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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (characters)

Many historical characters appear in the 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. As well as in his novelization. Additionally some fictional characters appear, including the two main protagonists Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth.

Rick Dalton


Rick Dalton is an actor who starred in the fictitious television Western series Bounty Law, inspired by real-life series Wanted Dead or Alive, starring Steve McQueen. Dalton's relationship with Booth is based on Kurt Russell and his stunt double of many years, John Casino, and Burt Reynolds' with his longtime stunt double Hal Needham. Tarantino's inspiration for Dalton came from actors whose careers began in classical Hollywood but faltered in the 1960s, including Ty Hardin, who went from starring in a successful TV Western to making Spaghetti Westerns, and also Tab Hunter, George Maharis, Vince Edwards, William Shatner, and Edd Byrnes, whom DiCaprio responded to the most. DiCaprio based his performance on Ralph Meeker. Dalton suffers from an undiagnosed bipolar disorder, inspired by Pete Duel. Tarantino revealed that Dalton finds more success after the events of the film. His killing of Atkins with a flamethrower from one of his films attracts much of the media's attention, leading to offers for roles in feature films. He also gets bigger guest roles in TV series, including an episode of Mission: Impossible centered around his character. In 1988, Dalton retires from acting and moves to Hawaii with Capucci, eventually meeting Tarantino himself at the 1996 Hawaii International Film Festival.

Caleb DeCoteau – The fictional lead villain and leader of the land pirates on the pilot episode of Lancer, portrayed by Rick Dalton. While also featured in the film, in the novel it is revealed that Dalton beat out Joe Don Baker for the role. Baker portrayed the lead villain and leader of the land Pirates in the real-life pilot of Lancer.

Cliff Booth
Cliff Booth, Dalton's stunt double and best friend, is an indestructible World War II hero, a Green Beret specialized in knives and close-quarters combat, and "one of the deadliest guys alive." He is a two-time Medal of Valor recipient, and has killed more Japanese soldiers than any other American soldier. Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt modeled Booth after Tom Laughlin's portrayal of Billy Jack. Booth had performed stunts on The Born Losers and was paid with the denim outfit worn by Laughlin as Billy Jack, which is what he wears in the film. Booth is inspired by Gary Kent, a stuntman for a film made at the Spahn Ranch while the Manson Family lived there, as well as stuntman and two-time national judo champion Gene LeBell, who came to work on The Green Hornet after complaints by other stunt performers that Bruce Lee was "kicking the shit out of the stuntmen." Like Booth, LeBell was suspected of murder but never convicted. Pitt channeled Steve McQueen's stunt double Bud Ekins for his portrayal of Booth. Tarantino also revealed that Booth was inspired by a real stuntman who "was the closest equivalent to Stuntman Mike" (Kurt Russell) from Death Proof. He was "absolutely indestructible ... scared everybody ... [and] killed his wife on a boat and got away with it."

Billie Booth is Cliff's wife, whose death in the film — and the ambiguity surrounding it — is based on Natalie Wood's. The novelization reveals that Cliff did in fact murder Billie. He shot her with a speargun, almost tearing her in half, which he immediately regretted. There is a connection between Cliff and Robert Blake, whom Tarantino dedicates the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood novel to. Cliff had also murdered three other people, including another stuntman.

Other fictional characters

 * Trudi Frazer (Julia Butters), the precocious child actor who portrays Mirabella on Lancer, is inspired by Jodie Foster and a character from said series, Pony Alice, portrayed by Eve Plumb. Frazer goes on to become an Academy Award-nominated actress. Her third nomination is for Tarantino's 1999 remake of The Lady in Red.
 * Marvin Schwarz of the William Morris Agency is Dalton's agent, a role that Tarantino wrote specifically for Al Pacino.
 * Francesca Capucci is a starlet who marries Dalton. Lorenza Izzo based her portrayal on 1960s Italian actresses Sophia Loren, Claudia Cardinale, Virna Lisi and Monica Vitti.
 * Some characters, such as Zoë Bell's stunt coordinator Janet Lloyd and Heba Thorisdottir's makeup artist Sonya, were portrayed by individuals who performed the same jobs for the film.
 * Randy Lloyd is the stunt coordinator for The Green Hornet, a position that was held by Bennie E. Dobbins on the series in real life.
 * Michael Madsen's Sheriff Hackett on Bounty Law is partially inspired by Peter Breck, who also served as Masden's inspiration for Joe Gage in Tarantino's The Hateful Eight. Specifically Breck's role in The Big Valley.
 * Martin Kove's Sheriff on Bounty Law is inspired by Henry Fonda's portrayal of Wyatt Earp in John Ford's My Darling Clementine.

