My Uncle and Charles Manson

tempo_n_groove

My Uncle, Richard Rubacher was a pen pal with Charles Manson for a while.  He has a stack of letters from him but not sure if he visited him.

My uncle was a different kind of person.  He almost died becoming a "breatharian".  This was a thing for a while and it fascinated my uncle.  i would tell him that he was the dumbest smart person that I ever met.  That is for another story.

This was from my Uncle and the conversations I had with him.  He thought Manson was interesting so he decided to write him a letter in prison.  My uncle was highly intelligent and could always write.  Charlie liked that.

So my uncle and Charlie wrote back and forth.  My uncle eventually had enough and broke it off.  He said that Charlie was a braggart and a show off and just got tired of it because he was starting to threaten him.

You can find my uncle's recollection of this in a book called Blood Letters and some television series he did in San Francisco.  He even did a play about him.  Not sure if you will find any of this out there in the world anymore, it was 20 years ago?  I may be able to find the book in my place somewhere.

So What else he told me:

One day there was a young gal on my uncles steps in San Francisco.  Confused he asked "Can I help you"!?!
"I'm here for you, a gift"
My Uncle replied "Excuse me"?!?
"Yes I am a gift from Charlie.  He sent me for you.  I'm yours to do what you like with".
My uncle sent her on her way.  Apparently Charlie took a liking to my uncle and wanted to show this.

Another time there was a man following my uncle around.  My uncle approached the man asking what the deal was and he replied "Charlie sent me to watch over you".  Charles Manson had sent a bodyguard to watch over my uncle, lol.

When the relationship turned sour and the letters stopped coming my uncle came home to a large individual sitting at his kitchen table and you guessed it, Charlie sent him.  My uncle came up with some quick gab and talked his way out of getting his ass either kicked in or killed.  The man left without harming my uncle.

My uncle said that Charles was trying to manipulate him in a way and he was having none of it.  He would also say that at first he was enamored by him but that would eventually wear off.

My uncle is deceased now and I had begged him for the stack of letters he had but wouldn't give them up.  Who knows where they are?  He ended up living in Thailand so I am sure they are out there somewhere.

Oh well.

PJPOWER

That’s a crazy story!  I have always wondered how many Manson followers are still out there as cults never really just “go away”.  The fact that he still had people willing to do his bidding on the outside like that is a bit frightening.  

Gern Blansten

wow...amazing story!  That dude was something else.

tempo_n_groove

PJPOWER said:

That’s a crazy story!  I have always wondered how many Manson followers are still out there as cults never really just “go away”.  The fact that he still had people willing to do his bidding on the outside like that is a bit frightening.  

Gern Blansten said:

wow...amazing story!  That dude was something else.

I always wondered how Manson got those people to come to my uncle without the cops following up or noticing?  I thought all his mail and phone calls were monitored.  I know he was really smart so who knows.  I always wondered about that though.

hedonist

Damn, I just read up on breatharianism. Yikes!

I remember reading Helter Skelter as a kid, fascinated by the Hollywood ties and sheer brutality. And Steve Railsback, the dude who played him in the movie, nailed those maniacal eyes.

I can only imagine him as lucid but mad. Belied his little stature. Those letters must be a fascinating read, assuming they’re still out there somewhere. 

Halifax2TheMax

That’s just crazy, crazy. Oh to read those letters that your uncle had. I can’t begin to imagine what they may have discussed.

dankind

tempo_n_groove said:

PJPOWER said:

That’s a crazy story!  I have always wondered how many Manson followers are still out there as cults never really just “go away”.  The fact that he still had people willing to do his bidding on the outside like that is a bit frightening.  

Gern Blansten said:

wow...amazing story!  That dude was something else.

I always wondered how Manson got those people to come to my uncle without the cops following up or noticing?  I thought all his mail and phone calls were monitored.  I know he was really smart so who knows.  I always wondered about that though.

