"He would throw his head back and then all of a sudden you see his finger go bang, and he laid back and sat there for about five seconds," Gilliam said. Finally, according to Gilliam, Spector "looked down at the floor, and he came back up and he said 'Nobody takes a gun from me,' with a smirk."
More than meets the ear
There has always been a dark tinge to Spector's life, even though he first became famous for shimmering, buoyant pop symphonies like the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and the Crystals' "Then He Kissed Me."
He was born the day after Christmas 1940 in the Bronx, and his childhood was defined by his poor health and his father's suicide in 1949. The family then moved west, and Spector, attending Fairfax High School, found success young in the music business.
His reign as the "Tycoon of Teen," as Tom Wolfe famously dubbed him, ebbed as the 1960s wore on. Still, in the 1970s he worked with Cher, George Harrison and Leonard Cohen. By the 1980s, though, his music sensibilities and tantrums had reduced him to an industry curio. When he met Clarkson, he had grown increasingly isolated and glum after a recent comeback bid with a young British band called Starsailor fizzled.
For Clarkson's family, the worry will be that the tragedy of the Long Beach native's death will be lost in Spector's long shadow. Already, Clarkson's B-movie resume ("Female Mercenaries," "Vice Girls") has been used to portray her as less than wholesome.
She began modeling after moving to Los Angeles from the Napa Valley at age 16, and in 1982 she landed a bit part in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Three years later, she had the title role in producer Roger Corman's "Barbarian Queen," a low-budget hit that won her a devoted following among fantasy film buffs. She was a frequent presence at area sci-fi conventions such as DragonFest, and her website still has mash-note messages posted by fans. She did work in commercials and television (including episodes of "The A-Team," "Silk Stalkings" and "Knight Rider") but by 2001 the film jobs had dried up completely.
But Edward Lozzi, Clarkson's publicist, said she had told him weeks before her death that she was excited about her hostess job at the House of Blues VIP room. Clarkson's family has declined interviews, citing their wrongful-death lawsuit against Spector.
"I was very impressed she was chosen to be the hostess of the Foundation Room. A lot of people don't get that," said Lozzi, adding that she had other career moves planned.
