So here's a list of some scandalous behavior that's come out of Hollywood and has shocked America. It's not a full list by any means but, it's a start. I will try and stick with the stories that are already proven. Some of these stories may indeed amount to gossip but I will ONLY include those if they seem to come from multiple and seemingly reliable sources. I will also include anything that can be debunked concerning deaths or tragedies.
Bill Cosby - Often referred to as American's dad in the 80's, Cosby has since been exposed as a rapist by several women who have come forward. All of the women have very similar stories, claiming Cosby had drugged them and then proceeded to rape them.
Black Dahlia - Some people consider this a Hollywood mystery, while others do not. Elizabeth Short is the name of the woman who is referred to as The Black Dahlia. She came to California in search of fame but her life was cut short and to this day, the case has remained unsolved. The crime was gruesome and not for the faint of heart. I've read all kinds of bizarre stories but the most bizarre story appears as though it might actually be real. The website is called The Black Dahlia Solution and the writer is an unknown person who identifies himself as a mathematician. His study of the case led him to discovering that the taunting notes the killer had sent reporters and police were actually cryptograms telling them who the killer was and what he did to poor Elizabeth. Why am I convinced? It's because one of the letters actually has the killer writing his full name down the middle of his last note to police. Creepy stuff.
Bob Crane - Hollywood actor known for portraying Colonel Robert E. Hogan on Hogan's Heroes was found brutally murdered on June 29th, 1978. It would be discovered that Bob was quite the pervert. He owned a vast collection of personal pornography; he took great pleasure in filming himself "loving" the ladies. Many ladies.
John Henry Carpenter who was said to be a friend was eventually arrested for the murder. According to sources, Bob was growing annoyed with John and looking to cut him out of his life. John's car was searched originally because he had become an instant suspect based on his odd behavior and unwillingness to work with authorities. Blood smears were found inside his vehicle. Unfortunately at that time forensics testing was non-existent. Authorities could only confirm it was the same blood type as Mr. Crane. It would not be till years later that the case would be re-opened. By this time, samples were missing and the DNA tests were inconclusive. It appeared in one photo of the vehicle there was brain tissue found. Carpenter was charged and tried, yet acquitted. Unfortunately the lifestyle that Bob had chosen worked against him and the defense was able to argue reasonable doubt by pointing out that the many videos Crane filmed had put him in compromising positions with many women - any of whom could be suspect. The case remains unsolved.
Charlie Sheen - One has to wonder if something traumatic (other than copious drug use of course), happened to Charlie when he was younger that has caused him to repeatedly spin out of control in his adult life. He has been arrested for the assault of his now ex-wife Brooke Mueller. His success on Two and Half Men collapsed overnight when he made an anti-Semitic remark about his boss which led to him being immediately fired.
Charlie is well known for hiring prostitutes and using a plethora of drugs. One account of him going to the hospital for food poisoning raises suspicion as gossip from inside sources suggest he may have overdosed. Weird behavior has long aroused speculation of drug use and of course Charlie himself admits he has used drugs. Sometimes he claims to be clean but even during these "clean" periods Charlie struggles with appearing in control. He has gone on record as being a conspiracy theorist, citing 9/11 being an "inside" job and has even made an appearance on the radio show of the snake-oil salesman himself - Alex Jones.
Charlie remains lucky for now. He does have fans that enjoy watching him perform. Let's just hope he gets some mental help.
Christian Brando - Son of actor Marlon Brando found himself in prison for murdering his sister's boyfriend. Claiming the boyfriend was abusing her, Cheyenne seemed to have instigated her brother into "handling the issue." Christian would plea guilty to manslaughter and served five years for the crime (1991-1996). In 2001 during Robert Blake's trial concerning the murder of Bonnie Lee Bakley, it was discovered that Christian had connections with Bonnie. There were insinuations made that he could have been involved in her murder; he was never tried. In 2005 trouble found him again in the form of spousal abuse, where he pleaded no contest. He would die of pneumonia in 2008.
