Horrorwood: True Crime in Tinseltown

Sam Cooke changed American music with timeless hits, great record business success, and a very powerful voice for the Civil Rights Movement. His rise from gospel prodigy to soul legend seemed unstoppable until a late-night encounter at a Los Angeles motel ended in one of music's most controversial deaths.

 

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Episode Sources:

“Sam Cooke” by Jack Ewing, 2021, EBSCO

“Aretha Franklin: The Little-Known Traumas That Fueled Her Music” by Julie Miller, August 16, 2021, Vanity Fair

“Excerpt: 'Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke'” by ABC News, December 27, 2005, ABC News

“Aretha Franklin, Sexual Violence, and the “Culture of Dissemblance”” by Rachel Zellars, November 1, 2018, AAIHS

“Sam Cooke” from abkco

“Barbara Campbell Cooke, 85, Widow of the Slain Sam Cooke, Is Dead” by Penelope Green, Published September 22, 2021, Updated September 27, 2021, The New York Times

“A clearer vision” by Peter Guralnick, November 20, 2005, The Guardian

“A Fallen Star” by Edit Antoinette, March 23, 2009, I Grew Up In Chicago

“Sam Cooke: An Insatiable Libido and a Justifiable Homicide” from Disgraceland, Episode #03, March 6, 2018

“The Mystery of Sam Cooke’s Brutal Murder Remains Almost Six Decades Later” by Lauren Novak, December 11, 2023, Remind Magazine

“Too black, too strong: who killed Sam Cooke?” by Ellen E Jones, March 2, 2019, The Guardian

“What really happened to Sam Cooke?” by Anonymous, April 18, 2019, The Chicago Crusader

“Shooting of Sam Cooke Held ‘Justifiable Homicide’” from the New York Times Archives, December 17, 1964, The New York Times

“The Death Of Sam Cooke And The Conflict Details Of His Final Hours” by Genevieve Carlton, Edited By John Kuroski, Published May 24, 2026, All That’s Interesting

“True Crime : The Murder of Superstar Sam Cooke Plus his Hidden Grave and House” by SCOTT ON TAPE - Your Pop Culture Tour Guide on YouTube

“Rock’s Mysterious Deaths: Sam Cooke” by Bill DeMain, December 11, 2016, Performing Songwriter

“Why Mystery Still Shrouds Singer Sam Cooke's Shooting Death Nearly 60 Years Later” by Jordan Runtagh, Updated on January 21, 2021, People

“Sam Cooke dies under suspicious circumstances in LA” by HISTORY.com Editors, Published November 13, 2009, Last Updated: May 27, 2025, History

 

Creeptastic theme music by:

Nicholas Davio - nicholasdavio.com, @mr.nick.davio, @huron_coast

 

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Critics called him the next Clark Gable. His rugged good looks and womanizing ways made Steve Cochran Hollywood's favorite bad boy. With a life as colorful as his it's only fitting his death make just as big a "splash."

 

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Episode Sources:

“Steve Cochran: Bad Boy of Hollywood” by Michelangelo Capua, University Press of Mississippi, May 12, 2026

“10 days trapped with a corpse: The strange death of a notorious Hollywood star” by Andrew Chamings, SF GATE, Oct 24, 2022

“Body Found on Drifting Boat Identified as Actor” The Tampa Tribune, Jun 28, 1965

“SEA PUZZLE Inquiry into actor’a death” The Canberra Times, Jun 29, 1965

“Last Rites For Cochran Held Today” The Times Standard, Jul 1, 1965

“Steve Cochran, Actor, Is Dead” The New York Times, Jun 27, 1965

“Death of Steve Cochran at Sea Is Attributed to Lung Infection” The New York Times, Jun 28, 1965

“Steve Cochran Funeral” The Times, Jul 2, 1965

 

Creeptastic theme music by:

Nicholas Davio - nicholasdavio.com, @mr.nick.davio, @huron_coast

 

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In 1954, hundreds of cast and crew members traveled to the deserts of southern Utah to make what was supposed to be Hollywood's next epic adventure movie: The Conqueror. The film starred John Wayne as Genghis Khan and was backed by eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes. What was meant to become the next blockbuster ended up becoming one of the deadliest movies ever made, all thanks to a nuclear testing site just a few dozens miles from the set.

