Charles Milles Manson (born Maddox; November 12, 1934 – November 19, 2017) was an American criminal, cult leader, and musician. He founded the Manson Family and became infamous for directing the Tate–LaBianca murders, in which his followers killed nine people in Los Angeles in 1969.
Profile Summary
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Charles Manson |
| Birth Name | Charles Milles Maddox |
| Date of Birth | November 12, 1934 |
| Place of Birth | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Date of Death | November 19, 2017 (aged 83) |
| Place of Death | Bakersfield, California, U.S. |
| Occupations | Cult Leader; Musician |
| Known For | Tate–LaBianca murders |
| Notable Work | Lie: The Love and Terror Cult |
Criminal Information
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Motive | “Helter Skelter” |
| Criminal Charges | First-Degree Murder (7 counts); Conspiracy to Murder |
| Penalty | Death sentence; commuted to life imprisonment |
| Accomplices | Members of the Manson Family led by Tex Watson |
Early life & Biography
Charles Milles Maddox was born on November 12, 1934, to 16-year-old Ada Kathleen Maddox of Ashland, Kentucky, at Cincinnati General Hospital in Ohio. His birth certificate lists his name as “Manson.” His biological father was likely Colonel Walker Henderson Scott Sr. of Catlettsburg, Kentucky. Maddox filed a paternity suit against Scott, which concluded with an agreed judgment in 1937. Scott, who worked in local mills and was known as a con artist, allowed Maddox to believe he was an army colonel, though “Colonel” was his first name. When Maddox informed him of her pregnancy, he claimed to have army business and left. She later realized he would not return, and Manson never met his biological father.
In August 1934, before Charles was born, Maddox married William Eugene Manson, who worked at a dry cleaning business. Maddox frequently went out drinking with her brother Luther, leaving Charles with babysitters. On April 30, 1937, Maddox and William divorced after he accused her of “gross neglect of duty.” Charles retained William’s last name, Manson. On August 1, 1939, Kathleen and Luther were arrested for assault and robbery and sentenced to five and ten years in prison, respectively.
Manson was placed in the home of an aunt and uncle in McMechen, West Virginia. His mother was paroled in 1942. Manson later characterised the first weeks after her return from prison as the happiest time of his life. Weeks after her release, Manson’s family moved to Charleston, West Virginia, where he frequently played truant, and his mother spent her evenings drinking. She was arrested for grand larceny, but was not convicted. The family later moved to Indianapolis, where Maddox met alcoholic Lewis Woodson Cavender Jr. (1916–1979) through Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and married him in August 1943.
Psychology
On April 11, 2012, Manson was denied parole at his twelfth hearing, which he did not attend. After his March 27, 1997 hearing, he refused to participate in further hearings. The panel cited his “history of controlling behavior” and “mental health issues” such as schizophrenia and paranoid delusional disorder, deeming him too dangerous for release. They also noted 108 rule violations, lack of remorse, no insight into his crimes, failure to understand their seriousness, callous disregard for human suffering, and absence of parole plans.
At the April 11, 2012 parole hearing, officials determined Manson would not be eligible for parole again for fifteen years, not before 2027, when he would have been 92. In 2023, researchers re-examined his psychological state and suggested he may have been misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, proposing instead that he had bipolar disorder and psychopathy.
Illness and Death
On January 1, 2017, while incarcerated at Corcoran Prison, Manson was taken to Mercy Hospital in Bakersfield due to gastrointestinal bleeding. A source told the Los Angeles Times that Manson was seriously ill, and TMZ reported that doctors considered him “too weak” for surgery typically performed in such cases. He was returned to prison on January 6, and details of his treatment were not disclosed. On November 15, 2017, an unauthorized source reported that Manson had returned to a hospital in Bakersfield, but the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation did not confirm this, citing medical privacy laws. He died at the hospital on November 19 from cardiac arrest caused by respiratory failure resulting from colon cancer.
Three individuals expressed intent to claim Manson’s estate and body. His grandson, Jason Freeman, sought possession of Manson’s remains and personal effects. Michael Channels, a pen-pal, claimed to have a will dated February 14, 2002, leaving the entire estate and body to him. Ben Gurecki, a friend, claimed to have a will dated January 2017, which bequeathed the estate and body to Matthew Roberts, another alleged son.
Legacy
Documentaries
- 2017: Manson: Inside the Mind of a Mad Man, television documentary about Reet Jurvetsen.
- 2017: Murder Made Me Famous, Charles Manson: What Happened?
- 2017: Inside the Manson Cult: The Lost Tapes
- 2017: Charles Manson: The Final Words, narrated by Rob Zombie, focuses on the Manson Family murders told from Manson’s perspective, directed by James Buddy Day.
- 2018: Inside the Manson Cult: The Lost Tapes, narrated by Liev Schreiber, looks inside the Manson Family.
- 2019: I Lived with a Killer: The Manson Family. Dianne Lake discusses what she witnessed of Manson’s “peace-and-love hippie philosophy” as it became “dark, dangerous and evil”.
- 2019: Charles Manson: The Funeral, directed by James Buddy Day.
- 2019: Manson: The Women, featuring Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, Sandra “Blue” Good, Catherine “Gypsy” Share, and Dianne “Snake” Lake, documentary special on Oxygen, directed by James Buddy Day.
- 2020: Helter Skelter: An American Myth, a six-part TV miniseries directed by Lesley Chilcott.
Fiction inspired by Manson
- 1971: Sweet Savior, an exploitation film inspired by the case, but set in New York City. First fictional work about the case.
- 1976: Helter Skelter, a television drama.
- 1984: Manson Family Movies, a film drama.
- 1990: The Manson Family, a musical opera by John Moran.
- 1990: Assassins, a Broadway musical with references to Manson.
- 1992: The Ben Stiller Show, a sketch series with Manson as a recurring character portrayed by Bob Odenkirk.
- 1998: “Merry Christmas, Charlie Manson!”, an episode of South Park centred around Manson.
- 2003: The Dead Circus, a novel that includes the activities of the Manson Family as a major plot point.
- 2003: The Manson Family, a crime drama/horror film centred around the Manson Family.
- 2004: Helter Skelter, a crime film about the Manson Family and about Linda Kasabian.
- 2006: Live Freaky! Die Freaky!, a stop-motion animated film based on the murders.
- 2014: House of Manson, a biographical feature film focusing on the life of Charles Manson from his childhood to his arrest.
- 2015: Manson Family Vacation, an indie comedy inspired by Manson.
- 2015–16: Aquarius, a television crime drama that includes storylines inspired by actual events involving Manson.
- 2019: Zeroville, a film that starts in the aftermath of the Sharon Tate murders in Los Angeles, with the main character suspected of being involved. Manson is portrayed by Scott Haze.
- 2021: We Can Only Save Ourselves, a novel by Alison Wisdom loosely inspired by the Manson Family.
Discography
- Lie: The Love and Terror Cult (1970)
- Live at San Quentin (1993)
- The Family Jams (1997)
- One Mind (2005)
Posthumous releases
- The Summer of Hate: The ’67 Sessions (2024)
