Phil Spector, the famed rock producer who changed the sound of pop music in the 1960s with his “Wall of Sound” recordings, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 19 years to life in prison in 2009 for the 2003 fatal shooting of actress Lana Clarkson.
The actress was 40 at the time she was found slumped over in a chair at Spector’s California mansion with a gunshot wound through the roof of her mouth.
She had appeared in small roles throughout her acting career, including Scarface, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Deathstalker and Blind Date.
The case drew worldwide interest because Spector was widely known as a rock music pioneer.
Spector was eventually convicted of second-degree murder in a second trial after the first trial deadlocked in 2007.
The shooting death of Hollywood actress Lana Clarkson
The February 2003 night Clarkson was killed, she and Spector were seen together at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood.
Clarkson was working as a VIP hostess at Hollywood’s House of Blues at the time of her death and met Spector only before she was killed.
The pair left together in Spector’s chauffeur-driven Mercedes and went to his castle-like estate in Alhambra, a suburb east of downtown Los Angeles, authorities said.
Police found Clarkson’s body a few hours later in the foyer of Spector’s home after his chauffeur called 911 to report gunfire inside the estate, investigators said.
“It was a single gunshot wound to the head and neck by another,” said Los Angeles County coroner spokesman David Campbell at the time of Clarkson’s death.
Defence attorney Doron Weinberg argued that the prosecution’s case hinged on circumstantial evidence.
He said the possibility that Clarkson committed suicide could not be ruled out, arguing that she was depressed over a recent breakup and grabbed a .38-calibre pistol to kill herself while at Spector’s home.
Several people identifying themselves as Clarkson’s friends testified for the defense, portraying her as a suicidal has-been, despondent over her failing career.
But prosecution witnesses painted Spector as a gun-toting menace.
Five women took the stand to tell harrowing stories of Spector threatening them with firearms
His driver testified that he heard a loud noise and saw the producer leave the home, pistol in hand, saying, “I think I killed somebody.”
In closing arguments at the retrial, prosecutor Truc Do called Spector “a very dangerous man” who “has a history of playing Russian roulette with women - six women. Lana just happened to be the sixth.”
He had pointed out to jurors that Clarkson had bought new shoes on the day of her death - something he said a suicidal woman would not have done.
Spector’s lawyer gave a $17,000 check to Donna Clarkson, the victim’s mother, to pay for her funeral expenses - part of the court-ordered sentence.
“All of our plans together are destroyed,” Donna Clarkson said at the time of Spector’s sentencing, reading a statement on behalf of her family.
“Now, I can only visit her at the cemetery.”
Films that Lana Clarkson appeared in
- Barbarian Queen
- Deathstalker
- Blind Date
- Scarface
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High
- Amazon Women on the Moon
- with CNN
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January 18, 2021 at 06:49AM
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Who is Lana Clarkson? The Hollywood actress shot dead by Phil Spector - 7NEWS.com.au
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