Lana Clarkson and the Deadly Allure of Show Biz

Lana Clarkson's death made national headlines, but before her murder at the hands of super-producer Phil Spector, she had a promising career as an actress and model.

Born in 1962 in Long Beach, California, she was mostly raised Sonoma County before moving back to Los Angeles County with her family.

Clarkson began acting, landing small roles in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Scarface," and eventually finding something of a niche in B movies.

She starred in a number of films for legendary B movie auteur Roger Corman and became a favorite of the genre's devoted fan base, appearing in such titles as "Barbarian Queen."

Clarkson was also cast in several commercials, and worked extensively as a model. However, as she entered her 30s, roles became scarce and she had to find other ways to support herself. Her last film role was as Dr. Ellen Taylor in the 2001 film "March."

Friends and colleagues have reported that Clarkson wasn't through with show business; she wanted to transition into work as a comic actress and had even begun to develop a standup routine. At the time of her death, she had been working part-time as a hostess, planning her next move in entertainment.

As was later established in a highly publicized murder trial, Lana Clarkson was murdered by record producer Phil Spector sometime in the early morning of February 3, 2003. She met Spector at the West Hollywood House of Blues, where she was working as a hostess.

Clarkson accompanied Spector back to his mansion in Alhambra. At some point before dawn, he shot her in the mouth, killing her. Spector was arrested and charged with her murder, and several months later a trial began.

Phil Spector's murder of Lana Clarkson took two trials to reach a conviction. The first trial ended in a hung jury, but a second returned a guilty verdict. Spector insisted to the end that he was innocent and that her death was "an accidental suicide."

Phil Spector's trials were extensively covered, and when the first trial resulted in a hung jury, many wondered if Clarkson would ever receive justice.

In the second trial, Spector was found guilty and sentenced to 19 years to life. Lana's mother, Donna Clarkson, received an undisclosed settlement from Spector's insurance company as the result of a wrongful death lawsuit in 2012.

The first trial's jury was 10-2, favoring conviction, meaning that there were only two holdouts who were unwilling to convict. There was no witness to Clarkson's death, but the evidence of Spector was enough to convince a second jury beyond a reasonable doubt.

Key Evidence

Although never a superstar, Lana Clarkson had left her mark on the entertainment business. After the news of her murder broke, however, she attained a new degree of celebrity: Tabloids and evening news segments across the country couldn't get enough of "actress Lana Clarkson's death," and neither could audiences.

Over the years there have been various adaptations and documentary segments on the case. "Phil Spector" was a 2013 HBO film that focused on the trial, and "Homicide: Los Angeles," a Netflix docuseries, devoted an episode to the murder trial in 2024.

Phil Spector was one of the most famous and influential producers in modern pop music. He is credited with inventing the "Wall of Sound" aesthetic, which favored multiple tracks and dense instrumentation to create an immersive, oceanic sonic effect.

Over his long career he worked with some of rock and pop's biggest stars, including the Righteous Brothers, Ike and Tina Turner, the Ronettes, The Beatles, John Lennon and George Harrison.

Ronnie Bennet, the lead singer and co-founder of of the Ronettes, married Spector in 1968, later divorcing him in 1974. Ronnie Spector, as she was known during her marriage to Phil, later attested to his emotional instability, narcissism and generally abusive tendencies.

Spector had a longstanding reputation for being eccentric and "difficult" in show business. By the 1980s, however, he had become increasingly unstable and reclusive, and he had largely stopped working. His long decline terminated in his conviction for Lana Clarkson's murder.

Spector died in prison in 2021. His lawyers had appealed his conviction on several occasions, but the California Supreme Court eventually rejected them.