Porn Star John Holmes, Central Figure in Laurel Canyon Murders, Dead at 43
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Pornographic film star John C. Holmes, a central figure in the unsolved 1981 Laurel Canyon murders, died Saturday night at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Sepulveda, the actor’s manager and a longtime associate confirmed Sunday. He was 43.
The hospital’s administrative officer on duty Sunday, Gatha Lee, said only that “we had a John Holmes die” and then hung up on a reporter without commenting on the cause of death.
Holmes’ manager, William Amerson, also confirmed his death, but refused to add any details. “I can’t talk, it’s kind of an emotional time,” he said.
A longtime Holmes associate in the pornographic film industry, Bill Margold of West Hollywood, said the actor was a very private person. Margold added that he did not know if Holmes had any immediate survivors.
About eight months ago, Margold said, he was told that Holmes “was dying of colon cancer.”
Other sources told The Times earlier this month, however, that Holmes’ illness definitely had been diagnosed as acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
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