Manson, 82, said to be hospitalized

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Convicted mass murderer Charles Manson was taken from his California prison cell to a hospital Tuesday, according to several news reports. On Wednesday, a prison official would confirm only that the 82-year-old Manson was alive and gave no other information.

Manson was convicted of orchestrating the 1969 murders of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and six others. The cult leader attracted disaffected young people who lived in a commune, followed his orders and were ultimately turned into killers.

Both celebrity-news website TMZ and the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that Manson had been hospitalized with an undisclosed illness. TMZ said he had been taken to a medical center in Bakersfield, about 60 miles south of Corcoran State Prison, where Manson was being held as he serves a life sentence for his role in the slayings.

Two vans from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation were parked early Wednesday outside Bakersfield’s Mercy Hospital Downtown, where state prisoners have been treated before. Some news media have gathered across the street from the hospital.

Prison spokesman Terry Thornton said only that Manson was alive and is still assigned to the prison in Corcoran. She declined to say whether he was at the hospital in Bakersfield, saying privacy laws prohibit her from discussing an inmate’s medical situation.