Everything about Sharon Tate totally explained
Sharon Marie Tate (
January 24,
1943 –
August 9,
1969) was an
American actress. During the 1960s she'd small
television roles before starting her
film career. She appeared in several films that highlighted her beauty, and after receiving positive reviews for her
comedic performances, was hailed as one of
Hollywood's promising newcomers, even being nominated for a Golden Globe award in 1968 for her work in "Valley of the Dolls". Tate's fame increased after her marriage to
film director Roman Polański and her appearances in
fashion magazines as a
model and
cover girl.
Tate was murdered, along with four others, on August 9, 1969, by followers of
Charles Manson, at her
Benedict Canyon home. She was eight and a half months pregnant.
A decade after the murders, her mother
Doris Tate, appalled at the growing
cult status of the killers and the possibility that any of them might be granted
parole, joined a public campaign against what she considered shortcomings in the state
corrections system. This catalyzed amendments to
California criminal law in 1982, which allowed crime victims and their families to make
victim impact statements during sentencing and at parole hearings. She became the first person to make such an impact statement under the new law, when she spoke at the parole hearing of one of her daughter's killers,
Charles "Tex" Watson. She later said that she believed the changes in the law had afforded her daughter dignity that had been denied her before, and that she'd been able to "help transform Sharon's legacy from murder victim to a symbol of victim's rights".
Biography
Childhood and early acting career
Sharon Tate was born in
Dallas, Texas, the first of three daughters, to Paul Tate, a
United States Army officer and his wife, Doris. At six months of age, Sharon Tate won the "Miss Tiny Tot of Dallas Pageant", but the Tates held no show business ambitions for their daughter. Paul Tate was promoted and transferred several times. By age 16, Sharon Tate had lived in six different American cities, and she found it difficult to maintain friendships. Her family described her as shy and lacking in self-confidence, and as an adult Sharon Tate commented that people often misinterpreted her shyness for aloofness until they knew her better.
Tate returned to the United States to film
Don't Make Waves with
Tony Curtis, leaving Polanski in London. Tate played the part of Malibu, and was the inspiration for the popular "Malibu Barbie" doll. The film was intended to capitalize on the popularity of beach movies and the music of such artists as
the Beach Boys and
Jan and Dean. Tate's character, billed by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer publicity as "Malibu, Queen of the Surf", wore little more than a bikini for most of the film. Disappointed with the film, she began referring to herself sarcastically as "sexy little me". Before the film's release, a major publicity campaign resulted in photographs and life-sized cardboard figures of Sharon Tate being displayed in cinema foyers throughout the United States; a concurrent advertising campaign by
Coppertone featured Tate. The film opened to poor reviews and mediocre ticket sales and Tate was quoted as confiding to a reporter, "It's a terrible movie", before adding, "Sometimes I say things I shouldn't. I guess I'm too outspoken."
Later in the year,
Valley of the Dolls opened to almost uniformly negative reviews.
Bosley Crowther wrote in
The New York Times, "all a fairly respectful admirer of movies can do is laugh at it and turn away".
Newsweek said that the film "has no more sense of its own ludicrousness than a village idiot stumbling in manure", but a later article about rising actresses read: "Astoundingly photogenic, infinitely curvaceous, Sharon Tate is one of the most smashing young things to hit Hollywood in a long time." The three lead actresses were castigated in numerous publications, including
The Saturday Review, which wrote, "Ten years ago... Parkins, Duke and Tate would more likely have been playing the hat check girls than movie-queens; they're totally lacking in style, authority or charm."
Marriage to Roman Polański
In late 1967, Tate and Polański returned to London, and were frequent subjects of newspaper and magazine articles. Tate was depicted as being untraditional and modern, and was quoted as saying that couples should live together before marrying. They were married in
Chelsea, London on
January 20,
1968 with considerable publicity. Photographer Peter Evans later described them as "the imperfect couple. They were the
Douglas Fairbanks/
Mary Pickford of our time... Cool, nomadic, talented and nicely shocking."
Polański urged Tate to end her association with Martin Ransohoff, and Tate began to place less importance on her career, until Polański told her that he wanted to be married to "a
hippie, not a housewife". The couple returned to Los Angeles and quickly became part of a social group that included some of the most successful young people in the film industry, including
Steve McQueen,
Warren Beatty,
Mia Farrow,
Peter Sellers,
Jacqueline Bisset,
Leslie Caron,
Joan Collins,
Joanna Pettet,
Laurence Harvey,
Peter Fonda and
Jane Fonda, older film stars like
Henry Fonda,
Kirk Douglas,
Yul Brynner and
Danny Kaye, musicians such as
Jim Morrison and the
Mamas and the Papas, and
record producer Terry Melcher and his girlfriend
Candice Bergen. Jay Sebring remained one of Tate's and Polanski's most frequent companions. Polański's circle of friends included people he'd known since his youth in
Poland such as
Wojciech Frykowski and Frykowski's girlfriend, coffee heiress
Abigail Folger. The Polanski house was often full of strangers, and Tate regarded the casual atmosphere as part of the "free spirit" of the times, saying that she didn't mind who came into her home as her motto was "live and let live". Her close friend Leslie Caron later commented that the Polańskis were too trusting -- "to the point of recklessness" -- and that she'd been alarmed by it.
Tate's next film was
The Wrecking Crew (1969), a comedy in which she played Freya Carlson, an accident-prone spy, who was also a romantic interest for star
Dean Martin, playing
Matt Helm. She performed her own stunts and was taught martial arts by
Bruce Lee. The film was successful and brought Tate strong reviews, with many reviewers praising her comedic performance.
