Lana Clarkson

Clarkson was born in Long Beach, California, to Donna and James M. Clarkson and was raised in the hills of Sonoma County, California, from a young age. She had a brother, Jessee J. Clarkson, and a sister, Fawn. While living in Northern California, she attended Cloverdale High School and Pacific Union College Preparatory School. During the Christmas season of 1978 Clarkson's family returned to Southern California and settled in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. After Clarkson's family moved back to Los Angeles County, she pursued a career in the entertainment industry as an actress and fashion model. == Career ==

In the early 1980s, Clarkson landed bit parts in film and television. She co-starred with rocker Donnie Iris in the 1980 music video for his signature song "Ah! Leah!" She made her screen debut as a minor character in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), director Amy Heckerling's coming-of-age comedy. She played the wife of science teacher Mr. Vargas (Vincent Schiavelli). The film was her first speaking role. She appeared in Scarface (1983) behind Michelle Pfeiffer dancing on the floor of the Babylon Club. Her first big role was in the Nico Mastorakis science-fiction thriller Blind Date (1984). As an actress, Clarkson became best known for her five feature films for producer Roger Corman, beginning with his fantasy film Deathstalker (1983), as a female warrior and love interest to the title character played by Richard Hill. In 1987, Clarkson appeared in the John Landis spoof Amazon Women on the Moon. Following that, Clarkson starred in Roger Corman's Barbarian Queen sequel, Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back. In 2001, while living in Venice, California, for the last several years, Clarkson developed, wrote, produced, and directed a showcase reel titled Lana Unleashed. She took a part-time side job as a hostess in early January 2003 at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California, to make ends meet. == Murder ==

On February 3, 2003, Clarkson was found dead in the mansion belonging to record producer Phil Spector. In the early hours of that morning, she met Spector while working at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. They left the House of Blues in Spector's limousine and drove to his mansion. Spector and Clarkson went inside while his driver waited outside in the car. About an hour later, the driver heard a gunshot before Spector exited his house through the back door with a gun. He was quoted as saying, according to affidavits, "I think I just shot her." Spector appeared in court charged with the murder of Clarkson in 2007. On September 26, 2007, the trial judge declared mistrial due to a hung jury ten to two for conviction. Spector was retried and in April 2009 he was convicted of second-degree murder. Spector was sentenced on May 29, 2009, to 19 years to life in state prison. He died in 2021 while serving his sentence. In February 2012, Donna Clarkson, Lana's mother, settled a civil lawsuit with Spector and his insurance company over the wrongful death of Lana Clarkson. Terms of the settlement were not released to the public. == Filmography ==

Film Television == References ==