Christian Slater - Slater has had a number of brushes with the law. They include DUI, attempting to board a plane with a loaded gun, a few assaults including a sexual assault. All appear to be the result of Slater being under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Thankfully his behavior has seemed to have toned down the last 10 years. Let's hope it continues.
Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G. - March 9th, 1997, a drive-by shooting resulted in the death of the famous rapper. The New York rapper had gone to Los Angeles to promote his upcoming album and to film a music video.
If the 90's are known for anything, it's gang activity. During this rise in rap and hip-hop era there was a well-known East Coast - West Coast rival that was going on. Biggie attended an after-ceremony party in LA and it was broke up by authorities due to overcrowding. As the rapper and his entourage were traveling back to their hotel, a dark Chevy Impala SS rolled up next to Biggie's vehicle while it was stopped at a traffic light. A young man in the vehicle rolled down his window and opened fired, shooting Wallace 4 times.
He was rushed to the hospital but attempts at saving Wallace's life were futile. He was pronounced dead. The crime remains unsolved to this day. Any attempt at obtaining facts results in strange conspiracies. Will we ever know what really happened? How and why has no one come forward after all this time?
The case was reopened in 2006 and the investigating officer, now retired, has expressed his theory:
Retired LAPD detective Greg Kading, who worked on the Biggie Smalls murder case for three years, alleges that the rapper was shot by Wardell Fouse (a.k.a Darnell Bolton and "Poochie"), an associate of Suge Knight, who was later killed in July 2003 after being shot in the back while riding his motorcycle. Kading believes Knight hired Poochie via his girlfriend "Theresa Swann" to kill Biggie to avenge the death of Tupac, whom Kading alleges was killed under the orders of Sean Combs.Certainly an interesting theory considering Tupac had publicly blamed Sean Combs for an attack on him in 1994, at Quad Recording Studios where he was shot 5 times [see Tupac below]. Tupac is yet another rapper that was gunned down in a similar manner in Las Vegas, and it's long been speculated that the two murders are somehow linked to one another.
Relatives of Wallace began suing basically anyone they could for wrongful death. The latest one I found was dismissed in 2010.
Dorothy Stratten - Playboy's Miss August 1979, Dorothy was a promising talent. She would have the opportunity to star in a few comedies and later gained the title of Playmate of the Year 1980.
While she was still in Canada, she was just 17 years old when she met Paul Snider and began a relationship. Snider was a club promoter and pimp. In 1978, Snider would have a photographer take nudes of Stratten and send them to Playboy. She would then move to Los Angeles and begin her short lived career as a model and actress. Sometime in 1979 she married Snider.
Soon, Hefner and friends began warning Stratten about Paul's behavior. The couple drifted apart and Dorothy began an affair with Peter Bogdanovich, who was directing the film she was working on. She left Paul and moved in with Peter and began planning for a divorce.
Dorothy was only 20 years old when her life was tragically taken by her jealous husband. Snider called Stratten over to the home they once shared; the two had agreed to discuss divorce. As it turns out, Snider was not interested in being amicable. He shot her and then shot himself.
Rappe became violently ill at the party and died a few days later. Delmont would testify that Arbuckle had raped Virginia and consequently killed her. The press had a field day destroying Fatty's name and character but in the end he was exonerated after the jury was finally able to hear information concerning the shady activities that both Rappe and Delmont were involved in. Rappe's autopsy also confirmed she had not been attacked. Her death was due to a ruptured bladder.
John Lennon - Most famous for being in the band Beatles, Lennon was just 40 years old when he was shot to death by Mark David Chapman right outside of the building he was living in. Chapman had approached Lennon earlier asking for an autograph but had decided to go back and kill him. He waited outside for quite sometime for Lennon to come home and after shooting Lennon, he dropped his gun and sat down to read The Catcher in the Rye while he waited for police to arrive.
