John Carpenter

Background

He was born on an Indian reservation where as a teenager he often earned money as a migrant worker harvesting apricots.

Career

Carpenter was of Native American and Spanish heritage. Crane and Carpenter frequented bars together, picking up women and often recording their exploits in snapshots and on videotape. In 1994, Crane"s murder case was re-opened and Carpenter was tried and eventually acquitted.

As a result of the accusation, he was fired from work as National Service Manager at Kenwood United States of America, a California electronics firm.

He always maintained his innocence, and later said he felt a huge relief after his name had been cleared. One jury member later said in an interview that the jury believed there was insufficient proof to determine Carpenter"s guilt and that "you cannot prove someone guilty on speculation."

In the 2002 biopic Auto Focus, Carpenter was played by Willem Dafoe.

The film strongly suggests that Carpenter was bisexual and was sexually attracted to Crane, which was presented by the prosecution"s case as Carpenter"s motive for the crime. Number witnesses or evidence were presented to support the prosecution"s claims.

In the special features section of the Digital Video Disc, a documentary extra has Carpenter"s second wife adamantly asserting that Carpenter was completely heterosexual.

The film also portrays Carpenter as suffering from colorblindness.

Achievements

• Following his retirement from the Army he took a job marketing video technology, achieving expertise in that field and becoming head of the video wing of a new Japanese electronics company debuting in the United States of America called Sonycom, later to be known simply as Sony.

Connections

Friend:

Bob Crane