The 60's

The last couple of weeks have been … epic. Yes, there was Thanksgiving and the holiday weekend blah, blah, blah. That’s not what I’m talking about.

This month marked the very eagerly awaited Sharon Tate auction in Beverly Hills. Allow me to put this in perspective; This was like our version of making it to the Super Bowl (oh, excuse me—the Big Game) after years of playing a good game. I've studied this case for decades and I've also been a Sharon Tate fan as well. The auction... seeing her personal items (and obtaining a few) really brought her forth as a human rather than an actress or a headline.

Attending the preview event at the auction house, Troy and I ran ito her Sharon's sister Debra. This was the second time I've met and she has generous and kind. She’s nice about what I do and although she understandbly doesn't condone it, she *gets* that the Helter Skelter tour is focused on a historical event.

A few days later was the auction itself. My buddies Rocio Briceño (We met and bonded over Sharon and the Tate/Labianca case over 20 years ago) and Elisa Jordan of LA Woman Tours (who does the Marilyn Monroe and Doors tours with us) were at the auction itself. Troy and I watched live online. I bring this up because Rocio is an terrific photographer and Debra asked her to please document the auction for her. What a break! Debra was there but with everything going on, wasn’t able to take pictures for herself. So Rocio helped her out.

Debra showed up with her close friend Dave Navarro, which seems like a weird pairing at first, but both of them have suffered the tragic loss of a close family member and both are advocates for victims’ rights. He was there to show his support (and drop over (gasp) 20k for a pair of Sharon's sunglasses).

Dave Navarro liked Ro's photographs so much that he asked Ro for permission to post them on his own social media accounts.

Elisa snapped this picture of the dramatic moment when Dave won the glasses. Notice how Debra is clutching her chest. That sums up the reaction of the entire room.

We’re happy for Debra. She pays to attend all the killer's parole hearings out of her own pocket—and she can’t work because she’s disabled after handling a package with bomb in it while working for the post office. I mean, how many random acts of violence can one family take? She’s also a recent cancer survivor and was having to pay for treatment that her insurance didn’t cover. So, her buddy Dave turned out to be a pretty good friend after all. Congrats Debra!

Now, you’re probably asking yourself if we scored anything at the auction. The answer is yes … but I can’t tell you what it is yet. It’s not that I want to be a tease, but we’re working on putting a nice display together. Stay tuned. We’ll keep you um... abreast.

Speaking of Sharon, as many of you are well aware next year marks the 50^thanniversary of the Helter Skelter murders. We’ve gotten so many requests to do something in honor of that week. And the answer is YES, we are definitely planning on some very cool things. We’re moving the Dearly Departed Weekend from October to August just for this.

So save these dates: August 8-11. That’s Thursday through Sunday so it will be a long weekend. Our official hotel is once again the Orchid Suites in Hollywood and they are already accepting reservation requests for us. Be sure you tell them you’re with the Dearly Departed Weekend though! That way you’ll get a room. Otherwise they might not take your reservation this early.

We have some events set up for that weekend but so much more planning to go. Elisa and I started working on this a couple of months ago and there is a lot to put together. Big announcements will be coming. Please hang tight. We’d also like to point this out from the beginning and you’re going to hear this a lot: This is an acknowledgement of a historic event. This weekend is not to celebrate the murders of innocent people, but to be amongst people who want to learn more about the crimes and it's importance in history. We are victim oriented.

At some point during the weekend, we as a group will take in a screening of Once Upon a Time In Hollwood. We are losing our minds over this film

Bringing things back closer to home, we’ve been very busy at Dearly Departed. I appeared on a friend’s podcast and had a great time. It’s called the Odd Podcast with Joe Parisi and he’s had some very fun guests so I enjoyed being a part of eclectic show. You can find my interview with him here.

As for our tours, we’re already selling tickets for the annual Karen Carpen-tour in February. Buy your tickets now. Last year sold out!

Also, for those of you who are looking for a new or different way to look at Hollywood, Brian’s walking tours are seriously the way to go. http://dearlydepartedtours.com/hollywood-history-and-haunts-tour/http://dearlydepartedtours.com/behind-the-boulevard-walking-tour/

In the meantime, thanks for all your support. Last Saturday was Small Business Saturday and we love that a day calls attention to people like us—but we’re Small Business Everyday so we appreciate everyone who takes tours, buys merchandise, comments on social media and reads this newsletter. You guys are great. *dabs eye with tissue* Now get outta here, kid!