What comes as no surprise, Mark's attorney's argued he was insane and suffered from delusions. He was sentenced to prison for 20 years to life. So far eight times denied for parole, Chapman remains in prison for his crime.
Kirk Douglas - The Hollywood legend has often been referred to as being a complete douche that managed to piss off a number of people in Hollywood. Longtime running stories of him raping Natalie Wood have been all but confirmed. Another scandal that comes up under his name concerns a young woman named Jean Spangler. Her odd disappearance has long been rumored to have been related to a pregnancy by Kirk. There were other suspects in this case however and it has never been solved.
Lana Clarkson - Lana was an actress, a "B" level of sorts but still gorgeous. While working at The House of Blues, on February 3, 2003 Lana met Phil Spector, a famous record producer. Apparently they hit it off and she went home with him. Their tryst was quite short. The two entered the mansion while Phil's driver stayed outside. An hour later, Phil would run out of the house saying, "I think I just shot her." Later he would claim she committed suicide. At trial this was argued since people who commit suicide with a gun typically will place the barrel in their mouths before pulling the trigger. In Lana's case, he teeth were clenched. Also the prosecution was able to show evidence that Phil had pulled guns on at least four other women prior to this event. Phil was tried for her murder twice. The first time around resulted in a hung jury; the second trial ended with a conviction of 19 years to life in prison.
Manson Murders - The famous murders that rocked the nation. To this day people struggle to understand exactly what occurred and how. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for what happened. Charles Manson, a long disturbed man who spent his life in and out of prison had formed a "family," a cult, made up of insecure people who were lured into his world through drugs and Manson's charm. With Manson's power he would convince his family to kill, ultimately desiring to start a race war between blacks and whites.
Their victims include:
Sharon Tate: 8/8/69
Abbigal Folger: 8/8/69
Jay Sebring: 8/8/69
Wojciech Fryowski: 8/8/69
Steven Parent: 8/8/69
Leno LaBianca: 8/9/69
RoseMary LaBianca: 8/9/69
Gary Hinman: 7/29/69
Donald “Shorty” Shea
The members of the family include: Charles “Tex” Watson, Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, Patricia Krenwenkil, Leslie Van Houten, Bruce Davis, Bobby Beauolseil, Mary Brunner and Steve Grogan.
Mark Wahlberg - Wahlberg is no stranger to scandal. Starting in his early years, he had already had brushes with the law at age 13. He became addicted to cocaine and other drugs. By 15 he had been involved in a few hate crimes involving shouting racial slurs and throwing rocks. He would also be charged with attempted murder, serving only 45 days.
Marilyn Monroe - She died young of an overdose. Though it was known Marilyn was depressed and prone to popping pills, almost any list that mentions scandals or tragedies includes Monroe's death. Many people today keep the so-called conspiracy alive that states she was killed. Why? She had an affair with John F. Kennedy and/or Robert Kennedy, the mob had her killed, or a combination of reasons. The most simple explanation is that she just took one too many pills and most likely because she had issues sleeping; she may have drugged herself on purpose or accident yet, none of the other so-called cover-up type stories have ever produced any support other than wild speculation. It is still a great tragedy she died so very young.
The Menendez Murders - Jose and Mary "Kitty" Menendez were gunned down in their home in Beverly Hills, August 20th, 1989. Jose was a hard working man who had landed a position as CEO of LIVE Entertainment. This position moved the family to beautiful Beverly Hills, CA. Kitty was able to stay at home, though she was a school teacher prior. They had two sons Lyle and Erik who seemed to have a good life, filled with luxuries and opportunities.
Lyle (21), would call 911 at 11:47 PM hysterically crying out to the operator that his parents were dead. Erik (18) was also there and soon police came to find the two young men distraught and their parents had been shot in their home. Jose had been shot in the back of the head at point blank range. Kitty was shot several times; she was unrecognizable.
