
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| Lorca's book cover |
As well, the first half of the first paragraph of page 1 is especially poignant. Here Abigail is referring to the sniper's bullet that killed Martin Luther King a month before; the Columbia University student protests taking place further up the west side of Manhattan; and of course the Vietnam War.
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| Columbia Univ Protests |
What is chilling, however, is the following: "…nor have I fallen prey to any other of the newsworthy perils that make this such a cheery, safe world to live in." Of course Abigail could not have known that exactly 443 days after writing her letter, she would ironically fall victim to a most newsworthy peril indeed—the Tate/Labianca murders, or as it became known, "the crime of the century".
Also of note is the fact that, by May of 1968, Abigail's interests move beyond her much-discussed love of books to include film. Could it be that Voytek got her interested in film making and distribution? Incidentally, on the first page one will see a long strike-thru after Abigail discusses the Gotham Book Mart. After a close look at the deleted sentence, I can see that it refers to the bookstore, and I make it out to read, "…the crazy bookstore that employed me for my first few…" She probably meant the first few months that she was in New York.
Abigail does bring up the name of Roman Polanski, but she does not volunteer if she had yet met him. Sharon Tate also accompanied Roman to New York during the filming of Rosemary's Baby, which took place in the autumn of 1967, but there is no indication that she met Sharon then either. One scene of the movie takes place at the Gotham Book Mart, featuring Mia Farrow shopping for books on witchcraft.
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| Sharon Tate on Rosemary's Baby Set |
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| Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby scene in the Gotham Bookmart |
The film was subsequently released on June 12, 1968. At the very least Abigail may have watched the filming at the bookstore, and at the Dakota Apartments just three blocks north of her apartment, but of course this remains unknown.
What appears to be known from the letter is that Abigail may have spent time in the company of the director Skolimoski, actress Elzbieta Czyzewska, who was married to writer David Halberstam, "and many others, all fascinating and all equally crazy." This would no doubt include the artist Witold-K, who painted a now famous picture at Abigail's apartment. Arguably it was Kosinski who introduced Abigail to these people. Abigail also uses the word "crazy" several times in her letter, the ultimate significance of which is unknown. It may be that "crazy" is a quality that appealed to her, as someone who was described to be a "restless soul"; offering a respite to the disillusion and harshness of life she ostensibly saw around her.
Interestingly Kosinski writes about this New York period of Abigail and Voytek, in his 1977 book Blind Date. (Jerzy Kosinski, Blind Date. Grove Press, 1977. [see pages 166-183]). Moreover, Tom O'Neill learned thru interviewing Witold-K, that Voytek Frykowski arrived in New York on May 16, 1967(Tom O'Neill, Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties. Little Brown and Company, p. 59).
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| Blind Date Book Cover |
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| Skolimoski and Roman Polanski |
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| Elizabeth Czyzewska |
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| Witold-K and Roman |
Abigail volunteered that, "my head has been very messed up for a long time, and although I have known it all along, I have never done much about it. It is the time-worn case of feeling that I let everything happen to me instead of making it happen, and…" One may wonder if this statement is a catalyst that would compel Abigail to obtain psychiatric treatment from Dr Flicker in Beverly Hills a year later.
The address Abigail includes in her personal stationery finally clears up exactly where she lived on the Upper West Side: 59 W 69th Street. The building is a former townhouse, which was built in 1910. It now contains ten apartments. Although it is unknown what Abigail paid for rent in 1967-1968, units are renting in this building today for $2,900 a month.
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| Abigail's apartment at 59 W 69th Street New York. It is the grey building just to the left of the building with the spider Halloween decorations on it |
Abigail's address on west 69th Street is between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, on a lovely tree-lined block. It is a smart location, too, as it is a block away from Central Park and Tavern on the Green. Meanwhile, Lincoln Center is just three blocks south of the apartment. 66th Street bisects Central Park and leads one to the Upper East Side, and to the apartment of Kosinski. Abigail could make a very short walk north to W 72nd Street to catch the subway, at the foot of the famous Dakota apartment building, which of course factored so highly in Rosemary's Baby. The Gotham Book Mart is a comfortable 20-minute walk, and I have made the same walk countless times when I lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
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| Tavern On the Green |
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| Central Park Be-In, 1968 |
Beginning in 1969, Abigail's street became the epicenter for what has become a wildly popular Halloween block party.
