Corinne Broskett is listed on Deemer's list as living on Franklin St. in Los Angeles. She was a neighbor of Rosina Kroner. In addition to the usual information on Deemer's list, it shows that she had an LAPD booking number. There was a mystery as to what she had been charged with, not a huge mystery but a mystery nonetheless. The booking number is high enough to have been relatively recent, to the time of fall 1969.
Broskett was another Hollywood wannabe, she achieved a smattering of success, as least enough to pay her bills for a time. Broskett studied with Lee Strasberg for seven years. She was in the cast of the play "Hair" that toured Mexico.
Broskett is mentioned in an online article about a haunted home at 1508 N. Beverly Glen as living there in the 70's. The home was supposedly haunted by the murdered lover of the wife of a wealthy landowner.
"In the early 1970s, Corinne Broskett, an actress and the current executive director of the Venue Actors Studio in Pinellas Park, Florida, believed the spirit of the murdered lover lived with her at her apartment in the former Old Roadhouse. He was a comforting presence, even stroking her hair when she was in emotional pain.
Corinne stated that she was never afraid of the spirit. She felt warm and comforted by its presence. She was convinced it was the lover because “it would act like the lover in every way.” Sometimes, the spirit would hide her keys when she was preparing to go out. Once, it actually followed her into her car. She persuaded it to return to the inn by telling it that the city had changed considerably and it might get lost or confused. Once, she heard the entity sobbing in agony on the front porch outside her window.
A friend of Corinne’s, Jill Place, stayed with Corinne in her apartment for several months. She also felt the presence of the lover in yellow. She said he would climb into bed with her and curl up and cuddle close."
Okay...
Broskett's place in the Manson saga seems to be that one of the dune buggies confiscated by law enforcement during the Barker Ranch Raid was registered to her. When the VIN number on the car was run by the CHP it came back as being registered to Broskett but the license plates were from another vehicle. The police went to question her about her car, they noticed she was driving another similar VW and the license plates on it were the plates that should have been on the VW up at Barker Ranch. The VIN number of the VW that was in her possession was run through the system and it came back as a stolen car from Venice.
Manson was questioned about the car, now converted to a dune buggy, he said that it was Tex who "bought" the car and he didn't know where it came from.
Ah, it does sound like Tex and one of his little schemes to get in Charlie's good graces. I can't imagine that Broskett did not know she wasn't driving her own car but why not take the car stolen from Venice and chop it into a dune buggy? Apparently Broskett never reported her car as being stolen.
40 comments:
This is interesting not so much from the perspective of how this is connected to the Manson story but more from the perspective of *why* was it done this way.
Lessee...
If one is stealing vehicles, it's best to have no connection to a stolen vehicle if found with a vehicle you cannot provide registration for.
Let's start with a sort of "trust" relationship between a car thief and a friend. The friend owns a 1967 VW bug. VW bugs look so much alike for the entire model run that few can easily tell the difference between a 65 and a 69, for example. Many would see no difference between a 60 and a 70.
The thief arranges with the friend to a plan whereby the thief steals another bug (year/color not overly important) and gives it to the friend, puts the plates from the friend's 67 on the stolen car, which he leaves with him/her. He then takes the 67, which will not be reported as stolen.
The stolen car is reported, and if a policeman runs the plates of a car that looks the same as the reported stolen car, he does not get a match and assumes that he just saw one of the many bugs on the road at that time, that has the same general description.
Now on the thief's end, if he is ever questioned about the car, now converted to a dune buggy, the police will check the VIN and this number will not show as a reported theft, since it's the friend's car.
That's the best I can come up with for *why*.
I'd expect that the thief gave the friend *something* for his/her cooperation, and at that time it might have been a kilo of grass.
To me, this whole scheme does not sound worth the effort, but then if I was constantly high, it might seem really clever--I don't know.
What do others here think?
Before I wrote this post, I sent the report to George Stimson and asked if he knew anything about the VW and Broskett. He did not, he asked Lynette and Sandy about it and they were equally clueless. The best they could come up with was that it was Tex's deal. Manson basically says that, too, in the report.
