PHOTOS OF THE DAY: THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED

One of the holy grail of movies is Jerry Lewis' The Day The Clown Cried. The 1972 film has never been released, but now that Jerry Lewis has passed away the film may be shown eventually. Here are some stills from that doomed production...

JOE BESSER: THE WORST STOOGE

Actor Joe Besser had a long career as a character actor in Hollywood. He was known for his impish humor and wimpy characters. He is best known for his brief stint as a member of the Three Stooges in movie short subjects of 1957–59. He is also remembered for his television roles: Stinky, the bratty man-child in The Abbott and Costello Show, and Jillson, the maintenance man in The Joey Bishop Show. Even though it is just my opinion. Joe Besser never really fit in as a Stooge, and I believe he was the worst Stooge of all of them.

The zany comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, whose Broadway revues were fast-paced collections of songs and blackouts, hired Joe Besser to join their company. Besser's noisy intrusions were perfect for their anything-can-happen format. Besser's work caught the attention of the Shubert brothers, who signed Besser to a theatrical contract. Columbia Pictures hired Besser away from the Shuberts, and Besser relocated to Hollywood in 1944, where he brought his unique comic character to feature-length musical comedies like Hey, Rookie and Eadie Was a Lady (1945). On May 9, 1946 Besser appeared on the pioneer NBC television program Hour Glass, performing his "Army Drill" routine with stage partner Jimmy Little. According to an article in the May 27, 1946 issue of Life magazine, the show was seen by about 20,000 people on about 3,500 television sets, mostly in the New York City area. During this period, he appeared on the Jack Benny radio program in the episode entitled "Jack Prepares For Carnegie Hall" in June, 1943. Besser also starred in short-subject comedies for Columbia from 1949 to 1956. By this point, his persona was sufficiently well known that he was frequently caricatured in Looney Tunes animated shorts of the era. He appeared in the action film The Desert Hawk (1950).

Besser had substituted for Lou Costello on radio, opposite Bud Abbott, and by the 1950s he was firmly established as one of the Abbott and Costello regulars. When the duo filmed The Abbott and Costello Show for television, they hired Joe Besser to play Oswald "Stinky" Davis, a bratty, loudmouthed child dressed in an oversized Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit, shorts, and a flat top hat with overhanging brim. He appeared during the first season of The Abbott and Costello Show. Besser was cast for the role of Yonkel, a chariot man in the low-budget biblical film Sins of Jezebel (1953) which starred Paulette Goddard as the titular wicked queen.

After Shemp Howard died of a heart attack on November 22, 1955 at age 60, his brother Moe suggested that he and teammate Larry Fine continue working as "The Two Stooges". Studio chief Harry Cohn rejected the proposal. Although Moe had legal approval to allow new members into the act, Columbia executives had the final say about any actor who would appear in the studio's films, and insisted on a performer already under contract to Columbia: Joe Besser. At the time, Besser was one of a few comedians still making comedy shorts at the studio. He successfully renegotiated his contract, and was paid his former feature-film salary, which was more than the other Stooges earned.

Besser refrained from imitating Curly or Shemp. He continued to play the same whiny character he had developed over his long career. He had a clause in his contract prohibiting being hit excessively. Besser recalled, "I usually played the kind of character who would hit others back".  As a result of his whiny persona and lack of true slapstick punishment against him (the cornerstone of Stooge humor), Joe has been less popular with contemporary Stooge aficionados, so much so, that "Stooge-a-Polooza" TV host Rich Koz has even apologized on the air before showing Besser shorts; during the show's tenure he received more than a few letters from viewers expressing their outrage over his airing them. Besser does have his defenders, however: Columbia historians Edward Watz and Ted Okuda have written appreciatively of Besser bringing new energy to what was by then a flagging theatrical series.