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| W 69th Street Halloween Block Party on Abigail Folger's street |
Additionally, Abigail's brother, Peter, was married on January 20, 1968 at the Church of St Vincent Ferrer at 869 Lexington Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Abigail was a bridesmaid. She most likely knew Voytek at the time, but there is no indication in her letter of Peter's wedding, or if Voytek may have accompanied Abigail to the wedding as her date. It should be remembered that Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski were married in London on the same date.
My research into the Kosinski archive continues, and hopefully I will be able to locate additional material on this period in Abigail Folger's life.
Did Witold K. make a deal with the LAPD? Spew all sorts of garbage about Voytek and Gibbie's drug use in return for not being deported? That's what I am thinking. Without Witold K, the whole Frykowski-Folger/Drug-Burn/MDA meme kind of collapses.
ReplyDeleteStarviego, I think Witold-K was terrified of what he immediately thought were the killers, namely people like Pic Dawson, Billy Doyle, et al. Witold-K, it will be remembered, even turned over a bag of weed to LAPD that was stashed in the house rented by Abigail and Voytek. But whose stash was it?
ReplyDeleteWe know that Pic Dawson lived in the rented house on Woodstock, along with Witold-K, while Abigail and Voytek lived at Cielo. Dawson pulled a gun on Witold-K, prompting Voytek to throw Dawson out of the Woodstock house, and Dawson was furious about it.
Also, Dawson gave a video tape of Abigail, Voytek, Witold-K, and another woman smoking weed in the living room at Cielo. Why did he do this? I think that if anyone had any garbage to spew about drugs at Cielo, it wasn't Witold-K, it was Dawson.
A wonderful Find. Is the full letter text discovered?
DeleteAppreciate
Torque,
ReplyDeleteThank you for that post. It was very interesting.
Great to add perspective and color to her story. Thanks for a good read.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and, well laid out! Looking forward to future segments covering Abigail's backstory immediately before the murders.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Thank you so much for this, Torque. Very interesting and nice pics, too.
ReplyDeleteTorque,
ReplyDeleteYou are filling in my blanks and making me very happy in the process. Well done, sir.
Excellent work... Love this :)
ReplyDeleteJerzy Kosinski never stopped claiming that he was invited to Cielo the night of the murders. Has Roman ever confirmed or denied this?
ReplyDeleteCarolMR, the following is from Roman Polanski in his 1984 autobiography: "Sharon was planning a big party for August 28--my birthday--and had already issued some invitations, but no one was expected that night[August 8], not even Jerzy Kosinski, who later said had it not been for a piece of luggage going astray at an airport, he would also have been among the victims."(Roman Polanski, "Roman By Polanski".William Morrow & Co. Inc. 1984. P. 313).
ReplyDeleteCompare the above to Kosinski's account in his book, "Blind Date", and its a complete reversal to what Roman said.
I have seen it fairly well argued elsewhere that Kosinski was indeed to arrive In LA that night, but I don't remember the source. I'll try to find it.
We do know from various sources that when Voytek was awoken by Tex Watson in the living roon at Cielo, that Voytek first addressed the intruders as someone he thought he knew. I suppose Voytek was not fully awake when he asked this. He then went on to ask the time, before being made horribly aware of the fact that intruders were in the house.
Point is: was Voytek expecting to see Witold-K in the living room(who he had invited), or could it also have been Jerzy Kosinski, or both?
Correction: I misquoted Roman in the above quote. His birthday is actually August 18.
ReplyDeleteAmazing story and photos! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThe photos really added to the story.
