'Twilight Zone' Movie Disaster Casts Harsh Light on Hollywood

Hello and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It is Sunday June 16. I'm Christopher Goffard, Times reporter and sometimes podcaster. Here's what you need to know to start your day:

Crimes of The Times: The Twilight Zone disaster shines a harsh light on Hollywood

I've written a new series called Crimes of The Times, which examines old crime cases, the famous, the obscure and everything in between.

One of the most infamous cases of my childhood was Twilight Zone filming disaster in 1982. Growing up in Los Angeles, it was hard to escape the horrific images on the evening news of the helicopter diving that killed Vic Morrow and his two children. The trial of director John Landis and four associates lasted 10 months.

All five defendants were acquitted of manslaughter, but the trial did not put to rest questions of moral culpability. Children My-Ca Le, 7, and Renee Chen, 6, should not have been on set at 2 a.m. Landis knew he was violating labor laws.

Thomas Budds, the Los Angeles County sheriff's detective on the case, told me it initially appeared to be an industrial accident. Now 78 and long retired, he remembers arriving at the crash site at Indian Dunes and being hit by the smell of gasoline from pyrotechnic explosives.

Some people associated with the production were reluctant to speak to him for fear of being ostracized from Hollywood. But Budds conducted hundreds of interviews that shaped his faithful view of Landis as an arrogant, authoritarian filmmaker who demanded a big special effects spectacle in hopes of outdoing his more famous peers, like Steven Spielberg. .

I think he wanted to be the getaway guy, Budds told me.

In other episodes of the series, I talk to Marcia Clark about the challenges of prosecuting the obsessed stalker who murdered the actress. Rebecca Schaeffera historic case that inspired the country's first anti-harassment laws.

I return to the case of William Leisurethe LAPD traffic cop with the unforgettable face and bland-as-vanilla manner who turned out to be a moonlighting hitman.

And I tell the story of Paul Morantzthe crusader lawyer who took on the Synanon rehab cult and dug through its mailbox to find retaliation in the form of a rattlesnake.

As older cases become a thing of the past, it is more difficult to find key participants who can talk about them. One of the aims of Crimes of The Times is to find these living links to the past, wherever possible, and to make their voices heard.

In the coming weeks, I will write about the McMartin Preschool case; a little-known character from the Charles Manson saga; the bombing of the Los Angeles Times in 1910; and the strange recovered memory prosecution of George Franklin.

Is there a crime you want us to write about? Send me tips.

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As Hollywood Cuts Jobs, Here's Help Coping with the Downturn. As the Times continues to report on the struggles of crew members, writers and the industry's slow recovery from the strike, what we've heard from readers is that they need 'help. With that in mind, our staff has compiled a series of stories focused on finding help for mental health issues, financial advice, and how people in need can access funds.

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