Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski: Rare Photos, London, 1968
Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski: Rare Photos, London, 1968
#1Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski: Rare Photos, London, 1968
Posted: 8/7/14 at 9:48am
On the night of Aug. 9, 1969, in Los Angeles, four members of Charles Manson’s “family” savagely murdered 26-year-old actress—and Roman Polanski’s wife—Sharon Tate; her friend and former lover, Jay Sebring; Polish writer Wojciech Frykowski; coffee-empire heiress Abigail Folger; and 18-year-old Steven Parent, who was visiting the Polanski-Tate house in Benedict Canyon that evening to try and sell a clock radio to the property’s caretaker, and was shot to death by Manson follower Tex Watson. (A married couple in Los Feliz, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, were murdered by Manson family members the next night.)
The grisly details of the Manson murders and their nightmarish aftermath—the circus-like trials, the enduring fascination Manson and his band of sociopaths hold for countless people, and so on—are well-known. Most people with even a passing knowledge of the slaughter are aware, for example, that Tate, eight and a half months pregnant, begged her killers to spare her unborn child. Instead, she was stabbed to death while pleading with her murderers, after which Manson follower Susan Atkins dipped a towel in Tate’s blood and used it to write “PIG” on the front door of the house. All of the other victims of the Manson followers’ depravity suffered equally horrifying deaths.
For more than a few people, the Sixties came to a bloody end during those two summer nights in ’69.
On the 45th anniversary of the Manson murders, LIFE.com recalls the living, vibrant Sharon Tate with a series of photos of her, Polanski and their friends, made by LIFE’s Bill Ray in Swinging London in 1968.
Sharon and Roman. London. 1968.
dreaming
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/24/09
#2Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski: Rare Photos, London, 1968
Posted: 8/7/14 at 12:44pmThis was a truly horrific crime. What made Tate's murder so terrible was that she begged for the life of her child and Susan Atkins cruelly told her "I have no mercy for you, b*tch". Polanski not only lost his wife and friends, but his son. (His son would be the same age as my cousin, who's now married with a son of his own. It just saddens me to think of that.) And Abigail Folger, the only child of the coffee giant (she almost got away, as did her lover-they had been talking about marriage). I've done a lot of reading and research on this since I was in my late teens. It's just a horrific crime. And the worst part is these people weren't the original targets: Doris Day's son, Terry Melcher, was. (Not saying his death would have been any better-but that was who they were looking for. He was a record producer and Charles Manson thought Melcher could make him a big music star.)
#2Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski: Rare Photos, London, 1968
Posted: 8/7/14 at 1:24pm
It *was* a truly horrific crime. Sharon was only 26...so young and she was only a month and half away from giving birth. I've read many books on the crime as well, especially when I was in high school - I was an avid reader of true crime books back then. I remember as a 7 year old seeing the commercials for the original CBS airing of the television movie, "Helter Skelter" starring Steve Railsback as Manson - it completely freaked me out.
It wasn't until I was in my teens and saw "Valley of the Dolls" that I was even aware of who Sharon Tate was. I instantly took a liking to her and as is my custom, once a movie actor/actress fascinates me I tend to want to find out more about them and that's when I found out about her untimely death.
She was stunningly beautiful...and from all accounts I've read was humble, sweet and very down to earth. I'm not going to say she was a great actress, she wasn't *but* she had promise and a very good flair for comedy which is evident in her last American film, "The Wrecking Crew" (1969).
I thought she did a credible job in "Valley of the Dolls" and her character's final scene when she commits suicide always *gets* me.
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Broadway Legend Joined: 4/24/09
#3Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski: Rare Photos, London, 1968
Posted: 8/7/14 at 1:54pmSharon Tate had a great deal of promise as an actress. She was a rather luminescent presence on screen.
#4Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski: Rare Photos, London, 1968
Posted: 8/7/14 at 2:47pm
Sharon Tate's beauty and style is still an inspiration to many women today.
Here is a picture of Jennifer Lopez, that she posted to her instagram, twitter and facebook account just last week and hash tagged: sharontaterealness.
Updated On: 8/7/14 at 02:47 PM
#5Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski: Rare Photos, London, 1968
Posted: 8/8/14 at 1:05pmThe murder of Sharon Tate and others by the Manson family, was not only horrific, it marked the sad and tragic end of the "flower-power" sixties. Sharon was a stunning beauty and she really had so much potential to be a great actress.
#6Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski: Rare Photos, London, 1968
Posted: 8/8/14 at 1:40pm
As a child I would watch her in the movie "The Fearless Vampire Killers" with Roman Polanski. The musical "Dance of the Vampires" was based on this movie. It was the first movie I can remember seeing someone portraying a homosexual.
"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
#7Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski: Rare Photos, London, 1968
Posted: 8/9/14 at 2:20pmI love THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS. Not only is it a very, very funny film but she is just so incredibly beautiful in it - - - even with the red hair. Polanski really took such great care not only with her performance in it but how she was photographed throughout the film. She really was one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood.
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