Any George Spahn Experts?
I came across this photo the other day, and I thought to myself: "What do we really know about George Spahn, before 'The Family' moved-in"? Was he ever married? Did he have children? Was he always half blind? Where was he born? Occupation as a younger man? Military service? Let's brainstorm, and see what answers come to light!
10 comments:
Well I've read that Clayton Moore, the guy that played the Lone Ranger, knew George because the series was filmed out there. He says he stopped in one day in 1969 a couple of weeks before the murders and there were a bunch of hippies on the porch.
He says he spoke to George for a while and he seemed nervous, but he didn't feel that George was in danger. He said if he had felt that he was in danger, he wouldn't have left him there.
So....the Lone Ranger may have seen Charlie that day.
George lived five years after the murders. He was married to a woman named Martha Greenholts, and lived in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. He was eventually admitted to the Sherwood Convalescent Hospital in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA, where he died on September 22, 1974, at the age of 85. He was buried in Eternal Valley Memorial Park.
That was from Wiki...
I could swear I read somewhere he had kids- and they wanted control of the ranch... but Im not 100% sure- I would have to go search for it..
Hello All,
According to Ed Sanders, in his famous book (that some of us are currently reading), The Family, George had a son named Jim who was very opposed to the Manson clan living at the ranch. It was a constant source of tension for everyone involved. At one point, George was offered beaucoup greenbacks to sell the place to some developers who wanted to make it into a "Western Adventureland" for German tourists who were enamored with the old West and its outlaws and shootouts. With the help of some of his young loves, Charlie "encouraged" Spahn not to sell. This angered George's kids who were all for it and served to bolster the animosity they felt for Manson and his group of followers.
I wish George would have gone for it, though! The ranch's flavor might have been saved somewhat. More than that, maybe, just maybe, Johnny Schwartz's battered up, yellow and white,'59 Ford might not ever have ventured out on that hot August night, on it's way to Cielo Drive; on it's way to Sharon's love house, carrying those who would go there to do the devil's business.
Long gone, wishful thinking, I know, but God how I wish it were so...............
Thanks LadyRam!
Great information.
Welcome to the Blog!
You're right.
You have to wonder, how/if history would have been re-written, if the ranch had been sold.
It sounds like Spahn turned down quite a windfall, as well.
His kids may have had quite an inheritance, just a few years later.
I guess George was thinking with the wrong part of his body... even as a senior citizen! LOLOL
What else can you figure?
George had lots of kids(maybe as many as 10) naming each one after horses he owned. Few of his kids visited him. When the ranch burned he only owned 20 acres.
Thanks LadyRam and MrPoirot.
Interesting screen names!!
I haven't read that in the book yet, but am remembering that the kids wanted George to sell.
I'm sure they weren't happy to witness a bunch of hippies over-running the ranch and young girls hanging out with Dad.
There are a lot of "what ifs" with this case, anything done differently might have changed the outcome. Maybe if Charlie had been too busy looking for a different place to squat, he wouldn't have had time to plan murders.
Did any of his kids ever publicly comment on the case? Any idea whatever happened to them? Sad to say, that there were several western movie sets in the area and all of have burned down or been destroyed. Griffith Park was the home to many Tom Mix movies and the Batman Cave is actually in Griffith Park too...although it is quite a hike to get to it. I think if you google Batman Cave and the Sierra Club, you might find the directions on how to get there....
Just to add, but the German investor group you are referring to was actually Frank Reitz, he wanted the Spahn ranch badly and could only get George to agree to sell him only a few acres. George told Frank he was scared of the Manson Family and wanted them gone. Frank said he would take care of getting rid of the family if George would consider his offer to buy the entire property, George agreed. The next move was Frank calling the police to tip them off about the Family stealing cars and hence the infamous Spahn ranch raid that Shorty got the blame for.
One last thing I would like to add, the Bug is a douche and should have been disbarred for his actons, I know with exception of ColTate this isn't a popular idea, but it reallly pisses me off when a officer of the court abuses his power and makes a mockery out of our justice system. Manson was evil and could have been convicted without VB shenanigans! I wish Jesse Ventura would have took a swipe at him during his JFK book interview, haha the Bug got mad and tried to shout Jesse down, WOW what a way to talked to a former governor
I wonder if this was Tarrantino's source material for Cliff Booth's "unsettling" visit to Spahn Ranch with the "Pussycat" character? Cliff's visit is shortly prior to the murders in August of 1969 AND, his visit with George is extremely "odd/offputting" by itself...then you factor in the encounters with Squeaky and Clem, etc...
A similar vibe...no?
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