Lana Clarkson
Encyclopedia
Lana Jean Clarkson was an American
actress and fashion model. Clarkson was a native of Los Angeles County. She played roles in science fiction and fantasy movies. She was murdered by songwriter and producer Phil Spector
, who was convicted of the crime on April 13, 2009.
, to Donna and James M. Clarkson, Lana Clarkson was raised in the hills of Napa Valley, California. She had a brother, Jesse J. Clarkson
, and a sister Fawn. While living in Northern California
, she attended Cloverdale
High School and also Pacific Union College
Preparatory School. During the Christmas
season of 1978 and after her father's death, Clarkson's family moved back to Southern California
and settled down in the Los Angeles region of San Fernando Valley
. Right after Clarksons's family moved back to Los Angeles County, Lana pursued a career in entertainment industry as a performer and fashion model.
In the early 1980s, Clarkson landed bit parts in film and television. In 1982, she made her screen debut as a cameo character in director Amy Heckerling's coming-of-age comedy based on the Cameron Crowe book, Fast Times at Ridgemont High
, as the wife of science teacher Mr. Vargas (Vincent Schiavelli
). The film was her first speaking role. In 1983, she also peeks into the frame in "Scarface" behind Michelle Pfeiffer dancing the floor of the Babylon Club.
, appearing first in his fantasy film Deathstalker
, as a female warrior/love interest to the title character played by Richard Hill. Corman oriented his films towards young male viewers, using a mix of action and female nudity. Clarkson's work in Deathstalker led to her being offered the title role in Corman's next film, Barbarian Queen
, a role Corman referred to as "the original Xena
" because of the parallel in featuring a strong female leading character in an action-oriented sword-swinging role. The film gained cult status, in part due to an infamous scene where Clarkson is bound topless to a torture rack, interrogated, and raped.
In 1987, Clarkson appeared in the John Landis
spoof Amazon Women on the Moon
. Following that, Clarkson starred in Roger Corman's Barbarian Queen sequel, Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back
, though the plots and characters bore no resemblance to the other film. Filmed in Mexico, the movie featured mud-wrestling Amazon
women, magic sceptres, and (like its predecessor) several lengthy scenes where Clarkson is tortured topless or naked on a stretching rack by a villain. Clarkson received star billing in the film which went directly to video. Although sales of the video were low, Corman did manage to turn a profit.
In 1990, she starred as a supporting character in the period horror film
Haunting of Morella as the evil attendant to a young woman played by model/actress Nicole Eggert
. In the film, Clarkson played a dominating lesbian
character who tries to resurrect the spirit of a witch burned at the stake during the Salem witch trials
.
Clarkson's work in the B movie
sci-fi genre inspired a cult following, making her a favorite at comic book
conventions, where she made some promotional appearances signing autographs for her fans.
She appeared in numerous other B movies as well as a range of television
spots and appearing in commercials for Mercedes-Benz
, Kmart
, Nike
, Mattel
and Anheuser-Busch
. Her television appearances include parts on Night Court
, Silk Stalkings
, Riptide
, Three's Company
, Knight Rider and Wings, and a guest appearance as a villain on the television adaptation of Roger Corman's film Black Scorpion
in what would be her final role.
During her career, Clarkson traveled around the United States and Europe while working on high fashion photo shoots. Other projects took her to Japan, Greece, Argentina, Italy, Switzerland, France, Jamaica and Mexico.
In the 1980s she volunteered weekly at the AIDS
charity Project Angel Food
which delivers food for those in Los Angeles disabled by HIV
or AIDS
, at a time when the disease was greatly feared by the general public.
As she approached her thirties, Clarkson's career began to stall. No longer able to earn a living as an actress, Clarkson sought alternate routes of income, including operating her own website on which she sold autographed DVD
s of her films and communicated directly with her fans on her own message board. Although she made a living by playing busty, lusty women, Lana's fondest desire was to be cast as a comic actress or perform as a comedian. Her publicist friend Edward Lozzi
told Vanity Fair
writer Dominic Dunne that Clarkson had been working on a stand-up comedy act that he had witnessed. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/08/dunne200708
In 2001, while living on the canals in Venice, California, for the last several years, Clarkson developed, wrote, produced, and directed a showcase reel entitled Lana Unleashed. To make ends meet, she took a side part-time job in early January 2003 at the House of Blues
, in West Hollywood, California
.
. In the early hours of that morning, she met Spector while working at the House of Blues. Both left the House of Blues later in Spector's limo and drove to his mansion. Spector and Clarkson went inside while his driver waited outside in the car. About an hour later, the driver heard a gunshot before Spector exited his house through the back door with a gun. He was quoted as saying, according to affidavits, "I think I just shot her."
Spector stated that Clarkson's death was an "accidental suicide
" and that she "kissed the gun".
