Mobster Johnny Stompanato: dated Lana Turner in 1957... beat up by Sean Connery on set, and murdered by Lana Turner's daughter...
Johnny Stompanato was a former Marine who became associated with Los Angeles mobster Mickey Cohen. In 1957, he began a volatile relationship with Hollywood star Lana Turner, who later testified that Stompanato physically abused her and threatened her and her family.
During Turner's filming of Another Time, Another Place in Britain, Stompanato reportedly arrived on set and confronted her co-star Sean Connery. Accounts differ on exactly what happened, but Connery reportedly disarmed or physically overpowered Stompanato during the confrontation.
On April 4, 1958, Stompanato and Turner argued at her Beverly Hills home. Turner's 14-year-old daughter, Cheryl Crane, entered the room holding a kitchen knife and fatally stabbed Stompanato. Crane said she believed he was threatening to kill her mother.
A coroner's jury ruled the killing justifiable homicide, and Crane was not prosecuted for murder.
Stompanato's funeral was held in his hometown of Woodstock, Illinois. Mickey Cohen reportedly paid for the funeral and sent flowers bearing the message, "From your friends in Los Angeles."
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