Muses and Girlfriends No 11 - SHARON TATE -

 Famous Muses & Girlfriends in Filmmaking Pt. 11

GIRLFRIEND: Sharon Tate (full name Sharon Marie Tate)

Note the text is not by me here and I don't agree with much of it especially around Roman Polanski but the terrifyingly sad pictures here of the heavily pregnant Sharon in 1969 (taken by legendary fashion photographer Terry O'Neil) just prior to returning home and being slaughtered by the clinically insane psychopaths the Manson Family (so called) believed they were attacking the establishment (they weren't, they really weren't) they were in fact attacking their own (not least humans but also the young hip arts based creatives that Manson sought ins towards with his 'music'!) not to mention the radical counter culture aspects of the circle they moved in, there is much evidence that didn't they even know who they were killing. It is worth recalling Manson died in prison which frankly is where he belonged and the 'girls' when sentenced to death for murder (reduced to life) was to laugh, they had just slaughtered several of their contemporaries and one of which was a beautiful young pregnant woman and her unborn son. Her unborn son! Just let that sink in a moment. 

Beyond the descriptions of Hell by most people with any sensibilties standards. 

"Sharon was born January 24th, 1943 in Dallas, TX to Col. Paul Tate, a US Army officer, and Doris Gwendolyn, a housewife. Sharon and her sisters Debra and Patti grew up as military brats, living all over the world because of their father’s position. They lived in El Paso, TX; Richmond, WA; and finally Verona, Italy, where Sharon would finish high school and become fluent in Italian. She started her career as a teen participating in beauty pageants and modeling, and by 19 she moved to Los Angeles, CA to get a Hollywood agent. Though Sharon’s colleagues worried her shyness was affecting her acting range, she was still ambitious and motivated enough to seek roles. Her first on-screen gig was a bit part on a 1963 episode of the popular sitcom “Mr. Ed,” and that same year she landed a supporting role as pretty, local bank teller Janet Trego on the megahit sitcom “The Beverly Hillbillies” (1963-65). In film, Sharon appeared in the horror flick Eye of the Devil (1966) and the B-movie comedies Don’t Make Waves (1967) and The Wrecking Crew (1968). Her biggest success would end up being the critical flop Valley of the Dolls (1967), which now lives on as a cult classic. Sharon’s best friend was Dolls co-star Barbara Parkins, who was even the maid of honor at Sharon’s wedding to Roman Polanski. 

 

In her love life, Sharon’s relationships were pretty exuberant. There were flings with stars like Richard Beymer and Steve McQueen, and her first fiancé would be French actor Philippe Forquet in 1963. The two would apparently argue frequently, so they broke up not long into the engagement in 1964. Her next serious boyfriend was famous hair stylist Jay Sebring in late ‘64. Sharon and Jay were reportedly very much in love and Jay was also usually on location with Sharon during film shoots. Jay wanted to marry, but Sharon had plans of ending her career with marriage and kids, and now felt it was too soon for that. In 1966, Sharon traveled back to Italy alone to film the foreign horror satire The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) directed by Roman Polanski. The actress and director briefly met before production started, but Roman was disappointed that Jill St. John couldn’t sign on to Vampire Killers and wasn’t impressed with Sharon’s acting, while Sharon thought he was a snob. As filming went on, the two grew to like each other and Roman felt Sharon’s performance improved by the end. Sharon also posed for her only Playboy photoshoot on the set, wearing just her character’s red wig, and photographed personally by Polanski. When the film wrapped in early ‘67, Sharon officially broke up with Jay and moved into Roman’s London apartment. 

 

According to their friends, Jay was devasted Sharon chose Roman, but ultimately agreed with her request to stay friendly. Not long after, Roman’s next project, an adaptation of Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby, was greenlit and he wanted Sharon for the lead. But Paramount Studios wanted Tuesday Weld, and eventually Sharon’s friend Mia Farrow would be cast. Though Roman and Sharon regularly socialized and threw parties at their home properties, their relationship wasn’t entirely happy. Sharon was quickly getting baby fever in autumn, but Roman wasn’t interested in kids and saw other younger women on the side. Sharon secretly hoped that he would lose interest in bachelorhood, but whenever family or his affairs were brought up in conversation, Roman would just shrug it off as ‘Sharon’s big hang-up’ (douche). At this point, Sharon was also turning down roles and not using birth control, but to no avail. “I want a hippie, not a housewife,” Roman was quoted the week of their wedding on January 20th, 1968. 

 

 By the end of summer, the newlyweds completely relocated to Beverly Hills and Sharon started acting again. She finally discovered she was pregnant in December 1968, and supposedly Roman warmed up to the idea of being a dad after a while. In March 1969, the couple moved into a house in Benedict Canyon previously owned by Sharon’s friend Candice Bergen and her boyfriend Terry Melcher. On August 8th, 1969, Sharon invited Jay and a few other friends over to her house for a small get-together while Roman was away for work. Around midnight, the group experienced a home invasion from the cult known as the Manson Family, who were targeting music producer Terry Melcher. Terry had apparently upset their leader, Charles Manson for not signing him a record deal, but the Family didn’t get the news that he had moved out. Rather than go looking for Terry, the members stayed and brutally murdered everyone in the house. Allegedly Jay instantly jumped over to Sharon to protect her and her 9 month old fetus, but it was too late. :’( It’s kind of crazy to think how much history literally could’ve changed if Jay and Sharon had never broken up… 

 

Asshole or not, Sharon’s tragic death had huge emotional affect on Roman’s life and reflected in his adaptations of MacBeth (1971) and Tess (1979). The gruesome murders also influenced Roman to push for screenwriter Robert Towne to change the original happy ending of Chinatown (1974) to the now much bleaker conclusion."

 

with thanks to Pooneil Corner