Spector was tried for the murder of Clarkson four years later in 2007. On September 26, 2007, the case was declared a mistrial because the jury was hung 10 to 2 for conviction. He was tried again for second degree murder on October 20, 2008. On April 13, 2009, the jury found Spector guilty of murdering Clarkson. Spector was formally sentenced on May 29, 2009, to 19 years to life in the California State Prison System and will be 88 years old before becoming eligible for parole.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress and fashion model. Clarkson was a native of Los Angeles County. She played roles in science fiction and fantasy movies. She was murdered by songwriter and producer Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
, who was convicted of the crime on April 13, 2009.
Early life
Born in Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, to Donna and James M. Clarkson, Lana Clarkson was raised in the hills of Napa Valley, California. She had a brother, Jesse J. Clarkson
Jesse J. Clarkson
Jessee J. Clarkson is an artist and special effects designer. He's native of San Francisco, California. He has worked on several notable feature films, including The Dark Knight, Model Maker, Iron Man, Staff Shop Lead, and Dumb & Dumberer - When Harry Met Lloyd as Mold Shop Foreman, to name a...
, and a sister Fawn. While living in Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
, she attended Cloverdale
Cloverdale, California
Cloverdale is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States. The San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad reached Cloverdale in 1872. The Cloverdale Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California is headquartered here...
High School and also Pacific Union College
Pacific Union College
Pacific Union College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Angwin, California, United States. It is the only four-year college in Napa County, California....
Preparatory School. During the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
season of 1978 and after her father's death, Clarkson's family moved back to Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
and settled down in the Los Angeles region of San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
. Right after Clarksons's family moved back to Los Angeles County, Lana pursued a career in entertainment industry as a performer and fashion model.
In the early 1980s, Clarkson landed bit parts in film and television. In 1982, she made her screen debut as a cameo character in director Amy Heckerling's coming-of-age comedy based on the Cameron Crowe book, Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written by Cameron Crowe and adapted from his 1981 book of the same name...
, as the wife of science teacher Mr. Vargas (Vincent Schiavelli
Vincent Schiavelli
Vincent Andrew Schiavelli was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television often described as "the man with the sad eyes." He was notable for his numerous and often critically acclaimed cameo appearances.-Early life:Schiavelli was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a...
). The film was her first speaking role. In 1983, she also peeks into the frame in "Scarface" behind Michelle Pfeiffer dancing the floor of the Babylon Club.
Career
Clarkson's best known films may be her work with Roger CormanRoger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
, appearing first in his fantasy film Deathstalker
Deathstalker (film)
Deathstalker is a 1983 Argentine low-budget science fiction fantasy film adventure directed by James Sbardellati.-Plot:The warrior Deathstalker is sent by a witch on a quest to find a chalice, an amulet, and a sword, two of which are held by the wicked sorcerer Munkar. Deathstalker finds the sword...
, as a female warrior/love interest to the title character played by Richard Hill. Corman oriented his films towards young male viewers, using a mix of action and female nudity. Clarkson's work in Deathstalker led to her being offered the title role in Corman's next film, Barbarian Queen
Barbarian Queen
Barbarian Queen is a 1985 American-Argentine fantasy film directed by Héctor Olivera and written by Howard R. Cohen. The film premiered in December 1985 in the United States. It starred Lana Clarkson....
, a role Corman referred to as "the original Xena
Xena
Xena is a fictional character from Robert Tapert's Xena: Warrior Princess franchise. She first appeared in the 1995–1999 television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, before going on to appear in Xena: Warrior Princess TV show and subsequent comic book of the same name...
" because of the parallel in featuring a strong female leading character in an action-oriented sword-swinging role. The film gained cult status, in part due to an infamous scene where Clarkson is bound topless to a torture rack, interrogated, and raped.
In 1987, Clarkson appeared in the John Landis
John Landis
John David Landis is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer. He is known for his comedies, his horror films, and his music videos with singer Michael Jackson.-Early life and career:...
spoof Amazon Women on the Moon
Amazon Women on the Moon
Amazon Women on the Moon is a 1987 American satirical comedy film that parodies the experience of watching low-budget movies on late-night television...
. Following that, Clarkson starred in Roger Corman's Barbarian Queen sequel, Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back
Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back
Filmed in Mexico, Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back is a 1989 fantasy film directed by Joe Finley and written by Howard R. Cohen and Lance Smith. It starred Lana Clarkson in the titular role. It was billed as a sequel to the 1985 cult classic film Barbarian Queen, which also starred...
, though the plots and characters bore no resemblance to the other film. Filmed in Mexico, the movie featured mud-wrestling Amazon
Amazons
The Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
women, magic sceptres, and (like its predecessor) several lengthy scenes where Clarkson is tortured topless or naked on a stretching rack by a villain. Clarkson received star billing in the film which went directly to video. Although sales of the video were low, Corman did manage to turn a profit.
