I know Doris Day from my mother. Doris Day began her career as a teen-age torch singer in front of a traveling orchestra. Later, in the fifties and sixties, she became a force on the big screen. My mother used to sing her big hit "Que Sera, Sera" around the house. When I was older, I saw Doris sing this same song in a great Alfred Hitchcock movie called The Man Who Knew Too Much. Doris is famous for starring in cute 1950s romance comedies. Her appeal comes from her "The Girl Next Door" look. In this movie, however, Doris stepped out of her lane. She plays the grieving mother of her kidnapped son. Her performance is both emotional and complex. Right before our eyes, she goes from "The Girl Next Door" to "The Woman in the Next Cell." She descends into a deep depression. Madness. Her face becomes truly haunted. She loses faith in everything: the police, her husband, and herself. She doesn't looks so cute anymore. Oh Man, I feel goosebumps watching Doris in this role. If this helps my students reading this, I compare Doris to Lady Gaga in A Star is Born. Lady Gaga and Doris are/were and will be Mega-Mega-Stars forever
Why am I writing about Doris Day when I should be focused on Charles Manson? Currently, I'm reading a book called Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties. In this book, the paths of Doris and Charles cross in a meaningful and tragic way. DID YOU KNOW that Charles Manson learned how to play the guitar and write songs in prison? Inside his prison cell, he began dreaming about being a Beatle. He envisioned one day that people would look to him as a serious artist and inspiration. Upon his release from jail, he immediately sought out Hollywood producer Terry Melcher - the son of Doris Day - in pursuit of a record contract. He was willing to do anything and everything to reach his dream, and at first Terry was impressed with Charlie's relentless ambition, but, here is where Doris comes in. Terry may have promised Manson a record deal on the "Day Label" - the record company owned by his mother. I'm not sure Doris knew about this: Charles captured and held Terry's attention by providing him free sex with his Manson women. In the months preceding the Manson murders, friends and family remember seeing Charley and Terry frequently partying together. Of course, Doris didn't recognize Charlie's talent the way her son did. When she met Charley the first time at the company offices, she laughed him out of the building. She said, "You're out of your mind if you think I'm going to produce one fucking record for you." She said it right to his FACE. Terry got the message. He followed his mother's lead and broke off all ties with Charlie. We could all expect that Charlie didn't take the rejection too well.
On August, 8, 1969, four members of the Manson family arrived at 10050 Cielo Drive - the house owned by Terry Melcher. Terry didn't live there anymore; he rented out the house to actress Sharon Tate and filmmaker Roman Polanski. Sadly, the Manson family members didn't know this. They carried guns and knives. To enter the house, they opened a slit in a window screen. Of course, Terry wasn't there. He was now living in Malibu with Doris. Roman Polanski wasn't there either. He was off in London on a film shoot. Sharon was there with three of her closest friends. All three of them were rich, white; very successful and protected in their own way. When they were confronted by their intruders, they asked "Who are You...What are You Doing here." (Note to my students: This was the SIXTIES. PEACE. LOVE. I'm surprised the doors were locked.) "I'm the devil," said the Manson leader, Tex Watson, "and I'm here to do the devil's business."
Sharon's close friend Jay Sebring was shot when he pleaded to the group to be gentle with Sharon. She was eight months pregnant. After pleading for her life and the life of her baby, Sharon was stabbed sixteen times in the stomach. Manson woman Susan Atkins dipped her fingers into Sharon's blood and wrote the word "Pig" on the front door of the house. The coroner report shows that another of Sharon's friends was stabbed 51 times and took thirteen blows to the head with a blunt instrument - on top of this, the coroners found two bullet wounds. The very next night, Manson himself led a group of his followers into a different house for a repeat performance. They killed two more people they didn't even know: Leno La Bianca and his wife Rosemary. Before they left the house, they scrawled these words in blood on the refigerator door: "Healter Skelter" They spelled it wrong, but everyone knows its a huge hit off the Beatles White Album. Charley believed the Beatles were sending him secret hidden messages in their lyrics. Like: Kill, Kill, Kill!
If I myself were writing a research paper on Charles Manson, I probably wouldn't be able to fit Doris into my discussion. My focus would be on these grisly murders that shocked the world. It's true. News of the violence and evil spread across California like wildfire. For fifty years, books have been written about darkness that descended on the decade. Famous writer Joan Didion famously said, "The sixties ended abruptly on August 9, 1969...The tension broke that day. The Paranoia was fulfilled." Hippies weren't so cool anymore. The sexual revolution was put on hold. People lost trust in one another. The Big Question, of course, is WHY? HOW could something like this happen? Charles Manson had lived half his life behind bars with rapists and murderers. Beyond the psychosis and paranoia he may have developed in prison, he became a serious abuser of LSD and religious ritual. Less than one year after his release from prison, he found that his psychosis, drug use and cult-like leadership qualities appealed to a new wave of hippies and freaks. He was able to build his own Manson Family on the pretense of extreme violence.
The author of the book I'm reading, Chaos, believes the murders of Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring and the two houseguests at at 10050 Cielo Drive were all about REVENGE. But, revenge for WHAT? The killers didn't even know their victims. Fifty years after the murder, author Tom O'Neil argues that the murders bloodshed was a result of Doris Day getting in the face of Charles Manson: "You're out of your mind if you think I'm going to produce one fucking record for you."
After I finish this post, I will create an assignment for my students to share interesting tidbits from their research on Facebook, Jamboard, or Padlet. My goal is to break up the monotony of their English class. I'm writing this Charles Manson post as a response to some of the ideas they have already shared with me online. But, the beauty of these new online tools is the freedom and flexibility to represent his/her ideas. I started the discussion, but they will drive it. Hopefully this will keep our learning New and Fresh.
Now I'm thinking what I'm going to read next. I just might be something about Doris Day! DID YOU KNOW she traded in her Hollywood career for a significant role in Animal Activism? Although I will always remember Doris for her singing, "Que Sera, Sera," many others may know her for her relentless dedication to animal welfare. Maybe in the future I can convince a few of my students to write about that. I look forward to reading what my students have to say.
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