Lana Jean Clarkson

 Lana Jean Clarkson (April 5, 1962 – February 3, 2003)

During the 1980s, she rose to prominence in several sword-and-sorcery films. In 1982, she made her screen debut as a minor character in director Amy Heckerling's coming-of-age comedy, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, based on the Cameron Crowe book. She played the wife of science teacher Mr. Vargas (Vincent Schiavelli). Clarkson's best known films may be her work with Roger Corman, appearing first in his fantasy film Deathstalker, 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, though the plots and characters bore no resemblance to the other film. Clarkson's career began to stall as she approached her thirties. No longer able to earn a living as an actress, Clarkson sought alternate routes of income, including operating her own website on which she sold autographed DVDs of her films and communicated directly with her fans on her own message board. Although she made a living by playing busty, lusty women, Clarkson's fondest desire was to be cast as a comic actress or perform as a comedian.

On February 3, 2003, Clarkson was fatally shot by eccentric music producer Phil Spector while in his California mansion. In the early hours of that morning, she met Spector while working at the House of Blues. Both left the House of Blues later 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. Spector was tried twice for her murder, the first resulted a mistrial, but in the second one he was found guilty of second degree murder. Lana Clarkson is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.