|
  |
|
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spector, Clarkson both at House of Blues
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Lana Clarkson reported to work Sunday at the House of Blues and stayed until about 1 a.m. Monday. A few hours later, the former B-movie actress was shot to death in the foyer of record producer Phil Spector's mansion. According to the House of Blues, Spector also had been in the nightclub's VIP room, where Clarkson, 40, worked as a hostess. Spector, 62, was arrested later Monday in connection with the shooting death, booked on suspicion of first-degree murder and freed several hours later after posting $1 million bond. He has not been formally charged. A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department source said authorities are looking into when Clarkson and Spector met. Both were alone in Spector's mansion, according to the source, and Spector's driver who was outside heard shots fired and called 911. House of Blues spokeswoman Anjali Raval told CNN Wednesday that Clarkson began working for the company about three weeks ago as the hostess for the "Foundation Room," a private, members-only room that serves as both a restaurant and bar. Clarkson greeted patrons and showed them to their tables, as any restaurant hostess would, Raval said. Clarkson left after a night's work but Raval said she was not sure exactly when Clarkson left. Her shift most likely ended around 1:15 a.m., she said. Raval would not give a time frame on when Spector was in the Foundation Room. She said the House of Blues was unaware of any relationship between Spector and Clarkson, and has no idea whether the two had contact at the club or left together early Monday.
On Wednesday, a message on Clarkson's Web site, www.lanaclarkson.com, said, "A tragic, senseless murder took you from us." "Lana's family is devastated and deeply saddened by the news of her senseless death. The loss of this dynamic and talented woman is no less than tragic," a statement on the site said. It said her family is cooperating with the Alhambra and West Hollywood sheriffs departments, "doing everything within their power to assist with the investigation." Clarkson starred in the 1985 B-movie "Barbarian Queen" and appeared in many other films, including "DeathStalker," "Blind Date," "Scarface," "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and the spoof "Amazon Women on the Moon." Prominent defense attorney Robert Shapiro -- who was part of football star O.J. Simpson's winning legal team in his 1995 murder trial -- will defend Spector. Police were alerted when they received a 911 call from inside Spector's Alhambra home at 5:02 a.m. (8:02 ET), Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Richard Pena said. One of Spector's neighbors also said she heard what sounded like "firecrackers" around 5 a.m. Spector, a member of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, made his name as the producer of the "Wall of Sound " -- the booming arrangements behind such 1960s hits as the Ronnettes' "Be My Baby" and the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Loving Feeling." He called his orchestrations "little symphonies for the kids." The last major album he produced was the Ramones' "End of the Century," in 1980. Spector married Ronettes singer Veronica Bennett in 1968, but the couple divorced in 1974.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