Well, the most rational conclusion would be that the cops in charge of monitoring his communications were either complicit or part of his cult.

Past is prologue.

HughFreakingDillon

tempo_n_groove said:

PJPOWER said:

That’s a crazy story!  I have always wondered how many Manson followers are still out there as cults never really just “go away”.  The fact that he still had people willing to do his bidding on the outside like that is a bit frightening.  

Gern Blansten said:

wow...amazing story!  That dude was something else.

I always wondered how Manson got those people to come to my uncle without the cops following up or noticing?  I thought all his mail and phone calls were monitored.  I know he was really smart so who knows.  I always wondered about that though.

probably had inmates that he also manipulated into contacting people for him. 

tempo_n_groove

hedonist said:

Damn, I just read up on breatharianism. Yikes!

I remember reading Helter Skelter as a kid, fascinated by the Hollywood ties and sheer brutality. And Steve Railsback, the dude who played him in the movie, nailed those maniacal eyes.

I can only imagine him as lucid but mad. Belied his little stature. Those letters must be a fascinating read, assuming they’re still out there somewhere. 

Halifax2TheMax said:

That’s just crazy, crazy. Oh to read those letters that your uncle had. I can’t begin to imagine what they may have discussed.

He was supposed to send me photocopies of them at least but I never pushed the issue thinking he would be around for a while...

I will ask the family if anyone has them(photo copies).  If they do I'd share them w everyone.

HughFreakingDillon

tempo_n_groove said:

My Uncle, Richard Rubacher was a pen pal with Charles Manson for a while.  He has a stack of letters from him but not sure if he visited him.

My uncle was a different kind of person.  He almost died becoming a "breatharian".  This was a thing for a while and it fascinated my uncle.  i would tell him that he was the dumbest smart person that I ever met.  That is for another story.

This was from my Uncle and the conversations I had with him.  He thought Manson was interesting so he decided to write him a letter in prison.  My uncle was highly intelligent and could always write.  Charlie liked that.

So my uncle and Charlie wrote back and forth.  My uncle eventually had enough and broke it off.  He said that Charlie was a braggart and a show off and just got tired of it because he was starting to threaten him.

You can find my uncle's recollection of this in a book called Blood Letters and some television series he did in San Francisco.  He even did a play about him.  Not sure if you will find any of this out there in the world anymore, it was 20 years ago?  I may be able to find the book in my place somewhere.

So What else he told me:

One day there was a young gal on my uncles steps in San Francisco.  Confused he asked "Can I help you"!?!
"I'm here for you, a gift"
My Uncle replied "Excuse me"?!?
"Yes I am a gift from Charlie.  He sent me for you.  I'm yours to do what you like with".
My uncle sent her on her way.  Apparently Charlie took a liking to my uncle and wanted to show this.

Another time there was a man following my uncle around.  My uncle approached the man asking what the deal was and he replied "Charlie sent me to watch over you".  Charles Manson had sent a bodyguard to watch over my uncle, lol.

When the relationship turned sour and the letters stopped coming my uncle came home to a large individual sitting at his kitchen table and you guessed it, Charlie sent him.  My uncle came up with some quick gab and talked his way out of getting his ass either kicked in or killed.  The man left without harming my uncle.

My uncle said that Charles was trying to manipulate him in a way and he was having none of it.  He would also say that at first he was enamored by him but that would eventually wear off.

My uncle is deceased now and I had begged him for the stack of letters he had but wouldn't give them up.  Who knows where they are?  He ended up living in Thailand so I am sure they are out there somewhere.

Oh well.

man, if only I'd written Chuck when I was in my 20's. 

Halifax2TheMax

tempo_n_groove said:

hedonist said:

Damn, I just read up on breatharianism. Yikes!

I remember reading Helter Skelter as a kid, fascinated by the Hollywood ties and sheer brutality. And Steve Railsback, the dude who played him in the movie, nailed those maniacal eyes.

