The other day, I blogged about celebrity cougars and mentioned Lana Turner. Long before the O.J. Simpson case would become sensationalized in the 90s, Lana was involved in a scandalous murder trial that would shake up Hollywood.
In early 1957, she met Johnny Stompanato, four years her junior. He was good looking and built, but Johnny had a few faults. For example, he had ties to the LA underworld, including gangster Mickey Cohen. Lana feared bad publicity, so she tried to break it off with Stompanato, but he was not quite ready to let go of his golden haired leading lady.
Over the next year, the two had a tumultuous relationship at best. There were fights, abuse, and reconciliations. One incident included Stompanato carrying a gun unto the movie set of Another Time, Another Place, fearing that Turner was having an affair with her co-star Sean Connery.
Things came to a head on the night of April 4, 1958. The two began arguing at Turner’s Bedford Drive home in Beverly Hills. Turner’s fourteen-year-old daughter, Cheryl Crane, was home and the argument became so violent that she feared for her mother’s life. She grabbed a kitchen knife and ran to help her mother. Next thing you know, Stompanato lay dying on the floor of a knife wound.
So exactly what happened? The police wanted to know as well. The story for the record – the court record that is, is that Cheryl stabbed Stompanato in her mother’s defense. The court found that acceptable, perhaps considering Stompanato’s background. Eyewitnesses to the court proceedings say that Turner put on an Academy Award winning show when testifying on the stand. The ruling was justifiable homicide. Lana, when referring to the murder, only called it “the happening” while Cheryl refused to talk about it publicly.
And that was that…or was it? Many say that Turner killed Stompanato, desperate to avoid his beatings and get him out of her life. She talked Cheryl into admitting she did it as she was a minor and would face minimal punishment.
One thing is true…not too many people outside his family missed Stompanato after he died. When his family sued Turner, gangster Mickey Cohen reportedly paid the legal costs. The suit was eventually settled out of court. Johnny Stompanato is buried in Woodstock, Illinois.