‘Crimes of The Times:’ The 1982 ‘Twilight Zone’ movie disaster cast a harsh light on Hollywood

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Sunday, June 16. I am Christopher Goffard, a Times reporter and sometime podcaster. Here’s what you need to know to start your day:

• Revisiting the deadly ‘Twilight Zone’ movie set disaster
• El Niño makes an exit, but La Niña could bring dry conditions back to California
• Swanky airport lounges are arriving at LAX
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

‘Crimes of The Times:’ The ‘Twilight Zone’ disaster cast a harsh light on Hollywood

I’ve been writing a new series called “Crimes of The Times,” looking at old criminal cases — the famous, the obscure and everything in between.

One of the most infamous cases from my childhood was the “Twilight Zone” movie-set disaster of 1982. Growing up in Los Angeles, it was hard to escape the terrible footage on the nightly news of the plunging helicopter that killed Vic Morrow and two children. The subsequent trial of director John Landis and four associates went on for 10 months.

All five defendants were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter, but the trial did not put to rest questions of moral culpability. The children — My-Ca Le, 7, and Renee Chen, 6 — should not have been on that movie set at 2 a.m.. Landis had known he was breaking labor laws.

Thomas Budds, the L.A. County sheriff’s detective assigned to the case, told me it was originally described as an “industrial accident.” Now 78 and long retired, he recalls stepping onto the crash site in Indian Dunes and being struck by the reek of gasoline from pyrotechnic explosives.

Some people associated with the production were hesitant to talk to him, for fear of being blackballed in Hollywood. But Budds conducted hundreds of interviews that shaped his abiding view of Landis as an arrogant, overbearing filmmaker who had demanded a big special-effects spectacle in hopes of outshining his more famous peers, like Steven Spielberg.

“I think he wanted to be the breakout guy,” Budds told me.

In other installments of the series, I talk to Marcia Clark about the challenges of prosecuting the obsessed stalker who murdered actress Rebecca Schaeffer, a landmark case that inspired the nation’s first anti-stalking laws.

I revisit the case of William Leasure, the LAPD traffic cop with the forgettable face and the bland-as-vanilla manner who happened to moonlight as a contract killer.

And I tell the story of Paul Morantz, the crusading attorney who took on the Synanon rehab cult and reached into his mailbox to find retaliation in the form a rattlesnake.

As older cases fade into the past, it’s harder to find key participants who are able to talk about them. One goal of Crimes of The Times is to find these living links to the past, whenever possible, and get their voices on the record.

In coming weeks, I’ll be writing about the McMartin preschool case; a little-remembered figure from the Charles Manson saga; the 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times; and the bizarre recovered-memory prosecution of George Franklin.

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

The week’s biggest stories

A giant wave crashes over a jetty at Redondo Beach in December. After a year of dominance, El Niño is making an exit. The departing climate pattern helped fuel California’s second consecutive winter of heavy storms.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

California weather

• El Niño makes an exit, but La Niña could bring dry conditions back to California.
• ‘Significant’ weekend warming will give Southern California a short break from June gloom.

Disney

• Heading to a Disney theme park? More attendees are going into debt for the trip, survey says.
• Florida tourism board approves Walt Disney World expansion plans, ending DeSantis feud.
• Disneyland union files charges against Disney in Mickey button dispute.

Politics

• How independent will Mexico’s next president be? This controversy gives a hint.
• In another close Biden vs. Trump race, Black and Latino voters could make the difference.
• Why Biden’s protest problem has reached deep-blue California, and why it matters.

Crime

• Police arrest suspect in LAX road rage fight that knocked woman unconscious.
• Prolific L.A. serial killer charged with killing a woman in Utah in 1998.
• ‘Character assassination’: Reputed Mexican Mafia boss slams federal racketeering charges.

More big stories

• As protesters trashed Cal State L.A. center, questions about why police weren’t called in.
• UCLA graduation avoids large disruptions but is marked by pro-Palestinian chants and a walkout.
• CNN is sharing its presidential debate with rivals. But there are strings attached.
• Food 4 Less workers in California vote to authorize strike.
• A Van Nuys woman who lost an arm in dog attack gets $7.5 million from city of L.A.
• Caitlin Clark on culture wars: Don’t use ‘my name to push’ racism, misogyny.
• Pope Francis meets 100-plus comedians. Here’s why he told them it’s OK to ‘laugh at God.’
• L.A. County COVID cases and hospitalizations rise amid FLiRT variants summer uptick.
• Princess of Wales returns to public view after cancer diagnosis.
• Phishing attack hits L.A. County public health agency, jeopardizing 200,000-plus residents’ personal info.
  

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Column One

Column One is The Times’ home for narrative and longform journalism. Here’s a great piece from this week:

(Illustration by Jim Cooke / Los Angeles Times)

With Hollywood shedding jobs, here is help for coping with the slowdown. As The Times has continued to report on the struggles of crew members, writers and the industry’s slow post-strike reboot, what we have heard from readers is that they need help. With that in mind, our staff has compiled a series of stories that focus on finding help for mental health matters, financial tips and how those in need can access funds.

More great reads

• This one thing may derail your shot at healthy aging, scientists say.
• Nicola Coughlan moves out of the shadows and into the spotlight on ‘Bridgerton.’

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your weekend

Julien James and son Maison James.

(Mark Clennon)

Going out

• 📷 Intimate photo series celebrates Black fatherhood through portraits of hands.
• 🛬 Swanky airport lounges are arriving at LAX, like this Chase one. But who can get in?

Staying in

• 📖 Why so many California Indians lack the federal recognition given to other Native Americans.
• 🧑‍🍳 Here’s a recipe for caramelized lemon and feta turkey meatballs.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

L.A. Affairs

Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.

(Rebecca Reed / For the Times)

I discovered my dad’s secret children. It changed us forever. My dad was almost a little too perfect. He was adept at keeping secrets. So I wasn’t expecting an unknown half-sibling to knock on our front door.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor

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