ReplyDeleteTorque - I’ve always assumed that Frykowski would have thought it was Sebring waking him up - or Folger - that seems the most logical assumption. Although the point has been made previously that Frykowski was still fully dressed, hadn’t retired to the bedroom etc etc. Was he snoozing whilst awaiting the arrival of someone or was he just in a drugged up stupor. The thing I’ve always questioned from the killers perspective is the idea that they supposedly didn’t know how many people were at the house that night. And the idea that they chose the house simply because they knew the layout. They creepy crawled various places for which they didn’t know the “layout”. But what they did know was that all houses have doors and windows and easiest points of access. Why would they need to know the layout! More importantly to them was surely knowing, or at least having a good idea of, how many people they were going to face in the house. Especially given that their mission was to kill not steal. I don’t buy their story of not knowing who was there etc. I think they had a pretty good idea of who would be there. Let’s face it, even the craziest of killers would want to know what they were going up against. When Manson supposedly took Tex aside at the ranch and told him to go up to Cielo don’t you think Tex’s first response would’ve been to ask who was up there and how many? The stories they all concocted have too many holes to add up to me. And ask yourselves this, what would the killers have done if they had come across some kind of a party upon their arrival at Cielo, with say ten or more people. There is no way they could’ve corralled/subdued and killed that many people with what they were armed with and who they had with them. It’s all assumptions, but I think they definitely knew more than they’ve ever told.
ReplyDeleteYou sure attribute a lot of deductive reasoning to the idiot mansonoids... What if Charlie had asked them to start helter skelter and then pick up some coconuts on their way back? They wouldn't have been home for days after the long walk across the Pacific ocean floor to Hawaii and back
DeleteBut the counter argument to that is why were they meticulous in so far as cutting the phone wire, not climbing the gate in case it was alarmed, taking a change of clothing, dumping the weapons, leaving the car down the road. I could go on. If your only argument is that they were crazy then it has to apply to all of their actions in my opinion - and clearly that doesn’t stack up in terms of what I’ve mentioned.
ReplyDeleteSpeculator, good points and good questions. Let's remember that Manson did arguably see who may have lived at Cielo when he went there in March looking for Melcher. Manson was confronted by Hatami at the front door who said the main house was the Polanski residence. Manson was said to have seen Sharon at that point, and may well have seen Abigail, Jay, and Voytek through the large windows.
ReplyDeleteDid not Tex ask who lived in the house "where Terry Melcher used to live," only to be told by Manson that it was "some movie stars"? As an aside, recall that a large number of movie magazines were discovered by police at Barker when it was raided. Could Roman and Sharon have appeared in any if those magazines? Manson was acquainted with many in the Hollywood community; conceivably they could have told Charlie who lived at Cielo if he had asked.
To me the fact that Tex knew the layout was key to their plans. Consider: by cutting off the phone lines to the property, no communication was possible to the outside, be it by five people or 50. That starts to tip the odds in favor of the criminals.
Next, no doubt the rooms at the north end of the house were dark. When Tex slipped into the house, he could easily double check them to see they were empty, before letting the girls in. The stereo was on, thus blocking the sound of entry. Voytek was asleep, and obviously not a threat at that time.
The only other lights were in the bedrooms, which Tex arguably knew. So he sent Susan in to check the number of occupants before proceeding. Keeping in mind he still had five rounds in the revolver.
When Tex and the girls entered the property, they would also have seen the nunber of cars parked there, likely alerting them to them to how many people were potentially present.
Concerning creepy crawling, check out William Garretson's interview with LAPD, where he discribes the shutters on one window of the guest house as having been tampered with previously.
Can I prove that any of this had a bearing on the murders at Cielo or the number of occupants there? No I cannot. It remains theory.
Dan, agreed. Manson and the Family were careless and sloppy criminals at best. I believe it would be a mistake to attribute any more intelligence to them than what they truly possessed.
I also wonder if one or more other people were in the house, they may have been able to eventually subdue the killers. Sebring probably would have died either way, but once the mayhem started after his shooting, there would have been too many people to chase.
ReplyDeleteMatthew, exactly. If Witold-K, who truly was invited to Cielo that night, was there, could have made a true difference.
ReplyDeleteTorque - I respect your point of view and as you say it is all speculation. However, it’s worth remembering when describing the killers as careless and sloppy at best, you might want to remember they were able to kill at will, including Hollywood celebs and evade capture for a number of months. I know that was partly down to inept investigators but not solely. And yes, I appreciate that they were able to scope the place before entering the house but don’t forget the killing had already started before they even got near checking numbers of cars or looking through windows etc. I’ve always suspected that they knew more about who would be there than has ever come out. Or at least Watson did.
