Wednesday, April 04, 2018

Today's Blind Items - Seven - A Reader Blind Item

This is not about gossip - at least not to me. This is about clearing up something for the record re the death of a foreign-born screen actress many years ago. We'll call her, 'Seven'.

At the time I would hang out now and then at a house in the Hollywood Hills. There was partying going on there but I wouldn't describe it along the lines of weirdness, debauchery, and whatever else, in other accounts I've read of parties in Hollywood. It was basically a place that had people coming and going and most of it in a long weekend spanning from Thursday-Friday to Monday. Most of the people there were under 30 and the owner was maybe 40 or a couple of years older.

One day I met someone at the house who said he lived up the road with Seven. We'll call him, 'Ray' (but don't bother trying to figure out who he is since he wasn't a celebrity and never became one). One thing led to another in the conversation and he said that Seven was looking for some help with the house in cleaning, fixing, etc., and in exchange I could stay there. In the conversation I had mentioned that I was looking for a place to stay before he even mentioned Seven's situation.

A few days after I went to meet Seven and she agreed as to my staying there. I mentioned I knew a friend, "Don", who could help since he knew something about carpentry, etc., but that he wouldn't be staying at the house. I think she eventually worked out something with him money-wise, can't remember for sure, but I know that something was worked out relationship-wise.

For the next month or so we'd do some minor work but I realized that she was going to need more help when it came to such things as the pool which looked like the Black Lagoon and some masonry features. In the meantime we had some of our friends visit and she didn't mind since mostly it was young men and she seemed to enjoy the company.

A few days before the month was up she told me and Ray that we had to leave. No real explanation was given for it but I suspect it may have had to something to do with Don telling me earlier that he did not want to be with her anymore. As to the specifics of that, I'm not sure but I think it may have been her perpetual state of wine and pills. In general, she didn't exhibit any erratic behavior or mood swings, actually, she maintained a continuous keel even if it was a somewhat sedate sleepwalking. Of course, how that translates to a more intimate setting as that with Don, it may have been a different story.

When given the notice from Seven about leaving I asked her for a couple of days to get my things in order. She said okay. I'd see her in that time but the talk was perfunctory at best and she mostly kept to herself in her bedroom. On the morning when I was going to leave, a friend of mine, 'Clark', came by since he was going to give me a ride to my new place. He was a Vietnam veteran whom I had also met at the aforementioned house where lots of people came through. While we were talking in the kitchen over some coffee, Ray came rushing down the stairs saying that Seven wasn't responding to his knock on her bedroom door and then when he went in and called out to her in bed she didn't answer. He was very nervous. I walked up the stairs and went into her bedroom. I called out her name but nothing. I nudged her a few times, still nothing. Then I noticed that part of her back was exposed and there was a line of red at the bottom as she laid at her side. The blood had settled. I stood back and just looked at her, everything seemed suspended. At that moment Clark walked into the bedroom, looked at her and then just grabbed her arm and pulled back. Rigor mortis had set in. He said, "She's dead". Ray was standing out in the hallway and when he heard Clark he just ran down the stairs voicing disbelief. I just stood there looking at her body, thinking how could this be. On her night tables there were those large bottles of wine that look like jugs with small handles and various prescription pill containers. There were more bottles throughout the bedroom. I walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

I sat at the dining room table. I think it was Clark who called the police, Ray wasn't in a state to do anything. Soon enough, two officers showed up and Clark walked with them upstairs and explained to them what was what. More officers showed up. After a few minutes, one of the first officers who had gone upstairs came over to me and asked if I knew what had happened, if there were some events or whatever before the fact. I just looked at him said no, that I was talking to her last night and there was no indication for anything like this. The officer could see that I was still in a suspended state trying to make sense of it for myself. He nodded his head and told me to wait there. 

A half-hour or so later the detectives showed up. I think there were three of them, two sat with Ray, Clark, and me in a little, den room while the other one stood in the background by the doorway. They asked us questions about our stay there, how we came to know Seven, and so on. We gave them as thorough an account as possible and they, like the gray-suited, seasoned Los Angeles Police Detectives they were, no doubt scanned all our responses and behavior to their satisfaction. They took all the information, driver's license, social security number, where we were moving to, etc. As the detectives were leaving I could hear one of them asking the first officer who arrived on the scene (the one who talked to me in the dining room) if there was evidence of any foul play. The officer said no. The detective shook his head in affirmation then left. The officer came over and told us we were free to go.

