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Murder of Don Solovich

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Don L. Solovich
Born(1892-04-06)April 6, 1892
Topla, Castelnuovo, Cattaro, Dalmatia, Austria (now Herceg Novi, Montenegro
DiedJanuary 6, 1928(1928-01-06) (aged 35)
near Gunnison, Utah
Cause of deathMurdered with a hammer[1]
Body discovered6 Jan 1928 39°10′39″N 111°50′18″W / 39.1776°N 111.8383°W / 39.1776; -111.8383
Burial placeManti, Utah
39°16′35″N 111°38′02″W / 39.2765°N 111.6339°W / 39.2765; -111.6339
Other namesDusan Ljubo Sabovic
Occupation(s)Waiter, dancer, butler, actor
Employer(s)Charlie Chaplin, Lita Grey
OrganizationCharlie Chaplin Studios

Don L. Solovich (6 April 1892 – 6 January 1928) from Austria-Hungary was a gay man formerly employed by famed actor Charlie Chaplin who was murdered by his own chauffeur in 1928 in central Utah. The murder trial made international headlines.

Brief biography

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Don was born Danus Ljubo Sabovic in modern-day Montenegro to a Serbian-speaking family and moved to the United States at the age of 16.[2] He was 22 at the start of World War I, but was not drafted. He later adopted the Americanized stage name Don Solovich in Los Angeles (LA), by which he went for the rest of his life. In LA, he worked as a waiter, sometimes dressed in drag, and possessed hundreds of letters from a Tom Harrington, expressing "more than ordinary affection" to Don. These were discovered in his luggage, as reported after his death.[3][4] His murderer stated that Solovich said he "was a woman in nature" and dated men (same-sex sexual activity was illegal in California at the time[5]).[2][6][7] In 1923, Solovich was attacked and robbed of $80 USD (equivalent to $1,400 in 2023[8]) by Macon Irby in their hotel room. Irby used the gay panic defense to justify his violent act, but was convicted of two counts of robbery by a jury.[5]

Solovich also worked for Charlie Chaplin's film studio in Hollywood, performed as an opera ballet dancer, and acted as an extra in a few films.[2][9][4] He worked as a butler for actress Lita Grey and her actor husband Charlie Chaplin at the time. Grey and Chaplin's marriage later soured and they had highly publicized divorce proceedings finalized in August 1927. By then Solovich was boarding in the California house of the parents of Sheldon Reid Clark.

Solovich's employers were actors Lita Grey and Charlie Chaplin whose divorce a few months prior to the murder was a media sensation.

Sheldon Clark

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In 1927, Clark was 22, was from a small city of Manti, Utah (population 2,200 in 1930),[10] and was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (baptized July 20, 1915 and listed in the Emery, Utah LDS Ward in 1914).[11][12] He aspired to be an actor in Hollywood.[13]

Before the murder

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A witness stated Solovich had told him days before his murder that Clark's brother Melvin had stolen a large sum of money from Solovich.[7] Don's killer alleged that Chaplin owed a large sum of money to an employee of Chaplin.[4][7] The convicted killer also alleged Chaplin was upset with Solovich as Don may have had some blackmail material on him that his ex-partner Grey could have used as leverage during the divorce.[14][7][4] Clark alleged Solovich had recently received thousands of dollars in cash from Chaplin over the divorce,[13] and further alleged that Solovich and Chaplin were lovers.[6] A prosecution attorney stated a source had told them Solovich feared for his safety in LA and decided to leave.[15][4] and hired Sheldon to drive him and a large amount of luggage to Utah. An article reported that Lita Grey said Solovich had blackmailed her.[4] A shopkeeper couple in Los Angeles County accused Solovich and Clark of holding them up a few days before the murder and stealing $2000 worth of jewelry (equivalent to $35,000 in 2023[8]).[16]

The murder

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In central Utah on the side of the snowy January road Clark (22) struck Solovich (35) three times in the face and three times on the back of the head with a hammer.[1][4] He then took Don's car and thousands of dollars of possessions and dragged his body over to a ditch and drove to Salt Lake City.[4][17] The prosecution stated that papers that may have been divorce depositions for the Chaplin divorce disappeared along with a ring, and that Clark killed Solovich for a $5000 diamond ring, $2000 vehicle, $2000 cash.[13][3][15] Together the ring, car, and cash would be worth equivalent to $158,000 in 2023.[8] Solovich was still breathing when found, but died before reaching medical care.

