Lana Turner and the Murder of Johnny Stompanato

What a Creep

What a Creep
Season 17, Episode 10
The Murder of Johnny Stompanato
Lana Turner was one of Hollywood’s most alluring (and controversial) actors in movie history, with star turns in the original The Postman Always Rings Twice, Imitation of Life, and Peyton Place. She was blonde, sexy, and a supposed “maneater” with eight marriages and several lovers. In 1958 she dated the former war hero and current mob hooligan Johnny Stompanato who supposedly treated her terribly.
Her only child, Cheryl Crane, at 14, stabbed Johnny to death after her mother tried to break off their relationship. Cheryl was acquitted of any wrongdoing (Johnny was a BAD dude) but spent years dealing with her childhood trauma and being the daughter of a movie queen.
But did Cheryl really kill Johnny, or was she covering up for her mother?
Trigger warnings: Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, & Murder
Sources:
Vanity Fair April 1999 The Gangster and the Goddess
Lana Turner Wikipedia
Biography.com
Johnny Stompanato Wikipedia
Cheryl Crane Wiki
People Magazine
All That is Interesting
History 101.com
Los Angeles Times
The Daily Beast
E Mysteries & Scandals March 9, 1998
Cinema Scholars
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