In past years I've come across brief articles and even a little website devoted to Seven. The website not so much but some of the articles of course got into the 'conspiracy' nonsense about what happened. They related how there was blood on the pillow where her head rested, how there were bruises on her body thus leading to the implication that there was foul play. If there had been any of that then the detectives would have certainly asked us questions about it and the autopsy even more cause for suspicion. Besides, the authorities already knew about Seven from previous, minor incidents. The fact is that the only 'conspiracy' is what Seven allowed herself to be caught up in re 'Hollywood' and its machinations.

When I first met Seven and for those brief days I would have conversations with her with moments when she let her guard down, would seem more alive and even with a slight laugh or two about something. I could see the young woman, the young girl, her odyssey from Europe to Hollywood, and her brief dance with fame. But then I could also see the toll it had taken and how her only marriage ended in a divorce from an American actor also had its effect. As she got older then the calls and Hollywood friends became less.

In some of those conversations I felt an undercurrent that there could possibly be a relationship between us by some of the things she said but left hanging. Being a young, straight male, I thought about it and the fact that she was more than twice my age didn't concern me at all. In her manner she had an attractive, European sensibility which was quite charming in itself. But there was something there, something unspoken and in the background that simply said for me to step back and just let things stay as they are. And that's what I did.

So, to those who saw a conspiracy, including a member of her family who expressed as such, I am here to say that there was nothing. What there was is the unfortunate death of a woman who in other circumstances would have probably gone on to live a good life, possibly a family of her own, and who knows, maybe a longer career as an actress. She certainly had the classiness and charisma for it, but time and space - for all of us - can often be a chancy thing. And even if in the briefest sense, I wanted to state what happened in reality and not the luridness that some are predisposed to. Seven deserves far better than that. I wish her Spirit well and much Love.

As for all the others: I would see Don now and then but he would never get into details about the time with Seven and I didn't solicit them. A few years later Don moved out of state and I never saw him again. About 8 or so years ago I found out he had passed away.

Ray was not in the best mental state when all of that happened. I felt sorry for him and invited him to stay with me at my mother's house. My mother got to know him and cared for him. She revealed later on that in conversations with him she saw a young man that was trying to come to terms with his sexuality and all that it entailed by his fear of letting others now. He stayed for around two weeks then moved in with some friends. He called by phone a few times to let us know how he was doing but eventually the calls stopped. Never heard from him again. He was really a nice guy. I hope he found his way to a better place wherever.

Clark, I knew for a couple of more years until we had a falling out. A woman came between us. Classic story so the readers can fill in the details to their preference. Last time I saw him was decades ago at the Bodhi Tree bookstore. He just looked at me from the other side of a square counter they had at the time. I was wearing dark shades and pretended that I didn't notice him. The woman? Lived with her for 3 years or so then she went back to NYC. Interesting gal, she had been married to a big-time producer back then.

As for the people at the house I mentioned earlier, the owner and his girlfriend at the time passed away and all the rest of them, except for a very good friend I've known through all these years, have gone on never to be heard of again. The only person I've heard of (not on a personal basis) is a girl who was very young at the time and is now a Life Coach in LA.

Whatever the situations and circumstances, at this time in my life the best is to wish them all well. We've all had to manage life in one way or the other.


78 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wait -your Britney Murphy guess didn’t take flight(oh yuh deleted it🤔)
      Why do others get such scrutiny over ridiculous,awful guesses “in an attempt to post” first and this bozo .... ?
      Well he’s a bozo so there’s that.

      Delete
    2. I mean Derek posted @brittany Murphy as the “foreign born”😏actress who he thought thought might fit this 3 page blind. He based that on 2 seconds of reading.... where is the reading police now? Court B
      Weigh in— were all alflutter!!

      Delete
  2. What is up with these Bible long BI lately?!?!

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  3. They set the tone if you bother to read them.
    Some of these reader blinds may in fact be composed by readers with "important" last names, after all.

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  4. I will give credit for this only being a one-parter. Those multipart blinds are ridiculous.

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  5. Also if you ever find these blinds too long, read from the bottom up, the important part is usually about a third from the end.

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  6. Pier Angeli had two husbands. The blind says Seven only had one.

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  7. I think you have it, Erin.

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  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. Enty if you read these comments please don't let these reader blinds be an ongoing thing. They are terrible.

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  10. @erin sheehy You got it!

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  11. Totally gia Scala.

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  12. Based off all the info in this blind, I was able to find the name of one of the three men there. Too many specifics.

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  13. I guess and her husband's name was Don so there's that

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  14. Enty you should have noted this as an "old hollywood" reader BI cus Gia Scala was a celebrity in the 50's and 60's.

