UNITED STATES 12 Nov 2009 Charles Manson turns 75 in anniversary year

Charles Manson, the cult figure who masterminded one of the most cold-blooded murders of the 20th Century, turns 75 in Corcoran State Prison in California, where he is likely to end his days. His birthday falls in the 40th anniversary year of the murders. The 35th anniversary year of the best-seller that chronicles the prosecution, "Helter Skelter," also falls in 2009. The birthday could prompt a run on books, films, archived news clips and other media about the murders.

Followers of the man commonly described as demonic and pure evil carried out several murders on his orders from 1968 to 1969. The most famous victim was actress Sharon Tate, the pregnant wife of motion-picture director Roman Polanski. Tate was killed in her Los Angeles home along with three guests. The trial of Manson and his followers in 1970 attracted national attention. In 1971 he was sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to life in prison following the abolition of capital punishment in California in 1972. He has appealed for parole at 11 times without success. In 1986 is reported to have appeared before the parole board with a swastika embossed on his forehead.

At its height, the Manson "family" numbered some 100 young people. He still has a following, and is reported to receive more mail than any other prisoner in the United States prison system. Much of it is said to be fan mail.

The story of the Family's activities inspired an opera and a musical, "Assassins." The latter has Lynette Fromme as a character. The Family has been the subject of several movies, including two television dramatizations of Helter Skelter. A ''Rolling Stone'' magazine cover featured Manson in Jun 1970, cementing his hold on popular culture. American shock rock musician Marilyn Manson derived his stage name from Marilyn Monroe's first name, and Manson's last.

His fans include rock stars who have borrowed lyrics he had written or his philosophy for its shock value. They include the rock band Guns N’ Roses.

One fan and friend, George Stimson, launched the Access Manson web site on 16 Jan 1996, encouraged, as he says on the home page, to tell the world the truth about Charles Manson and to get him his rights by showing how those rights were taken." And there are scores of other websites devoted to telling the "true story" of the cult figure and The Family.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica biography of Manson, he was born to a 16-year-old girl and a man he would never know. After his mother was imprisoned for armed robbery, he lived with an aunt and uncle in West Virginia. Beginning at age nine, he spent much of his life in juvenile reformatories or in prison for crimes that included petty larceny, armed robbery, burglary and auto theft.

Following his release from prison in 1967, Manson moved to San Francisco, where he attracted a small but devoted group of followers from among the city’s bohemian youth culture. By 1968 he had become the leader of the “Family,” a communal religious cult dedicated to studying and implementing his eccentric religious teachings, which were drawn from science fiction as well as the occult and fringe psychology. He preached the coming of an apocalyptic race war that would devastate the United States and leave the Family in a position of dominant power.

His hold on his followers was graphically illustrated with the murders by members of the Family. Mar/09

RELATED READING:

http://www.charliemanson.com/index.htm

http://www.mansondirect.com/faqs.html

http://www.mansonfamilytoday.info/manson.htm