 

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Episode Sources:

“A John Wayne flop has been linked to high cancer rates. A new documentary aims to tell the community’s story.” by Zack Budryk, June 30, 2024, The Hill

“The Production and Legacy of The Conqueror (1956)” by Paige Stringham, Brigham Young University, March 14, 2018, modified April 17, 2026, Intermountain Histories

“Hollywood and the downwinders still grapple with nuclear fallout” by Rory Carroll, June 6, 2015, The Guardian

“RISKY BUSINESS: The Conqueror” by Brian Smolensky, Epitome Risk, ProductionHUB

“The Conqueror – the Movie that Killed actor John Wayne” by Paul Andrews, Lost in History

“John Wayne Biography” by Biography.com Editors, Published April 3, 2014, Updated September 15, 2022

“Nevada Test Site” from the Atomic Heritage Foundation

“Our History” from Nevada National Security Sites

“Radiation Death and Deception” by Thomas G. Alexander from “Utah, The Right Place,” History To Go

“Impacts of Radiation from Aboveground Nuclear Tests on Southern Utah” from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality

“The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout on IMDb

“The Conqueror” on IMDb

 

Creeptastic theme music by:

Nicholas Davio - nicholasdavio.com, @mr.nick.davio, @huron_coast

 

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When a deceased cameraman was found slumped in his car outside the Hollywood post office, police were certain jealousy was the motive. Or was it robbery? Either way, the killer must have been a man. Or maybe a woman? Yeah, police didn't have a clue, despite, well, all the clues.

Episode Sources:

“King D. Gray — Little Close-Ups of the A. S. C. (1922)”

King’s Death Certificate

“Film Cameraman Found Murdered” Bradford Evening Star and The Bradford Daily Record (Bradford, Pennsylvania) · Wed, Jul 6, 1938

“Jealousy Seen Behind Killing of Cameraman” Daily News (New York, New York) · Sat, Jul 2, 1938

“Question Two More Women in Mystery Hollywood Slaying” Daily News (New York, New York) · Sun, Jul 3, 1938

“Find Woman’s Prints On Gray Murder Pistol” Daily News (New York, New York) · Sat, Jul 9, 1938

“Woman Seen in Mystery Movie Death” Enterprise-Record (Chico, California) · Sat, Jul 9, 1938

“Think Jealousy Murder Motive” Latrobe Bulletin (Latrobe, Pennsylvania) · Sat, Jul 2, 1938

“Mystery Shrouds Hollywood Death” LNP Lancaster Online (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) · Sun, Jul 3, 1938

“Police Quiz Companions on Fatal Night as Author of ‘Dear Daddy’ Note Discovered” Los Angeles Evening Citizen News (Hollywood, California) · Sat, Jul 2, 1938

“Holdup Murder in Gray Case?” Nevada State Journal (Reno, Nevada) · Wed, Jul 6, 1938

“Murder Suspect Offers Alibi” Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Wed, Sep 14, 1938

“Slain Movie Cameraman Party Guest” Redlands Daily Facts (Redlands, California) · Sat, Jul 2, 1938

“Convict’s Past Being Studied” Reno Gazette-Journal (Reno, Nevada) · Thu, Jul 21, 1938

“Film-Story Murder Leaves Hollywood Cameraman Dead” The Atlanta Journal (Atlanta, Georgia) · Fri, Jul 1, 1938

“Shoeprint Makes Police Believe Man Killed Gray” The State (Columbia, South Carolina) · Mon, Jul 4, 1938

“Quiz Persons in Slaying of King D. Gray” The Times (La Salle, Illinois) · Sat, Jul 2, 1938

“Jealousy May Be Found Motive in Hollywood Killing, Prober Says” The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana) · Sat, Jul 2, 1938

“Break Looms in Hollywood Murder Case” Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, the Evening News (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) · Wed, Jul 6, 1938

“Police Believe Woman Killed King D. Gray” Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, the Evening News (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) · Thu, Jul 7, 1938

“Police Recover Pistol Used in Gray Killing” Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin) · Fri, Jul 8, 1938

“Hollywood Film Cameraman Found Slain in Automobile” The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · Fri, Jul 1, 1938

“Pistol Clue Fails in Hollywood Death” Pasadena Star-News (Pasadena, California) · Mon, Jul 11, 1938

“Berkeley Suspect to Face Slaying Questioning” Pasadena Star-News (Pasadena, California) · Tue, Sep 13, 1938

“Clue Discovered in Gray Murder” The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · Mon, Jul 4, 1938

“Sister Turns to Bible for Courage at News of Film Cameraman’s Death” The Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis, Indiana) · Sat, Jul 2, 1938

“Triangle Theory Advanced in Killing of Cameraman as ‘Dear Daddy’ Letter Revealed” Los Angeles Evening Citizen News (Hollywood, California) · Fri, Jul 1, 1938

“Death of Film Cameraman Puzzles Police” The Daily Breeze (Torrance, California) · Sat, Jul 2, 1938

Creeptastic theme music by: Nicholas Davio - nicholasdavio.com, @mr.nick.davio, @huron_coast

It's officially summer and to celebrate we've got a brand spankin' new round of Misfit Tales! We're reading stories written by YOU about things you've experienced. Today's tales have been brought to you by Anonymous, Melody MacKay, Lexi and Maria. We've got a real-life possibly criminal case, a ghost truck, a visit from the afterlife and, as the title of this episode suggests, ghost fingers.

Keep sending us your stories!

 

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Join our Patreon:

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Creeptastic theme music by:

Nicholas Davio - nicholasdavio.com, @mr.nick.davio, @huron_coast

 

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