American Legends: The Life of Sharon Tate

*Includes pictures *Includes Tate's own quotes about her life and career *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "When I was in school, I dreamed about becoming a psychiatrist or a ballerina. Like most girls I would dream about being a movie star too. But those dreams are the impossible kind, the kind you don't really set your heart on." - Sharon Tate "It's weird. I always had the premonition that Sharon belonged to me just for a little while." - Roman Polanski A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. In 1969, things were looking up for one of Hollywood's most marketable actresses. After appearing as a model in fashion magazines and having bit parts on shows during the early part of the decade, Sharon Tate was a star in the making. That summer, she was pregnant with her first child by director Roman Polanski, who had just recently become her husband, and a few months earlier, she had just finished filming The Thirteen Chairs, co-starring Orson Welles. Tragically, superstardom would never come, and even today, over 45 years later, most details of Sharon's life and career are completely overlooked by people who continue to be morbidly curious about her murder at the hands of the Manson Family on August 9, 1969. The murders committed by Charlie Manson's followers transfixed America, and Tate has been inextricably linked to one of 20th century America's most notorious criminals. As if that wasn't bad enough, focus on her relationship with Roman Polanski also became more complicated shortly after her death when her widowed husband posed for photographs in the room where she had been murdered. On top of that, Polanski was accused of sexually assaulting a teenager in 1977, but he avoided being sentenced by fleeing to France and, despite being controversial and having been subjected to extradition requests by the American government, remains free and occasionally directs films. In his autobiography, Polanski wrote glowingly of his wife, "Sharon was more than just stunning to look at. She wasn't naive or stupid or a clich starlet. What had impressed me most about her, quite apart from her exceptional beauty, was the sort of radiance that springs from a kind and gentle nature; she had obvious hang-ups yet seemed completely liberated. I'd never met anyone like her before." American Legends: The Life of Sharon Tate examines the life and career of one of America's most famous actresses. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Sharon Tate like never before, in no time at all.