The murders were "staged" more or less to look like a mob-type hit since both were shot in the knee-caps, or so Lyle and Erik thought. The police immediately suspected the brothers but had nothing to arrest them so they waited. In the months that followed, the young men would spend lavish amounts of money. The two left the mansion and lived in separate penthouse apartments. They bought watches and dinned at expensive restaurants. Vacations and ventures in purchasing small businesses all added up to the two spending $1 million in a mere 6 months. It would be Erik confessing the murders to his psychiatrist and soon both were arrested.
The Menendez trial was epic. It would be the first non-famous-people trial that America would find themselves glued to, thanks to Court TV. Everyone seemed to be interested and even more intriguing was the defense strategy - the brothers claimed they were abused sexually by their father and painted their mother as a drug user, an alcoholic, and mentally unstable. Two juries, one for each brother, and one trial resulted in hung juries for both . The second time around cameras would not be allowed and both were convicted on two counts of first degree murder.For the sentencing phase, death was not favored but rather life sentences.
Mickey Rourke - 1994 he was arrested for abusing his spouse but the charges were dropped. Rourke has admitted that while he was married to Carré Otis, he had discovered who had raped his wife and decided to kill him and then kill himself. According to him, Providence intervened in the form of Father Pete Colapietro, who was able to talk Rourke off the proverbial ledge. Needless to say, Rourke did not kill anyone or himself. He did eventually divorce his wife.
Carré would later write a book telling her story and this included her marriage to Rourke. She claims he was violent and threatened to kill himself if she did not marry him. There seem to be a number of different scathing stories about Rourke and his treatment of women. It's hard to say which ones are true, if they are all true, or if they are all exaggerations based on previous stories. It does seem that the stories have at least some element of truth.
Mike Tyson - In the late eighties, Tyson was a beloved boxer in America. His fights were a top-rated attraction in America, covered on HBO, and were always predictably short. Unfortunately for Tyson his rise led to a nasty fall. He first married Robin Givens, who was a famous actress at the time. Their marriage was rocky and Robin told her story to the media citing domestic violence. Though Tyson would remain popular people did believe Robin.
In 1991 Tyson was charged with rape. The woman, Desiree Washington, went to a Michael's hotel room yet, she also stated she was uncomfortable even before going to his room, inside his limo he had made sexual advances toward her. She claimed when they got into the room Tyson pinned her down and raped her. The story was actually quite shaky since this woman appeared to be an opportunist and of course many who heard the story could not figure out why she continued to stay with Tyson and go to his room if indeed she was so uncomfortable already. However, Tyson's angry demeanor in the courtroom likely caused his conviction and Tyson ended up serving 3 years in prison.
Natalie Wood - Yet another death that has long haunted Hollywood is the tragic loss of Natalie Wood. At the time of her death, her husband was Robert Wagner. Together they were on a yacht with their guest Christopher Walken. As recent as 2013, there are still stories floating around trying to piece together the tragic event that occurred the night Natalie fell overboard and drowned. The estimated time of death was around midnight yet she was not reported missing until 90 minutes later.
The majority of speculation points to Wagner becoming angry with Natalie and pushing her out of the yacht. However, the story Wagner gave officials is a bit different. He went to bed while Natalie must have went to retie a dinghy and must have slipped and fell overboard. She was found with a high level of alcohol in her system. We may never have a full account of what occurred that night.
OJ Simpson - Famous football player turned actor was tried for the murder of his wife Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. OJ was found innocent but no other suspect was ever considered. It is accepted as fact that he was indeed the killer. In civil court, OJ would not be so lucky. The jury indeed found his responsible in a wrongful death case and he was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages.
In 2007, OJ was arrested for robbery. He claimed he was taking back sports memorabilia that was originally taken from him.
Pedophilia - When discussing Hollywood, especially during the 80's and 90's, it's almost impossible to avoid the topic of pedophilia. Many child actors and musicians during this time have either come forward and stated they were victims or they knew of other children being used by major players in the Hollywood industry.
