The fifth woman to testify against music producer Phil Spector brought unexpected amusement to the law court as she reminisced about an Elmer Fudd-like episode with Spector.
Kathy Sullivan was a waitress at the time she met Spector. She told the Los Angeles hearing of an incident that occurred sometime in 1997 or 1998. She and her friend were at Spector’s Alhambra mansion when he escorted them out – with a firearm.
Sullivan said that when she asked the music producer why he was carrying the weapon, his answer was “Protection.” He came down the stairs and walked them to their car.
Sullivan testified that the situation amused her and that she considered it bizarre. She said Spector reminded her of Elmer Fudd, the cartoon character forever chasing Bugs Bunny and always sabotaging himself in the chase.
“It was the funniest picture in the whole wide world,” Sullivan said. She also added that Spector kept the “long” gun (a rifle or a shotgun) pointed to the ground and that she did not feel threatened or in danger during the episode.
“You just had to be there,” Sullivan told lawyers and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler. “I think he was wearing a plaid jacket. I remember thinking he looked like Elmer Fudd. The gun was bigger than he was. It was surreal. It was silly.”
Prosecutor Alan Jackson argued that Sullivan’s testimony showed Spector had firearms in his house.
The music producer’s attorneys expressed satisfaction with Sullivan’s testimony, because she portrayed Spector as an odd man, but not a dangerous one, like the previous witnesses had done.
Four other women have testified against Spector, describing him as a man who consumed alcohol excessively and who became aggressive, violent, towards them, when rejected.
Defense attorney Roger Rosen told the jury that his client had once been badly beaten in a hotel, hence his wish for armed “protection.”
The 67-year-old Phil Spector, legendary in the music industry, is accused of having murdered struggling actress Lana Turner, in February 2003, in his Alhambra mansion.
