40th Anniversary of the Charles Manson Murders: PHOTO
It was 40 years ago this weekend that a group of young people led by Charles Manson sent a wave of terror through The Hills and valleys of the Los Angeles area. Manson, then 34, and a group of followers known as the Family were convicted for killing seven people, including Hollywood starlet Sharon Tate, who was more than eight months pregnant with husband's Roman Polanski's son. On Aug. 8, 1969, Manson instructed Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten to kill everyone at the...

Manson Murders: 40 Years Later: PHOTO
It was 40 years ago Sunday that America 's worst fears of the hippie generation crystallized when Sharon Tate and four others were slaughtered by Charlie Manson 's "family" in her rented Benedict Canyon home in Southern California. On Aug. 9, 1969, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Voytek Frykowski, Jay Sebring, Steven Parent and Tate -- who was 26 years old, eight months pregnant and married to film director Roman Polanski -- were slain "to instill fear into the establishment,"...

Manson Family Women Seek Parole After Decades Behind Bars
August 9, 2009 California (ChattahBox) - Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten, the three women convicted in the Manson Family Murders, are asking to be released, one of them as she lies predominantly paralyzed due to brain cancer. The women were responsible for a number of deaths under the direction of cult leader Charles Manson, including the eight-months pregnant Sharon Tate, back in 1969. Manson was a racist who began gathering disciples in the late 60’s. An aspiring...

Manson follower ends her silence
Former Manson accomplice Linda Kasabian tells full story of bloody night which ended decade of love

Manson's lasting legacy: 'Live freaky, die freaky'
Forty years ago, a group of young people led by a charismatic, 5-foot-2-inch ex-con named Charles Manson set out on a murderous spree in Los Angeles, California. They planned to spark an apocalyptic race war that Manson called "Helter Skelter," after a song by The Beatles.

Charlie Manson Murders: 40 Years Ago: PHOTO
Los Angeles (myFOXla.com) - It was 40 years ago today that America's worst fears of the hippie generation crystallized when Sharon Tate and four others were slaughtered by Charlie Manson's "family" in her rented Benedict Canyon home. On Aug. 9, 1969, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Voytek Frykowski, Jay Sebring, Steven Parent and Tate -- who was 26 years old, eight months pregnant and married to film director Roman Polanski -- were slain "to instill fear into the establishment," one of the...

Freedom bid of Charles Manson's 'harem' of jailed female followers: PHOTO
After the release of Ronnie Biggs on compassionate grounds, the notorious female followers of Charles Manson could take a similar path out of prison.

Cult Leader Charles Manson Is 'New Fan' Of Phil Spector
Phil Spector is "alarmed and scared" that Charles Manson wants to work with him. The 68-year-old music producer - who was jailed for 15 years to life in May for the killing of actress Lana Clarkson - was horrified to receive a note from the murderer via a guard at California's Corcoran State Prison, where they are both serving their sentences. Spector's publicist Hal Lifson said: "Phil Spector has been very, very alarmed and scared at the notion of Charles Manson contacting him for any reason....

CHARLES MANSON'S SECRET PRISON BUSINESS
August 2, 2009 -- Charles Manson secretly runs an autograph business out of his cell, peddling his signature to sicko collectors of crime memorabilia, a new book claims. In "Five to Die," out this month from Thor Publishing, veteran journalist Ivor Davis claims the homicidal cult leader has become one of the richest inmates in the California corrections system by selling signed photos and other mementos he quietly smuggles out of Corcoran State Prison. "Only he doesn't even...

Assassination of a High School President: Trailer
As released by Slashfilm , the trailer for Assassination of a High School President . Forget it, Jake. It's...high school. With its noir roots, this stylish dark comedy pays homage to Roman Polanski's Chinatown . Reece Thompson stars as a school newspaper writer who uncovers a conspiracy that is rampant among the students and teachers. Mischa Barton plays the young femme fatale, while Bruce Willis is an unhinged principal.

History to tell 'Manson' story
Charles Manson's lookout driver will tell her story to viewers for the first time in decades in a History special on the Manson Family murders. For the 40th anniversary of the shocking Hollywood murder spree, the network has scheduled the two-hour "Manson" on Sept. 7. It features an extensive interview with Linda Kasabian, who stood guard while her fellow cult members murdered actress Sharon Tate and others. The star witness for Manson's prosecution, the reclusive Kasabian hasn't been...

Manson Followers Haunted
The Manson Followers have been and are still haunted by their unspeakable crimes. (AP) Forty years ago, they were kids. Vulnerable, alienated, running away from a world racked by war and rebellion. They turned to a cult leader for love and wound up tied to a web of unimaginable evil. They were part of Charles Manson's family and now, on the brink of old age, they are the haunted. "I never have a day go by that I don't think about it, especially about the victims," says Barbara Hoyt, who was 17...

Warren Beatty - Beatty Likens Manson Murders To Nuclear Device
Warren Beatty was terrified when the notorious CHARLES MANSON murders swept California in the 1960s - he compares the killing spree to a nuclear bomb attack. Beatty was one of the A-listers who stumped up cash in a bid to try and hunt down the killers of his pal Roman Polanski's pregnant wife Sharon Tate, who was slaughtered at her Los Angeles home by members of the Manson clan in 1969. The cult-like group, led by Manson, was also responsible for killing six other L.A. high-flyers, and Manson...

