It’s still agony to see Sharon unwrapping baby clothes just days before Manson murder Terry O’Neill’s haunted by photos of pregnant friend
REVEALS PICTURES AHEAD OF NEW FILM
contract with record producer Terry Melcher, who had previously rented the home.
The gang faced trial in 1970 and were sentenced to life. Manson died in 2017, aged 83.
Polanski, now 85, only escaped the slaughter because he was in Europe working on a film. He had become a household name after his 1968 classic movie Rosemary’s Baby. A year earlier he had cast Sharon in The Fearless Vampire Killers. They married in London in 1968 and Sharon soon became pregnant. Terry adds: “When Sharon died the way she did, it shook up not only Hollywood, but the world. It’s difficult to talk about. When I look at these beautiful photos, I can only think of what would have been.”
Polanski took a few years off work then returned with Macbeth in 1971, followed by classics such as Chinatown, The Tenant and The Pianist. His film Tess, in 1979, was dedicated to Sharon.
Tarantino’s film Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, also starring Al Pacino, Damian Lewis and Kurt Russell, is released in the UK on August 14. But Terry has no plans to watch it.
He says: “I wasn’t consulted about the film, but I gather that Debra Tate (Sharon’s sister) was involved. She’s a terrific person and a strong advocate for victims’ rights.
“From what I’ve read, this will be more about Hollywood in the late 1960s and, of course, there’s a brilliant list of actors involved.
“I hope they are able to capture what it felt like to be there. It was a strange time, indeed.”