Phil Spector: Murderer!

bruce cutler's soul past through me, that's all i can say.

A bit off track, but "Tearing Down the Wall of Sound" is a totally addictive read. The interviews between the author and Spector took place a mere six weeks before "the incident".

UH:

The week’s most dubious highlight came when the defense played Lana Unleashed, Clarkson’s portfolio video designed to showcase her comedic talents. Prosecutors Alan Jackson and Pat Dixon begged Fidler to block the screening but the judge ignored their pleas. The video quickly made clear why Clarkson did not have her own Comedy Central show. Her self-written sketches, intended to demonstrate Clarkson’s range of characterizations and dialects, appeared desperately unfunny on the courtroom screen. She was dying up there — all over again.

It also became obvious why Spector’s lawyers fought to have the video shown. In one segment Clarkson performs a black-face impersonation of singer Little Richard selling a line of African-American cosmetics on TV. The sketch was nothing more than a coon show and seemed to drag on for hours as reporters kept an eye on the jury’s three black members, who watched with frozen expressions. (“Little Richard’s” cosmetic kit — called “Makeup Kit for Dummies” — included minibar bottles of liquor and plastic pieces of a black man’s face.)

Obviously this doesn't excuse Spector in the slightest but Jesus H.

Court TV has the video.

Obviously this doesn't excuse Spector in the slightest

I mean maybe she went into her "routine." Justifiable homicide.

The other lawyer who quit today.

why would that video of her shitty comedy be admissible?

Jury cant reach a verdict.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7001886.stm

I didn't know she was in Fast Times at Ridgemont High...

she was the science teacher's bombshell wife

http://img.search.com/thumb/0/0a/Fast_Times_Vincent_Schiavelli.jpg/250px-Fast_Times_Vincent_Schiavelli.jpg

appalling

Have a heart, he just switched to Sanka.

why would that video of her shitty comedy be admissible?

I think because it fit the defense argument that she shot herself in a desperate attempt to bring attention to her failing career. Focusing on a terrible audition reel would make sense if you think she was so unfunny she would have needed an insane stunt to raise her stock up. And if you ignore the forensic evidence.

the forensic evidence seems so massively stacked against him.

money buys "justice" once again.

aww man I just....I mean, none of us were on the jury, we didn't hear the whole trial, but...it does seem like he shot that poor woman.

I think its all his prior behavior combined with the forensic evidence that's really damning (but yes I'm not in the courtroom etc.)... still the whole inevitability of it, this is the kind of thing practically everyone that's known/worked with Spector has predicted would happen for so long and now that its happened he's gonna ... well what is he gonna do exactly? he can't become any more of a recluse/outcast than he already is...

In ten years, he'll be jacking people at conventions, stealing memoribila.

he's been crazy as fuck for years. why on earth would you go to a washed-up celebrities house after work and then decided to commit suicide at the last minute?

Maybe now that OJ's been arrested again there needs to be a new getting away with murder posterboy.

new on pichfork:

Phil Spector's Murder Trial Declared Mistrial

After about five months of testimony, the trial of legendary "Wall of Sound" producer Phil Spector ended in a mistrial today, September 26, according to an AP report.

Spector is charged with second-degree murder for the gun death of actress Lana Clarkson four-and-a-half years ago, but Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler declared the case a mistrial after each juror told him they were unable to reach a verdict.

Fidler made the decision on the 12th day of deliberations, and the foreman of the nine-man, three-woman jury revealed that there was a 10-2 deadlock without specifying which way they were leaning.

So far, there has been no talk of a retrial.

Also related to the trial-- though apparently not factoring into the decision to declare a mistrial-- is authorities' investigation into a possible threat to Fidler made via a post to a "Team Spector" MySpace page.

The post said, "I love Phil Spector" and "The Evil Judge should DIE!!!!." It was signed "xoxo Chelle"-- a reference to Spector's wife Rachelle-- and later taken down, according to Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini.

Christopher Plourd, one of Spector's defense attorneys, denied Rachelle Spector's involvement in the incident.

A few weeks ago, Fidler and Rachelle Spector clashed over her communication with the media about the case outside of court, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

Mistrial declared in Phil Spector murder case

A woman who testified against Phil Spector at his murder trial last year has died, but prosecutors vowed Monday that the loss would not substantially affect the music producer's second trial.

http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/08/ap/music/main3684887.shtml

Verdict to be announced in an hour.

regardless of what they decide, this whole thing is still depressing in about 20 different ways.

Why does everyone in the comments seem to hope he goes down? (yeah, I know, don't read news site comments, it's bad for my nerves, but I can't help it)

Why does everyone in the comments seem to hope he goes down?

because there's every indication that he is, in fact, guilty as fuck?

I had the impression that it wasn't as clear as that, but if it is, then OK.

i dunno i read a couple long form articles about it that -- even accounting for what i would suspect was a anti-spector bias -- seemed to suggest that him and his lawyers story was mega suspect at best, pretty much sounded like outright bullshit.....not withstanding the man's considerable history with guns, being abusive, crazy, paranoid, etc etc etc

Spector's defense - that she was drunk and depressed, took his gun (after it got his prints on it), and shot herself in the face - is a little um wtf. Especially given that immediately afterwards he wandered outside, gun in hand, and said to his driver "I think I killed somebody". Plus a history of being an abusive mysoginistic loon and habit of threatening all kinds of people with firearms... yeah I think the guy is guilty as fuck. so to speak.

yeah his alibi wouldn't have even supported a 15 minute episode of Matlock IMO

and said to his driver "I think I killed somebody"

LOL

I think for people who knew him, the reaction wasn't "phil shot someone?!" it was more "surprised that didn't happen sooner ... and lucky it wasn't me."

guilty

cannot find video of Beavis saying "give him the chair"

i couldn't find the story, is the verdict out now?

Music producer Phil Spector has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of actress Lana Clarkson.

yeah, its a headline along the top on the bbc site

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/04/phil-spector-verdict-lana-clarkson.html

cannot find video of Beavis saying "give him the chair"

Is this a death-penalty case? (It may no longer be now, for other reasons, but was it ever?)

no its not. he's facing 18 years (I doubt he'll get that much)

Spector arrived in court Monday wearing a "Barack Obama" button.

no, I just wanted to play Beavis

where's Marcello

Marcello has a cast iron alibi so don't even try it.

lolz - nah there was just some other thread where Marcello was giving me shit for assuming Spector's guilt and I was sorta flabbergasted that anyone (esp someone who's researched Spector exhaustively) would buy his alibi

no its not. he's facing 18 years (I doubt he'll get that much)

oops its 18 years TO LIFE... dude's gonna duy in the can

die even

It's like I should feel sadness or pity about this entire tragedy, but we always knew that Spector was nuts so the fact that his stupid habits finally led to someone's death isn't much of a surprise. It feels like nothing has really changed, and therefore I don't feel much of anything at all about this.