I can understand Tex coming up with a screwball scheme but what I can't understand is why Broskett would go along with it. The switching around of the cars probably took place after the Lotsapapa shooting because the VIN number for Broskett's car does not appear on the Spahn Ranch Raid report's list of cars.
It's odd, isn't it?
It does have that partial, incomplete logic of taking a 47 foot length of rope and cutting wires into the house, without actually understanding what the wires were for, or whether you need to cut them, at all.
She lived with Andrew Carl Dapprich, also on Deemer's List. Same address. Tex's buddy who also attended the University of North Texas and got busted trying to smuggle $60,000 worth of Peyote from TX to Cali via LAX Airport.
She was also friends with one of Jay Sebring's ex-girlfriends.
If she was actively dating Tex's fellow drug dealing buddy, it's not hard to believe she would be caught up in schemes too.
However, I wonder if the address Deemer has listed isn't a type-O and we're actually dealing with only one apartment, that being Rosina's and that they all lived there. Because historically, she has always been mentioned as being a room mate of Rosina. I was offered to be put in touch with her, so I might follow up on it.
In the report her address is 6923 as opposed to 6925. So that complicates things even more.
Maybe I'm not reading the report thoroughly.
In this report what we're concerned with are two Volkswagons, Broskett's 1960, VIN 2912188, and the one she was in possession of, VIN 116882349, which was stolen in the Venice Division.
This current report is concerned with a 1967 VW that was stolen, had its engine removed, and was recovered 2 days later. The engine from this VW was in Broskett's 1960 VW, after it had been turned into a "rail job". But this one is unimportant to the present question, which is the connection between the stolen Venice VW, which is dealt with in another report, and which Broskett had possession of, but with the plates from her own 1960 VW on it.
The 1967 muddies up the mystery here. We'd need to know the date of the theft of the Venice VW, it's description, and anything else to do with it. It was the one Broskett had.
It's pretty clear that at some point she cooperated with the theft of the Venice VB. We have no connection at this point between the Venice theft and the Manson group. We have the implied connection between Broskett and the Manson group (Watson, according to Manson).
Gosh, it's screwy.
Didn't Watson have some other cockamamie ideas so far as drug sales when he got into hot water with the black drug dealer whom Manson shot? I forget the details,but can recall being impressed with the fact that the *general* idea may have had merit, but was poorly executed in that it ignored important considerations in the details.
What do you mean, "according to Manson"?
Let's look at what I wrote:
Me: We have no connection at this point between the Venice theft and the Manson group. We have the implied connection between Broskett and the Manson group (Watson, according to Manson).
I'm talking strictly about what's in the report posted today. In the report, Manson identifies Watson as having brought in the 1960 VW owned by Broskett. That's what I mean by "according to Manson".
I'm not speculating about that, and since this is Manson's statement, it may/may not, be accurate, but at a minimum it ties the Manson group, thru Watson, to Broskett.
I totally missed that Andrew Dapprich had the same address as Broskett. It does put a different slant on things.
Deb, thanks for this. Do you have a photo of Corinne?
My apologizes Shoegazer. I'm 40 now, my eyes are getting bad.
I totally missed that Andrew Dapprich had the same address as Broskett. It does put a different slant on things.
I assume that this establish how Broskett was connected to her car in the possession of the Manson group, but I'm still puzzled by the connection to the Venice car she had, with the plates from the 1960 VW on it.
There are small things to examine, an they probably interest only me, unfortunately... :^(
I have a fair knowledge of VWs from that era, having owned two and worked on many others.
First, we know that Broskett's 60 was a 6-volt system, and the 67 engine would have been from a 12-volt system. For the engine, it wouldn't have mattered, I think.
But the 60 had a 1200 cc engine, I think, while a 1967, assuming it was a Type 1 (bug) was 1500, more power.
I doubt that it would be a Type 3 (sort of like a station wagon) because the engine was injected and this would probably require a 12 volt system, and I've never seen a Type 3 engine in a dune buggy.
But why not just chop the 1967 into a rail instead of just pulling the engine?