ReplyDeleteSpeculator, agreed. Its possibly an issue with several variables. One thing is without doubt, however: Tex Watson knows exactly how things occurred.
ReplyDeleteCarolMR said:
ReplyDeleteJerzy Kosinski never stopped claiming that he was invited to Cielo the night of the murders. Has Roman ever confirmed or denied this.
I remember,years ago, reading Jerzy Kozinski book Blind Date. In the book, the character either misses a flight to LA or loses his luggage and because of that misses being killed with his friend during a home invasion. The book was written a few years after the Tate murders. I wonder if he wrote that in the novel because it did happen to him or wrote it more as a whatif. I have also wondered if the press took the story from the novel and made it real as if he said it. I never actually ever heard him say it really happened in any interviews. I will have to look up some of his interviews and see if I can find him saying that. I need to read that book again too. It was really a good.
Thanks, both Torque and Matthew, for your responses.
ReplyDeleteTorque,
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic contribution. I have been fascinated by Gibby's voice. Thank you for this.
Hey, have a seat. Bartender another round for our friends here.
ReplyDelete"So, you all goin' to the party."
"Sure, it's just a nice get together."
"Who else is going besides us and those three actors you mentioned?"
"One of the Bitch, ah, Beach boys is, you know those a holes 'get around, they get around'
"Really, who else?"
"Peter Sellers, you know, 'Clouseau' and Pussy Galore from 007 and Dr.No is coming too."
"The girls vollyball team from Huntington Beach..."
'Hey, in that case, I wanna go!" Guy at the next table says, with a hand up and a grin.
"Who the hell is he?"
"Oh it's that goofy looking bum from Colorado, been hanging around Venice Beach. He has a funny name Fay or Fez or something."
"Sheesh, you never know who comes to these Sunset Blvd. bars."
"Anyway, should be a good time over at that real nice house on Cielo Drive."
"Let's see...oh Steve McQueen is coming and Zsa Zsa and Merv Griffin and about 10
actresses and Clod Kooper."
"Now who's that?"
"OH, he's a nighttime janitor at the Johnny Carson Studio sets, then theirs Kelovanistekfreakinski."
"Who?"
"That's a tri-sexual midget chef from Transylvania. And 12 of his friends."
"Janis Joplin coming?"
"Yeah, with Jerry Garcia and a bottle of Southern Comfort."
"SO, with 300 or 400 people we should have a good time over there. I know the caretaker there, some wimp, name of Willie Garretson, says just park down the road and jump over a bush if there's too many cars."
"So can I come or not?" (the goof from Colorado, Feyrz or something)
"Probably not pal, they don't stock Johnny Walker Scotch there."
"I wanna come anyway...when do the girls from Huntington Beach get there?"
"Oh, man, is that all you think about?"
Benedict Canyon is a fancy place. Watch out for the telephone pole and Willie's killer dogs. Silly Willie now don't you keep lying boy.
Pretty good! "Many were invited but few chosen" to paraphrase the Son of Man
Delete"Hey there, sorry I ignored your other attempts to say hello. I've been busy hanging around creepy looking Eastern Europeans who have coffee/cigarette breath and don't wash their hair. But I have a movie idea lemme run it by you real quick."
ReplyDeleteExcellent article. I always wonder about Abigail too.
She spends an entire page talking about him. I go back and forth about Gibby. She was privileged for sure but she was still a very young girl interested making a difference in the world. As usual, a cute mysterious boy makes an appearance. So similar to may of us ladies on the blog when we were younger. When I was 25 I remember telling my younger brother,"This is the best age to be." And it was, for me. Gibby's letter haunt me. I hope you find the rest. I wish we knew more about her. David did some great research a few years ago. Maybe it is time for the Gibby doc.
ReplyDeleteThere must be some producers, actors, directors who would being her story to life. I can help!
ReplyDeleteReading this article and, in particular, that letter, I see a slight similarity between Abigail and Susan Atkins. Two young women from COMPLETELY DIFFERENT upbringings and social circles...yet, similarly searching for their place in the world and, even their purpose. Both clinging to an older, experienced. man who was really an unaccomplished drifter relying on schemes and, wealthy, disenfranchised young girls who came from privilege (Frykowski and Manson).