I can only imagine him as lucid but mad. Belied his little stature. Those letters must be a fascinating read, assuming they’re still out there somewhere. 

Halifax2TheMax said:

That’s just crazy, crazy. Oh to read those letters that your uncle had. I can’t begin to imagine what they may have discussed.

He was supposed to send me photocopies of them at least but I never pushed the issue thinking he would be around for a while...

I will ask the family if anyone has them(photo copies).  If they do I'd share them w everyone.

That’d be awesome but scary too. There was a reason Charlie was in solitary all those years.

Gern Blansten

hedonist said:

Damn, I just read up on breatharianism. Yikes!

I remember reading Helter Skelter as a kid, fascinated by the Hollywood ties and sheer brutality. And Steve Railsback, the dude who played him in the movie, nailed those maniacal eyes.

I can only imagine him as lucid but mad. Belied his little stature. Those letters must be a fascinating read, assuming they’re still out there somewhere. 

Yeah I remember being terrified of the Beatles a bit after learning that was one of their songs. I likely thought the song was about murder or something.

When I learned that a helter skelter was a curly slide it put things in better perspective.

Gern Blansten

HughFreakingDillon said:

tempo_n_groove said:

PJPOWER said:

That’s a crazy story!  I have always wondered how many Manson followers are still out there as cults never really just “go away”.  The fact that he still had people willing to do his bidding on the outside like that is a bit frightening.  

Gern Blansten said:

wow...amazing story!  That dude was something else.

I always wondered how Manson got those people to come to my uncle without the cops following up or noticing?  I thought all his mail and phone calls were monitored.  I know he was really smart so who knows.  I always wondered about that though.

probably had inmates that he also manipulated into contacting people for him. 

yeah...either messages sent through prison buddies or maybe actual visitors to Charlie

tempo_n_groove

On another note my uncle was interviewed on the Howard Stern show about another book he wrote.  I remember them playing a cookoo clock in the background when he was speaking, lol.

OnWis97

Wow.  Just...wow.

Did he ever consider moving? (Or did he and Manson and/or his people tracked him down, anyway?)

tempo_n_groove

OnWis97 said:

Wow.  Just...wow.

Did he ever consider moving? (Or did he and Manson and/or his people tracked him down, anyway?)

So I do remember my uncle telling me this, he did not want Manson to think he was scared of him.  If he did then he won, hence why he never moved.

brianlux

Yikes! Fascinating story! 

I know a PhD psychologist who once told me she occasionally visited a well known killer who was incarcerated in San Quentin (perhaps for research? Not sure.)  I never asked her if it was Manson.  Really didn't want to know if it was him, and didn't want to know anything about the man.

FiveBelow

I remember being worried every time he was up for parole when I was young. Probably had something to do with growing up in the America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries era. He was a very interesting man to say the least, sounds like your uncle was as well.

mace1229

Would be great to find the letters and read through everything. Did your uncle have any kids he would have left everything to?

Gern Blansten

JW269453 said:

I remember being worried every time he was up for parole when I was young. Probably had something to do with growing up in the America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries era. He was a very interesting man to say the least, sounds like your uncle was as well.

LOL....me too!

tempo_n_groove

mace1229 said:

Would be great to find the letters and read through everything. Did your uncle have any kids he would have left everything to?

No kids, hence why I asked for them.  He had a buddy whom he made a deal w and whomever died first they got each others stuff.  I have no idea who the person is or I Would have contacted him.

mace1229

tempo_n_groove said:

mace1229 said:

Would be great to find the letters and read through everything. Did your uncle have any kids he would have left everything to?

No kids, hence why I asked for them.  He had a buddy whom he made a deal w and whomever died first they got each others stuff.  I have no idea who the person is or I Would have contacted him.

Sounds like a deal some people should make around here. My wife and kids have no interest in my posters and vinyl. 

jerparker20

Pretty wild! I’ve found that whole Manson/Mindhunter stuff to be really interesting. Especially the Manson cult and its relationship to the era it occurred in.