Also, where was the 1967 found, minus engine, two days after it was stolen? There's the chance--increasing as I think about it--that the Manson group bought or traded for the engine with the original thieves. This would explain why not just chop the 1967: they ne ver had possession of the entire car.
So later this 67 engine shows up in a chopped down 1960 owned by Broskett and apparently not reported as stolen. However the plates from the 60 show up on anther VW, and we have very little info on this one, and Broskett is in possession of this other stolen VW, with her old plates.
I wonder what the hell they thought they were doing?
Lessee...
The 1960 would have been fairly worn out by 69, and had less power than later models. Maybe the Venice car was a later model, and hence it was a trade for Broskett's older (1960) to use as a basis for a dune buggy, for a newer, stolen VW, made safer to drive by retaining the plates from the 1960.
Still sounds lame...
Not to worry, D!!
;^)
I will be 75 next week...gulp!
Torque - I can offer you a picture of Corinne wearing a pair of glasses
https://archive.org/details/Playboy121969/page/n161/mode/2up?q=%22girls+of+hair%22&view=theater
Thanks for the picture Buntline, you forgot to mention Corinne is also wearing beads. LOL
Buntline...
Well, now we know why she got the role in Hair.
Very attractive in the 60s/70s style.
Shoegazer, my husband and I had an early 60's VW camper. I can't remember the year but it had a small rear window. Hubby swapped out the engine for a bit more power and changed the 6V to 12V. The windshield wipers went insanely fast and we had to wire them to the body so they wouldn't fly off. The emergency brake didn't work so we carried around a big rock to chalk the front tire when we were parked. If you were on a hill you had to be fast! Good times...
The windshield wipers went insanely fast and we had to wire them to the body so they wouldn't fly off. The emergency brake didn't work so we carried around a big rock to chalk the front tire when we were parked. If you were on a hill you had to be fast! Good times.
Hah!
I remember this stuff well, Deb!
For my 63 bug, 6 volt, at night, at idle, the headlights and interior lights were fairly dim, turn signal slow, and at driving speed everything was brighter and faster.
Thanks!
The Old Roadhouse apartment at 1508 N Beverly Glen is quite close to Cielo. Angelo Drive separates the two. I checked out 1508 N Beverly Glen on redfin.com. It has been superbly renovated, and worth a look. No idea what it looked like in the late 60's or early 70's though.
Thanks, Torque! I was just looking up locations, too.
Here's a link to the Franklin Garden Apartments with a photo of how the complex looked. It encompassed the addresses 6917 - 6933, odd numbers.
http://bigorangelandmarks.blogspot.com/2008/10/no-192-site-of-franklin-garden.html
Hi Folks,
Just heard Angela Lansbury, mother of Deirdre Shaw, has passed away. Sorry to intrude on current post but my emails to Deb & Matt were rejected as SPAM.
Monty Python had a song about this once...
Thanks Milly. Angela Lansbury was five days shy of her 97th birthday. Besides Didi she had two sons. Ms. Lansbury had a long and illustrious career, she surely will be missed by her many fans.
During the blog's 2014 tour we had the pleasure of going to Enzo and Angela, Didi's restaurant. The food was scrumptious and the service was excellent.
Hopefully, Deirdre will now open up a bit more about her experience with the Family.
Thanks Both. How to people feel about doing another tour? Just asking...
I meant 'do'
We have not talked about doing another tour but I wouldn't rule another one out. It's a lot of fun to get together, visit locations, and meet some of our readers. We've made a number of friends down in LA and it's always nice to make more!
I'm certainly open to it if enough people want to do it.
Every time I see the photo of the dune buggy, I think about the truck used by the Beverly Hillbillies.
RE: a tour.
I'm sad that I've not been able to join in on one yet. I'm 3 1/2 hours from L.A. and I visit those sites often, but so far the tour dates haven't worked out. If you want to do a San Luis Obispo part of a trip, I'd be happy to show everyone around.
Ms. Lansbury is a true show business legend. Huge Broadway star in addition to movies and TV. I got to spend 10 minutes with her in 2013. A delightful person.
