Dennis was the pretty one. He loved life, and loved booze and drugs a lot too. He knew Charlie Manson. NEW DECEMBER 13, 2001! Findadeath.com friend Karen Valentine sent this picture of the house Dennis lived in, when he partied with the Manson Family.� Thanks Karen! Big snaps to Jon Stebbins and his bio called The Real Beach Boy. I hope he won�t mind, but I borrowed a couple of quotes from his fantastic book on the man. Dennis� life with the Beach Boys was certainly peppered with ups and downs. Their psycho father Murray managed them from the beginning, and pushed them psychologically. If you�ve ever heard that infamous recording session when Murray really lit in to the guys � you know it got to extremes, and Dennis couldn�t cope. Brother Brian didn't do any better, and if anyone has seen Brian in recent years, well, you�ve seen the toll that all those years of struggle had taken. Unfortunately, because of Dennis, The Beach Boys would always be associated with Manson and the Helter Skelter murders. That connection IS Los Angeles to me. In 1968, Dennis picked up a couple of female hitchhikers, and took them back to his place on Sunset, near the Will Rogers State Park. That was opening the door. By the next night, the place was crawling - to borrow a joke from my pal Ally "like cockroaches in a bad restaurant" - with Family members, including Charlie himself. Through the connection with Manson � the Beach Boys actually recorded one of Charlie�s songs, on the 20/20 album. Charlie�s version was called Cease To Exist � and the group changed around the lyrics and renamed it Never Learn Not To Love. Dennis was once questioned about the integrity of recording that song, and he responded by saying that Charlie didn�t want writing credit � he wanted cash. He�d stolen enough from Dennis that he felt just in recording the song, and not giving Manson any residuals. Hear Manson�s version� � � � � � � � � � � � � � �Hear The Beach Boys version When Charles Manson learned of his death, he commented, "Dennis Wilson was killed by my shadow because he took my music and changed the words from my soul." Loser. Dennis owned a 62-foot Yacht, called Harmony. He bought it when the Beach Boy money was big, and it was his pride and joy. Once he stood on the ship and looked out into the water and said that the ocean is where he belonged, and that�s where he wanted to be buried. His passion for alcohol and coke led to a very tortured relationship with the rest of the group. He would be invited back to perform with them, eventually screw up, and get the sack. He�d go in to rehab and rejoin the group, relapse and leave again. The money became less frequent, and he fell behind in his payments on the yacht. The bank repossessed it, and Dennis hit the skids. His fellow group members cut him off financially, in hopes that he would complete a rehab program, but Dennis would consistently relapse. He was a generous man who knew how to help everyone except himself. At the end of December 1983, Dennis was once again out of rehab, unsuccessfully. He took to hanging out at the docks where his old Yacht used to be berthed. He met up with old pal Bill Oster, who had a yacht called Emerald, near where Dennis kept his before. Emerald was docked in this Basin, number C-1100. Dennis and his current girlfriend Crystal McGovern spent the night of the Tuesday the 27th on the vessel. Dennis drank. When he woke Wednesday morning, he began with screwdrivers at 9. Atta boy. He and Bill cruised around the marina in a rowboat to visit old friends, and returned to The Emerald. After lunch (turkey sandwiches) around 3 o�clock, Dennis announced he was going for a swim. Everyone thought he was nuts, because the water was so cold, but everyone also knew that he was unpredictable, and there was no stopping him. He dove in, and decided to swim underneath the spot where Harmony was docked before. He�d combed the ocean floor, and emerged from the water holding a picture of an ex wife, that he threw from Harmony years before, in a fit of anger. Dennis dove again for more treasures. He didn�t resurface. Dennis was known for practical jokes, and people didn�t worry too much. Yet. They even checked the local bars to see if Dennis was hiding out there � to no avail. Dennis drowned. At 4:40pm, Oster flagged down a passing Harbor patrol boat. After they arrived, it took four divers working in the dark with a pole, probing the ocean floor, 45 minutes to find Wilson�s body in 13 feet of water. He was only wearing cut-offs. http://www.findadeath.com/
When Charles Manson learned of his death, he commented, "Dennis Wilson was killed by my shadow because he took my music and changed the words from my soul." How come someone with that much power, can't get himself out of jail?
