Candid friends of Phil Spector will admit that the bodyguards who prowled the night with the famed record producer were really in the business of protecting him from one dangerous person -- himself. So it's telling that five months ago, Spector apparently decided that the wild life was so far behind him that he no longer needed a hired shadow.
He came to that decision at a shining, hopeful moment in his life. His friends say he had been sober for three years and far removed from the days when he was notorious as a raging, erratic genius with a penchant for guns. He also was giddy at a chance to return to the studio and reclaim his legacy after two decades in music industry exile.
His friend, divorce attorney Marvin Mitchelson, now rues the moment Spector, 62, let the bodyguard leave his Alhambra mansion. "I can't help thinking," Mitchelson said, "that if he still had a bodyguard, none of this would have happened."
What has happened is the death of Lana Clarkson, a 40-year-old actress who also worked as a hostess at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip. Sheriff's investigators say the actress was shot in the face and found in the foyer of Spector's home about 5 a.m. last Monday. A short time later, Spector was arrested and subdued by police (law enforcement sources say a taser-like device was used) and booked on suspicion of first-degree murder. He is now free on $1-million bail. More than one gun was recovered at the scene, these sources say.
The events of that Monday morning remain hazy, but based on two dozen interviews with Spector's friends, authorities and others, it appears that a man who had been hailed for his recovery was in recent weeks in a darker place. A chance to produce a comeback album had fizzled, and he acknowledged he was on medication used to treat schizophrenia. It also appears that he was drinking again, at least in the hours before his arrest.
The owner and staff of Dan Tana's, one of his favorite restaurants, said that Spector had two rum cocktails there after 12:30 a.m. Monday morning. Sources also say he then went to the House of Blues, where he bought a Bacardi 151 rum drink. House of Blues employees have said they saw Clarkson leave with Spector in his chauffeur-driven Mercedes S430 about 2:30 a.m.
Friends grimly greet the news of him drinking again. "I haven't seen him drink in years," said Bob Merlis, a longtime music industry publicist. "The Phil I have known in that time is charming and witty. He's a unique character. I've never met anyone like him. You know how they say you shouldn't meet your heroes because they will disappoint you? Phil didn't disappoint."