Sharon Tate
Sharon Tate was an actress married to film director Roman Polanski, and is Dalton's neighbor in the film. Margot Robbie did not consult Polanski about playing Tate, but read his autobiography Roman by Polanski in preparation for the role. Tate filmed her last movie, The Thirteen Chairs, in Italy in 1969, at the same time as Dalton films movies there in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Criticism on Tate's portrayal
After being contacted over concerns, Tarantino invited a representative of Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate's widower, over to his house to read the script and report back to Polanski, to assure him "he didn't have anything to worry about". Tarantino stated: "When it comes to Polanski, we're talking about a tragedy that would be unfathomable for most human beings," and that he did not contact him while writing it, as he did not want to cause him anxiety. Despite this, Polanski's wife Emmanuelle Seigner criticized Tarantino for using Polanski's likeness after the film's premiere.

Debra Tate, Sharon's sister, initially opposed the film, saying it was exploitative and perpetuated mistruths: "To celebrate the killers and the darkest portion of society as being sexy or acceptable in any way, shape or form is just perpetuating the worst of our society." After Tarantino contacted her and showed her the script, she withdrew her opposition, saying: "This movie is not what people would expect it to be when you combine the Tarantino and Manson names." She felt that Tarantino was a "very stand-up guy"; after visiting the set, she was impressed by Robbie and lent her some of Sharon's jewelry and perfume to wear in the film.

After the premiere, journalist Farah Nayeri asked Tarantino why Robbie had so few lines. Tarantino responded, "I reject your hypothesis." Robbie elaborated, "I think the moments on screen show those wonderful sides of [Tate] could be adequately done without speaking." Tarantino said, "I thought it would both be touching and pleasurable and also sad and melancholy to just spend a little time with [Tate], just existing... I wanted you to see Sharon a lot."

Margot Robbie's additional role
Robbie also briefly reprises her role as Laura Cameron, a stewardess from the TV series Pan AM. Although her face is not seen, she makes and serves Dalton a cocktail on his flight home from Italy.

Tate's husband and friends

 * Roman Polanski's credits include Rosemary's Baby and The Fearless Vampire Killers, where he first met Tate.
 * Jay Sebring was a celebrity hairstylist, Tate's friend and ex-boyfriend, and friend of Bruce Lee's (whom he helped get started in Hollywood) and Steve McQueen's. Sebring and Tate attended a party at Mama Cass' house which Charles Manson also attended.
 * Abigail Folger, heir to the Folgers coffee fortune, and her boyfriend Wojciech Frykowski were Tate's friends.
 * Steve McQueen was an actor and friend of Tate, Sebring, and Lee. On the night of the Tate murders, Sebring invited McQueen over to Tate's house; however, his date wanted to stay in. After the murders, the police found a Manson Family hit list with McQueen's name.
 * Mama Cass Elliot and Michelle Phillips were members of the folk band the Mamas & the Papas. The sheet music for their song "Straight Shooter" was found on the piano at the murder scene in the Tate/Polanski residence. The song is also used in the film and teaser trailer. Polanski had an affair with Phillips while he was married to Tate. After the Tate murders, Polanski suspected Michelle's husband, John Phillips of the killings out of revenge for the affair.

Lancer

 * James Stacy was an actor who played Johnny Madrid Lancer on Lancer. Stacy is last shown in the film leaving the Lancer set on a motorcycle; Stacy was in a motorcycle accident in 1973 that resulted in the death of his passenger and the loss of his arm and leg. His ex-wife, actress Connie Stevens, also portrayed in the film, organized a fundraiser for his recovery.
 * Wayne Maunder, who portrayed Scott Lancer on Lancer, died during the filming of the movie while Luke Perry, who plays him in his last film role, died shortly afterwards. Luke's son Jack Perry appears with him in the film.
 * Sam Wanamaker directed the real pilot of Lancer, in which the Land Pirates were characters, who also appear in the pilot within the film.
 * Business Bob Gilbert (Scoot McNairy) is a character on Lancer being portrayed by Bruce Dern. (In the film McNairy is playing Dern, playing Business Bob)

Bruce Lee


Bruce Lee was an actor and martial artist who starred as Kato on The Green Hornet. He taught Tate martial arts for The Wrecking Crew and also trained Sebring, Polanski and McQueen.

