The record producer Phil Spector was freed on $1-million bail yesterday after being arrested in connection with the killing of an actress he had reportedly met only the night before.
The victim of the shooting, which took place at Spector’s baroque mansion in a LA suburb, was 41-year-old Lana Clarkson, who had appeared in a number of films and television shows and worked as a volunteer for an HIV charity.
Spector and Clarkson were the only people in the 10-bedroom house, known locally as the Pyrenees Castle, when the shooting took place. Initially, police were unable to identify the victim and told reporters at the scene that she was ”in her early to mid twenties”.
Clarkson was a 6ft blonde who was born in southern California and grew up in Napa Valley. She had appeared in a number of lesser-known films in the 80s, most notably for the legendary horror director, Roger Corman. In his movie Barbarian Queen, she was the sword-wielding heroine; Corman claimed this was the inspiration for the successful television series Xena: Warrior Princess.
Her other films included Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Scarface, Amazon Women on the Moon, Blind Date and Death Stalker.
She appeared in such television shows as Happy Days and had recently done commercials for Mercedes Benz, Nike and Playtex. She also worked on a weekly basis as a volunteer for Project Angel Food, which delivers meals to people with HIV.
Her website, www.livingdollproductions.com, yesterday paid tribute to her. The words ”you were a star on earth and now shine bright heaven [sic]” and ”a tragic and senseless murder took you from us” have been posted on the site.
”There has not been a confession by Mr Spector,” police said yesterday, indicating that the suspect had been questioned before his release on bail. He will appear in court later this week.
Robert Shapiro, the lawyer who successfully represented OJ Simpson in his murder trial, has been hired by Spector for a case which is likely to attract a similar amount of speculation and coverage.
Yesterday he said: ”It’s of no benefit to my client or any client to make public statements.”
The shooting took place in the foyer of Spector’s mansion, where he lives alone. A black Mercedes, its front door still hanging open, was also part of the police investigation and has been taken away by police.
The house, built in 1926 by a rancher, has 33 rooms and has been the record producer’s home since 1998. Security is tight: potential intruders are warned that the fences are high-voltage and there are 24-hour surveillance cameras. Neighbours reported seeing him driving by in his white Rolls Royce.
”I’m hoping this is not something he’s guilty of,” Spector’s sound engineer and friend, Lawrence Levine, told the Hollywood Reporter. ”In the old days, I could have seen it as accidental, waving a gun around. But he hasn’t been that way for a long time. He was in a really good place.”
Spector had recently started re-visiting Hollywood music clubs to look at bands and was hoping to embark on fresh recording projects. He was also one of the many celebrity fans who attended LA Lakers basketball games at the Staples Centre.
No motive has been advanced for the killing of Clarkson and the police are declining to speculate on the relationship between her and Spector. He had recently been associated with the singer Nancy Sinatra, with whom he was seen at a Bruce Springsteen concert. – Guardian Unlimited Â