For a few years I worked closely with people who were either getting ready to be released, or who had been recently released from correctional facilities here in MN. Repeat sex offenders, murder one convictions, theft,  you name it. In all the dealings, I only met one person who made me very, very uncomfortable.  A textbook sociopath. Even the others in my program, hard guys, didn’t want to be around this guy. He’s now serving life in a federal prison for interstate kidnapping and attempted murder of a US Marshall.

tempo_n_groove

jerparker20 said:

Pretty wild! I’ve found that whole Manson/Mindhunter stuff to be really interesting. Especially the Manson cult and its relationship to the era it occurred in.

For a few years I worked closely with people who were either getting ready to be released, or who had been recently released from correctional facilities here in MN. Repeat sex offenders, murder one convictions, theft,  you name it. In all the dealings, I only met one person who made me very, very uncomfortable.  A textbook sociopath. Even the others in my program, hard guys, didn’t want to be around this guy. He’s now serving life in a federal prison for interstate kidnapping and attempted murder of a US Marshall.

Buddy of mine was the psychologist for Angola state prison.  That man has some stories.  He is a God fearing man and claimed that some people behind those walls "were not fit to breathe air"...

gimmesometruth27

that is a pretty awesome story.

i was thinking "how did charlie know where he lived to keep sending people to his home??"

then i remembered they were sharing letters, so of course he had his address, lol

sorry, long week for me.

hopefully the letters can be found.

Halifax2TheMax

gimmesometruth27 said:

that is a pretty awesome story.

i was thinking "how did charlie know where he lived to keep sending people to his home??"

then i remembered they were sharing letters, so of course he had his address, lol

sorry, long week for me.

hopefully the letters can be found.

Just a long week for you? It’s been a long year and two weeks into January feels like 2 years.

HughFreakingDillon

gimmesometruth27 said:

that is a pretty awesome story.

i was thinking "how did charlie know where he lived to keep sending people to his home??"

then i remembered they were sharing letters, so of course he had his address, lol

sorry, long week for me.

hopefully the letters can be found.

i'd be pretty apprehensive about giving my address to a fucking cult leader. 

tempo_n_groove

HughFreakingDillon said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

that is a pretty awesome story.

i was thinking "how did charlie know where he lived to keep sending people to his home??"

then i remembered they were sharing letters, so of course he had his address, lol

sorry, long week for me.

hopefully the letters can be found.

i'd be pretty apprehensive about giving my address to a fucking cult leader. 

After that story about you and the guy from the record store I would get a damn PO box!

HughFreakingDillon

tempo_n_groove said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

that is a pretty awesome story.

i was thinking "how did charlie know where he lived to keep sending people to his home??"

then i remembered they were sharing letters, so of course he had his address, lol

sorry, long week for me.

hopefully the letters can be found.

i'd be pretty apprehensive about giving my address to a fucking cult leader. 

After that story about you and the guy from the record store I would get a damn PO box!

totally! 

cblock4life

jerparker20 said:

Pretty wild! I’ve found that whole Manson/Mindhunter stuff to be really interesting. Especially the Manson cult and its relationship to the era it occurred in.

For a few years I worked closely with people who were either getting ready to be released, or who had been recently released from correctional facilities here in MN. Repeat sex offenders, murder one convictions, theft,  you name it. In all the dealings, I only met one person who made me very, very uncomfortable.  A textbook sociopath. Even the others in my program, hard guys, didn’t want to be around this guy. He’s now serving life in a federal prison for interstate kidnapping and attempted murder of a US Marshall.

My husband watched Gary Heidnik for a long time. Also guarded the Narducci  brothers and some high level Muslims as well. He said Heidnik was the most deranged he ever worked around. Said  you could see the insanity in his eyes. 

josevolution

Damn interesting stuff! I hope the letters see daylight sometime!!