Brian Wilson’s chilling link to Charles Manson and close brush with family cult
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The Beach Boys had a strange connection with cult leader Charles Manson that could’ve turned deadly.
Brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin, Love, and friend Al Jardine formed The Beach Boys in Hawthorne, California, in 1961 and achieved international success thanks to hits such as Surfin’ USA, I’m Not in Love, God Only Knows, and Good Vibrations.
However, in 1968, though, they were on a downward trajectory, as their two 1967 albums, Smiley Smile and Wild Honey, were their worst-selling albums to date.
Things weren’t looking good for the group during this slow period, but their success really could’ve been halted and even tainted because of one Wilson brother’s association with the famous cult. For a while, Dennis actually shared his house with the Manson family, once Manson had already become a cult leader.
The Manson family moved in and essentially took over the property, leaving Dennis to eventually flee and abandon all his belongings to escape their clutches after he witnessed them do unspeakable acts.
According to ATI, in April 1968, Dennis was driving his burgundy Rolls-Royce through the hills of Sunset Boulevard when he picked up a couple of hitchhiking women, kind of like in the scene in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood where Brad Pitt’s character picks up a Manson follower played by Margaret Qualley.
The women of the Manson family repeatedly used this tactic to lure in new followers, but Dennis dropped them off at their home. Months later, he picked up the same two women, and this time, he brought them back to his place in Pacific Palisades. They told him about their spiritual guru and he was intrigued until he arrived home one night to Manson himself.
Seeing the fear on Dennis’ face, Manson got down on his knees and kissed the rock star’s feet. “Do I look like I’m going to hurt you, brother?” Manson asked.
According to the biography of former Manson family member Dianne Lake, the two got along immediately: “Dennis and Charlie hit it off right away, which is not surprising, given Charlie’s skills at ingratiating himself with strangers. Dennis, in no rush to leave, hung out for a while, smoked some pot with Charlie, and listened a bit to [Manson’s music].
“It was obvious from the start that Dennis liked the girls and admired Charlie’s harem. We sat at Charlie’s feet and looked at him lovingly as he sang and played guitar. We made sure Dennis saw how much we idolized Charlie — we knew that was our job, without Charlie even having to tell us.”
From then on, Wilson wanted to be a part of Manson’s following and introduced him to friends and family. “This is Charlie,” Dennis would say, upon introduction. “He is the wizard, man. He is a gas.”
According to Cracked, Dennis’ brother, Brian, later described coming to dinner and seeing him nude with Manson and a bunch of the Manson girls.
An LSD orgy followed dinner, and when he declined to take part and went for a shower, a naked Manson tried to join him there. The cult leader warned him that leaving “the group” wasn’t an option.
Content retrieved from: https://www.themirror.com/entertainment/celebrity-news/brian-wilson-link-charles-manson-1203052.
