Actress Suzanna Leigh Remembers Sharon Fondly But Not Roman, LAPD Detective Who Worked on the Tate Case Passes, Actor Hugh Grant Turned Down "The Ghost Writer", and Actress Olivia Williams Says "No Comment" on Polanski Case But Insists He is a Great Director

I got this book recently that includes talk of Sharon.  It is a autobiography of Actress Suzanna Leigh.  She was good friends with Sharon and mentions her fondly in the book.  However, she does not have nice things to say about Roman.  Not sure if I should mention what she says of him in the book.  If you are interested in a copy here is her website:

http://www.suzannaleigh.co.uk/index.html

Actress Suzanna Leigh.

Here is a highlight of what she says of Sharon:

 

"She was one of the sweetest people, besides being absolutely stunning. 

"I had met Sharon when she came over to London from Los Angeles in 1966 and I knew from our very first meeting that she was a lovely girl.  She had long blonde hair, the most stunning figure and legs that went on forever.  She also had a sweet personality and I don't think she ever said a nasty word about anyone."

 

It is an interesting book and offers many rare and great stories about Leigh's co-star and good friend, Elvis Presley.  So I do recommend it.

 

One of the LAPD detectives who worked on the Tate murder case has passed.  I remember how Polanski said all of them were so helpful in the case.  Here is a article about his passing:

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-danny-galindo8-2010apr08,0,1301666.story

Los Angeles Times, April 8, 2010:

Danny Galindo dies at 88; LAPD detective in Tate-LaBianca murder cases

He was the first detective to arrive at the scene of the LaBianca slayings and conducted a detailed search, according to the book 'Helter Skelter.'

Danny Galindo, a retired Los Angeles police detective who helped investigate the notorious Tate-LaBianca murders, died of a heart ailment Tuesday at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, his family said. He was 88.

"He was an important member of the Manson murders investigative team," said Vincent Bugliosi, who was the chief prosecutor in the case. Cult leader Charles Manson and several followers were sentenced to death (later reduced to life terms) in the 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca and five others.

Described by Bugliosi as amiable and hard-working, Galindo was a member of the LAPD's prestigious Robbery-Homicide Division when he was sent to the Tate house in Benedict Canyon, where the first five killings took place on the night of Aug. 8, 1969. As he told Los Angeles magazine last year, he took charge of the evidence being gathered and stayed to guard the house after the other investigators left the gruesome scene.

The next night he was filing reports at Parker Center downtown when he was called to the scene of two more murders, this time in the Los Feliz area. He was the first detective to arrive at the LaBianca residence and conducted a detailed search, according to Bugliosi's book about the murders, "Helter Skelter." Galindo later testified about the results of his search, including finding the word "WAR" carved into the abdomen of Leno LaBianca.

On the night of the LaBianca murders he was asked by a television reporter if the Tate and LaBianca murders were related and regretted his answer. "I told him, 'I think it's more of a copycat case.' I introduced that expression, and I've lived with it forever. It was a hell of a mistake on my part," he said in the Los Angeles magazine piece, "because it wasn't until much later that things would begin to fall into place."

Galindo was born in El Paso on May 4, 1921. He flew a fighter plane for the Army Air Forces during World War II and was awarded the Purple Heart and Flying Cross after he was shot down over Germany.

He joined the LAPD in 1946 and quickly became a detective. He retired from the department in 1977 after three decades in homicide. He later worked as an investigator for the State Bar of California before starting his own investigations firm.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Margie, a son, a daughter and a grandchild.

 

Actor Hugh Grant apparently turned down a part in "The Ghost Writer":

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/news/article_1546036.php/Hugh-Grant-passed-on-Roman-Polanski-movie

And here, Actress Olivia Williams talks fondly of Polanski but does not want to discuss his current case:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/7547577/Olivia-Williams-interview-Polanski-terrified-me-but-hes-a-movie-master.html

 

A highlight from that interview is this quote from Williams about 'what if this is Polanski's last movie?':

“That would be a tragedy, a f---ing waste. Roman is one of the great masters of film; he is unlike any other director. The over-sensitivity of modern actors has affected directing in a very negative way. So often these days, at the end of a take, you will find a director tentatively whispering to his star: 'That was great but perhaps, maybe, would you possibly even consider trying it again ever so slightly differently…’. Roman is not like that at all. If he is unhappy with something, he will interrupt a take waving his arms and bellowing: 'No! No! No!’, which, at first, was absolutely terrifying.

“He came at me with that once during my crying, shagging scene, which is a, you know, somewhat sensitive and vulnerable moment for any actor.” Again the eyebrow creeps up, comically. “It turned out he was upset because the pillow behind my head was at an angle that irritated him. After that, I stopped taking it personally.”