Jenn, you are on! If we do one in '23 we will bring the group to you for a day at least.
Hah!
I graduated from Cal Poly and lived in the general area (Arroyo Grande) for 12 years, ending in the early 80s.
Great place, SLO. Everyone will enjoy the side trip, I'm sure.
Does anybody know the details on Didi's timeline? When she joined? When she left? If she joined via Nancy Pitman, and Pitman joined the Family in early '68, and then was still with the group in April of '69, according to Hoyt, then Didi is not someone who had only fleeting contact. She is in a position to know!
Curiously, she was never caught up in any of the arrests or raids, as far as I can see. Just lucky, or was somebody calling in markers to keep her name out of it? Mom said she moved her kids to Ireland to get them away from drugs, or were they moving to flee the Mansonoids? Or was Mom made aware of a link to TLB and made the move to save her own career?
According to the Daily Mail:
In a 2014 interview with the Daily Mail, Lansbury revealed that Deidre, now 69, had fallen in with a bad crowd that was being led by the musician-turned-mass murderer during the 1960s - having also begun abusing hard drugs with her brother Anthony.
'It started with cannabis but moved on to heroin,' Lansbury - who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 96 - revealed.
'There were factions up in the hills above Malibu that were dedicated to deadly pursuits. It pains me to say it but, at one stage, Deidre was in with a crowd led by Charles Manson.'
According to Lansbury, like many of Manson's followers, her daughter was drawn to the cult leader's 'charismatic' personality, with the actress noting that Deidre was 'one of many youngster who knew him' and were 'fascinated' by him.
Having learned of her daughter's involvement with Manson's cult of dedicated followers, Lansbury - who had two children with her husband Peter Shaw and was also stepmother to his son from a previous relationship - made the decision to move her entire family from their home in Los Angeles to Ireland, where her mother's family hailed from. In order to keep her family safe from Manson and drugs, the Murder, She Wrote actress moved her whole family from their home in Los Angeles to Ireland in 1970;
'I said to Peter, "We have to leave,"' Lansbury recalled of the moment she became aware of her children's drug use and daughter's increasing involvement in Manson's cult.
Star - So the move to County Cork was 1970. Make what you will of that.
Oh, and more from the Daily Mail regarding a fire at the Shaw household:
And, as it turns out, Ireland's 'simple' lifestyle was exactly what her children needed to overcome their substance abuse issues, with Lansbury explaining that her son 'pulled right out of his bad habits', while Deidre took some time to work on herself before settling down with a husband.
Their new home in Ireland also offered them a 'sanctuary' after the family's home in Malibu was destroyed by a fire.
'When I first moved to Cork in 1970 with my late husband Peter and our two children Anthony and Deirdre, who were teenagers at the time, it was the sanctuary we needed after a fire destroyed our home in Malibu,' Lansbury once told Ireland's Own.
Ireland offered us a new life and it meant the children wouldn’t be exposed to any more bad influences like they encountered in California.'
Thanks, Milly.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-11305741/Angela-Lansbury-saved-daughter-clutches-Charles-Manson-uprooting-Ireland.html
Lansbury knows what might have happened if she and her husband hadn't realized what was going on with her children, admitting: 'We were so very, very lucky we spotted what was happening just in time.'
Just in time! Was it just luck, though, or did a friend high up warn her what was coming?
---------
All was not well in the Shaw household:
Angela Lansbury, A Biography by Margaret Wander Bonanno c.1987
re The Manchurian Candidate
pg61: "(the movie character)Raymond also murders his manipulative mother. When young Anthony Shaw was asked what part of the film he'd liked best, he turned towards his mother, and with an eleven-year-old's chilling candor said, "The part where you get shot right between the eyes."
Yikes!
Star - Maybe we're labouring a point between us here. But I agree that it's not as cosy as presented. If you were that worried, given your house hadn't burned down at that point, why wait until 1970?
Milly,
Whoops--all this time I was thinking that her house had been burned down in Sept '69 instead of a year later. I'll have to re-evaluate.
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