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  15. Gia Scala, since Wikipedia seem to repeat verbatim the words of the reader here. Although Pier Angeli has a remarkably similar profile.

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  16. "Hollywood Detective Paul Estrada said Miss Scala had four "hippie-type" Individuals living in her hillside home"

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  17. So the person who wrote this is Larry Langston?

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  18. @Bagel, I believe so.

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  19. Maybe I'll start summarizing these for everybody:

    "Doped up faded starlet taken advantage of by young grifter and his friends who occupy her house. She wises up, kicks them out, then takes too many pills with alcohol and dies. Grifter and his friends find her body while moving out, call police, cops rule no foul play."

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  20. Quite succinct, Brayson. Well done! I'll add in that she had advanced arteriosclerosis and wasn't getting enough oxygen to her brain, which is why she was all goofy those last few years.

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  21. She had a sad life. http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/241/Gia+Scala/index.html

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  22. What a sad story, she was so beautiful, did not know she had health problems. Glad to see conspiracy theory being debunked.

    I like the readers blinds in the main, they are personal experiences written by ordinary people rather than celebrities why would that make them less worthwhile.

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  23. I think it was nice of the writer to set the record straight and remember her (and everyone else involved) with dignity.

    This reader BI was quality writing and classy.

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    Replies
    1. Agreed...and how Hollywood can suck the life out of you

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    2. I agree. Glad he set the record straight.

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  24. Enterns and other BI writers note the writing here!

    No prejudicial unnecessary adjectives, no torrid descriptions of beauties and sunsets, and look at that flow - no breaks for personal declarations and injections of worthless judgements that fuck up the timeline of events portrayed.

    So gimme more reader BIs like this one! What a pleasure.

    Sounds like Gia died of a broken heart, in a way.

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  25. I’m with the majority here. The reader blinds are terrible. I’m not even bothering to read anymore.

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    Replies
    1. I'm not sure how you can call that the majority...

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  26. +1 Han Niam on BI writer's commendable desire to set the record straight.

    Not going to venture a guess as to who Seven was/is, just think it's good to hear perspectives other than faux dramatized gossipy stories.

    This is a sad tale but I am sure there are many like it in Hollywood

    Frankly I like the reader blinds & stories best (even if the writing isn't always the greatest) because the typical caliber of people/'stars' in the modern daily ones is usually is so small & lacking. Reality shows, talk shows, hangers on at the edges of music biz, strippers, yachters, porn tape makers, social media 'phenoms'. Meh.

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  27. Nope.
    Until you write a reader blind, stop bitching about reader blinds.

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  28. I nominate the writer of the reader blind for the Nice Guy with a Story award.

    Proof that blinds can be interesting without raking mud or torpedoing reputations.

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  29. +1 VDOVault

    @Gee

    Son, you could use some lessons in writing yourself.

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    Replies
    1. You know what copy/paste is
      Don't you?
      You're violating the NAP again
      Do I need to give a short presentation on "professional shilling on the internet for the welfare cheat and welfare cheat at heart" or can you leave it alone?

      Delete
  30. If somebody is trying to clarify that there was no conspiracy, why is this a blind?

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  31. I don't have the focus during the day to read super-long blinds. I agree with @Plot that overly descriptive language and personal reflections bog down the narrative, and are found frequently in reader blinds.

    But all things weighed, I would rather have Reader's Blinds than Teen Mom/rapper/Instagram star blinds.

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  32. I enjoyed this blind. But a caution: this could be a "I Didn't Do It!" infomercial.

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  33. @SignNameBelow, I had the same thought.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Blogger Sign Name Below said...
      @TLT
      I am compelled to point that out. My contract as CDaN gadfly requires me to play Devil's Advocate. It doesn't pay but it's a living.

      Apparently my contract does not require spell-checking though 😂

      Delete
  34. I agree that some of the Reader blinds have been kind of pointless ('X celebrity once told me to do one! Eh, eh?!') but this one was interesting. And sad. Gia was very beautiful but she seemed to have such a sad life.
    And I definitely agree about Reader blinds > instagram/youtube/crappy rappers/reality tv blinds.

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  35. @Gee

    "You know what copy/paste is
    Don't you?
    You're violating the NAP again
    Do I need to give a short presentation on "professional shilling on the internet for the welfare cheat and welfare cheat at heart" or can you leave it alone? "

    Lawdy! Give me more proof of my assertion, why don't you! Writing is a skill. Learn it.

