Sharon Tate’s stardom was skyrocketing in the late 1960s, appearing in major hits such as Valley Of The Dolls, The Wrecking Crew and Eye Of The Devil.
She was on track to have a phenomenal career, but tragically it was cut short on August 9, 1969.
Her death was so shocking to the American public, and the world, that many historians credit it as the defining moment that ended the hippie era.
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The details of her death are disturbing, with the infamous Mansion family behind the bloody slaughter.
Sharon wasn’t alone that terrible night, as she was joined by some of her close friends in her Hollywood Hills mansion.
However, the late great Steve McQueen was supposed to be there too – and only a narrow twist of fate prevented him from being massacred.
Sharon Tate’s murder
(Image: Getty Images)
Charles Manson, the cult leader of the Manson family, hated the entertainment industry.
For years, he tried to make in as a songwriter but was continually rejected.
Yet, he used his twisted charms to create a following of adoring and obedient cultists.
These people would literally do anything for him and on August 8, he ordered them to go to 10050 Cielo Drive.
This was the former home of Terry Melcher, a record producer who turned down Charles’ music on several occasions.
However, when Charles’ followers arrived, they discovered that he no longer lived there and instead Sharon had moved in.
(Image: Getty Images)
They set to work slaughtering the guests, stabbing four of the victims and shooting another dead in his car.
In total five people died – Sharon, celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, family friend Wojciech Frykowski, his girlfriend Abigail Folger, and a friend of the home’s caretaker, Steven Parent.
Sharon and Jay’s bodies were found with a long rope wrapped around their necks to connect them, and Sharon had been stabbed 16 times.
Sharon, who was married to director Roman Polanski at the time, was eight-and-a-half-months pregnant when she was murdered.
Her stillborn son Paul was interred with her body.
There could have been a sixth murder, as The Great Escape and Bullitt star Steve McQueen had planned on attending.
(Image: Getty Images)
According to Marc Eliot’s book Steve McQueen: A Biography, Sharon regularly had house parties with most of the Hollywood elite attending.
He wrote: “Tate held regular soirees at her home.
At the time, Steve and Jay “had become such good friends that Steve let Jay restyle his blond hair into the look of the day – short, flat, and combed to one side”.
It was Jay who had invited him to attend the party that night.
Marc continued: “Sebring told him there was a little soiree planned for the next night at Sharon Tate’s rented house up at Cielo Drive and that Steve should come…Steve told Sebring he’d be there.”
Thankfully, Steve didn’t attend because of “a young and beautiful blonde he had been seeing”.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