The Stooges shorts with Besser were filmed from the spring of 1956 to the end of 1957. His Stooge tenure ended when Columbia shut down the two-reel-comedy department on December 20, 1957. Producer-director Jules White had shot enough film for 16 comedies, which were released a few months apart until June 1959, with Sappy Bull Fighters being the final release. Moe Howard and Larry Fine discussed plans to tour with a live act, but Besser declined. His wife had suffered a heart attack in November 1957, and he was unwilling to leave without her. In later life, Besser praised Moe and Larry.

While Joe Besser was a great character actor, his stint as a Stooge was largely forgettable. He died on March 1. 1988 - a forgotten footnote in Stooge history...

HISTORY OF A SONG: ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE

The song "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" is one of the best songs to ever come out of a comedy! "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is a comedy song written by Monty Python member Eric Idle that was first featured in the film Monty Python's Life of Brian and has gone on to become a common singalong at public events such as football matches as well as funerals.

The song touches on the British trait of stoicism with the "stiff upper lip" spirit in the face of adversity, and became immensely popular. It reached No.3 on the UK Singles Charts in 1991, and the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London featured a live performance of the song by Idle.

Whilst trying to come up with a way of ending the film Monty Python's Life of Brian, Eric Idle wrote an original version of the song which was sung in a more straight fashion, which the other Python members eventually agreed would be good enough for the end of the film. However, Michael Palin noted in his diary for 16 June 1978 that during a script meeting, "Eric's two songs — 'Otto' and the 'Look on the Bright Side' crucifixion song — are rather coolly received before lunch." Despite being initially underwhelmed, the group warmed to Idle's efforts and the song was retained. While practicing during a break in filming, Idle found that it worked better if sung in a more cheeky manner. This new version was used in the film and became one of Monty Python's most famous compositions.

The song appears at the end of the film. The film's lead character Brian Cohen (played by Graham Chapman) has been sentenced to death by crucifixion for his part in a kidnap plot. After a succession of apparent rescue opportunities all come to nothing, a character on a nearby cross (played by Eric Idle) attempts to cheer him up by singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". As the song progresses, many of the other crucifixion victims (140 in all, according to the script, though twenty-three crosses are actually seen on screen) begin to dance in a very restricted way and join in with the song's whistled hook. The song continues as the scene changes to a long-shot of the crosses and the credits begin to roll. An instrumental version plays over the second half of the credits. Its appearance at the end of the film, when the central character seems certain to die, is deliberately ironic.

"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" was arranged and conducted by John Altman and recorded at Chappell's Studio with a full orchestra and the Fred Tomlinson Singers. The song appeared on the film soundtrack album, listed as "Look on the Bright Side of Life (All Things Dull and Ugly)". The subtitle does not appear in the actual song, and is only used on the soundtrack album. "All Things Dull and Ugly" was also the title of an unrelated track on Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album (released only a few months later), which is a parody of the popular hymn "All Things Bright and Beautiful". The song was also released as a Double A side single with "Brian", the film's opening theme (performed by Sonia Jones).

When Chapman died on 4 October 1989, the five remaining Pythons, as well as Chapman's close friends and family, came together at his public memorial service to sing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" as part of Idle's eulogy...

UPDATE: GRAVE MARKER FOR HELEN FORREST

Congratulations and a thank you are in order for Don Romano. He organized a campaign to raise money for a tombstone for big band singer in Helen Forrest. His campaign was successful and became a reality finally!

Helen Forrest was one of the most popular female singers in the United States in the 1940's. She was known as "the voice of the name bands" and was the girl singer for the bands of Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and Harry James. She is regarded by some as the best female vocalist of the swing era.

July 11, 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of her passing. She is interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery, Hollywood Hills, in Los Angeles. Her only surviving son, Michael, passed away on May 1, 2014. At her plot right now is this pitiful twenty-year-old temporary marker.