[quote author=whitehorses link=topic=2844.msg30002#msg30002 date=1233676819] Someone, I think Bryane(?), said that Charlie claims that we are the ones in jail, he is free. ??? [/quote] CM has said that sort of rubbish for years. He doesn't know what it means! :
Maybe someone could parade back and forth in front of his cell with a sign saying "We are free, Charlie, it's YOU who is in prison", until he finally gets the message. >
[quote author=BamaGal link=topic=2844.msg30011#msg30011 date=1233687163] Maybe someone could parade back and forth in front of his cell with a sign saying "We are free, Charlie, it's YOU who is in prison", until he finally gets the message. > [/quote] But if you were in the position that you were able to walk back and forth in front of his cell door you WOULD be in prison LOL Jem
LMAO. You got that right Jem. However, since I don't fancy going into a prison under any circumstances, I was thinking along the lines of a guard or warden or someone who is already there! See? I've got all the bases covered! ;D
From Dennis most recent biographer - revised edition coming out this year 2009 DENNIS WILSON: THE REAL BEACH BOY A Critically Acclaimed Bestseller by Jon Stebbins Publishers: Wakefield Press Do you think Dennis' death was a suicide? "The exact cause of Denny's death is still a bit of a mystery. His lungs were full of water therefore deprived of oxygen which caused him to expire, but why? Many of Dennis' own friends and family have wildly differing opinions on this. Some believe he had an alcoholic seizure, I don't. Some believe he suffered hypothermia, I don't. Some believe he was murdered, I don't. If I wanted to sell the maximum amount of books I would have called it "The Murder Of A Beach Boy" or something like that. I would have had several friends and an ex-wife backing me up on the murder theory. But it's just not true. Here's what I believe. Dennis had been telling his closest friends for at least a year that he was going to die soon. He knew his time on earth was ending. He was looking for a way out. He was very addicted to alcohol and couldn't break the cycle. His family had all but disowned him because of his self destructive behavior. His body was breaking down. The fun that meant so much to him seemed harder and harder to achieve. At the Marina he was in a place he loved. The irony of finding bits of his former life on the ocean floor was not lost on him. He found the window there that led to other side and he went through it. 58 degree water was nothing for Dennis, a .26 alcohol level was not unusual for him either. Dennis even in his deteriorated state was about as good a swimmer as there ever was. I truly believe he could have surfaced again if he really wanted to. Usually drowning victims are found contorted with debris under their nails from the struggle. Dennis was found curled up in a fetal position with a calm expression on his face. I don't think it was a suicide, I think it was an escape. That's what some of his closest friends believe and so do I. You've got to remember that although 39 sounds young Dennis lived several lifetimes in that span. He had far more life experience than you, me, or anyone else we know. Most of his family and friends told me they were surprised he made it to 39. The Beach Boys, especially Carl did really try to help Denny. He was impossible to control. Back in the early 80's there weren't the type of programs or the type of understanding of substance abuse that there is now. He was given the opportunity to attend the very best (including Betty Ford) the early 80's had to offer, but could not stick with it. Barbara had two kids to worry about and wasn't getting any consistent help from Dennis. She was the least judgemental person in Denny's life but didn't want to travel the path that seemed inevitable to her. She did her best but couldn't help him. The sweating was due mostly to alcohol consumption. But Dennis did suffer from a free floating anxiety syndrome from his chilhood, probably contributed to by the physical abuse from Murry. Brian was considered the "cash cow" so he got attention from all corners. The meal ticket. Dennis did get equal attention from Carl and Audree, but not from the BB's organization. Also Dennis was a significantly scarier person than Brian. Brian never beat anyone up. Dennis beat everyone up including Carl. So many people like Fred Vail, Jerry Schilling, James Guercio, Eddie Roach, Carl, John Hanlon, Stan Shapiro, and on and on tried to help Dennis but he never overcame his desire to rebel. I believe the one thing that would have made the difference to Denny is if the Beach Boys had embraced his creativity. He could have been the primary songwriter for the band starting in the early 70's. He loved to create but found little support from those he wanted it from. If he had been allowed to lead the band creatively his heart may have endured the darkness that eventually forced him to leave us. The opinions expressed are mine. Peace J.S."
"I truly believe he could have surfaced again if he really wanted to." I agree with that without doubt. Thanks for that post Courtney, I'll be looking for that book.