This is the really ugly side of Hollywood that people are only now beginning to talk about seriously. Even now, it's mentioned in the news but often quickly disappears. Until more people step forward and file the lawsuits needed to expose what is going on, this type of abuse may continue for years to come.
There have been some strides made and some predators have been convicted. However the main issue all stems back to the parents of child actors. A typical scenario will involve the parent(s) putting their kids in Hollywood for the purposes of making money for the family. They turn their heads to the abuse going on and basically tell their children to deal with it or they deny it. Naturally the child doesn't know what to do or where to go. They are isolated, literally. If they report to the studio, nothing will be done because millions of dollars are involved. Let's say it's a director of a movie who is being abusive. The studio does not want to halt production nor will they want to deal with the consequences of hiring a monster. They ignore it and cover it up. Meanwhile the children are frightened and scared and this fragile state fosters the use of drugs to numb their pain. They are given drugs in order to keep them in control and keep them hooked. By the time they have grown and figured out what is going on, nobody will believe them - they are junkies. Hollywood is able to cast them out, blame their drug use for being a liability, and new talent is ushered in and the cycle repeats itself.
Phil Hartman - Saturday Night Live's funnyman Phil Hartman's life was cut short in a murder-suicide tragedy. His drug-induced wife who long suffered from mental problems and drug abuse shot him and later turned the gun on herself. The pair left two children behind.
Rebecca Schaeffer - The young actress was just making a name for herself on the TV show My Sister Sam. She was stalked by a fan who became obsessed with her and decided to go to her apartment and shoot her. He was charged and sentenced to a life in prison. While in prison (2007), it has been reported that he was the victim of a stabbing; he was stabbed eleven times, treated at a hospital, and transferred back to prison. A special note about this case - this killing led to stricter stalking laws being brought about in California.
Robert Blake - In 2002, actor Robert Blake was arrested and charged with the murder of his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley. The two were reported as having various marital problems and on one particular evening they dined at a restaurant. When both of them left, Robert had later returned back into the restaurant to retrieve a gun he was carrying. It is said during this time, Bonnie was shot and killed in their car. He would later avoid conviction since the prosecution could not convince a jury of his guilt but, her children would later sue in civil court and in that case, he was not successful.
It is unfortunate for Bonnie that she had such an unsavory character. Blake was her 10th spouse! For years she had run scams that allowed her to purchase homes and pursue celebrities. She had a long rap sheet due to various run-ins with the law. Her past unfortunately did not make her much of a sympathetic victim and though there were people who testified that Blake wanted someone to "off" her, it was not too far off the imagination radar that someone else indeed wanted Bonnie to disappear. She had created many enemies in her short life of 44 years.
R. Kelly - The singer is known for bedding underage girls. One of the acts was discovered on video, including the rapper urinating on the underage girl. Despite the evidence, he was found not guilty at trial. For whatever reason, once again we have another celebrity who managed to get away with their crime. R. Kelly continues to work in the music industry.
Selena - Selena Quintanilla-Pérez known as Selena and for being a singer, a Mexican-American-Madonna who hit big time in the early 90's. On March 31, 1995 Yolanda Saldívar who was a friend and former employee shot and killed Selena. The news of her death was shocking and among those in the Latin community her death was comparable to that of John Lennon or the death of Elvis Presley. George W. Bush who was governor of Texas at the time even declared her birthday to be Selena Day.
The family had hired Saldivar to take on the role of a manager over Selena's boutique business. The business started suffering and other employees as well as family members of Selena all began to complain about Yolanda. She was obsessive and she was behaving in ways that concerned them. Selena however refused to acknowledge the issues. Finally it was discovered that Yolanda had been embezzling money from both the boutique business and Selena's fan club. She was confronted and told that she needed to provide evidence that she was innocent otherwise authorities would be involved.
