• Charles Manson and The Manson Family were responsible for a number of murders, assaults, and crimes in the late ’60s. • The most notable of these came on August 8-9, 1969, when actress Sharon Tate, along with five others, were brutally murdered over the course of two nights. • Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood debuts on July 26, and features many of these characters within the film, including Tate, Manson, and members of The Manson Family.
With this week’s release of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, we’ve decided to update and republish our piece on the true story of Charles Manson and the Manson family. While we don’t know how true-to-the-book Tarantino’s film will play things, we know based on his 2009 film Inglorious Basterds that he’s not exactly married to depicting events exactly the way they happened—which is why we want to make sure the true facts are out there.
Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood might just be the most exciting film release this summer. Granted that it takes place during the summer of 1969—namely, when an infamous cult leader named Charles Manson ordered a series of murders as a part of a scatterbrained plot to become a music sensation, start a race war, and rule the world—it might be time to revisit some of Manson’s life story.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood isn’t a Manson biopic—it’s story will mostly focus on a fictional actor played by Leonardo DiCaprio and his stunt double, played by Brad Pitt—but the Manson Family’s actions will play a role in the story. Margot Robbie, third-billed on the cast list behind Pitt and DiCaprio, plays real-life actress and Manson murder victim Sharon Tate.
Tarantino is known for playing around with history (remember Inglourious Basterds?). To help you know what’s true and what’s not, we’ve pulled together some of the most significant details about Charles Manson and his followers, who became known as The Manson Family.
Who was Charles Manson?
Born in 1934, Charles Manson was one of the most notorious cult-leading criminals in American history. Much of his adult life was spent taking hallucinogenic drugs and committing crimes, but he also dreamed of a career as a musician or a songwriter. (More on that later.)
Manson eventually used his persuasive skills to form The Manson Family, a cult that included around 100 people—mostly ‘free love’-era hippies—who eventually would follow his orders. These included a number of murders, most notably the Tate-LaBianca murders, wherein his followers killed actress Sharon Tate, among others.
Manson was known for his charisma, and he could talk endlessly. As a former prison counselor named Edward George told The Mercury News, “[Manson] could have been a senator for crying out loud. He had that kind of ability, but he chose to be a crook, a robber, and a murderer. That’s what he ended up with.” George, 86, had first-hand experiences with Manson when he was behind bars. “He had a good memory. He was sharp. He could be like St. Francis. He could be sweet and kind, then a raging maniac. He knew how to play people, how to set them up.”
Mirrorpix//Getty Images
What was The Manson Family?
The Manson Family was the name of a group of around 100 people—mostly younger females—who followed Manson’s orders, teachings, and ramblings.
The Manson Family are believed to have murdered 35 people (though most of these were not ever tried, due to either a lack of evidence, or the perpetrators being already convicted for their part in the Tate-LaBianca Murders). Their most notable victim was actress Sharon Tate, who was nearly nine months pregnant at the time of her death on August 9th, 1969.
What happened on August 9th and 10th, 1969?
On August 9th, 1969, Manson sent one of his followers, Charles “Tex” Watson, to ransack a house located at 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, near Beverly Hills. The house was being rented by the director Roman Polanski, who was in Europe shooting a film on this night. Watson was joined by fellow “family members” Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkel.
W. W. Norton & Company Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
W. W. Norton & Company Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
Now 32% Off
$12 at Amazon
According to the book Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi, the prosecutor who put Manson away, Manson instructed Watson to go to “that house where [Producer Terry] Melcher used to live” with the three women—more on Melcher later—and to “totally destroy everyone in [it], as gruesome as you can.”
Manson’s followers killed Sharon Tate, along with three others inside the house: Jay Sebring, a celebrity hairstylist; Wojciech Frykowski, a writer; and Abigail Folger, the heiress to the Folger Coffee fortune. Outside the house, the group spotted 18-year-old Steven Parent, a visitor of William Garretson, who looked after a guest house on the property, and fatally shot him.
The following night, the same four people, along with Leslie Van Houten, Steve “Clem” Grogan, and Manson himself, went to another house in Los Feliz and murdered a supermarket executive named Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary. Manson was not pleased with the result of the previous night, and wanted “to show them how to do it,” according to testimony. He instructed that each woman play a part, according to the book.
The scene was brutal, with many of the stab wounds on the LaBianca couple occurring post-mortem. Krenwinkel wrote “Rise” and “Death to pigs” on the walls, and “Healter [sic] Skelter” on the refrigerator in Rosemary’s blood.
What was Charles Manson trying to accomplish?
Manson was a wannabe recording star. He came into contact with Dennis Wilson, the drummer for The Beach Boys, when the music star picked up two girls from his cult as hitchhikers. For a period of time, the two were running in the same circle.
Wilson then introduced Manson to the record producer Terry Melcher; Melcher initially was interested in working with Manson, but changed his mind and declined working any further with him. While he wasn’t able to convince Melcher to work with him, Manson did end up recording some music at Brian Wilson’s home studio; The Beach Boys released a song called “Never Learn Not To Love,” which was Brian Wilson’s deviation from a song that Manson wrote called “Cease to Exist.” The song appeared as a single B-side from the group’s 1969 album, 20/20.
Manson supposedly received a single-time payment and a motorcycle from The Beach Boys in exchange for a writing credit. Apparently, over time, he grew angry with Dennis Wilson after some of his lyrics and the song’s arrangement were changed. He then left a bullet on Wilson’s bed as a not-so-veiled threat. “I gave Dennis Wilson a bullet, didn’t I? I gave him a bullet because he changed the words to my song,” he told Diane Sawyer in a national television interview.
Manson’s own version of “Cease to Exist” was released on his own album, which was actually released during his murder trial in 1970.
What did Helter Skelter mean?
Given his ambition to become a musician, Charles Manson was also a big fan of the Beatles, and was very affected by the album known universally as “The White Album.” (Officially, the album is simply a self-titled Beatles album with white album art). “Helter Skelter” is a song on this album.
Rolling Stone did a fantastic round-up of the numerous connections Manson felt with the Beatles, and how he used their music to fuel his own deranged ideas. According to a book written by Manson Family member Paul Watkins, titled My Life With Charles Manson, Manson felt that another Beatles album, The Magical Mystery Tour, “expressed the essence of his own philosophy,” according to that Rolling Stone report.”As rebels within a materialistic, decadent culture, we could dig it.”
According to Watkins, when the White Album came out—namely the song “Helter Skelter”—Manson began referring to an oncoming racial conflict. In Manson’s version of “Helter Skelter,” the “family” would record an album that would trigger a race war. They’d wait around for everyone to destroy each other, then come back and be in charge of everything.
What happened to Charles Manson and the Manson Family?
The Tate/LaBianca Murders made national news, and Manson and the family were in custody within a few months. Manson was sentenced to the death penalty on March 29 1971, along with three other family members: Susan Atkins; Patricia Krenwinkel; and Leslie Van Houten. Tex Watson was also sentenced to death, but had to be tried at a different time because the state needed to extradite him from Texas.
The death penalty was later outlawed in California, so Manson, Atkins, Krenwinkel, Van Houten, and Watson were switched to life sentences.
Atkins died of cancer in 2009. She, along with Krenwinkel, Van Houten, and Watson— who has since become a minister in prison—had their numerous parole requests denied.
Manson was imprisoned until his death at age 83, from natural causes, in late 2017.
Evan Romano
Evan is the culture editor for Men’s Health, with bylines in The New York Times, MTV News, Brooklyn Magazine, and VICE. He loves weird movies, watches too much TV, and listens to music more often than he doesn’t.