Here is what Don Ramano had to say:

"Friends, I have some great news. Earlier this year, I started a GoFundMe campaign to put a marker at Helen Forrest's burial site at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Hollywood Hills, California. A temporary marker had been placed at the site since her passing in 1999. Today, on the twentieth anniversary of her passing, I am happy to report she has been memorialized with a beautiful granite marker. The marker was just set on Monday July 8, 2019. None of this would have been possible without your donations, shares, and support. The sentiment on Helen's marker was not only a #1 hit for her and Artie Shaw's band in 1939 (written by Harry Revel and Mack Gordon) but also reflects our gratitude for Helen's work. And to all of you who supported me in this mission, I say, 'Thanks for Ev'rything'!"

Thanks for everything Don Ramano! And thank you for helping Helen Forrest get the memorial that she deserves...

RECENTLY VIEWED: HALLOWEEN

I am not a big fan of the Halloween or Friday The 13th genre of horror movies. I was too young and scared to get into them the first time around. However, I was bored on a Saturday night and watched the latest remake of Halloween on HBO. It really was not too bad, but boy has Jamie Lee Curtis aged! Halloween is a 2018 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green, written by Green, Jeff Fradley, and Danny McBride, and starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle who reprise their respective roles as Laurie Strode and Michael Myers, with stuntman James Jude Courtney also portraying Myers. It is the eleventh installment in the Halloween film series and a direct sequel to Halloween (1978) while effecting a retcon of all previous sequels. The plot follows a post-traumatic Laurie Strode who prepares to face Michael Myers in a final showdown on Halloween night, forty years after she survived his killing spree.

After failing to develop a new Halloween film in time, Dimension Films lost the production rights for a sequel, which reverted to Miramax, which then joined with Blumhouse Productions. In May 2016, a new installment was officially announced, with original co-creator John Carpenter's involvement as a composer, executive producer, and creative consultant.

Halloween premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 19, 2018, by Universal Pictures, the distributor's first involvement with the series since Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982). The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with many considering it to be both the best Halloween sequel and a return to form for the series. It has grossed over $255 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film in the franchise and the highest-grossing slasher film in unadjusted dollars, breaking a record that Scream had previously set, as well as breaking several other box office records. A sequel is in early development (of course!)

Jamie Lee Curtis never impressed me as an actress, but this was the role that made her. If you forget about all of the pointless sequels in between the 1st film and this film, then this is a great movie. Curtis does a good job playing a withdrawn and alcoholic slasher victim. Throughout the film, people try to get Michael Myers to talk, and he never does - I wish he would have said something, even a word. Perhaps in the sequel! I'm glad I did not go see the film in the movies, but it was a great film on a rainy Saturday night on television. The theme music alone is worth it!

MY RATING: 7 OUT OF 10

A TRIBUTE TO GARY BEACH - ONE YEAR LATER

Gary Beach was one of  the true greats of Broadway that the world sadly lost a year ago today. His memory will always live on...

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: THE CAST OF THE MUSIC MAN

One of my all-time favorite movie musicals was 1962's The Music Man. The musical originated on Broadway and became a huge movie hit. Everyone who is a fan of the movie know the cast such as Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, and a young Ron Howard, but I wanted to spotlight some of the supporting cast and where they are now.

PERT KELTON (Mrs. Paroo) played the mother of Shirley Jones and Ron Howard. I always thought she was too old to be Ron Howard's mom. She originated her role on Broadway with Robert Preston. Her first movie was 1929's Sally. Kelton was the original Alice Kramden in The Honeymooners comedy sketches on the DuMont Television Network's Cavalcade of Stars. Due to being blacklisted in the 1950s, she did not have as successfule career as she could have. A resident of Washington Township, Bergen County, New Jersey, Kelton died of a heart attack on October 30, 1968, at age 61 while swimming at the YMCA in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

SUSAN LUCKEY (Zaneeta Shinn) played the daughter of the town's mayor (Paul Ford). Throughout the movie she was explaim "Eeeee gads!".  Luckey was best known for her roles in Carousel and The Music Man. She co-starred as the daughter of Billy Bigelow's character, played by Gordon MacRae, in Carousel. he 'iconic scene' of Susan Luckey and Timmy Everett kissing on the jungle gym may have taken place on-stage, but was not in the film version of The Music Man. Her last film was the 1966 small movie, Step Out of Your Mind. She left Hollywood and died of liver failure at the age of 74 on November 29, 2012.