On March 31 Selena agreed to meet with Yolanda in order to obtain her financial papers. Yolanda stalled and said she was raped in Mexico the previous night. Selena drove her to the hospital but no evidence of rape was found. They would go back to the hotel and Yolanda pulled a gun on Selena. When she tried to flee Yolanda shot her. Selena would make her way to the lobby leaving a trail of blood and Yolanda following after her calling her a "b!tch!" Selena had enough time to give up her killer and the room number she was shot in. Yolanda would walk out to her vehicle and tried leaving. After 9 hours of a stand off with police she finally gave up.
Selena was taken to the hospital but soon it would be discovered that doctors could not save her. Selena was only 23 years old when she passed. Yolanda was sentenced to life and will be eligible for parole in 2025.
Tupac Shakur - This West Coast rapper was gunned down at the very young age of 25. As previously mentioned, his death has routinely been linked with Biggie Smalls. Most people seem to believe that one hit lead to the other.
During the 90's there was overwhelming speculation about what occurred with Tupac. No question people liked his rap style but there is also no doubt that he was a divisive figure. During my research for this article, I uncovered things I never knew about Tupac, which is basically everything. His profile says he was born in New York yet listening to his songs, he clearly identified himself as being "West Coast." His parents were members of the Black Panthers and he was influenced by people who were active in the Black Liberation Army. The entire family is basically a bunch of criminals and it's no shock that Tupac himself would later come to have a police record of his own. The crimes his family are accused of are outright shocking, from murder to conspiracy against the US government, this family was seasoned in criminal activities. Tupac would also be linked to the Communist Party USA.
A song done by Tupac called Hit 'Em Up is said to be a diss track that was created after Tupac was attacked at Quad Recording Studios in 1994. He was shot five times. The next day he was required to be in court since he was facing charges of sexual assault. Tupac left the hospital mere hours after surgery to attend the court session and was promptly found guilty on three counts of molestation. He served his sentence and in 1996 the song Hit "Em Up not only declared he had sexual relations with Biggie's wife, he attacked Bad Boy records, and even stated he was going to "kill them all." The song only left me sarcastically questioning, "Gee I wonder why he was shot to death?"
The case has never been officially solved and as a result, conspiracies and speculation will continue.
The Wonderland Murders - John Holmes - Porn actor turned drug user/dealer and died of AIDS is the short version of John Holmes. John became famous as a model and porn actor due to the size of his "third leg." He initially did very well being one of the first major stars of pornography. Initially he stayed away from drugs but eventually trying them led to a full blown addiction that prevented his package from performing. He was blacklisted from porn.
John became affiliated the Eddie Nash who was a drug dealer. However his addiction had turned him into such an undesirable character that Eddie eventually cut him off, forcing John to go elsewhere. This led John into gay prostitution and into the gang of other drug dealers living on Wonderland Ave who demanded John do something for them. John would go over to Eddie's house one night to do drugs, specifically freebasing and while he was there he left Eddie's backdoor open. John left and went back to the place he was staying on Wonderland. The gang then went over to Eddie's, used the backdoor, tied up Eddie, stole all of his drugs and money, and left without killing him. Eddie would soon find out that John had set him up and Eddie put out word to go after John.
One of Eddie's men caught up with John and brought him back to Eddie who first yelled at him and then beat him up. Eddie had a few of his men go back to Wonderland with John so that he could get then into the home. Gaining access to the home, Eddie's men killed everyone inside, left, and went back to Nash's with John. John would go back to his wife looking to clean up and then he and his girlfriend took off to Florida but before leaving John robbed Nash. Eventually John would beat his girlfriend so frequently she finally left and told police where to find John. Police would arrest John and he would stay in jail for 6 months waiting for his trial.
Shockingly John was acquitted and released. Not surprisingly John went back to making adult films. He even shot his first gay film and later became aware he had contracted HIV. This didn't stop him, he went overseas and shot a porn passing HIV onto a famous porn actress. Finally in March of 1988 this deviant depraved man died, ensuring never to infect anyone else again.
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1 comments:
in hollywood exists many and many scandals around the actors and atress. many of you don´t know but al pacino and sharon stone are some of the greatest names were escorts before being hollywood stars
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