Vincent Canby of the
New York Times criticized the film but wrote, "The only nice thing is Sharon Tate, a tall, really great-looking girl." Martin commented that he intended to make another "Matt Helm" film, and that he wanted Tate to reprise her role.
Around this time Tate was feted as a promising newcomer. She was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award as "New Star of the Year - Actress" for her
Valley of the Dolls performance, losing to Katharine Ross for The Graduate. She placed fourth behind Mia Farrow, Judy Geeson and Katharine Houghton for a "Golden Laurel" award as the year's "Most Promising Newcomer" with the results published in the Motion Picture Exhibitor magazine. She was also runner-up to Lynn Redgrave in the Motion Picture Herald's poll for "The Star of Tomorrow", in which box-office drawing power was the main criterion for inclusion on the list. These results indicated that her career was beginning to accelerate and for her next film, Tate negotiated a fee of $150,000.
Police took the only survivor at the address, the caretaker
William Garretson, for questioning. Garretson lived in the guest house which was located on the property, but a short distance from the house, and not immediately visible. As the first suspect, he was questioned and submitted to a
polygraph test. He said that Parent had visited him at approximately 11:30 p.m. and left after a few minutes. Garretson said he'd no involvement in the murders and didn't know anything that could help the investigation. Police accepted his explanation and he was allowed to leave.
Polanski had been informed of the murders and returned to Los Angeles where police, unable to determine a motive, questioned him about his wife and friends. The funerals for the five victims were held on Wednesday,
August 13. Sharon Tate was interred in the
Holy Cross Cemetery,
Culver City, California, with her son, Paul Richard Polanski (named posthumously for Polanski's and Tate's fathers), in her arms. The funerals of Tate and Sebring were separated by several hours to allow mourners to attend both.
Life magazine devoted a lengthy article to the murders and featured photographs of the crime scenes. Polanski was interviewed for the article and allowed himself to be photographed in the living room where Tate and Sebring had died, Tate's dried blood clearly visible on the floor in front of him. Widely criticized for his actions, he argued that he wanted to know who was responsible and was willing to shock the magazine's readers in the hope that someone would come forward with information.
Arrest and trial of the Manson Family
In November 1969, while in prison in connection with a car theft,
Susan Atkins boasted to an inmate that she was responsible for the murder of Sharon Tate. This led to her indictment, along with the accomplices she named,
Charles Manson,
Charles "Tex" Watson,
Patricia Krenwinkel and
Linda Kasabian. Atkins also revealed that the murders of
Leno and
Rosemary LaBianca in
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, the night after the Tate murders, were also committed by "Family" members, and incriminated
Leslie Van Houten as a participant in the second murder.
Offered immunity from prosecution for testifying before a
grand jury, Atkins presented her version of events, and candidly stated that she'd stabbed Tate because she was "sick of listening to her, pleading and begging, begging and pleading". When she refused to cooperate further, the offer of immunity was withdrawn and made to Kasabian instead. As Kasabian hadn't taken part in any of the murders, and by some accounts had challenged Manson over the killings, the offer of immunity to her was seen as more acceptable, particularly by prosecutor
Vincent Bugliosi, who commented that he was relieved the offer was withdrawn from Atkins. In 1995, the "Doris Tate Crime Victims Foundation" was founded as a non-profit organization to promote public awareness of the judicial system and to provide support to the victims of violent crime. Patti Tate also confronted
David Geffen and board members of
Geffen Records in 1993 over plans to include a song written by Charles Manson on the
Guns N' Roses album
"The Spaghetti Incident?". She commented to a journalist that the record company was "putting Manson up on a pedestal for young people who don't know who he's to worship like an idol."
After Patti's death from
breast cancer in 2000, her older sister Debra continued to represent the Tate family at parole hearings. Debra Tate said of the killers, "They don’t show any personal responsibility. They haven’t made atonement to any one of my family members."
Roman Polanski gave away all of his possessions after the murders, unable to bear any reminders of the period that he called "the happiest I ever was in my life". He remained in Los Angeles until the killers were arrested and then traveled to Europe. His 1979 film
Tess was dedicated "For Sharon", as Tate had read
Thomas Hardy's
Tess of the d'Urbervilles during her final stay with Polanski in London, and had left it for him to read with the comment that it would be a good story for them to film together. He tried to explain his anguish after the murder of his wife and unborn son in his 1984
autobiography Roman by Polanski and wrote, "Since Sharon's death, and despite appearances to the contrary, my enjoyment of life has been incomplete. In moments of unbearable personal tragedy some people find solace in religion. In my case the opposite happened. Any religious faith I'd was shattered by Sharon's murder. It reinforced my faith in the absurd."
Eye of the Devil with its supernatural themes, and
Valley of the Dolls, with its overstated melodrama, have each achieved a degree of
cult status.
Tate's
biographer, Greg King, holds a view often expressed by members of the Tate family, writing in
Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders (2000): "Sharon's real legacy lies not in her movies or in her television work. The very fact that, today, victims or their families in California are able to sit before those convicted of a crime and have a voice in the sentencing at trials or at parole hearings, is largely due to the work of Doris [andPatti] Tate. Their years of devotion to Sharon's memory and dedication to victims' rights... have helped transform Sharon from mere victim, [and] restore a human face to one of the
twentieth century's most infamous crimes."
Filmography
Further Information
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