The trial

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Clark was sentenced to a few years in prison for aggravated manslaughter by a jury of people from the town where he went to high school.[7] The judge reported he believed Clark should have been found guilty of the more serious conviction of first-degree murder.[17] Clark alleged that he struck Solovich multiple times because Solovich became abusive and attacked him. The trial received sensational national headlines, and one in Australia.[14] Clark stated that Solovich had told him he was related to French royalty and would inherit a large sum of money.[15][4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Sheldon Reed Clark Gets Manslaughter Verdict". Gunnison Valley News. Gunnison, Utah. June 14, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved May 26, 2023 – via University of Utah.
  2. ^ a b c Sabovic, Zoran Durov (2007). Мојдеж-Прилози за хронику села и [Mojdež City [Montenegro] History and Genealogies] (PDF) (in Serbian). Belgrade, Serbia: The Society of Serbian Genealogists "Poreklo". p. 664. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 23, 2023 – via Internet Archive. ["Born in Topla. At the age of sixteen, he left for America, as well as a good part of the young men of that time, so that he would not have serve in the Austro-Hungarian army and fight against fellow Serbs. Dušan arrived in America on April 24, 1907, coming from the Belgian port of Antwerp. His life path led to Hollywood. ... He worked for Charlie Chaplin Studios first as a butler and then, when Charlie Chaplin got married, he also became an actor. In the golden age of Hollywood (silent film era) he was in 12 films. He lived in the house of the Chaplin couple. He was killed [around] Christmas Day 1928 near Gunnison (in the state of Utah). ... He did not marry. He stated he was from Boka, Serbia. Newspaper records from January 7-May 10, 1928 show the murder was a Hollywood sensation, and still remains a mysterious murder. ... Dušan's screen name was Don Solovich. On a photo of Dušan in Hollywood a colleague wrote "Don L. Sabovich of Serbia".]
  3. ^ a b "Movie Murder to Trial Today". Arkansas Gazette. Little Rock, Arkansas. New York Times and Chicago Tribune. May 21, 1928. p. 5 – via FamilySearch.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "What Was Justice: The Strange Killing of Don Solovich, Known as Hollywood's Mystery Man". New York Daily News. New York City. October 21, 1928. pp. 46–47 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Hurewitz, Daniel (April 30, 2008). Bohemian Los Angeles: And the Making of Modern Politics. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. pp. 66–72. ISBN 978-0-520-25623-1 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b "Sheldon Clark Murder Trial may be Concluded Tonight". Gunnison Valley News. Gunnison, Utah. June 7, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved May 26, 2023 – via University of Utah.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Testimony Completed, Jury To Get Clark Case Tomorrow". Manti Messenger. Manti, Utah. June 8, 1928. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved May 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b c 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  9. ^ "No New Evidence Received in Utah on Solovich Case". Salt Lake Telegram. Salt Lake City. May 8, 1928. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023 – via University of Utah. ... Solovich, former Hollywood film extra ....
  10. ^ Truesdell, Leon E., ed. (1931). "Population–Utah" (PDF). Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930; Population Volume 1: Number and Distribution of Inhabitants. Vol. 1. Washington D.C.: US Department of Commerce. p. 1102. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  11. ^ "Entry for Franklin D Clark" (1914). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Church Census Records (Worldwide), 1914-1960. FamilySearch. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Sheldon Reid Clark: Ordinances". FamilySearch. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c "Clark Must Serve Prison Sentence: Slayer of Chaplin's Butler Guilty of Manslaughter" (PDF). New Britain Daily Herald. New Britain, Connecticut. June 12, 1928. p. 5. Retrieved May 26, 2023 – via Chronicling America.
  14. ^ a b "News From American Files". Richmond River Herald And Northern Districts Advertiser. Coraki, New South Wales, Australia. August 24, 1928 – via NewspaperArchive.
  15. ^ a b c "Sensational Evidence Promised in Solovich Murder Trial: Attorney Hints at Revelations". Los Angeles Times. May 7, 1928. p. 18. Retrieved May 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "California Records of Men Being Checked". Gunnison Valley News. Gunnison, Utah. January 12, 1928. p. 8. Retrieved May 26, 2023 – via University of Utah.
  17. ^ a b "State Rests Case, Defense Outlined". Manti Messenger. Manti, Utah. June 1, 1928 – via Newspapers.com.
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