Charles Manson was an American criminal who led the Manson Family cult in a violent campaign that would make him one of the most infamous people in criminal history. He was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the death of seven people, including Sharon Tate. But did you know Steve McQueen was supposed to be killed too?
Steve McQueen was on Charles Manson’s Hit List and was supposed to be murdered along with Sharon Tate. McQueen was supposed to be in Tate’s house, but instead, he changed his plans to have private time with his date.
The Date that Saved Steve McQueen
On August 7, 1969, McQueen’s friend and professional hairdresser, Jay Sebring, came to his house to clip his hair, and the two went to El Coyote for Mexican dinner. While there, Sebring informed McQueen that Sharon Tate, McQueen’s friend, and Sebring’s ex-girlfriend, was holding an evening party at her home and that they should attend together.
Tate was eight months pregnant and married to Roman Polanski, so her movements were restricted, something she didn’t like. The next one was set for August 8th, the following day. Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Sebring, and McQueen were invited.
McQueen met up with a blonde beauty he’d seen the day before and offered her to accompany him to the party, but she suggested they go away alone, so McQueen’s intentions to go up to Tate’s Cielo Drive mansion were canceled.
After the gathering at Tate’s house had eaten, the Manson gang attacked and killed all four of them in cold blood that night. After all, McQueen’s philandering methods had served him well. Neile Adams, his then-wife, described the disastrous episode, saying:
Going off with that girl saved his life.
Neile Adams, Steve McQueen’s Wife
The Manson cult leader, Charles Manson, had had it out for McQueen and several other celebrities for a while. They even had a hit list. Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Steve McQueen, and Tom Jones were on the list.
When McQueen’s Solar production company rejected Charles’ movie draft, he made a list. A fight broke out, and McQueen hit Charles, shattering his nose. The murders deeply affected McQueen, and he became understandably nervous, never leaving his house without a firearm. He also required Adams to have a gun with her at all times.(Source: Amo Mama)
The Manson Family Cult
The Family was a group of approximately 100 Manson devotees who shared his passion for a unique lifestyle and the regular use of hallucinogenic substances like LSD and magic mushrooms. After fleeing San Francisco, the Manson Family eventually relocated to a desolate ranch in the San Fernando Valley.
A small, hard-core unit of impressionable young ladies was among Manson’s followers. They began to believe Manson’s statements that he was Jesus and his predictions of a racial war without inquiry.
Manson believed in and was interested in the Book of Revelations’ concept of Armageddon, Scientology’s teachings, and more obscure cult religions like the Church of the Final Judgment.
In many ways, Manson mirrored the personality traits and obsessions typical of cult-quasi-religious leaders who emerged in the 1960s. He was pathologically delusional enough to believe he was the planet’s doomsday prophet. (Source: Amo Mama)