George Spahn

Who was George Spahn?

George Spahn was a rancher who once owned the Spahn Ranch near Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California. Spahn rented the ranch to the movie industry to film Westerns. At the ranch, he housed Charles Manson and his followers. The 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others by Manson and his devotees were hatched at the Spahn Ranch. Manson persuaded Spahn to permit "the Family" to live at his ranch. Spahn nicknamed all the Manson girls—Squeaky, Sadie Mae, Ouisch, etc. Spahn died September 22, 1974.

His name is associated with a grisly set of murders, due to his tolerance of the Manson group's stay on his property. According to Manson Family member Paul Watkins, notorious Mansonite Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme got her nickname because of the sound she made when Spahn ran his hand up her thigh. Family member Charles Watson has written that his own nickname, "Tex," was given to him by Spahn, who recognized his Texas accent.

George lived five years after the murders. He was married to a woman named Martha Greenholts, and lived in North Hollywood. He was eventually admitted to the Sherwood Convalescent Hospital in Van Nuys, where he died on September 22, 1974, at the age of 85.