Criticism of Lee's portrayal
The film's depiction of Bruce Lee drew criticism. Fans and contemporaries of Lee, including his protégé Dan Inosanto, criticized the portrayal. Lee's daughter Shannon described the depiction as "an arrogant asshole who was full of hot air" and "They didn't need to treat him in the way White Hollywood did when he was alive." Lee's student and friend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who starred with Lee in Game of Death, stated that Tarantino's portrayal of Lee was "sloppy and somewhat racist".

Mike Moh, who played Lee, said he was conflicted at first: "Bruce in my mind was literally a god. ... Bruce didn't always have the most affection for stuntmen; he didn't respect all of them." He stated, "Tarantino loves Bruce Lee; he reveres him." Brad Pitt and stunt coordinator Robert Alonzo objected to an extended version of the fight in which Lee loses. According to Lee's friend and The Green Hornet stuntman Gene LeBell, Lee had a reputation for "kicking the shit out of the stuntmen. They couldn't convince him that he could go easy and it would still look great on film." In Bruce Lee: A Life, Lee's biographer Matthew Polly wrote, Lee would jump-kick people on the set. According to Lee's co-star Van Williams, it stopped when "He dislocated [a set designer's] jaw." Polly continued, "Bruce insisted on close quarters combat. The stuntmen hated it." Williams said, "[The stuntmen]...didn't want to work on the show. They were tired of getting hurt." LeBell was tasked with "calming Bruce down." According to Williams, Lee's treatment of stuntmen drove the show's stunt coordinator Bennie E. Dobbins to want to fight Lee.

Tarantino responded, saying Lee was "kind of an arrogant guy," and that Lee's widow Linda wrote in Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew that he could beat Muhammad Ali. She wrote, "Even the most scathing critics admitted that Bruce's Gungfu was sensational. One critic wrote, 'Those who watched him would bet on Lee to render Cassius Clay (Ali) senseless if they were put in a room and told anything goes.'" In 1972, Lee himself stated: "Everybody says I must fight Ali some day. ... Look at my hand. That's a little Chinese hand. He'd kill me."

Shannon filed a complaint with the China Film Administration affecting the film's release in China unless alterations were made. After Tarantino refused to remove the scene, China cancelled the release of the film on October 18, 2019, one week before its release date.

Other historical characters

 * Connie (Monica Staggs) and Curt (Mark Warrack) are horseback-riding customers at Spahn Ranch. As one way of earning their keep, the Manson Family gave horseback riding tours to people visiting the ranch. Tarantino stated that he thinks his mother and step-father (Connie and Curt) took him horseback riding at Spahn Ranch when he was six years old. Tarantino's step-father Curtis Zastoupil also appears as a character in the novel as a musician at a bar, where he gets Rick Dalton's autograph for a six-year-old Tarantino.
 * Perla Haney-Jardine's hippie girl, who sells the acid-dipped cigarette to Cliff Booth, is based on "Today" Louise Malone, a hippie who appears in the 1968 documentary Revolution. As in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, she sells the acid cigarettes at a traffic light. Tarantino said the dialogue in the scene is taken from the documentary.
 * Allen Kincade (Spencer Garrett) is a celebrity television interviewer who is based on Wink Martindale. The character was named Wink Martindale in the screenplay but changed to Allen Kincade shortly before shooting due to clearance issues.
 * Harvey "Humble Harve" Miller, portrayed by Rage Stewart, was a Los Angeles radio DJ who was convicted of killing his wife.
 * The TV show Hullabaloo Rick Dalton appears on in the film was a real-life show, and one of the go-go dancers portrayed is Lada St. Edmund, who went on to become the highest paid stuntwoman in Hollywood history.