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  36. I do like the reader blinds but they need to be more succinct. I will try to keep mine short. :)

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  37. Reader blind- Did not read.

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  38. I don't think English is the tiger's mother tongue. My, but we're extra tolerant and inclusive today, eh Plot? As per usual, don't bother responding as I don't care.

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  39. Then don't read them. No need to comment. Those of us that like them will enjoy them. Stop complaining about a free website. So annoying!

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  40. "...and then I moved to a ranch with this really charismatic dude named Charlie."

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  41. An 18 paragraph reader BI about someone I've never heard of is about 15 paragraphs too long. Just my opinion...allegedly...supposedly...

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    1. I didn't even bother with the one last week that was 6 parts and each was about the size of this one.

      Delete
  42. I thought it was a nicely written blind, myself. Long enough for a good narrative, but not too long that details get forgotten.

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  43. For once I agree with Plot. (is this the end for me...?)
    A nice item, cleanly written.
    The reader blinds spewing hyperbolic adjectives are just torture.

    Stick to the story/information/your feelings and a few choice adjectives AS NEEDED to set the scene.

    Just my HO/FWIW/TY

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  44. It was the early 70s. Maybe she was feeling the Mrs Robinson vibe.

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  45. This blind was written really well - it’s nice to read something with good sentence lengths and proper punctuation! Even though it’s long, that REALLY helps. I’m popping up my professional hand to volunteer proofreading services henceforth for the Entern blinds (Enty, tweet me).

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  46. I enjoyed this and the other reader blinds. Did not recognize the actress name but look d*** her up and remembered the movies from when I was a kid. That led me to a Mirror story about her house. The article says 1Direction's Nial Halloran bought it in 2016 and that is haunted by her ghost. Then I got a pop up saying my phone has a virus! It does t. It was spam.

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  47. Gia Scala died from arterosclorosis, the same thing that killed her father at a young age.

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  48. Simply to clear the name of a person whom in the brief time I met her I saw that deep down she was a good human being. Neither I nor any of the others who visited took advantage, were 'grifters', or any such such nonsense. And if you had sat across from those detectives and a dozen or so police roaming around, you'd better not give them any reason for thinking there was nonsense. They weren't there for nonsense of any kind.

    Hollywood then and I'm certain Hollywood now has many people who don't end up being pit-roasted on CDAN or other venues. The stories about sexual abuse and such of adults and minors? Horrible, there's just no other way to define it and those responsible should be dealt justice. But there were and no doubt are many people in the present, whether hoping to be actors, musicians, whatever who find themselves in situations Like Seven did. Simple dreams turned into twisted narratives, condemnations private and public with usually no more than hearsay as 'proof' or plain ol' envy.

    I don't live in LA anymore, but when I did I met many people from both sides of the Hollywood magnifying glass. After all is said and done, they were all chasing a way of being, a dream to come true. Isn't that what all of us are trying to do in some way? How simple if it were all sharply defined as black and white. But many of you know that there are seemingly endless fuzzy shades of gray to go through, to struggle through, and often to cry about. I've done all of that. That I've made it this far and that there it's s still in me to say something good about a person who no longer exists, well, I am very thankful for that.

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  49. This is Marilyn Monroe and seven is for seven years itch.

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  50. Why not just exchange numbers so the rest of us don’t have to see all this pettiness please

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  51. I enjoy the Reader Blinds. I skip over the teen mom and reality star blinds.

    I thought it was Norma Jean or Jean Seberg at first. I'm not familiar with Ms Scala at all.

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  52. To the writer of this reader blind:

    Thanks for sharing your very well-written story. Although I have no idea who Seven was, I bet that she would have felt happy to know that someone still remembers her today, and cares enough to clarify her cause of death.

    But I do have to admit that I wished the reader blinds were juicier lol

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  53. I agree...Marilyn Monroe.

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  54. The reader blinds are too long and need editing, but they do have punctuation, which is a huge plus.

    @ Tricia - the difference between you and CortB (the first poster who deleted her comment?) is that you rush in to post first and often delete your first post, which I suppose is better than leaving an incorrect guess there for others to repeat and to assume is correct.

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  55. Very good blind. Old Hollywood but still good.
    Gia was so pretty!!

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  56. Take careful note aspiring starlets.....

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  57. I read this and kept thinking of that Robbie Fulks song
    "She took a lot of pills and died"

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  58. I like the reader blinds.

    As for editing.....

    I like readers as they are,
    Maybe writing the blinds is pushing their writing skills, and that's good.

    If you don't like them, don't read them.

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