Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess (Abacus Books)

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While the Wonderland murders still remain unsolved to this day, many of those who were connected in some way are no longer living. But that may not mean that some of the spirits of the Wonderland house are not done telling the story of what really happened here. While you may not be able to get inside the home itself, don’t be surprised if things start to feel a little eerie if you happen to be walking around Wonderland Avenue in Los Angeles. By June 1981, Holmes was allegedlyin debt and stealing cash from hisdealings - money belongingto the Wonderland Gang -to buy more drugs for himself. When the group realized what Holmes was doing, they allegedly took hiskeys to the Wonderland house, beat him up, and threatened his life if he didn't fix the situation. Knowing how dangerous the men were, Holmes, according to prosecutor Ron Coen, came up with a plan to assist the gang in robbing one of his wealthy acquaintances, Eddie Nash, who was known to keep a trove of drugs, money, and other valuables in his home.

Goldsmith, Susan (September 20, 2001). "A Really Good Deal Ex-nightclub owner may serve only 37 months in Wonderland murders". The New Times. Los Angeles. YouTube The violence that resulted from the Nash robbery left hardly anything in the Wonderland house free from bloodstains. Sugerman Interview on addiction, Hollywood, and drug policy from December, 2000, accessed August 20, 2013Over two months later I returned, timid and uncertain. I felt like I barely knew Jim anymore and had to ingratiate myself all over again. I wasn't feeling real cozy, more like someone was going to throw me out of the office any second." (p. 156) On the fateful day of the murders, one of the victims found herself at the right place but at the wrong time. Barbara Richardson, who was the girlfriend of Lind had come to visit him at their home not knowing what was coming up. In 1990, Diles and Nash were both charged with participating in the killings in a California state court. Thorson testified against the defendants, but the jury returned an 11-1 verdict of not guilty. Nash and Diles were found not guilty in a second trial that took place in 1991. In 1997, Diles passed away from liver failure. a b c d e Sebree, Mac; Ward, Paul (1973). Transit's Stepchild: The Trolley Coach. Los Angeles: Interurbans. pp.10, 12–13. LCCN 73084356.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ylwqzORVxlgJ:laurelcanyonassoc.com/EarlyHist.htmls [ dead link] Morrison must have seen something of himself in Danny. The odd kid in school. And so he took him under his wing. Morrison became the mentor and older friend that Morrison himself desperately needed as an adolescent -- Morrison was a transient military kid with an overly strict father (Danny had an overly-strict step father). Why else would Morrison allow a 13 year old kid to hang out and crash at his office? Wonderland Avenue covers the first eight years of Sugerman's show business career, commencing with his first job at age 12 opening the Doors' fan mail, and concluding just beyond his 21st birthday, when he is a frail and severely drug-addicted mental patient who has been given less than a week to live. His exposure to the decadent music industry world of parties, groupies, and drugs at such a young age would facilitate a relentless heroin addiction [among other addictions] [ citation needed] that nearly killed him. Notable in the book is Sugerman's close personal friendship throughout his adolescence with late Doors frontman Jim Morrison, who served as a kind of mentor to Sugerman, and his post-Doors activities in L.A attempting to manage the flagging career (and supervise the behavior of) an increasingly unstable Iggy Pop. This section of the book is titled "the blind following the blind." Have additional information, want to know what others are saying, or don't agree with something we said?In 1990, Nash was charged in California state court with having planned the murders, and Diles was charged as a participant. Thorson testified against them, but the trial ended with a hung jury vote of 11–1 for conviction. [14] A second trial, in 1991, ended in acquittal for both Nash and Diles. [15] Diles died from liver failure in 1997. [16] Three suspects, Eddie Nash, his henchman Gregory Diles and porn star John Holmes were arrested in connection to the Wonderland murders. However, they were all acquitted of their involvement in the murders. I recall reading Sugerman's articles about The Doors in the Westchester High School student newspaper. I appreciated The Doors' music myself, having played guitar in a band that covered "Soul Kitchen," "Light My Fire," and "Hello, I Love You." Sugerman's writing was intellectual, analytical and precocious, but it left me thinking "Who does this guy think he is?" He was just a scrawny, unpopular kid in school who was a loud mouth. Nobody thought he really was "in" with The Doors and Jim Morrison. Now, after reading the book, I believe it. Ron Launius’s wife, Susan, also lived in the Wonderland house. A drug user like her husband, she largely absented herself from gang activities. Laurel Canyon Neighborhood Posts – Brian Ades Legacies of L.A." Brian Ades Legacies of L.A . Retrieved July 18, 2018.

Lind was in a motel with a prostitute consuming drugs while McCourt was at his home. In 1995, Lind died of a heroin overdose and McCourt died in 2006. Lemons, Stephen (June 9, 2000). "Return to Wonderland (With his old pal Eddie Nash to be arraigned Monday in a 19-year-old murder case, the restless ghost of legendary porn star John Holmes once again stalks L.A.)". Salon. The Wonderland murders were the subject of two Hollywood films. One was “Boogie Nights” starring Mark Wahlberg and Burt Reynolds. The film itself didn’t have a scene that was based on the Wonderland Murders, but there was once a scene that was loosely based on the robbery of Nash. In 2003, a film titled “Wonderland” was based on the events surrounding the murders. Is The Wonderland House Really Haunted?Find sources: "Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( February 2014) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Sugerman is a great, if occasionally overwrought and self-aggrandizing, raconteur and this book is full of interesting, occasionally hilarious and occasionally horrifying tales. It also is more effective at dissuading you from drug use than an infinite number of anti-drug commercials. By all accounts, Sugerman stayed clean after the trip to rehab that ended this book. He died a few years ago after a long battle with lung cancer. However, he was ever the self-promoter. Although Sugerman portrayed himself as the manager of The Doors, he really wasn't. Keep in mind that Jim Morrison died while Sugerman's job was to answer fan mail and write fluff PR pieces. Danny was only 17 and had yet to graduate from high school when Morrison died.

Laurel Canyon Association: 20th Century Canyon History". Archived from the original on June 12, 2004 . Retrieved July 18, 2018.On March 13, 1988 at a VA medical center, (specifically the Sepulveda Ambulatory Care and Nursing Home Care Unit), Holmes would succumb to the ravages of AIDS. He was but 43 years of age. In the few short weeks before his death, police were by his deathbed hoping to elicit a confession about the Wonderland case. Holmes would say nothing however. Launius had already spent time in jail for smuggling and only narrowly escaped life imprisonment for murder when the prosecution’s star witness was killed in an accident. Police didn’t think they’d missed their chance, though; by the summer of 1981, Launius was a person of interest in as many as two dozen other homicides. a b Kennedy, Dana (September 7, 2003). "THE NEW SEASON/FILM; John Holmes's Boogie Life". The New York Times . Retrieved September 22, 2023. Cool video as Scott Michaels of findadeath.com gives a current tour of the Wonderland murder house.