George Spahn and Charles Manson

 * George Spahn was an 80-year-old nearly-blind man who rented his ranch out for westerns. The Manson Family lived on the ranch. Burt Reynolds was cast as Spahn, but died before filming and was replaced by Bruce Dern. Reynolds did a rehearsal and script reading, his last performance. After reading the script and learning that Pitt would be portraying Booth, Reynolds told Tarantino, "You gotta have somebody say, 'You're pretty for a stunt guy.'" The line appears in the film, spoken to Booth by Bruce Lee.
 * Charlie is Charles Manson, a convicted felon and cult leader of "the Family" (later dubbed "the Manson Family" by the media), a hippie commune based in California. Members of the Family committed nine murders in the summer of 1969. Damon Herriman, who portrayed Manson, also portrays him in David Fincher's Netflix series Mindhunter. Tarantino revealed that, since the Tate murders never happen in the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood universe, neither do the LaBianca murders. The Manson Family gets kicked off Spahn Ranch and splits up, with Manson never becoming a familiar name or cult figure.

"Pussycat"
"Pussycat", aka Debra Jo Hillhouse, is a composite character, with her nickname based on Kathryn Lutesinger's "Kitty Kat", yet modeled after and most notably based on Ruth Ann Moorehouse. Manson frequently sent Moorehouse into the city to lure men with money back to Spahn Ranch. Lutesinger met Manson through her boyfriend, Bobby Beausoleil. There was a Manson Family member named Pussycat, who is mentioned by Ed Sanders in his book The Family: The Story of Charles Manson's Dune Buggy Attack Battalion; according to those interviewed, Pussycat underwent an exorcism with Manson present. The real identity of Pussycat is never revealed. She is also an homage to Myra (Laurie Heineman) from John G. Avildsen's Save the Tiger.

Other Manson Family characters

 * "Squeaky" was Lynette Fromme's nickname, given to her by Spahn because of the sound she made when he touched her. She was Spahn's main caretaker, tending to his needs, sexual or otherwise.
 * "Tex" was Charles Watson's nickname. Spahn gave it to him because of his Texas accent.
 * "Sadie" was Susan Atkins' nickname. Manson gave everyone fake IDs, and the name on Atkins' was "Sadie Mae Glutz". Atkins was called "Sexy Sadie" after a track on the Beatles' self-titled album that some of the Family members may have believed was about her.
 * "Katie" was Patricia Krenwinkel's nickname because of the name on her fake ID. Madisen Beaty, who portrays Krenwinkel, previously portrayed her on Aquarius.
 * "Flowerchild" is the movie's name for Linda Kasabian, the fourth Family member to go to Tate's house. In 1970, Kasabian was described as a "true flower child."
 * "Snake" was Dianne Lake's nickname, given to her by Manson because she rolled around in grass pretending to be a snake.
 * "Blue" was Sandra Good's nickname. Manson told her, "Woman, you're earth. I'm naming you Blue. Fix the air and the water. It's your job." Kansas Bowling, the actress who plays her, appears in the film with her sister Parker Love Bowling, who plays Family member "Tadpole." Parker previously portrayed a Manson girl in a reenactment for the Canadian History Channel.
 * "Gypsy" was Catherine Share's nickname, which she gave herself after meeting a man named Gypsy, with whom she shared a birthday and believed him to be her cosmic twin.
 * "Happy Cappy" is based on Catherine Gillies, who was nicknamed "Capistrano" by Spahn because she grew up in San Juan Capistrano and was later shortened to "Cappy" by the Family. Josephine Valentina Clark, the actress who plays her, added the "Happy" while working on the character.
 * "Lulu" was one of Leslie Van Houten's nicknames, and "Clem" one of Steve Grogan's.
 * "Tophat", portrayed in the film by Ronnie Zappa, was an alias of Bobby Beausoleil. In his 2001 book Turn Off Your Mind, Gary Lachman mentions that, "Beausoleil had a style; a top hat that set him apart from the usual hippie fare." Beausoleil wrote, "I spied a felt top hat in the window of a... shop... I couldn't afford (it)... but it felt like it had been made for me... I couldn't resist the temptation to buy it." Beausoleil claimed that as soon as he put on the hat, ideas floating in his head came together.
 * The character of "Sundance" was named by Cassidy Vick Hice, the actress who portrayed her in the film. She wrote, "I was asked to name my character by Quentin himself."
 * Straight Satan David, portrayed in the film by David Steen, is a member of the Straight Satans Motorcycle Club, associates of the Family. Manson attempted to recruit them as personal security but, with the exception of club treasurer Danny DeCarlo, was unsuccessful. DeCarlo lived on the ranch as part of the Family.
 * Bill "Sweet William" Fritsch, portrayed by Tom Hartig was a member of the Hells Angels and Diggers and a Manson Family associate.

