You must remember

remember what kids is just a key.

The size of the key. Welcome to another episode of You Must Remember This, the podcast dedicated to exploring the secret and or forgotten

histories of Hollywood's first century, part of the Panoply Network.

I'm your host, Karina Longworth.

And this is part two of our ongoing series,

Charles Manson's Hollywood. And today's story begins on a summer day way back in 1968.

Catherine Cher was 26 years old on the summer day when a guy in a cowboy hat drove up to the house

where she was crashing in a beat-up Chevrolet and invited her to go swimming. She

got in the car with him and there were two girls in there already, a redhead who everyone called

squeaky and a gorgeous teenager who everyone called Weish.

The girls didn't say anything. He was clear the guy in the cowboy hat's mere presence,

precluded speech. They drove up to Pacific Palisades and stopped in front of a mansion made to look like a fancy log cabin.

The cowboy turned to Catherine. He said,

This is your dream, isn't it, girl?

And then he looked her straight in the eyes and added,

Start living it.

It was only later, once they were on the grounds of the house,

surrounded by peacocks and wild foliage and topless girls dancing to

magical mystery tour, that the cowboy, now wearing a silk kimono unwrapped

over his bare chest and a pair of silk lounging pants, introduced himself.

Hello, I'm Charlie Manatin.

...