TIMMY EVERETT (Tommy Djilas) played the town trouble maker who falls for the mayor's daughter. Timmy did not have much luck in Hollywood. His major role was The Music Man and an appearance on TV's "Ben Casey". He began performing at the age of 14, and was a popular Broadway actor by the late 1950s.  He became an actor teacher but was a heavy smoker and drinker. He died in a fleabag hotel he was renting in New York on March 4. 1977. He was only 39.

THE BUFFALO BILLS (nameless) appeared as members of the school board that try to investigate Robert Preston. In 1956, composer Meredith Willson was looking for a quartet to appear in his new musical "The Music Man". The Bills won the audition and were cast in the play, which was to open on Broadway. The only surviving member of the Buffalo Bills is Jim Jones, who lives in Orlando, Florida. Only Reed and Shea were with the Bills throughout their entire existence. Internal issues and some health problems caused the quartet to be disbanded. Shea died in 1968, Ward in 1988, Reed in 1992, Smith in 2007, and Grapes in 2015.

THE MURDER OF CAROLE LANDIS

Here is a very interesting article written by Carole Landis' niece Tammy Powell. It poses an interesting alternate idea that Carole did not commit suicide. I have tried to get hold of Tammy Powell, but I have had little luck. If anyone knows of how to get in touch with her, let me know...

My beautiful Aunt Carole died in 1948 when she was only 29. The official story is that she committed suicide because her married boyfriend Rex Harrison would not marry her. I want you to know that my family has NEVER believed that it was a suicide. We are 100% convinced that Rex Harrison is to blame for her death. My grandmother Dorothy begged the police to investigate more but they refused. Desperate to find answers she hired a private detective. All he could tell her was that people were paid off and evidence was destroyed. The only person brave enough to come forward was Carole's secretary Nan Stuart who knew there was a cover-up.

We know that many things were taken from the house and that the lights in the bathroom were suspiciously turned off. Then there was a mysterious 2nd note which was never really explained. There are theories about what may have happened the night she died. Maybe Rex put secanol in Carole's food or drink without her knowing about. He knew about her past "suicide attempts" and thought no one would find it odd. He had been in the house a lot so he knew where the pills were. Another possibility is that Carole did threaten to kill herself as a dramatic gesture...something she had done in the past to get attention. She took the pills then called Rex to save her. He found her and instead of calling a doctor he just let her die.

One of the myths that has circled around and then seems to bounce here and there and becomes such a focus is that Carole was manic depressive. I find it hard to believe she was. Yes, she had made a few attention grabbing suicide attempts but in those cases she would take aspirin and was always near someone who she knew would save her. I think this part of her personality came from her childhood. When she didn't get her way she threw a tantrum and she would get what she wanted. She was determined at such a young age and it might not have been the right way but it sure worked. She was a smart woman and knew how to make things go her way. Everyone has something they do to ensure themselves that they get what they want. We all choose our methods even if it's not always the smartest thing to do.

Another issue I have is this...if she was so depressed to attempt to kill herself or planned it then why would she go on a BIG shopping spree and plan a 4th of July party with her friends? I know from research that she wasn't broke - she had work coming up and was getting a big check from the sale of her house. She was smart enough to know that she shouldn't keep spending if she didn't have money. Also when she had a party she really knew how to do it right!!! She would put out a "feast to feed a village" (my grandmother's words) and she would be dressed up and would be the best hostess and always wanted everyone to enjoy and have fun.

