Did Manson Scope Out Tate’s House?

(Spoiler alert: Do not learn on when you haven’t seen Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.”)

Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” which takes place across the time of the Manson Family murders of Sharon Tate and her buddies, reveals Charles Manson himself dropping by her home on Cielo Drive earlier than the killings.

Did it actually occur? Or is one other instance of Tarantino taking creative license? The reply is, there’s reality to this a part of “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” even when it isn’t precisely true.

The movie reveals Manson (Damon Herriman) getting out of a small ice-cream truck and strolling as much as the gate of 10050 Cielo Drive, the home Tate and Roman Polanski shared. Tate is house with buddy Jay Sebring, who was amongst these murdered on that notorious night time. They see a person strolling as much as the door, and Sebring (Emile Hirsch) intercepts. Manson then asks about somebody named Terry, who used to reside there, and leaves when he hears his buddy has moved on.

Also Read: ‘Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood’ Fact Check: Did the Manson Family Give Horseback Riding Tours?

There’s no proof that this incident truly occurred. But it’s completely true that Manson visited the property earlier than the murders.

The house was the residence of Byrds producer Terry Melcher and actress Candice Bergen from May 1966 to January 1969. Polanski and Tate moved into the home in February 1969, renting from Rudolph Altobelli. (The early a part of the movie is about in February 1969.)

In “Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders,” creator Vincent Bugliosi, the prosecutor within the 1970 Manson homicide, wrote that Terry Melcher as soon as “described meeting Manson” and mentioned that Manson as soon as got here alongside when Dennis Wilson, of the Beach Boys, gave Melcher a trip house to 10050 Cielo Drive.

Manson had befriended Wilson, and even lived with the well-known musician, together with Manson member of the family Susan Atkins and others. At the time, Manson harbored hopes of turning into a well-liked musician himself.

Also Read: How ‘Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood’ Turned Back the Clock on L.A.’s Streets

Melcher was concerned in a file firm, and Bugliosi mentioned Manson got here to imagine that Melcher had promised to assist him along with his music.

But it wasn’t to be.

Bugliosi wrote:

After listening him play and sing, Melcher had mentioned no… According to numerous Family members, Melcher had made quite a few guarantees to Manson, and hadn’t come by on them.

Unsurprisingly, Melcher has a unique reminiscence. Bugliosi mentioned that Melcher had twice gone to Spahn Ranch, the place the Manson household moved as their numbers grew. He heard Manson carry out, and was not “enthused.” He additionally gave Manson cash to purchase meals for his haggard band of followers.

Bugliosi wrote:

The first time he went to Spahn, he had given Manson fifty {dollars}, all the cash he had in his pocket, as a result of ‘I felt sorry for these people,’ however it was for meals, not an advance on a recording contract; and he’d made no guarantees. As for Manson’s expertise, he wasn’t impressed sufficient to allot the time mandatory to organize and file him.

Additionally, Mark Lindsay, chief of the band Paul Revere and the Raiders (who’re referenced in Tarantino’s movie) mentioned he noticed Manson in particular person throughout a go to to the house when Melcher lived there. He advised the Houston Press:

Jimi Hendrix got here by, everyone did. I used to be on the highway rather a lot, and at some point I got here house and walked within the door and there was a enterprise assembly occurring. Terry was there and Dennis Wilson from the Beach Boys and a few high-powered attorneys. …So I walked into the kitchen to get a drink and there was this man squatting towards the fridge on the ground carrying this work shirt and denims and searching actually scruffy. So I mentioned “Excuse me” and tried to open the door, however he wouldn’t transfer, he was similar to a doorstop and stared straight forward. After attempting just a few occasions, I walked into the…