ReplyDeleteAbigail's words speak to a lack of direction and confidence...and, as with Susan's SBI conversations/actions (as well as her active participation in HS) Abigail's scatterbrained flow (lots of X'd out bits) presenting as building upon a nervous braggadocio to grab a bit of percieved self-importance.
Just my two cents
No cents makes scents
DeleteGreenWhite said...
ReplyDelete"I've been busy hanging around creepy looking Eastern Europeans..."
I resemble that remark!
Please subtitle this post
ReplyDelete"WHY WE BLOG"
One of the most valuable posts of the year
Thankyou, Col, and everyone for your kind words. I'm glad I can make some kind of contribution.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know, for sure, if the Folger family hired their own private detective to investigate the murder of Abigail? If so, who was it? What did he find?
ReplyDeleteAnd Yes, to reiterate what others have said - this blog post is an AMAZING piece of work. Bravo. You should have a Patreon page. I'll pay for more material like this.
ReplyDeleteDaniel, thanks for the kind words. About the Folgers hiring a private detective, perhaps David may have some information on that from his research. Otherwise I don't know if such an investigation was ever conducted.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if you have not already done so, listen to the recorded interview the LAPD did with Billy Doyle. This interview took place in Toronto on August 30, 1969. This can be found at Cielodrive.com in the Audio Archives.
You will hear Doyle saying something like: "and I think Mr Folger will be and should be investigating everyone..." or something like that. Again, I don't know if that investigation ever took place.
Daniel McGuire said: "Does anyone know, for sure, if the Folger family hired their own private detective to investigate the murder of Abigail?"
ReplyDeleteThere is no evidence Peter Folger hired detectives to investigate the murders except rumors in the press.
I suppose someone could ask Peter Folger Jr. I don't have the nerve!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.folgerlevin.com/attorney/peter-m-folger/
Daniel, I have to say that the Folger family has declared that they will not discuss Abigail in any way. This includes interviews, TV, Internet, books, etc. Their position on this has remained firm for decades, and still remains in place today.
ReplyDeleteTorque is correct, Daniel, and back when I wrote that stuff I reached out to several people, all of whom either ignored me or shall we say, worse.
ReplyDeleteDefine worse
ReplyDeleteA snotty response and an idle threat.
ReplyDeleteOne source claimed Peter Folger hired PIs to follow his daughter around before the murders:
ReplyDeletehttps://mansonmurders.proboards.com/thread/34/gibbie-surveilled
Has it ever been determined where in Watts Abigail Folger did her social work? What was the name of the NGO or Government office? How long did she work there? I wonder if she had any interaction with the LA Black Panthers, who were probably quite hostile to outsiders and in disarray given that two leaders had been killed the previous January?
ReplyDeleteDaniel, it has traditionally been thought that Abigail worked for LA County as a volunteer social worker. I have not confirmed this.
ReplyDeleteI do know that Abigail--in conversation with her friend Andy Brown back in New York--said that she finally found true fulfillment in social work. Pamphlets from the organization were reportedly found at Cielo by police.
Roman Polanski apparently said that after working in social services, Abigail attended a speed reading course in the evening, before returning home exhausted.
A worthy avenue of research, then, might be County (and other) social work agencies in 1968-1969 in LA. Perhaps Abigail is listed as a volunteer.
ReplyDeleteDaniel McGuire said...
"I wonder if she had any interaction with the LA Black Panthers..."
There was apparently some kind of contact:
Restless Souls pg72
PJ surveils houseboats in San Marin(the Bay Area) as part of his own investigation in mid Sept. of 1969. A car he surveils "belonged to a high-ranking Black Panther... Even more interesting, the investigators link him to Abigail Folger's social work."
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe Black Panther Party announced health care initiatives in 1968. This could have had to do with Abigail's contact with the Panthers. http://blackpower.web.unc.edu/2017/04/bpp-peoples-free-medical-centers/
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThis thread is interesting but I was hoping to hear about Gibbie's work on the RFK candidacy, or her reaction to his assassination. She must have been crushed.
-------------------
Torque said...
"Daniel, it has traditionally been thought that Abigail worked for LA County as a volunteer social worker.."