Criticism of the Manson Family's portrayal
Charles Manson was convicted of the murders of Tate and four others, despite not being present, due mostly to a theory presented by prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi that Manson was trying to instigate an apocalyptic race war, leaving only Black Muslims and the Family. According to the theory, the Black Muslims would eventually look to Manson to lead them. According to members of the Family; Paul Watkins, Juan Flynn and Barbara Hoyt, Manson referred to the race war as Helter Skelter, getting the name from the song of the same name.

Musician and filmmaker Boots Riley criticized Tarantino's film for not portraying Bugliosi's Helter Skelter narrative, or depicting the Family as white supremacists. As did Lorraine Ali of the Los Angeles Times. Saying that portraying The Manson Family as hippies is "a more bankable image than Manson the ignorant white supremacist."

However, according to members of The Family; Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten, Patricia Krenwinkel, Catherine Share, and Ruth Ann Moorehouse, the Tate murders were not perpetrated to start Helter Skelter, but as copycat murders mirroring that of Gary Hinman, in an attempt to convince police the killer was still at large, and get Bobby Beausoleil released from jail, as he was charged with Hinman's murder. He stated the murders had nothing to do with race.

According to Jay Sebring's protégé and business partner Jim Markham, who provided original Sebring hair products for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the murders were instigated by a drug deal gone bad, not a race war. He believes Manson was at Tate's house the day before the murders to sell drugs to Sebring and Voytek Frykowski, which resulted in the two beating Manson up. In his interview with Truman Capote, Beausoleil said, "They burned people on dope deals. Sharon Tate and that gang."

On The Joe Rogan Experience, Tarantino said he thought Bugliosi's theory was "bullshit." He believes Manson never sent anyone over to Tate's house to murder anyone, and that the murders happened spontaneously.

Additional characters from the novel
The novel features additional characters including a whole chapter titled and focused on actor Aldo Ray, whose procurement of a bottle of gin from Booth leads to him being fired from one of the Spaghetti Westerns Dalton is starring in.

Other characters who appear in the novel while being absent from the film include:


 * Dennis Wilson – The drummer for the rock band The Beach Boys. Wilson brought Manson Family members Ella Jo Bailey and Patricia Krenwinkel over to his house. He left and later returned to find Manson and the rest of his Family. They would move in making Wilson's residence their home for a period of time. Manson recorded songs he wrote at the home studio of Dennis' brother and band mate Brian. The Beach Boys covered Manson's song "Cease to Exist" on one of their albums.
 * Terry Melcher – The son of Doris Day and record producer for Columbia Records. He met Manson at Wilson's house. Manson visited Melcher at his house on 10050 Cielo Drive multiple times, and hoped to get a record deal through him and Wilson. However, Manson was unable to ingratiate himself with Melcher the way he did with Wilson. What most interested Melcher about the Family was teenage member Ruth Ann Moorehouse, whom he attempted to hire as a housekeeper. Manson tried to leverage Melcher's interest into a record deal, but Bergen did not allow Moorehouse to move in, as she suspected Melcher did not really intend for her to be a housekeeper.
 * Candice Bergen – An actress and girlfriend of Melcher who lived with him on Cielo Drive.
 * Gregg Jakobson – A songwriter who worked for Melcher and became close with the Manson Family. He frequently recorded Manson's music.
 * Andrew Duggan – The actor who portrayed Murdoch Lancer on the TV series Lancer, whose character seeks out his two estranged sons from different mothers, to help save his ranch from the land pirates.
 * Jim Brown – An actor and NFL star. While Brown is in Spain shooting 100 Rifles, Cliff Booth becomes known as "the only white man to ever win a fistfight with Jim Brown." Tarantino considered writing Brown into the screenplay of the film, but never did. If he had he would have cast Jamie Foxx to play him.