The Dark Side of Hollywood
By Melissa Garza
One of the most compelling aspects of Hollywood is what happens after the camera stops rolling. This is going to be a new category where I discuss supposed hauntings, hoaxes, tragedies, and curses. Every week, I’ll choose a handful of tales that have caused speculation, rumors or fear.
This is The Dark Side of Hollywood.
The Death of Thomas Ince
Thomas Ince was a silent actor who met his demise on November 19, 1924. Officially, his death is linked to heart trouble. 
Unofficially, speculation has surrounded his death from day one. The rumor is that while aboard newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst’s yacht, Hearst shot him dead.
Hearst was in love with his mistress Marion Davies. Davies was rumored to have had a fling with Charlie Chaplin. In a jealous rage Hearst believed he was killing Chaplin only to have shot Ince instead. The speculation began with a Los Angeles Times headline that told the story; “Movie Producer Shot on Hearst Yacht.” By the evening edition, the headline was gone and the mystery surrounded Ince’s death turned into a full fledge Hollywood conspiracy theory.
There’s a fantastic film that delves into this. The Cat’s Meow is highly recommended and by far Kirstin Dunst’s best work. In it she portrays Davies and does a remarkable job. Hearst is made into an almost sympathetic character. Though it is most certainly no Citizen Kane, those who enjoy conspiracy theories will be thrilled.
The Tragic Murders of 10 year old Judith Barsi and 7 year old Daniel Benoit
Little Judith Barsi was making over a $100,000 a year in 1988. She was in the final Jaws film, Jaws: The Revenge. She was the voice of Anne-Marie in All Dogs Go to Heaven and Ducky in The Land Before Time. Her mother had the misfortune of being in a very abusive relationship. Time and again, her mother would leave only to go back to her father. On July 25, 1988, Jozsef Barsi took a shotgun and murdered his wife, Judith and then himself.
I often think of my husband’s words when I hear a story like this. If someone is going to kill themselves why must they murder others? Why can’t they just skip the tragedies and commit suicide.
It seems that the general consensus is that Jozsef was jealous of his daughter’s success and refused to leave the home. Maria believed she could make living there unbearable and that Jozsef would leave of his own accord. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
As I only heard of Judith recently the sad tale reminded me of another tragedy a few years back that hit the professional wrestling world.
Chris Benoit was a highly respected wrestler who had countless fans and could easily draw a crowd. He had held multiple championship belts including two world titles. He was a winner of the annual pay-per-view event The Royal Rumble, and possibly most significant was a former member of the extremely popular group The Four Horsemen. Benoit performed in many federations most notably World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE formally WWF).
His wife Nancy was also a well-known wrestling personality who had been involved for more than 2 decades. Starting off as a model she didn’t join a federation until 1984. She was generally a manager and on-air valet who often interfered in matches to ensure victory for her side. For quite some time, she was married to wrestling legend, Kevin Sullivan. Quite often she portrayed a heel and for a while teamed up with the First Lady of Professional Wrestling, Elizabeth during the New World Order phenomena of the early 90s.
Some may argue that she had a more profound impact on wrestling than that of Benoit.
On June 25, 2007, Chris Benoit bound and murdered Nancy and then strangled their 7 year-old son Daniel. The coward then hanged himself.
Toxicology reports indicate that Benoit drugged his son with Xanax before taking his life.
Some speculate that Benoit was acting out from “roid rage” though the chief medical examiner concluded otherwise. Benoit was found to have Xanax, hydrocodone and an elevated level of testosterone in his system. There have been many different rumors in attempts to explain his motivation or thought process. Some say that Nancy was leaving him and he couldn’t take it. Others say that Daniel had a medical issue which made him smaller than the average boy and Benoit was embarrassed by it – so much so he drugged his son to make him larger.
Whatever the case, one must wonder how someone can take the life of not only their spouse but their child. Whether drugs were involved or whether he was stone-cold sober, both Benoit and Barsi define the word evil and if there is a place of retribution in the afterlife, they are exactly where they deserve to be now.
Jeepers! What a Creep! The Perversion of Victor Salva
Sadly, there is no room for doubt when it comes to Victor Salva and what he did to young Nathan Forrest Winters during the production of ClownHouse. He admitted guilt and served time in prison for molesting the young boy and filming the abuse.
Salva is known for writing and directing not only the little-known ClownHouse but more mainstream hits like Jeepers Creepers 1 and 2, Powder, and The Nature of the Beast. Some have stated that they see a disturbing theme throughout his movies where his young male characters are over-sexualized and utilized in scenes where mid-dress though not necessary is shown.
During the time that Disney green-lighted Powder, Winters who was in his twenties asked for the boycott of the movie. Disney avoided answering the question as to why they employed a pervert. Oddly and equally disturbing is the support of Francis Ford Coppola who has bankrolled Salva and supported his ventures putting his name on the line for him.
Salva is now working on Jeepers Creepers 3. It baffles the mind that one is welcomed with open arms into Hollywood despite their horrible past of abuse. Though I am a fan of his work, I think he’s a horrible human being and the disregard for childhood innocence he showed while stripping Mr. Winters of it is most certainly one of Hollywood’s greatest tragedies.
