Sharon Marie Polanski's Memorial

Sharon Marie Polanski
(1943 - 1969)

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General Details

Name: Mrs Sharon Marie Polanski
Maiden Name: Tate
Gender: Female
Age: 26 years old
Lived: Sunday, 24 January 1943 - Saturday, 9 August 1969

My Story

Sharon Tate was the daughter of Army intelligence officer Paul and housewife Doris Willett. At the age of 6 months, she won the Miss Tiny Tot of Dallas beauty contest. She would go on to win the title of Miss Autorama, in Richland, Washington, appeared atop a missile for a cover of the military magazine "Stars and Stripes," and would be nominated homecoming queen of her high school, Vincenza American High School in Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. Her stunning, natural beauty caught the eye of actor Richard Beymer who put her in touch with his agent, Hal Gefsky. She appeared in a crowd scene in "Barabbas" and began doing bit parts in Italian films. She went to Los Angeles in the early-1960s and got parts in TV commercials. Prior to her movie career, she played bit parts in TV shows such as "The Beverly Hillbillies" (where she played the recurring role of secretary Janet Trego in a black wig), "Petticoat Junction," "Mr. Ed," and "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." among others. She costarred in the films "Eye of the Devil," (also billed as "13"), "Valley of the Dolls," "The Wrecking Crew," "Don't Make Waves," "The 13 Chairs" (also billed as "12+1") and "The Fearless Vampire Killers" (also known as "Dance of the Vampires"). She met celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring at a Hollywood party in 1964. Upon his divorce, conflicting accounts abound of whether Jay proposed to Sharon and others that state that Sharon wanted to get married and Jay was hesitant. The matter was decided when Sharon went to London to film "Dance of the Vampires" (released as "The Fearless Vampire Killers or Pardon Me But Your Teeth Are In My Neck" in the US) and fell for the movie's director, Roman Polanski. Instead of leading him on, Sharon phoned Jay to break up but, before he let her go, Jay wanted to meet Roman to make sure he was good enough for Sharon. After meeting him and being satisfied that he was indeed good enough for Sharon, Jay broke things off but remained within the couple's close circle of friends. According to Polanski's 1984 autobiography, "Roman," he proposed in a roundabout way to Sharon at dinner in early-January 1968 and she enthusiastically accepted. They were married on January 20, 1968 in London (with "Valley of the Dolls" co-star Barbara Perkins as Sharon's maid of honor). In early-1969, Sharon was overjoyed to learn she was pregnant and thought of nothing but the coming baby. During her pregnancy, she was reportedly very tired but never complained during the filming of her last movie, "The 13 Chairs" (released in the US as "12+1"). On the night of August 8, 1969, Jay took Sharon, Abigail Folger and Wojiech "Voytek" Frykowski to dinner at a Mexican restaurant, El Coyote. The four returned to Cielo Drive where Voytek slept on the living room couch, Abigail went to her bedroom to read a book, and Sharon and Jay retired to the master bedroom to talk. Sharon pleaded for the life of her baby more than for her own to no avail (she reportedly even wanted the killers to let her have her baby and then kill her). Her baby, a boy, was posthumously named Paul Richard Polanski by Roman - Paul for Sharon's father and Richard for Roman's father.

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Biography

Fathers Name: Paul James Tate
Mothers Name: Doris Gwendolyn Tate (nee Willet)
Spouse's Name: Rajmund "Roman" Thierry Polanski
Children's Names: Paul Richard Polanski (deceased)
Siblings Names: Debra Ann Tate, Patricia (Patti) Tate (deceased)
Country of Birth: USA
Country of Residence: USA
City of Residence: Dallas, Texas
Occupation: Other
Marital Status: Married
Religion: Catholic

Interests

Other Interests:
In high school, she was a cheerleader, baton twirler, star basketball player, and played Juliet in the school production of "Romeo and Juliet." She was also voted Homecoming Queen and Senior Prom Queen

Passing

Place of Passing: Beverly Hills, California, USA
Date of Passing: 9 August 1969
Cause of Passing: Homicide
Place of Burial: Holy Cross Cemetery
Funeral Location: Culver City, California.
Funeral Date: 13 August 1969
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