In 1990, she starred as a supporting character in the period horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
Haunting of Morella as the evil attendant to a young woman played by model/actress Nicole Eggert
Nicole Eggert
Nicole Elizabeth Eggert is an American actress. Notable roles include Jamie Powell in the television series Charles in Charge and Summer Quinn in the TV Series Baywatch. She was most recently a contestant on the VH1 reality show Celebrity Fit Club.-Early life:Eggert was born in Glendale,...
. In the film, Clarkson played a dominating lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
character who tries to resurrect the spirit of a witch burned at the stake during the Salem witch trials
Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...
.
Clarkson's work in the B movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
sci-fi genre inspired a cult following, making her a favorite at comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
conventions, where she made some promotional appearances signing autographs for her fans.
She appeared in numerous other B movies as well as a range of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
spots and appearing in commercials for Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
, Kmart
Kmart
Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
, Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
and Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
. Her television appearances include parts on Night Court
Night Court
Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...
, Silk Stalkings
Silk Stalkings
Silk Stalkings is a TV crime drama originally shown on CBS in 1991 as part of the network's late-night Crimetime After Primetime programming package, and rebroadcast on the USA Network. After CBS ended the Crimetime experiment in 1993, the series ran exclusively on USA until its finale in the...
, Riptide
Riptide (TV series)
Riptide is a TV detective series that ran on NBC from 1983 to 1986, starring Perry King, Joe Penny, and Thom Bray. Riptide was created by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell, and produced by Stephen J. Cannell Productions. The main theme was composed by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter...
, Three's Company
Three's Company
Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
, Knight Rider and Wings, and a guest appearance as a villain on the television adaptation of Roger Corman's film Black Scorpion
Black Scorpion
Black Scorpion may refer to:*Scorpion, an animal of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida- Films and TV :*The Black Scorpion , a 1957 film about giant scorpions, with special effects by Willis O'Brien...
in what would be her final role.
During her career, Clarkson traveled around the United States and Europe while working on high fashion photo shoots. Other projects took her to Japan, Greece, Argentina, Italy, Switzerland, France, Jamaica and Mexico.
In the 1980s she volunteered weekly at the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
charity Project Angel Food
Project Angel Food
Project Angel Food is a nonprofit agency whose mission is to nourish the body and spirit of men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Volunteers and staff cook and deliver free and nutritious meals prepared with love throughout Los Angeles County,...
which delivers food for those in Los Angeles disabled by HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
or AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, at a time when the disease was greatly feared by the general public.
As she approached her thirties, Clarkson's career began to stall. No longer able to earn a living as an actress, Clarkson sought alternate routes of income, including operating her own website on which she sold autographed DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s of her films and communicated directly with her fans on her own message board. Although she made a living by playing busty, lusty women, Lana's fondest desire was to be cast as a comic actress or perform as a comedian. Her publicist friend Edward Lozzi
Edward Lozzi
Edward Lozzi is an American publicist, political consultant and writer. He is the founder of a Beverly Hills-based public relations company. He is an occasional contributor to The Huffington Post...
told Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
writer Dominic Dunne that Clarkson had been working on a stand-up comedy act that he had witnessed. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/08/dunne200708
In 2001, while living on the canals in Venice, California, for the last several years, Clarkson developed, wrote, produced, and directed a showcase reel entitled Lana Unleashed. To make ends meet, she took a side part-time job in early January 2003 at the House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
, in West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...
.
Death
On February 3, 2003, Clarkson was shot dead in the mansion of music producer Phil SpectorPhil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
. In the early hours of that morning, she met Spector while working at the House of Blues. Both left the House of Blues later in Spector's limo and drove to his mansion. Spector and Clarkson went inside while his driver waited outside in the car. About an hour later, the driver heard a gunshot before Spector exited his house through the back door with a gun. He was quoted as saying, according to affidavits, "I think I just shot her."
Spector stated that Clarkson's death was an "accidental suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
" and that she "kissed the gun".
Spector was tried for the murder of Clarkson four years later in 2007. On September 26, 2007, the case was declared a mistrial because the jury was hung 10 to 2 for conviction. He was tried again for second degree murder on October 20, 2008. On April 13, 2009, the jury found Spector guilty of murdering Clarkson. Spector was formally sentenced on May 29, 2009, to 19 years to life in the California State Prison System and will be 88 years old before becoming eligible for parole.
External links
- Biography on (re)Search my Trash
- "Lana Unleashed" video
- B-movie actress named as shooting victim—story from the Guardian newspaper (February 4, 2003)
- Shooting victim was B-movie actress—story from the BBC News website (February 4, 2003)
- Crime Library article about Lana Clarkson's death
- Phil Spector sentenced to 19 years to life