She was in a bubbly and radiant mood that 4th of July weekend. Not one friend said that she was down and depressed. She even said she had "never been happier". Now, if she had stayed in the house, secluded herself from friends, and put on a fake smile it would be a different story. She was a great actress but by no means could you pull it off that well. Her friends would have known and at some point she would have shown her true emotions to someone. That night she was set on telling Rex that he need to keep his word to leave his wife or they were done. She wanted to have a normal relationship - marriage and children. I think that's what he promised her.

She even had her friends leave that evening because they knew he was coming over. If she was so down then she could have just had him come over without anyone knowing it and then proceeded to take her life. The real interesting thing is that from my training with suicide counseling I learned this - someone who really wants to take their life NEVER tells anyone about it. Yes, some leave a note explaining why but they don't reach out to anyone while they are doing it. Most who have called for help usually say they NEVER really wanted to in the first place. Carole just wasn't in the mind frame what so ever of someone who was going to do it.

We know she made a phone call to her close friend Marguerite around midnight. IF she was taking pills at that time and really wanted to die she wouldn't have made the call. And it probably wasn't one of her "attention grabbers" due to the fact that she didn't call anyone else. Or maybe she did call Rex and she thought he was coming to the house to save her but he didn't. The fact that REX was the last to see her and the first to find her body is the key! There are many unanswered questions but all the facts we know about that night make him look very guilty. Aunt Carole's death has haunted my family for over 60 years and knowing Rex Harrison never paid for what he did only makes it worse. We may never know the entire truth about her death but will continue to investigate as much as we can. Carole didn't want to be remembered as a pathetic woman who died on the bathroom floor ... she deserves better.

Before you believe Carole committed suicide consider the following...

1) Carole was very happy in the weeks before her death. She was going back to England to make a movie and had many plans for the future. Her maid Fannie said she was "happy as a lark" the day before her death.

2) Carole's other suicide attempts were never serious since she always made sure she was saved by friends. The "suicide note" that was found was undated so it could have been written any time. As a Catholic Carole believed she would go to Hell if she killed herself.

3) Rex was the last person to see Carole alive and the first one to see her dead. When Rex came to the house he told her maid Fannie that he thought Carole was dead. This was BEFORE they went upstairs and found the body!

4) After Rex found Carole's body in the bathroom he said he felt a pulse BUT instead of calling for the doctor or getting Carole help he just left the house. Where did he go?

5) Rex LIED to the police about his love affair with Carole saying they were just friends. He committed perjury when he testified they were not having an affair.

6) Several people saw a second note in the house but it mysteriously disappeared. We now know that Lilli Palmer paid a police officer $500 to destroy it. What did the note say?

7) When Carole's family arrived at the house it was a mess with drawers and cabinets open and papers thrown all over. Some of Carole's photo albums and personal diaries were missing. Did Rex try to get rid of evidence?

8) For years after Carole died newspapers reported there new clues in the case but the police continued to ignore the evidence. Then in the early 1950s Carole's police file mysteriously disappeared. Did someone pay the police to "lose" the file?

Carole's father Alfred Ridste never believed she killed herself. He said there were "secret pictures" that would prove she was murdered. Alfred also said that he found a book in Carole's bedroom that had an imprint showing that a letter had been removed from it. Here is a letter Alfred wrote in 1948 ..

SOURCE

THE SUICIDE OF CAROLE LANDIS

Carole Landis was a vibrant, beautiful 20th Century Fox starlet of the 1930s and 1940s. Starring in films like Moon over Miami (1941) or My Gal Sal (1942) with Rita Hayworth, she was a favorite pin-up during the World War II era.

Landis traveled overseas during World War II to entertain soldiers along with actresses Kay Francis, Mitzi Mayfair and Martha Raye; the basis of her book turned movie, Four Jills In a Jeep.

Unexpectedly Landis was found dead at 4 a.m. on July 5, 1948. It’s been ruled suicide by overdose of sleeping pills, but her family isn’t convinced. Here is the note she left her mother:

"Dearest Mommie - I'm sorry, really sorry, to put you through this but there is no way to avoid it - I love you darling you have been the most wonderful mom ever and that applies to all our family. I love each and every one of them dearly - Everything goes to you - Look in the files and there is a will which decrees everything - Good bye, my angel - Pray for me - Your baby"

Carole Landis was discovered in her apartment after a lavish Fourth of the July party followed by an intimate dinner with actor Rex Harrison. Harrison and Landis had been involved in an widely known extra-marital affair. At the time, Harrison was married to actress Lilli Palmer. Landis and Harrison had broken up and recently gotten back together around the time of the party.Hollywood suicides are part of the town's lore. Landis's is more remembered than most, not for what Landis did, but for what those around her did. Harrison had been calling her throughout the morning but her maid had told him she wasn't awake. She wasn't going to disturb her employer, so Harrison dropped by himself, entered her bedroom and found Landis non-responsive. He felt her wrist and said he felt a faint pulse, but instead of calling an ambulance rifled through her address book, hoping to call her private doctor and thus keep the disaster under wraps. While he did that, Landis died. After failing to find the number he sought, he went home, called studio head Darryl Zanuck, and set about damage control. The maid, left to deal with the situation, asked a neighbor to call police.

It wasn't unusual for press to have access to death scenes, as we've documented frequently in our Naked City posts. Landis's death photo appeared on the fronts of hundreds of newspapers by the next morning. By then questions had begun to arise. Some said Landis had written a second suicide note that Harrison destroyed. When asked at a coroner's inquest whether there was a note, he said no. Her friend Florence Wasson said there was a second note, but it only asked that the cat be taken to the vet because it had a sore paw. The inquest was closed with no new findings, but years later a policeman who had been at Landis's house that day said he had seen a second note addressed to Harrison, and that the cat had seemed in perfect health.

Landis's family claimed Harrison was guilty of murder—and not just for dithering about when he thought he felt a pulse. They claim he killed her outright to keep news of his affair from damaging his career. However, his relationship with Landis was a poorly kept secret, and tabloids were making sly references to it, identifying Harrison and Landis by their initials. Also, Harrison already had a terrible reputation. People behave irrationally in high stress situations, and Harrison made bad moves at every stage, especially when one considers that there was no way he could hope to hide his involvement. But that shows merely cold-hearted concern for himself, and possibly a lack of awareness how near death Landis was. Add it all up and you have one of Hollywood's most storied suicides—one where an act meant to be a final answer left endless questions...

THE LAST DAYS OF CAROLE LANDIS

Here is a great story that details the last days of Carole Landis. This is featured on the Carole Landis website. You can find the great resource for all things Carole Landis HERE.

Tragically on July 5, 1948 Carole was found dead in her Pacific Palisades home. She had committed suicide at the young age of twenty-nine. Carole spent her final evening alive with her married lover Rex Harrison. Many people have speculated about what actually happened that night. Here is a timeline we have put together based one everything we know ...

 SUNDAY, JULY 4
12:00 PM - Carole hosts a pool party for some friends at her home located at 1465 Capri Drive. She goes swimming and is in a very good mood. Carole tells her friends they have to leave early because she is having a private dinner with Rex Harrison. This is the seventh night in a row that they have had dinner together. Rex is married to actress Lilli Palmer and Carole has been having an affair with him for over a year. Because of the affair she had filed for divorce from her husband Horace Schmidlapp and put her mansion up for sale.

6:00 PM - Carole puts on a plaid skirt, a white blouse, and gold sandals. She is also wearing her favorite gold cross and a St. Christopher medal. Before dinner Carole and Rex each have a Scotch and Soda. They dine on cold roast chicken, a tossed salad, and lemon chiffon pie that Carole had baked herself. She plays "Warm Kiss And Cold Heart" on her phonograph. Rex will later claim they had a pleasant evening discussing Carole's career. The truth is that during the evening they have an argument and he ends their relationship. 

9:00 PM - 12:00 AM - Rex says he left Carole's house at 9:00 but other sources say he was there until after midnight. He is the last person to see her alive. Rex goes to visit his friend Roland Culver who live a few blocks away on Napoli Drive. Carole is alone in her home and has a few drinks. Her autopsy would show that her blood alcohol level was .12 which meant she was not drunk. She tries to call several friends including Marguerite Haymes but no one is home. Marguerite gets Carole's message later that evening but decides it's too late to call her back.

 MONDAY, JULY 5
12:00 AM - 3:00 AM - Carole collects all of the photos and mementos from her relationship with Rex and puts them in a suitcase. Then she drives to Roland Culver's house and leaves the suitcase in his driveway. She also leaves a note saying she is going to kill herself. Unfortunately Roland does not find it until the next day. After Carole's death Roland burned the note and everything that was in the suitcase. Carole returns home and writes two final letters on her personal stationary. First she writes a four line lovers farewell to Rex. Then she writes a heartbreaking note to her beloved mother Clara. She folds the notes and puts them on her dresser...

3:00 AM - Carole goes into an upstairs bathroom and takes an envelope filled with Secanol out of her cabinet. She suffered from insomnia and had been prescribed the pills to help her sleep. There is writing on the envelope that says "Red - quick - 2 hours. Yellow, about 5, Can take 2. Use for severe pain". Carole swallows approximately forty Secanol tablets. She leaves the envelope and a glass of water on the bathroom counter. Then Carole goes into her bedroom and lays down on the bed for several minutes.

3:30 AM - She walks back into the bathroom where she collapses. Sadly Carole will die on the bathroom floor. She is lying on a carpet next to an open cabinet. Her arms are bent as if she had been trying to raise herself up. Carole's head is resting on a jewelry box and her left hand she is holding a satin bookmark with the Lord's Prayer on it. She had taken five times the amount of Secanol needed to cause death. This was at least the third time she had attempted suicide but in the past she had always been rescued by friends.

9:00AM - 11:00AM - Carole's maid, Fannie Mae Bolden, arrives at the house. The front door was locked so she had to enter through the back door. Fannie said that she sensed something was wrong as soon as she walked in the house. The kitchen table was still full of food and dishes from the night before. Carole's camera and some papers are scattered on a table in the living room. Fannie spends the morning cleaning the house. Rex calls several times but Fannie tells him Carole is not awake yet.

3:00 PM - Rex arrives at the house and shocks Fannie by telling her "I think she's dead". Together they go to the bathroom where they find Carole's body. Rex says "Oh, no, my darling, why did you do it?". He feels Carole's wrist and says there is a slight pulse. Instead of calling for an ambulance he walks out of the house leaving Fannie alone. She said "Rex didn't call anybody. He didn't call the coroner, the police, or anyone. He just walked out." Fannie goes to a neighbors house for help and and they call the police. They also call Florence Wasson, Carole's best friend, to tell her what happened.

4:00 PM - The police arrive to investigate. They find the note that Carole left for her mother but there are conflicting reports about the second note. Fannie Mae Bolden and Florence Wasson both say that they saw the note. Florence claims it was simply a memo Carole wrote about taking her cat to the vet. However Lilli Palmer will later admit that a police officer found the personal love note Carole wrote for Rex. The Harrison's paid the officer $500 to destroy the note.

7:00 PM - Carole's mother Clara Ridste and her sister Dorothy Ross arrive at the house. Clara is heard screaming "Oh my baby, I want to see my baby. Why didn't somebody call me?" and then collapses. There are dozens of reporters and photographers at the house. The next day photos of Carole's dead body will be in almost every newspaper in the country. Rex returns to the house and is questioned by the police. Carole's body is taken to the funeral home. Detective Emmett Jones says he believes the death is a "definitely a suicide"....