#277: To Know Him Is To Love Him - Phil Spector's Greatest Hits - Number 4

In 1982, after having several dinners with Phil Spector and others at La Maganet in Beverly Hills, Dianne Ogden agreed to have dinner alone with Spector there one evening at about 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. During dinner, Spector drank alcohol. Ogden then agreed to see Spector’s home in Beverly Hills.

Ogden and Spector went inside his house.  After talking and seeing Spector’s house, Ogden told him that she needed to go home and had to work the next day. Spector did not want her to go home.   He “disappeared”––ran off and left Ogden alone.  Ogden got ready to leave and put her purse over her shoulder.  She heard a buzz; Spector had locked the door on her. She pleaded with Spector to go home. She had never seen Spector act this way before. She was worried but also considered that she had known him for a few months and thought that he was just playing with his door and his buzzer. She begged Spector a couple more times. After 30 minutes, Spector finally unlocked the door, and Ogden left.

From that time in 1982, until 1988, Spector and Ogden kept in touch. Spector would send Ogden birthday messages and was sweet, kind, and considerate.   In 1988, between jobs, Ogden accepted Spector’s offer to be his paid assistant.

In March 1989, Ogden went to Spector’s party in Pasadena.  Spector drank alcohol at the party.  At about midnight, when people were leaving, Ogden told Spector that she was going to go home. Spector did not want her to leave yet.  He went away and left Ogden alone.  She put her purse on her arm. Spector went over to Ogden, placed a rifle on her right side, and screamed at her, “You’re not fucking leaving.” Ogden felt that this was “not my Phil” and “not the man I loved.” They had been good friends for eight years.

Ogden sat down and said, “Please don’t do that.” Spector pointed a pistol at Ogden “all over” her, repeatedly touching the right side of Ogden’s face with the gun. Spector screamed at her, over and over again telling her that he was going to “blow [her] brains out.” Spector screamed “the ‘F’ word” and “bitch.” Ogden pleaded with Spector to let her go home and put the gun down, but he refused. She thought that Spector was going to kill her.

While pointing the gun at Ogden, Spector demanded that she go upstairs to his bedroom. She went upstairs to Spector’s bedroom while he walked behind her. At gunpoint, Spector had her take off some of her clothes and tried to have intercourse with her; he “wanted to rape” her.  Ogden found it “icky because it wasn’t him.” She spent the night in Spector’s bed but did not want to be there.

A week or two later, Ogden received telephone messages from Spector, none of which made any reference to the events of that night.  She tried to rationalize what had happened. A few months after the incident, Ogden forgave Spector and saw him again at his Pasadena house with his music publisher, Alan Klein, and his son Jody, whom Ogden knew.  After the Kleins left, Ogden started to leave.  Once again, Spector went away and left her alone.  From behind Ogden, Spector screamed, “You’re not going anywhere. I can’t stand the sound of your voice.” Spector said, “I  have an Uzi here. I am going to kill you.” Ogden said, “What are you talking about?” Spector was holding an Uzi in his hand. Ogden said, “Phillip, stop it. I am just going to go home and don’t do this to me again. Please.  You’re drinking too much. Just go back in the house.” Spector said, “No.” Ogden ran toward her car. Spector ran after her while holding his Uzi. She got into her car and started it up with the window closed. Spector banged the Uzi on her window while yelling. Ogden escaped by driving away fast, ducking because she thought he was going to shoot through her back window, while hoping her car would not hit a tree.