New Vintage Article on Sharon and her first big feature: Plus more Sharon Tate links!

Melissa from Canada has been so kind to send me a few articles she has on Sharon from Newspapers.  Here is the first one of the series:

TriCity Herald Richland Washington Sunday September 5, 1965

Former Tri-Citan to Star in Movie with Kim Novak

One-time Richland High School beauty Sharon Tate has begun a film career by co-starring with Kim Novak.

According to movie columnist Shelia Graham, blonde, blue eyed, 22 year-old Sharon will co-star in Producer Martin Ransohoff's newest production, "13."

Sharon is no stranger to spotlights.  At the age of 16, while a student at Columbia High, she was chosen both Miss Richland of the 1959 Atomic Frontier Days and Miss Autorama of 1958-59.

In 1959, Sharon followed her family to Italy, where her father, Maj. Paul J. Tate had been reassigned after his tour of duty at Camp Hanford.  While in Verona, Italy, Sharon met actor Richard Beymer, who was on  location in the Italian city.  Beymer said she should be in modeling or acting, and asked her to look him up if she got to Hollywood.

Sharon explained to Shelia Graham how she met producer Ransohoff: "My father was transferred to Los Angeles, but Richard was in New York, so he put me in touch with his agent.  I was going to be a model because I always looked pretty.  The agent took me to Mrs. Ransohoff to do some commercials.  Instead, Mr. Ransohoff put me under contract for seven years and decided to groom me for stardom."

Between her first meeting with Ransohoff and her part in "13," Sharon had two years of study, hard work and relative obscurity.  She got acting experience in television's "The Beverly Hillbillies," as secretary to Jane Hathaway, who, in turn, is secretary to the banker, Mr. Drysdale. 

She also has been tagged to play the part of Jane in a new series of Tarzan films to star veteran Los Angeles Rams line backer, Mike Henry. 

News on Polanski:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6781770.html

Another Sharon fan shares a great photo of her along with some other great film stars:

http://chizwa.blogspot.com/2009/12/la-vraie-beaute.html

And Kerstien has added her great short films to You Tube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfzCiZqTJ_o&feature=channel

About helping Kerstien:  Be sure to bookmark her You Tube site and look for more updates! Please also let her know what you think? She says any comments or even critisms help her for future projects. :)

More former Richland High Schoolers remember Sharon Tate

I have had the honor of speaking to a few more of those who went to high school in Richland, Washington with Sharon.

Clifton Bowers says:

Well ... I may not be much help as to a resource for fleshing out commentary on Sharon. My memories or let us say recollections are somewhat faint. I recall being in a biology class with her and she was so glamorous she was a distraction to the male populous.

I think her dad was in the military and when she came to Columbia High (Richland High now) it was because of the national security for the Hanford Operations.

As a natural beauty she really stood out. I'm sure others knew her more on a personal basis. I recall she got her public break on a Pat Boone special in Rome, Italy which 'wowed' all of us locals...but I'm sure you have those more public references. I just remember her as someone who was really nice and extremely beautiful. It was sad that she had such a tragic end to her life.

Mike Brady remembers her in a similar way:

I didn't know Sharon very well. I was one of those nerdy guys who admired her from afar.

Judy Campbell says:

We were in some classes together, and had she remained in Richland beyond her sophomore year, she would have been in our 1961 graduating class. At the early age of sixteen, Sharon was a strikingly beautiful young woman. She was destined to have a future in films. No one ever expected her young life to end so tragically.

Irene Hays says:

She was in my grade during Junior High and High School. She was very pretty and sweet. People thought she was special even then.

Carol Jean Thompson adds:

I knew Sharon but was not one of her circle of friends. She was a strikingly beautiful girl, physically mature beyond her age. And not withstanding, a very nice person, well liked by her classmates. Sharon was of average intelligence and I believe susceptible to exploitation, which was probably happening while still in Richland. She was queen of "Atomic Frontier Days" or what is now known as the TriCity Waterfollies(the local community celebrations all towns have)at 15 or 16; too young for that sort of exposure. It has saddened me deeply that Sharon was so savagely killed and forever identified with such a violent crime.

I found a great old photo of Sharon during this period in her life. Sorry it is not better but it is improved from the Xerox copy I had by an artist who did the best she could with it. I hope you all enjoy it. As I reach more who knew Sharon I will continue to post it here.