Celebrities Lost: Phil Spector

by Libby Pelham | More from this Blogger

26 Apr 2006 07:33 AM

It was just recently announced that Phil Spector would not go to trial for murder until January 16, 2007. His court date has been rescheduled several times, after originally being set for September 2005, due to scheduling conflicts of lawyers and judges involved in the case.

He has remained free on a $1 million dollar bond since November 2003. B-movie star Lana Clarkson was killed in Spector's house in February 2003. Clarkson was waitressing at House of Blues and had only met Spector the day she died. Police said Spector was quoted as saying "I didn't mean to shoot her." He also told a reporter for Esquire Magazine that Clarkson "kissed the gun." But, Spector's lawyers claim he was in withdrawal from prescription medication (he's admitted to being bi-polar) and didn't know what he was saying. Autopsy reports said Clarkson could have shot herself because she had gunshot residue on her hands. It did ultimately point towards murder rather than suicide. Spector has had three lawyers including OJ Simpson lawyer Robert Shapiro and Bruce Cutler, the famed John Gotti/Mafia lawyer.

Phil may not be going to trial for murder any time soon, but he has plenty of other things to keep in court including a civil suit against Robert Shapiro (who refused to refund his $1 million dollar retainer) and a $5 million dollar sexual harassment and breach of contract suit by his former personal assistant. Spector will also be taken to court by Clarkson' family in a wrongful death lawsuit, but not until the murder trial has ended.

Spector is a high respected record producer known for creating the Wall of Sound in the 1960s, but his is not his first brush with trouble. Always known as an eccentric, he discharged a firearm during a John Lennon session, placed a loaded gun to the temple of Leonard Cohen, and Dee Dee Ramone said he threatened them during a recording session. The biggest scandal (up until the murder of Clarkson) in Spector's life was his marriage to Ronnie Spector. Famed lead singer of the Ronettes, a group Spector helped bring to the forefront in the 1960s, Ronnie claimed Spector kept her locked in the house during their marriage in her 1990 autobiography Be My Baby.

Do you want to read more about the tumultuous marriage between Phil and Ronnie? Check out Be My Baby at Amazon.com

Be sure to check out Marjorie's Bio on Phil Spector for more info on his life and career!

Learn more about Libby Pelham

Libby Pelham is a work-at-home mom located in Jacksonville, NC. She has a beautiful little boy, Will, born in July of 2004.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger