All language subtitles for S01E02.California.Dreams.720p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-NTb_track4_[eng]

[applause]

Well, here he is,
the teenagers' king,

the man who produces
all those records

that your youngsters
are singing and dancing to.

Here is Mr. Phil Spector.

[cheers and applause]

[Mick Brown] You know,
success can do strange things

for people, it can
reassure people

or throw people
completely off balance.

What's new
in the record business?

Have you a brought
a new sound to...

No new sound.
I have a hard enough time

prevailing over the old one.

- Really?
- That's right.

We leave the new sounds
to everyone else.

And I think he was always
slightly uneasy

with his success,
as much as he rejoiced in it

and felt that he richly
deserved it.

It allowed him to indulge
some of his worst aspects,

and also brought with it
a degree of paranoia.

What do you think, I'm some kind
of an idiot or something?

You're trying to trap me like
I'm some kind of a moe.

"What do you think
of those songs?"

[Eartha Kitt] Well, if I were
you, I wouldn't ask

- those kind of questions.
- Here we go.

You're gonna hear it,
they're gonna--

they're gonna
start in with me now.

Don't you want me
to talk to you, Phil?

No, that's quite all right.

Talk to antagonistic
Eartha Kitt.

[Nedra Talley-Ross]
I began to see things in him

that I didn't like.

I knew he had
little man insecurities,

and that's when it began
to be things

like we'd go out to lunch,

and he'd have a couple
of bodyguards.

I have some friends backstage

who don't take kindly
to that nonsense about...

- Who's backstage?
- Never mind who's backstage.

You'll feel them
as they come through the wall.

- Oh.
- [laughter]

When somebody would start
something with him,

then he'd say,
"Go outside, come outside."

So, the two bodyguards
would go outside.

He didn't go out,
he wasn't gonna fight.

He seems to be
terribly sensitive.

[Phil] Very sensitive,
you have no idea.

I'm gonna knock the both of you
right out into the street.

What are you sensitive about?

Ignorance--
oh, am I sensitive.

He knew full well
that he wasn't well.

He knew full well what
his mental condition was.

He's realizing that something
is not quite right.

I mean, other people
can clearly see it,

but he's also realizing it.

Come on,
Eartha, tell me.

The only thing I can say
is I believe in Socrates.

- You do?
- Yes.

- Did he believe in you, though?
- Give him--

give someone enough rope,
and he always hangs himself.

Uh-oh, uh-oh.

[cheers and applause]

[music]

Daydreaming 'bout you

So glad I found you

I was lost without you

I'll sing
a little louder

So glad I found you

I was lost
without you

I'll sing
a little louder

[male reporter] It starts like
a Hollywood murder mystery.

The victim, a beautiful
B-movie actress

named Lana Clarkson.

[female reporter] Lana Clarkson
was a B-list movie actress.

[female reporter 2]
A B-movie star turned up dead

in Phil Spector's mansion.

One of the most
disheartening parts

of that whole situation

was they would always lead

with "The B-actress
Lana Clarkson."

[male reporter] Lana Clarkson,
tall, blonde, 40, B-movie star.

[male reporter 2] He meets
struggling actress

Lana Clarkson.

[male reporter] She'd spent
most of her life

hoping that
she'd be famous too,

and now, ironically, was.

When people say that, what do
you automatically think of?

Just some low-budget
horrible actor, actress,

you know, in some movies
that you never heard of before.

To me, it was a form
of degradation.

Oh, man, I tell you.

Some of you
might recognize me,

though you may not
want to admit it.

No, sir, I did not do pornos.

[laughter]

That is horrible.
That is horrible.

I would hope that people
would not judge her.

People automatically assume
that "A," I have no brain,

"B," I have fake breasts,

and "C," that I will,
for cash and prizes,

give it all away.

The answer is "D,"
none of the above.

In fact,
it's because I have "A"

and I don't have "B"
that I don't do "C."

What are you trying to portray?
What are you trying to say?

You know, she had act--
she made movies, you know.

She was in
the Hollywood business.

And I've played probably
every sexpot bimbo character

- you could imagine.
- [laughter]

You name her,
I've played her.

Flight attendant,
showgirl, hooker,

uh, mistress, masseuse,
hooker.

- Warrior.
- [laughter]

You know, blah-blah, hooker.

Do we see like a theme here?
[laughter]

You mustn't confuse
the actress and her roles

with the woman though, okay?
Basically.

She was an actress.

And let's take it
a step further,

she was just a person.

And I really--
whenever I would hear that,

I literally would cringe.

I could stand up here all night
and do characters,

but I thought tonight
I would just stick

to the hardest character
of them all to play, Lana.

[laughter]

[Paul Fournier] As a detective,
the very first,

and I think the most
important thing,

is to handle the actual
collection of evidence.

Right next to Lana
was a desk,

and the drawer
was partially open.

Inside the desk was a holster
that matched the gun

that was found by her foot.

Some of the key things
certainly was the gun,

the gun that was ultimately
used in the case.

[Richard] The handgun used
to kill Lana Clarkson

was a .38-caliber revolver.

There were multiple weapons
that were ultimately recovered

inside his residence through
various parts of the house.

[Richard] In his bedroom
he had over five or six

different type of handguns,
and rifles, and shotguns.

[Paul] There was ammunition
found, again,

through several areas
throughout the mansion.

And then,
you take the next step.

We need to try to determine
whether or not

he had any similar incidents,

and if in fact there was,
a pattern that he has.

All these years
that we worked together,

I was hearing about
all these things

that he's doing,
and I'm going, "Phil?

"You know, I know
he's kinda crazy,

"but what guns,
what are you talking about?

I've never seen Phil Spector
pull out a gun."

One particular time
I was on my way

to do a session with Phil,

and everybody was running
out of the studio.

And I'm going, what's up,
what's going on?

"Man, Phil's in there
with his guns out."

I said, "What do you mean
he's in there?

"This is a Darlene Love session.

What do you mean
he's in there pulling guns?"

And they told me that
he was in there joking around,

you know, with his gun
in his hand.

I said,
"Well, y'all the ones crazy.

"Y'all in there with him

and you allowing him
to do that."

The people in the studios

let him act crazy
with guns and things.

You know, that just gave him
a right to be able to do it,

'cause nobody said anything,
"Nobody tried to stop me."

You know,
and I'm not gonna be the one

to try to stop nobody
with no gun.

[Carol Connors] Phil became
out of control,

and his bad behavior

became even worse.

It was almost like
he was, you know,

rewarded for that.

You know, the badder you are,
the more successful you are.

You gotta remember,
his success, he was very young.

Very young, you know?

And he had a lot
of emotional issues

and, you know, things--

psychological issues and things

that I guess started to fester

and got worse.

I was a teenager
hitchhiking to Hollywood,

and I went to Gold Star.

Somebody told me about
sneaking in the back door

in the alley.

I'd sit on whatever sessions
I was allowed to,

and I ended up witnessing
these Phil Spector sessions.

Phil was producing a record,

and Dave Gold, one of the owners
of Gold Star, was the engineer.

And I see Dave Gold punch in,

and then I see this look
on his face

that was like
this look of horror.

And he looks at Phil
and he says, "Phil,"

he says,
"I just erased a track."

Phil said, "What?"
"Yeah, I just erased the choir."

Now, the choir was the most
expensive session,

because you got 20 people
getting paid scale,

you know what I mean,
it's like, pfft.

Phil has this incredulous look
on his face,

and then he just dives
under the console.

He gets into like
a fetal position,

and he's under there sobbing,

like vocally, like,
you know, loud.

I mean, and I'm like...
[laughing]

I thought, well,
this is my cue

to leave the room,
you know what I mean?

But later, Dave told me,
you know,

that he stayed under there
for four hours, right?

He wouldn't come out, right?

He was just down there
crawled in a ball

underneath the console sobbing.

I saw Phil sort of break down
mentally, '64.

[Mick] In 1964 Phil goes
to the UK for the first time.

He makes a connection
to the Beatles.

Of course, they were all
enormous fans

of the Crystals,
and the Ronettes,

and those records.

This sort of, again,
this extraordinary moment

in history where you've got
the Beatles, the Stones,

the Ronettes,
and Phil Spector

all together in this sort of
melting pot.

[Nedra] We were in England,

and so we've got
this big-time producer.

And he came over
looking nervous and anxious,

speaking in
a false voice,

like, up-in-the-air voice.

And people were saying,
"What's up with him?"

This is our producer.

He's cracked up
in some way.

There's almost a sort of sense

of some sort of transfer
of power going on here.

Phil actually flies back
to New York

on the same plane
as the Beatles,

and this seems very powerfully
symbolic somehow.

And there's some rather poignant
photographs, film,

of the Beatles
coming down the stairs

from the steps
on the aircraft,

being greeted by sort of
screaming hordes of fans

over in the terminal.

And then, stumbling
along behind,

anonymous and overlooked,
is the figure of Phil Spector

in this sort of Beatle camp.

Phil at that point realizes

that the writing is on
the wall, as it were,

for the wall of sound.

But he's at something
of a loss to know

quite what to do about this,

and quite where
he should be going with this.

And there's these two singers
called the Righteous Brothers,

fantastic voices,
terrific voices.

And Phil saw them
and saw something in them,

and wanted to record them.

Phil was very excited because
he knew how great they were,

and he appreciated them
very much,

especially in the beginning.

You never close your eyes

[Mick] He realizes that
he needs a fantastic song

to launch
the Righteous Brothers with.

And they come up with

"You've Lost That
Lovin' Feelin'."

So don't, don't...

And it becomes
his biggest record,

certainly since "He's a Rebel,"
you know, four years earlier,

and really gives him this second
lease of life, really.

Baby, baby,
baby, baby

[Phil] It surpassed
"Yesterday,"

it surpassed "Always"
by Irving Berlin.

It surpassed everything.
It's won every award.

This song
is the most played song

in the history of music.

"You've Lost
That Lovin' Feelin'."

Bring back
that loving feeling

Whoa, that loving feeling

Bring back
that loving feeling

[Mick] And it's around this time
as well that we begin

to see Phil appear on television
talk shows and things.

Look, I'm ordering
100,000 records,

and that's just the beginning.

Excuse me,
are you Mr. Phil Spector?

Look, it's been
a real bad day.

Would you come back in April?

[Mick] And then Phil made this
rather extraordinary appearance

in "Easy Rider" with Peter Fonda
and Dennis Hopper.

At this point Phil is becoming
a celebrity in his own right.

The character of Phil Spector
begins to grow.

No other producer
in the record business

has this ever happened to,
and it's likely

that no other producer
in the record business

will this ever happen to,
and so in that sense,

he reached the absolute,
absolute summit.

But I think, you know,
this was to some detriment

to his mental well-being.

And you know, success didn't sit
well with him, really.

[Phil] You're never gonna
be successful

if people don't hate you,

and that's what everybody
hates about me.

If you come down
to what really people

hate about Phil Spector,
is he's--

he controls everything,
and that's too fucking bad.

But 40 years later
you're still singing

the same fucking songs
you were 40 years ago.

How 'bout that?

Phil has dominated
the American record scene

through 1963
up to 1964.

But you get the sense
that he really needs

to reinvent himself
in some way.

He wanted the next
Phil Spector record.

[cheers and applause]

Now, let's go with
Ike and Tina Turner!

[cheers and applause]

[Phil] I went to see her,
and the show was mesmerizing.

And I said gosh, if I could make
a number-one record with her,

she could go on and sell--

she could go to Las Vegas,

she could break
the color barrier.

She could really--
they could really do it.

Phil, who idolized
soulful voices,

idolized Black voices,

and was just completely
blown away by Tina Turner

and wanted to record her.

The only obstacle to doing this
was Ike Turner,

who, if Phil Spector
was proprietorial

of his wife and girlfriends,

Ike Turner was even more
proprietorial.

They were inseparable as a unit,

and Ike had a bit
of a reputation

for being a tough guy,
and a guy that carried guns

and didn't tolerate
much nonsense.

And so, Phil had the task
of going to see Ike Turner

to try and persuade him
to let him record his wife.

[Ike] And would I agree
to let him do it

the way he wanted to do it
without any interference.

I said, man,
with your reputation,

you know, why should
I interfere?

You know, like, if you think
you can do it, take the shot.

I agreed to let him
have full control of it,

and then I agreed to let--

Tina would go to his house
daily for rehearsals.

[Mick] Phil came up with a song

called "River Deep
Mountain High."

When I was a little girl,
I had a rag doll

The only doll
I've ever owned

The energy of it,
it just surged in here.

You know, it was so big,

and my voice sounded
so different, you know,

standing on top
of all that music.

We were impressed,
Ike and myself.

Let me say

It gets higher
day by day

And do I love you,
my, oh my

Yeah, river deep
mountain high

Yeah, yeah, yeah

[Mick] And here,
you had at that time

the greatest female soul singer,
Tina Turner.

You had the greatest
songwriters of the moment,

so you had the greatest
record producer, Phil Spector.

It couldn't fail.

Oh

"River Deep Mountain High"

was an international success,

but not here.

[Mick] Were you devastated
when...

- [Phil] "River Deep"?
- [Mick] Yeah.

[Phil] The Beatles
came out publicly and said

it was the greatest record
they had ever heard,

so it became
number one in England.

I took out ads in America
which hurt me very badly

with the American radio.

Benedict Arnold was right.

[Mick] I don't understand
the significance.

[Phil] Benedict Arnold
was a traitor to the American.

He joined with
the English forces

- against George Washington.
- Oh, okay.

[Phil] Nasty remarks I made.
But I was pissed.

More than anything,
I was angry.

Phil went crazy.
He was really upset.

And he took revenge.

You know, I can't say it was
rational thinking here,

but the revenge he took was,

"I'm not gonna make
any more records."

[Mick] It seems an awful lot
has been crammed

into this period,
but in four years, you know,

Phil has gone from
kind of anonymity

to becoming the most
successful record producer

in rock and roll.

Very poignantly,
it's also this period

in which Lana Clarkson is born.

[Donna Clarkson]
Lana was my first born.

We always knew
she was going to be special.

This is Lana and her dad.

Well, she looks like
she's about two in this picture.

In those years
she was already theatrical.

She had all these
nursery rhymes,

you know, memorized,

and she would perform
for me all the time.

I remember some old home videos
that a friend had from a party,

and everyone had costumes on.

And when she came in
with her costume,

she did the whole entrance.

You know, she was,
like, right there

with the whole performing thing,

and she was probably
only 11 or 12, you know,

so that was kind of a sign
right there.

When her dad passed away,
she-- Lana was 16.

He had had a mining accident,

and the sprinkler system
was clogged.

So, he had gotten up
to try to unclog the system,

and all of a sudden
it just gave him

this lethal dose of cyanide.

So, he passed away at 34.

It was a very difficult time
for everyone.

But Lana, you know,
she-- we persevered

through many things,
and I guess being very close

as a family, we always
supported each other

and helped each other
in every way that we could.

So, as a single mother
with three children,

we had come down
to Los Angeles.

Lana had convinced me that,
you know, she would help out,

and she could get a job
if I let her

get out of high school early.

Lana wanted to model
at the time.

She was only 16.

I decided to move
back up to the Napa Valley,

so she stayed down here
and started working.

Lana was always
very independent.

Even when-- in that picture
I showed you

where she was two years old,

she said,
"Mom, I'm independent."

And I remember asking her,
"What does independent mean?"

And she goes-- she put her hand
on her hip and she goes,

"It means I'd rather
do it myself."

I didn't really have any qualms
about her staying and working.

She was very smart,

and she was able
to handle herself quite well.

ROB: I'm a unique person
in this story

because I knew both people.

I mean, I don't know anybody
that knew both people.

I did know Phil Spector
and Lana Clarkson.

I went out with her
a little bit,

but we just became
really, really close friends.

Lana, she was kinda like
one of these young,

really energetic,
optimistic girls.

Lana is one of the tallest
people you've ever met.

She was just a giant presence.

She was so full of life,

and she sparkled,
and that was Lana.

You just-- you couldn't
miss her, that's for sure.

She'd always say, "Sunny,
I'm gonna be famous one day.

You should take my picture,"
like, that was, like...

till her dying day,
we were always shooting,

and she was always trying
to get me to shoot something.

She had an idea.

She was probably 19, 20 when
she finally went to Europe.

This is "Sposabella."

This is a Italian wedding book.

And you can see,
her layout is one of the first.

So, here she is.
Very beautiful layout.

[Alan Thicke] Is it true what
they say about Italian men

being as aggressive
on the streets as we...

Oh, absolutely,
they're the worst.

I mean, I love them,
don't get me wrong,

they're wonderful.

But let's see,
last year on my birthday

I was walking down the street,
and a young boy about age 17

came behind me on a bicycle
and pinched my rear.

So, I turned around
and knocked him over.

But he pulled me down
on top of him

and started punching me
and beating on me.

I saw red,
so I beat him up,

and sort of picked up
the bicycle.

You know, the adrenaline,
one hand, threw it at him.

Crashed him,
storefront window,

gelateria, you know,
the whole thing.

It was terrible.

[Alan] So, I guess
there's a moral in that.

Don't be biking by Lana
and pinching herself.

- Absolutely not.
- [laughter]

[Rob] Through a number of years,
going back to like 1967 or '68,

Phil was just kinda resting
on his laurels

and just had enough money,
and like, could live

and be a hermit.

He was kind of inconsequential
in the music business.

But, of course, you know,

the Beatles were the biggest
thing on Earth,

and so that interested him.

And the Beatles at that point
had recorded their--

what would be their final album,
"Let it Be."

So, the Beatles were looking for
someone to salvage this project,

and so they brought in
Phil Spector to take this on.

Spector produced
this sort of strange mixture

of the Beatles
meet the wall of sound.

Of course, the album
then gets a Grammy,

and Phil Spector could say
that he produced

the Beatles' final album.

He went on to produce
more albums with John Lennon,

including, of course, the album
that produces the song

which everybody knows
John Lennon by, "Imagine."

[Mick] Why did you
and John get on?

[Phil] We just loved each other.

A perfect marriage.

[Mick] What did you
like about him?

[Phil] Oh, I just loved him.

And we just loved
each other.

He loved the way I worked,
he loved the way I thought,

he loved the-- he was just like
a brother I never had.

[John Lennon] Great working
with you, Phil.

Really great.

I've worked with a lot
of cats in my time.

Honestly,
it's really great, sincerely.

Brilliant.
[muttering]

- Okay.
- [Phil] Next tune.

[Mick] Spector served
Lennon's songs

and served the music on
those two albums brilliantly.

But by this point
we can see that Phil

is drinking heavily.

It begins to impair
his faculties as a producer,

and his concentration.

And there are stories of,
you know,

Phil being in the studio,
being slightly out of control

and slightly more drunk than
he should have been,

and slightly more eccentric
than he should have been.

And then as if to pour
more petrol onto the flames,

John Lennon has been going
through a difficult time

with Yoko Ono.

And so, the plan is that
they're gonna record an album

of rock and roll classics
together.

It soon becomes apparent
that these sessions

are getting out of hand.

[Don] They would get very drunk,
both of them.

So, that made it almost
impossible, you know.

It's like two giants
who don't give a shit.

[Mick] Phil, of course,
during the time

that he was recording
the rock and roll album,

he'd actually pulled a gun,
not threatening John Lennon,

but he'd pulled a gun,
brandished a gun,

and fired a shot
into the ceiling.

John Lennon naturally assumed
that it was blanks,

and Lennon said, you know,

"You're trying to damage
me ears, Phil!"

And it was only the next morning
when somebody came along

and explained that they'd
prized the bullet

out of the ceiling
of the studio

that they realized that this
was actually live rounds

that he was carrying around.

At this point Phil is deep
into his relationship

with the lead singer
of the Ronettes, Ronnie.

I was so in love, I...

Even though-- listen to this,
I read, someone described him

as "a body and pallor
of a veal filet."

I'm thinking, that's not
an attractive thing to say.

But for you,
he was your husband.

- Oh.
- A man you were madly

- in love with.
- I was madly in love.

I was in awe
of his writing, of his...

- He's a talented guy.
- Yes, of his producing.

You can't take that
away from him.

Of everything.
I was in love

with just the way he was
in the studio with the--

telling the musicians
what to do.

He did have great energy.

He'd make you laugh,
he'd say-- make some comment.

And then, you know,
later in the party,

he'd be sitting there with four
or five people around him

and he'd be telling stories,

and he was very magnetic,
kind of, you know.

I mean, he didn't
come on strong,

but he was really into--
he had kind of a soft voice.

You'd kinda listen, and he said
very interesting things.

The Ronettes are broken up
by this point,

and the relationship between
Spector and Ronnie solidifies,

and then they do indeed
get married.

Ronnie, of course,
when Phil goes into retirement,

is expecting that he's gonna be
devoting a lot of time to her

and devoting a lot of time
to building her career.

But that-- that doesn't happen.

Here's a man
that owned the record company,

wrote all my songs
and produced all my songs.

How would I ever think
that he was gonna, like,

just retire two months
after we got married?

We moved into
a 23-room mansion,

and it was like I was taken
away from everything,

'cause I was brought up around
family, people, liveliness.

Then all of a sudden,
I got married,

it was like... darkness.

And Phil had to have
everything dark in the house.

I mean,
there was no rock and roll.

I was no longer called Ronnie.

I was called--
he called me Veronica

and the servants
called me Mrs. Spector.

So, I believe he did that
subconsciously just to--

so I wouldn't be thinking
of the Ronettes

and people would call me Ronnie.

And that's when
he went into a recluse.

And so, when he went
into recluse, I went.

[laughing]
You see?

[Mick] She's allowed out
sort of periodically.

But at the same time,
he puts this sort of inflatable

plastic figure of a man in
the passenger seat beside her...

so that if she goes out,
people will think

she's with somebody,
so nobody's gonna hit on her.

Ronnie, you would drive
with that thing in the car?

- Yes, I would.
- Why?

Gayle, I would have
done anything

to get out of the house.

So, the only way to get out
was with the inflatable man,

and it was better
than not going out at all.

And then, of course,
in order to sort of...

in order to build
his sort of idea

of what a family should be,
what a marriage should be,

he decides they need children.

So, he brings home a baby,
Donte, who's an adopted son.

Well, Ronnie held to that
Donte was hers for a while.

If Ronnie said she's pregnant,

what-- why shouldn't
I believe she's pregnant?

She's gonna have a baby, and...

then years later,
"Oh, I didn't have him.

He got him for me."

You don't get kids
for a gift.

Now, the twins were a little bit
of a different story.

Then, I think
she was mad at him,

because she was like,
"He gave me them for Christmas."

Like somebody gave you a puppy,
two puppies.

This is not normal.
This is not normal.

[Mick] Phil tries to keep her
away from everybody else.

She's in a pretty
despairing state.

And she finally decides
that she has to escape.

She had her mom with her.

That probably gave her
the courage.

He took her shoes.

They escaped that way,

and she was running barefoot
from Phil.

I don't know how far she went,
how she went,

but I know she left barefoot.

[Mick] I mean, this was the--

I mean, it was completely
unreasonable behavior,

completely irrational behavior.

Insane behavior.
Insane behavior.

So, I think
she was very relieved

to get out of that.

All the situations that you
usually hear about with Phil,

he's the aggressor.

And then there's
the Leonard Cohen story, right?

This is their first day,
they worked together all day.

Now it's about 6:00.

And so, Leonard says, "You know,

it was a kind of stressful day,"

and whatever it was,
and I was a little tired."

And so, they got this song,
and Phil says to Leonard,

he says, "Go out and put
a vocal on this, will you?"

And Leonard looks at Phil
and says...

[clicks tongue]
"You know what, Phil,

I'd really appreciate it
if I could do it tomorrow."

He said, "I'm a little tired,
I don't feel like

I could give it
what I need to give it."

And Phil reaches in his bag
and takes out a gun,

and just sticks it
to Leonard's head and says,

"You're gonna go out
and sing this now."

And it was like,
that's the first day, right?

[scoffs]

And they kept working together,
and I said to Leonard,

why didn't you just say
that's it?

He said,
"Because it was fascinating."

He said, "There was
an electricity

"and a chemistry,
and a thing

that seemed worthy
of chasing down the road."

He said, "And this
was Phil Spector,

this wasn't just some guy,"
you know.

And he said, "So, I felt like

I had to follow through
with it."

[Mick] So, these stories
begin to multiply.

Phil Spector, the genius,
begins to be eclipsed

by Phil Spector, the crazy guy,
Phil Spector, the madman.

It was a life that revolved
largely around alcohol

and a life that revolved
around him being out of control.

And every now and again
somebody would throw a lifeline

of, "Can you produce this,"
or "Why don't you produce that?"

And that's what happened

with what's essentially
his final record,

his last hurrah,
with the Ramones.

[Phil] In 1980, Joey Ramone
came to me, rest his soul,

and said,
"Phil, would you produce us?"

He was like a-- a big fan,

and he idolized me
and all that.

And I said, you know,
it might be fun

to produce a punk rock group.

[Mick] I think Phil's role
and perception

of what the producer should be

very quickly had become
a thing of the past.

He really was very, very slow
to pick up on the idea

that he was there
to facilitate the artist,

and wanted to impose himself
on the Ramones.

Well, working with Phil
is very difficult, because...

[sighs]
I guess he's a perfectionist,

so he likes to spend
a lot of time

redoing things
and relistening,

and it's very time-consuming.

It comes very hard for--
I mean, rock and roll

has gotta be spontaneous
and done a little faster.

[Mick] They came up with a song

called "Rock 'N' Roll
High School."

[school bell ringing]

Rock, rock, rock, rock,
rock and roll high school

Rock, rock, rock, rock, rock
and roll high school

It was a hit, but I think
Phil's satisfaction from it

was very limited.

[explosion]

Phil seems to be
frustrated with us.

I think he's frustrated
with himself, really.

The Ramones thing
was not a piece of cake.

I mean, that was a nasty project
in a lot of ways.

They had a lot
of trouble with him.

That was a big factor in Phil
sort of throwing in his hand

as a-- in the record business
and saying, "That's it.

"You know, I'm gonna walk away
from that.

"I've made a record
that's been a hit.

"I don't know where I'm gonna go
now in the studio.

"I don't know where
I'm gonna go as a producer.

Maybe I'm finished
as a producer."

He seemed like a man
walking his last mile

doing our record, you know,
that grim.

[out-of-tune guitar playing]

You've lost that
loving feeling

Whoa, that loving feeling

You know, somebody once
asked me a question.

They said, "Philip--"
excuse me, camera.

They said, "Philip, aren't you
lonely in this big house?

"Must be very lonely.

"All of them rooms
to roam around in.

Damn, it must be lonely."

And you know what I said?

You ever live in one room?

Very lonely.

Just you and the bathroom,
and you and the sink,

you and the toilet.

Loneliness
is a state of mind.

He didn't want you to go home
at the end of the night.

He was lonely.

So, you had to be prepared
for that.

I certainly remember one night,

and we were at one of his
favorite hamburger places

on the east side.

It's about 3:00
in the morning.

I said,
"Phil, I gotta go home."

He said, "Don't you know,
you're not going anywhere."

I said, "I got--
I gotta work in the morning."

You know, he didn't like
people to leave.

He didn't like
the chemistry to change.

I got an inkling of that

when I was kind of a prisoner
in a bar.

We were all singing
"Irene, Goodnight,"

and I said, "I gotta drive
my kid to school

in a couple hours."

And he said, "No, no,
don't leave.

You know, you'll change
the chemistry of the singing."

I mean, I had to pretend
to go to the men's room

and sneak out the back door

'cause it was getting
light out, you know.

But I-- boy, I thought,
wow, he's serious about it.

We'd interviewed Phil
for "All You Need is Love."

I mean, we'd finished talking.

He didn't want us
to go anywhere.

I said, "Well, we have to go,

because tomorrow morning,
we've got-- 8:00,"

blah-blah-blah,
usual things.

And he was doing his best
to detain us,

and said, "Well, would you like
to do another interview?"

No.

He didn't want us to leave.

[Paul] Over the course
of the investigation,

we learned that Phil Spector
really enjoyed

bringing people to his home
and locking them inside.

And this came
from multiple sources.

This came from actual people
that were locked in.

This came from--
his regular limo driver

would say he would have
to come in

and basically rescue them,

sometimes open windows
so they could get out.

He had some sort
of configuration

where he had one door
that you would walk in,

that would lock,
and then a second door area,

kinda like the jails we have,

and people would not
be able to get out.

As an investigator,
we are absolutely looking

to the victim
and take detailed notes

as to the position she's in.

Lana Clarkson was lying
in the chair

in that foyer area.

She had a purse
slung over her shoulder.

Why was she in
that particular position?

I mean, that leads you
to believe

someone's in a position
where they wanna leave already.

Her butt basically was scooched
to the very edge of the chair.

Her feet were completely
out in front of her,

and she was lying back.

It was determined
that the gunshot wound

was such that she wouldn't have
been able to move

after sustaining
that gunshot wound.

[Mick] Phil saw himself
as the figure

that the record business
turned their backs on.

And then, of course,
he certainly saw himself

as the martyr in the murder
of Lana Clarkson.

He sort of thought
that he was being

sort of victimized in some way
for being Phil Spector.

The actions of the Hitler-like
district attorney

and his storm-trooping henchmen

to seek an indictment
against me

and censor all means
of me getting my evidence

and the truth out
are reprehensible,

unconscionable,
and despicable.

He was making comments
to the media

such as, "She killed herself.

"Who does she think she is?

Why would she do that
in my house?"

No crime
was committed at my home

on February 3rd, 2003,

and the public
will find that out as well,

and that this district attorney

is pursuing a personal vendetta
without evidence.

I don't like that.

I don't like that
you're trying the case

outside the courtroom.

It's not for me to explain

why she took her life.

It's only for me to explain

that I had nothing
to do with it.

When they start
talking about suicide,

then you have to start
disproving the suicide.

You do wanna make sure
it didn't happen.

We have to go
through Lana Clarkson.

We have to find out,
was she depressed?

Has she ever done anything
to hurt herself?

Does she own guns?
What is her usual routine?

Who are her friends?
What did they have to offer?

So, there was just a myriad
of things we didn't know.

Lana was doing modeling,
and she ended up going to Italy

and doing quite a bit
of modeling there,

and she had a lot
of fun with that.

And then, when she came back
after a year,

she decided she was actually
more interested in acting.

When we first met,
she was doing

everything that you would do
as a young woman

wanting to become a movie star.

"Fast Times at Ridgemont High"
was one of those opportunities.

Boys, I'd like you
to meet my wife, Mrs. Vargas.

Hi.

[Nili] She was doing
"Fantasy Island."

"Who's the Boss?"

On t-shirt night,
I do everything I read.

[Nili] She was doing
all of these wonderful roles

where she was the sexy
blonde bombshell that came in,

and everybody's head turned
to see her.

- I used to be an actress.
- Uh-huh.

But now, I'm like,
really into justice.

[laughter]

Being a six-foot blonde
has pluses and negatives.

Here she is,
this tall, gorgeous girl,

so there's a lot of roles
that she could not play.

So, she would get typecast.

She couldn't help the fact
that she had these looks

and this stature.

When you walked
in a room with her,

everybody turned around.

It makes life more difficult.

She put up with a lot of shit,

as all attractive

young actresses did and do.

It's sad, but emblematic

of how that works
in Hollywood.

She would talk about how
she would have good intent

and she would be with somebody,

and then all
they were interested in was sex,

and like, she thought there was
more to the situation,

and then got disappointed.

And like, no, she went
through a lot of that.

It's not the song, sweetheart,
it's the singer.

[chuckles]

[Rob] She was in
this whole social strata.

I saw that,
and I discouraged it,

and I just said, you know,

this is gonna bite you
in the ass at some point,

you know, so you gotta
be careful.

[Sergio] There were times when,
you know, I could tell she--

she was either pissed
or bummed.

She pretty much did the water
off a duck's back thing.

it was like, "Yeah, fine,
whatever, fuck you,

I'll make it anyway."

And I think that was perhaps
her most durable quality

with regard to having
to put up with the shit

that Hollywood engenders.

I don't remember Lana

discussing doing this and that

in order to get to that place.

We worked very hard

and we studied,
we prepared,

hoping to perhaps
win this lottery

that is Hollywood.

I met Lana for the first time

during the audition

for a picture
called "Deathstalker."

Lana fit the description
perfectly.

She almost had the role
before she even auditioned.

I saw her as she came in,
and I said that's it.

And she turned out
to be a very good actress,

and I was very pleased
with her performance.

I felt we had a leading lady
who could play a female warrior,

so I came up with
"Barbarian Queen."

ANNOUNCER: One woman
vows revenge.

Lana Clarkson
is the "Barbarian Queen."

[Lana] I'll be no man's slave,

and if I can't kill them all,

by the gods,
they'll know I've tried.

"Barbarian Queen"
was a solid success,

and this was her chance
for first star billing.

She took it very seriously.

Both Lana and I felt
that "Barbarian Queen"

would be launching her
as a full-fledged star.

Lana had a presence
that was very powerful.

Say nothing, my child.

There was something sympathetic
within her as well.

The strength,
vulnerability, I would call it,

the audience loved her.

But I'll make you
this one promise.

We will win!

[all cheering]

[people chattering]

[Mick] Lana Clarkson
was building her career,

and she was a working actress
and successful actress

at around the same time
Phil Spector was somebody

whose star had fallen.

And he's also devastated
when John Lennon died.

Just after the Ramones record.

I'm sure
that was a big factor

in Phil sort of throwing in
his hand as a--

in the record business.

That was the death of a friend,
death of somebody

that he'd loved,
and somebody that he'd admired.

It then turned out
to be effectively the end of--

the end of Spector's career
as a record producer,

and he retreated, basically.

He's becoming a more
isolated figure,

and as such,
he's becoming a figure

of increasing gossip
and speculation

about his behavior,
and who he is,

and the stories
are beginning to spread.

[Phil] I wasn't insane,

but I wasn't well enough
to function

as a regular part of society.

So, I didn't.
I chose not to.

So, I just sort of
struggled along alone,

and chose to not work,

and I chose to raise
a daughter,

and I chose to get
my life on track.

And it took about 10 years.

Breakthrough was recently.
Recently, only recently.

And I did it more because
I was determined to do it

because of my daughter,

'cause I wanted her
to look up to me

and say this is what
a reasonable man is like,

so she could have a reasonable
relationship with me.

He did talk to me a lot
about medication.

I mean, he never would say,
like, "Speaking of that time

"I was in the studio,
and I acted,

"you know, like, unhinged,

I wasn't taking
my medication."

You know, he didn't, like,
go into these analytical

explorative paths about himself.

But we did talk
about mental health

and the importance of medication
and therapy a lot.

He was told when he was young
that he was manic depressive.

I don't know if that's just
the best language

they had for it at the time,

and later he was diagnosed
as bipolar.

There were times in his life

when I think he was probably
mixing his medication

with alcohol, which you're just
not supposed to do.

During our investigation,
a few people told us

that from 1997 to 2002,

Phil Spector completely
stopped drinking alcohol.

However, it appears in 2002
he began drinking again.

Now, why was this a concern?

Phil Spector had been under
doctor's care

and prescribed medication.

[Paul] We recovered a ton
of drugs at the house--

prescription medications,
a bunch.

But ultimately, they did
a toxicology report on him,

and he came up with a couple
of things in his system,

but it was mostly
his alcohol content.

I don't think that
that made him violent.

I think it made him...

erratic.

Now, it's very important
that people recognize

that doesn't mean
you become homicidal.

It means you become manic.

It means you become
possibly delusional.

He's gonna say something
he regrets.

You know, he's going
to act bizarre.

I mean, if you listen
to those tapes,

he comes up
with all kinds of crazy shit.

That's just not true.

That's megalomania, right?

That's having
a manic episode.

So, you're gonna say
all kinds of things.

That's why you just have to look
at what the evidence says.

Don't listen to the person,
look at the evidence.

A tragedy happened,

but it could have happened
in anybody's house.

I mean, it has to be
because of who I am.

It has to be 'cause
I live in a castle.

It has to be a frame-up,

because it's not based
on real evidence.

I had nothing to do
with her death.

Case closed.

[Paul] We did a forensic
psychological background on her.

There was nobody
as far as close friends

or family members who said
Lana Clarkson was suicidal,

that she ever talked
about suicide.

Lana never talked
about self-harm.

And why would a beautiful woman

in the prime of her life
commit suicide

in a stranger's house,
of all places?

It would never happen.

[Richard] One thing that
I took note of

during the autopsy,

she had a bruise
on her tongue.

Now, to me,
that would indicate

the gun was forced
into her mouth.

If you're gonna kill yourself,
are you gonna jam the gun

in your mouth?
I don't know.

[Paul] You start adding
all these things up over time,

you realize that it made
absolutely no sense

that this young lady
would take her own life

in this situation.

I'm not the one sitting there

having to prove it
in front of a jury,

but I felt we had
overwhelming evidence

to support that Spector did it.

[Nicole] The city dumped
a lot of money

into making sure
that they got somebody.

They finally had someone

who had this
sinister past,

so, I mean, that was like
the vultures were descending.

He was easy prey.

I'm sorry
that I met you

Now I only just regret you

I remember the night

When you first
held me tight, oh

Now, I'm sorry
that I met you

I was lost
in the hurricane

La-la-la, la, la-la