I've been kinda lax about the
noir, so I hope the Heideman case hasn't come up before. I did search.
In 1955 Leonard Heideman, 27, an up-and-coming television writer ("Lassie", "Have Gun - Will Travel", "Bonanza", etc), married school teacher Dolores ("Dorrit") Hearn, 24.
Dorrit looks a little apprehensive, as well she might:
classic tv history(detail)
By 1963, the Heideman's were leading a comfortable life with their two boys, Richard (born 1957) and Kenneth, a year younger. Their $50,000 home in Tarzana was the picture of American-Dream normalcy. However, Leonard suffered from mental problems. He sought, and received, treatment from three different doctors. Dorrit was patient and kind, nursing her husband through the bad days and worse nights.
In early February Leonard was bitten on the face by the expensive dog, a Basenji, he'd bought for his sons.
Then, during the early morning hours of February 23, 1963, Leonard was awoken by bad dreams (a symptom of his mental illness). Dorrit tried to help but an argument ensued. As Leonard turned violent (not for the first time) Dorrit tried to escape the house, but Leonard pulled her back in and stabbed her through the heart with a pair of kitchen shears. He also stabbed her with a butcher knife (until it broke), a steak knife (until it bent) and a kitchen chopper. Dorrit's heart was pierced seven times. There were many other wounds.
Dorrit's screams had awoken her sons. The older one ran outside after surveying the scene (the four-year old cowered in his room). The neighbors called the police in response to the commotion.
The blood-covered, naked husband was taken into custody. Because he told officers he'd ingested some pills, he was taken to have his stomach pumped before being booked.
“I lost my head,” Heideman told his interrogators. “I went out of my mind. If only I could turn back the clock."
Dorrit's body, the shears still protruding from her chest, is removed from the home. The family Basenji looks on:
lapl
The home (including the front walkway), has not changed. 5060 Shirley Ave, Tarzana:
gsv
The boys are taken away. They were adopted by their maternal grandparents and raised in the east:
lapl
Leonard in the clink:
lapl
Leonard was judged to be unfit to stand trial, by reason of insanity, and sent to
Atascadero State Hospital for the criminally insane.
Fourteen months later he was pronounced cured and released by the court.
Heideman went back to his career without noticeable difficulty ("Mission: Impossible", "Dynasty", "Murder, She Wrote", etc).
He wrote a book about his case, "By Reason of Insanity". It was published in 1966.
By 1967 he'd changed his name to Laurence Heath for his writing credits (he soon after changed it legally).
"How does a man kill his wife, avoid criminal punishment, and go on to become the primary creative force behind some of the most popular entertainment on television? In some fields, Laurence Heath’s backstory would make a person unemployable. In Hollywood, it was just another good story."
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classic tv history
Also in 1967, Heideman/Heath married again. His bride was 24, he was 39. They had two children, making their home at 151 Tigertail Road, before divorcing in 1974. His ex didn't want custody of his children.
151 Tigertail Rd, also a former home of Marlon Brando and Anna Kashfi:
gsv
Showing a fellow dubious character around the "Mission: Impossible" sets at Paramount, 1971:
classic tv history
Heath married his pregnant mistress in 1975. He was 47, she was 24 (I'm detecting a pattern here).
After a 1991 mental breakdown and hospitalization, Heath's third marriage ended.
In 1992 he saw his sons from his first marriage for the first time since their mother's murder.
Anyway, this was the very short version of the case of Leonard Heideman/Laurence Heath. A very well-written and gripping account may be found on the
Classic TV History website , including many more details and the somewhat surprising denouement of Heath's life.
Leonard Heideman/Laurence Heath IMDB page