10 Strangest Celebrity Connections to Serial Killers

10 Strangest Celebrity Connections to Serial Killers

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re discussing the weird, twisted, and incredibly random connections between notorious serial killers and beloved celebrities.

Dick Van Dyke & Randall Woodfield

Once his nascent career as an NFL player ended due to his erratic and violent behavior, Randall Woodfield began a crime spree that ended with his 1981 arrest. Although he was later convicted for only one of his crimes, he is linked to a series of murders, assaults, and robberies that occurred along Interstate 5 in both Oregon and California. The prosecutor in his case was Marion County District Attorney Chris Van Dyke. He was the son of none other than Dick Van Dyke of film and TV fame. Beloved for his boundless energy and charisma, it’s hard to imagine that his son was the one responsible for trying the case against such a brutal and merciless figure.

Debbie Harry & Ted Bundy

In the early 1970s, the punk band Blondie was years away from success. Frontwoman Debbie Harry was eking out a living as a singer in the mean streets of New York when she couldn’t hail a cab. A handsome man in a beat-up, stripped-out picked her up. Immediately, she realized something was wrong. She made a daring escape from his moving car, but didn’t put together that it was Bundy until after his execution nearly two decades later. Although people familiar with the case don’t doubt Harry’s story, there’s skepticism that the man was actually Bundy. Due to Bundy’s inconsistent narration of his own life, it’s possible if not likely. However, a similar-looking man with a similar M.O. might be just as terrifying.

Bryan Cranston & Clifton Bloomfield

The award-winning star of “Breaking Bad” and “Malcolm in the Middle” has had not one but two brushes with notorious serial killers. He’s one of the many celebrities who came into brief contact with Charles Manson in the 60s. While he actually saw Manson during a horse-riding session at Manson’s Spahn Ranch compound in 1968, his link to an infamous New Mexico background actor isn’t quite as straightforward. Clifton Bloomfield murdered five people between 2005 and 2008. Between his crimes, he booked some extra roles, claiming that one of his last jobs was as an extra on “Breaking Bad.” Although it’s never been corroborated, it did put Cranston’s serial killer connection count at two, which is still kind of a lot.

Matthew McConaughey & Edward Harold Bell

In a way, the “Dazed and Confused” star is partially responsible for apprehending a notorious murderer. Every week for over a decade, America sat down to watch “Unsolved Mysteries” hosted by Robert Stack. The show presented dramatizations of real unsolved cases. In 1992, many got their first look at Matthew McConaughey. In his first screen role, he played Larry Dickens, one of the last victims of serial killer and predator Edward Harold Bell. After the episode aired, Bell was apprehended when a viewer recognized him and called in a tip. Bell’s self-confessed long and horrible criminal history came to an end with his 1993 conviction. Bell died in prison in 2019.

Peter Lorre & the Hillside Strangler

The famed German actor saved his daughter’s life from beyond the grave. The actor had passed away over a decade before his daughter’s 1977 run-in with the Hillside Strangler. The Strangler was actually two men, cousins Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono Jr. Their habit of posing as police officers and asking for their next victim’s ID turned out to be Catharine Lorre Baker’s salvation. Recognizing her surname, they realized she was the daughter of famed German actor Peter Lorre. Both were fans of his work. They also were aware that a victim being a celebrity’s child would draw too much media attention and so they let her go. She was none the wiser until Bianchi and Buono’s arrest nearly two years later.

Lisa Rinna & the Trailside Killer

She’s a soap opera star, a Real Housewife, and a “Traitor.” Lisa Rinna’s memoir was sure to be full of juicy stories. But one such story readers probably didn’t expect was the harrowing account of her mother’s escape from a predator and serial killer. Lois DeAndrade was David Carpenter’s co-worker and when he asked to drive her home, she reluctantly agreed. Only the intervention of a military policeman saved her. Despite being convicted for the attack, he was out of prison by 1969. Carpenter added to his predatory crimes by beginning a murder spree. He was convicted for the last time in 1988.

Ashton Kutcher & Michael Gargiulo

In 2019, the long-awaited trial of the “Hollywood Ripper” began. One of the witnesses was a famous face who had unknowingly crossed paths with him 18 years before. In 2001, Ashton Kutcher arrived at the home of Ashley Ellerin for a date. Unfortunately, he was several hours late. When Ellerin never answered the door, he figured she was angry and had left. Kutcher learned of her murder the next day and contacted homicide detectives. Years later, he was put on the stand as a witness. Michael Gargiulo was arrested as early as 2008, but it took years to put the case together to convict him. He was convicted and received a death sentence after his 2019 trial.

Sean Penn & Richard Ramirez

Between 1984 and 1985, the Los Angeles metro area was in the throes of fear over the violent Night Stalker murders. Richard Ramirez was finally apprehended in August 1985. In 2015, Sean Penn claimed that during a month-long jail term in 1987, he was in a cell close to Ramirez. Learning that Ramirez wanted his autograph, Penn says he accepted a note from the murderer only to write back exactly what he thought of the Night Stalker and his crimes. Telling the story to Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and TV, he revealed that the note, his only proof of the interaction, was lost in a fire at his home in 2007.

Burt Reynolds & Vaughn Greenwood

In 1975, the Skid Row Slasher had reportedly been in the neighbourhood of prolific actor Burt Reynolds and randomly decided to pay him a visit. Reynolds was out with friend Dinah Shore at the time. When he returned, the murderer was standing with a machete wearing Reynolds’ clothes. He left, having attacked Reynolds’ neighbors, killing one. The police were able to identify Vaughn Greenwood as the Skid Row Slasher based on items left on the hill near his house. Retelling the story to longtime friend Dinah Shore, he tells her that if he hadn’t been with her the night of the murder, he might have been another of Greenwood’s victims himself.

Angela Lansbury & Charles Manson

1960s Hollywood was a mix of old and new, hippies and established stars, and aspiring musician Charles Manson was trying to break in. Record producer Terry Melcher, actress Candice Bergen, Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, and Danny Trejo all had run-ins with him. But the wildest Manson connection may be the legendary Angela Lansbury. The future “Murder, She Wrote” star noticed her young daughter, Deidre, was hanging around some odd young delinquents. Fearing the worst, she and husband Peter Shaw packed up the family and moved to Ireland. That was a prescient decision. Deidre and her friends were in the orbit of Charles Manson. About two years later, the so-called “Family” committed the heinous Tate-Labianca murders.

Which of these killer connections had you never heard before? Tell us in the comments.