I am fascinated by the fact that Sandra Good was also involved in similar work:
LADA files Box14 vol3076 pg137of302
(Sandra) Goode was in something called the Black Students Tutorial Program... she knew black militants at San Francisco State.
Does anybody know when Blue was going to SF State?
Torque, do we know who Gibby's friends were? I feel she and Sharon were recently situational pals, but not close. Any of the 6000 readers here a pal of Gibby's? Start talking. This is interesting stuff. Such a young girl who was just trying to figure things out. She had big dreams. Of all (except Parent) I think she's most often forgotten.
ReplyDeleteMonica,
ReplyDeleteAside from what is generally known, exactly who Abigail's friends were is a difficult question. From her letter in New York we have a good idea of those in her sphere of influence there.
Abigail and Voytek were most certainly in the orbit of Cass Elliot while in LA, and she may have had associations with people that she worked with on the Bradley campaign, as well as at LA County in her volunteer work.
I don't know if Abigail kept up with friends from high school or college, at least not in person. But there is one thing that may help answer this question: in the LAPD Tate crime progress reports, ten address books were taken into evidence from the house on Woodstock. No doubt many of the people listed in those address books were friends of Abigail.
I don't know if those books are still in police custody, and if they are, could they be examined? I would ask Cielodrive to comment on that, though, as it may take a FOIA request to see the books--if in fact such a request would even be granted.
Also in the Bay Area TV Archives, you can view the news coverage of Abigail's funeral, with people entering and standing outside of the church. I find very few young people(Abigail's age)in the film, but many older people--who were probably close friends of her parents?
I have no doubt that Abigail would have many friends alive today who could indeed comment on her life. I join with you in inviting them to speak up.
Monica,
ReplyDeleteI went down this road back then. I could not get anyone to 'speak'.
Who is 'anyone'?
I don't have it handy but there is a Abigail Folger Memorial Facebook page. I linked it, if I recall, in that last post I did. They 'stole' a bunch of my photos but that's ok. I stole a couple comments by people who knew her on there. Well, actually, I think I just alerted them to the Catalina School yearbooks.
Maybe you would have better luck than I reaching out to those people. You will have to sort through their comments to find them.
I also went to "Find A Grave" (I think that's right). If you wade through the various 'flowers' left for Gibbie you find a several that appear to be people who knew her versus the usual "you died so tragically". I reached out to them a well without success.
I also went down the Peter Folger Jr. path and the remnants of the Jim Marshall path all without success.
Perhaps letting them know I was writing a piece for "The Manson Blog" (which I would then explain was a poorly chosen name for the blog) hurt my chances. I did link them to either other posts I wrote or early Gibbie posts but I was very unsuccessful.
One person threatened to report me to the FCC if I contacted them again- see exchange with the Col., above.
And she thought New York was dangerous.
ReplyDeleteThis is a truly wonderful archaeological unearthing of a genuinely wonderful person. A blessing
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
This is a wonderful archaeological unearthing of a genuinely wonderful person. Blessing
ReplyDeleteI am absolutely mesmerized and fascinated beyond words by this series on Abigail. It's the first time I've even started to somewhat get a true feeling for her way of thinking, of communicating. Certainly her opening remarks about the dangers of life were so prophetic. She didn't know she was being prophetic but I guess no one does when they unknowingly speak of their own future fate. That was so sad and eerie to read.
ReplyDeleteHer letter reminds me sooo much of friends of my mom's back in the 60's...young somewhat immature teacher friends of hers in their mid to late 20's who were "seekers" of this and that. And using the word "crazy" a lot. It was cool and the "in" thing to hang out with "crazy people" back then. Many young women of that era especially affluent ones, wrote and talked the way Abigail does in this letter. Tossing names around (name dropping) and so forth. Trying to impress. And yet for all their education and money, many of these girls were so naive or living in a bubble and basically just a bunch of posers who were trying to look hip for the era. Although unlike many young women, she had the money and connections to actually make some of her dreams come true such as film making or hanging around with very influential people. She could just pick up a phone and call up studios or t.v. people and make something happen for herself or Voytek. She comes across as privileged for sure. Fascinating to read her remarks about Voytek. It's so strange to me that letters like this aren't more available out there, but I'm very happy you posted it for all of us to gain more insight into her and her world. Thank you!