Los Angeles County Museum of Art cancels its weekend film program
For four decades, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has fed film aficionados a steady diet of movie masterpieces -- retrospectives that included works from Roman Polanski, Cary Grant, Ernst Lubitsch and, in a current series, James Mason. But after the museum's weekend film program lost $1 million over the last 10 years and failed to build an audience, LACMA said Tuesday that it was pulling the plug on its cinematic centerpiece.

Claire Cruise Opens Up A Big Can of Crazy Over MJ's Kids
Along with Billie Jean Jackson , another woman showed up at Los Angeles Superior Court today claiming she’s the mother of Michael Jackson ’s kids: Claire Cruise , 43, says she and MJ tied the knot back on Oct. 21 1983 in Princeton, N.J. on her 18th birthday — and although she admits she never carried the kids for nine months or even donated her eggs, she says she’s the biological mom of Prince , Paris , Blanket … and Connor Cruise . It’s difficult for us to...

Elizabeth Hasselbeck's New View of Motherhood: PHOTO
Joy Behar can breathe easy. Elizabeth Hasselbeck will be logging yet more maternity leave. The youngest, Republicanest View crew member gave birth to a son, Isaiah Timothy , Sunday afternoon in a New York hospital. Hasselbeck has two other children with her former footballer husband, Tim Hasselbeck : Grace Elisabeth , 4, and Taylor Thomas , 1. Elizabeth, 32, surprised fans and her cohosts with news of the third Pregnancy on the show in January. Little Isaiah weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces. Tim...

Charles Manson 'Tries To Get' Phil Spector In CA Prison
Jailed music producer Phil Spector has been targetted behind bars by killer Charles Manson, who wants his help launching a singing career. Spector, serving a 19-year sentence for the murder of actress Lara Clarkson, has been moved to the same California prison as Manson, who was jailed for life for masterminding the 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate and her friends Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Manson was a wannabe rocker before the murders, and Spector's wife claims the cult leader has hounded...

Los Angeles County Museum of Art cancels its weekend film program: PHOTO
For four decades, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has fed film aficionados a steady diet of movie classics -- retrospectives that included works from Roman Polanski, Cary Grant, Ernst Lubitsch and, in a current series, James Mason. But the museum's weekend film program was losing both money and its audience, and LACMA said Tuesday that it was pulling the plug on its cinematic centerpiece.

Manson Family grows old in prison
Murderous former members of Charles Manson Family grow old in prison

Flashback: Sharon Tate Murdered
During the summer of 1969, when gay rights were being demanded, and peace, love and understanding was expressed at Woodstock, a public nightmare happened in a small canyon in Beverly Hills. A group of hippies from Charlie Manson family descended upon the house that Roman Polanski had rented form Doris Day’s son Terry Melcher.  While Polanski was in London, his 26-year-old, 8-months-pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was there with coffee heiress Abigail Folger and her lover, Voytek...

Miley Cyrus Pole Dance VIDEO
Check out the video of Miley Cyrus pole dance at the Teen Choice Awards in Los Angeles. Miley Cyrus fans are shocked, delighted, amused? I don’t know.

Final Lap To Come
We've now reached the two-thirds mark in the 2008 calendar -- eight months down, four to go. Which means it's time for another update of the best, worst and in-betweens. I've mentioned 87 films here (not counting no-sees). There have been fifteen, I believe, that deserve to be called creme de la creme. Best So Far (in order of excellence): Man on Wire, WALL*E, The Dark Knight, Tell No One, The Bank Job, The Visitor, Shine a Light, Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, Iron Man, Young @ Heart, Roman Pola

Polanski won't appear in U.S. court
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Roman Polanski's lawyer told a judge Monday the fugitive film director won't appear at a hearing this week to seek dismissal of the decades-old sex case against him. Attorney Chad Hummel argued in a court document that Polanski's personal appearance in court is irrelevant to the question of whether judicial and prosecutorial misconduct violated his constitutional rights. He said there is no legal precedent to support a finding by Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza that...

Growing By The Day!: PHOTO
We've been saying it for a while now, but…. Does Halle Berry have a bun in the oven? Eating for two? Have a baby on board? The actress was snapped in Los Angeles on Saturday in a loose flowing dress which may conceivably be hiding a baby bump. We think we see one! Or maybe she's just "fat" - "baby fat!" [ Image via Ramey Photo Agency . ]

Focus Features boards 'Dubber'
Focus Features has boarded "The Dubber," a buddy comedy with French thesp Alain Chabat attached to play the title role. Pic centers on a man who provides the French dubbing voice for a top Hollywood star. When the A-lister has an on-set meltdown and goes missing, the dubber travels to the U.S. to help find him. The original idea for "The Dubber" was hatched by former Los Angeles Film Festival director Richard Raddon and filmmaker Marina Zenovich ("Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired"). The duo...