Dawn & Sharon Talk About John Holmes’ Abuse
In the second part of this NY Times article from right before the film release in 2003, we see Dawn and Sharon talking about John’s abuse, more than anything. There are lots of good quotes that I had not read in the past. For instance, when Dawn returned from overseas in 1988 and wanted to visit a sick John in the hospital with AIDS… Sharon told her, “He’s not worth it”. Karma’s a bitch, because if I remember correctly, he said the people at Wonderland deserved it, and that “they were dirt”.
I gotta love a movie that opens on my birthday!
I believe Sharon when she says that she warned John (for hitting her): “You have to go to sleep sometime, I’ll get you then”. Excellent! Case closed.
Read on…
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“John Holmes’ Boogie Life”
September 7, 2003 | Dana Kennedy | NY Times
IN the summer of 1981, in one of the bloodier and more notorious murders in the annals of Los Angeles, four people connected to the legendary pornography star John C. Holmes were bludgeoned to death at 8763 Wonderland Avenue. The killings, which provided some of the inspiration for Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1997 film ”Boogie Nights,” are the focus of a new movie. ”Wonderland,” which opens on Oct. 3, is a fact-based film, almost documentary in style, that explores the twisted world of Holmes and the convoluted relationships that ultimately led the police to charge him, a nightclub owner named Eddie Nash and Mr. Nash’s bodyguard with the murders.
Val Kilmer stars as Holmes, whose generous physical endowment had made him the most successful porn actor of his day. The best known of his more than 2,000 films are those in which he played a private detective named Johnny Wadd. But by the time of the murders, his career had been pretty much ended by a serious cocaine habit. And to complicate matters, he was at the center of a love triangle involving his wife and his teenage girlfriend.
In the movie, Kate Bosworth plays the girlfriend, Dawn Schiller, and Lisa Kudrow the wife, Sharon Holmes. Their intertwined histories come to life in ”Rashomon”-style flashbacks that depict Holmes’s increasingly desperate involvement with a group of violent drug dealers. It’s after they rob Nash, who was also one of Holmes’s drug suppliers, that they end up dead in their drug den on Wonderland Avenue.
To tell this seamy tale as accurately as possible, the movie’s director, James Cox, and one of its producers, Holly Wiersma, tracked down Sharon Holmes, now 60, and Dawn Schiller, now 42, and enlisted them as consultants. Holmes was not available to help — he died in 1988 of AIDS.
Unbeknownst to the filmmakers, Ms. Holmes and Ms. Schiller had become close friends after Holmes’s death. Ms. Holmes says that she considers the younger woman a daughter and urged her to complete her high school education. ”I was a mentor to her when she was younger,” Ms. Holmes says. ”Nobody told her she had a brain until me. We talk on the phone at least once or twice a week.”
Working on the movie, the two women spent time with Mr. Kilmer, Ms. Bosworth and Ms. Kudrow. They say Mr. Kilmer absorbed everything they told him and turned in what Ms. Holmes calls ”this incredibly eerie performance.”
”Val had all John’s mannerisms down,” she says. ”He was just like a sponge.”
Ms. Schiller adds, ”I was on the set a lot, and it just creeped me out.”
John Holmes was an ambulance driver when Sharon Gebenini, a nurse, married him in 1965. ”I was very much in love with him,” Ms. Holmes recalls by telephone. ”He was loving and overprotective.” Ms. Holmes says she stopped ”being intimate” with him when he began working in pornography and using drugs. But she continued to live with him and maintains that she was unaware that he had begun an affair with Ms. Schiller, who was just 15 at the time.
Ms. Schiller now lives in Oregon with her husband and young daughter. She is finishing a book about her experience with Holmes that she has titled ”The Road Through Wonderland.” She says her relationship with John Holmes was an ”open secret” that his wife must have been aware of on some level.
One thing the women agree on, however, is that Holmes was a different man before he got into pornography and drugs. ”He was beautiful, sweet, caring,” Ms. Schiller says. ”He did volunteer work for Greenpeace and he was really artistic. He did a lot of great sculptures in clay. He adored me.”
But as he sank further into personal and financial ruin, Ms. Schiller says, he began beating her severely. At one point, she says, he kicked her in the ribs, breaking several. Ms. Holmes says she has no trouble believing that Ms. Schiller was beaten.
Ms. Holmes recently underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments for breast cancer. But, she says, ”this is child’s play compared to what I went through with John.”
Still, for all the chaos and trauma that Holmes brought into her life, Ms. Holmes says he never beat her: ”One time he raised a hand, and I said, ‘Don’t ever.’ I’m Italian. I told him he’d have to go to sleep sometime, and I’d get him. But Dawn wasn’t like me. She was much more innocent.”
Nonetheless, it was Ms. Schiller who eventually turned him in to the police. ”It was the first time I said no to him,” she recalls.
John Holmes was arrested for the Wonderland murders. Later, Mr. Nash and his bodyguard, Gregory Diles, who died in 1995, were also charged. Prosecutors said that Mr. Nash had discovered that Holmes was part of the plot to steal Mr. Nash’s property, and that Mr. Nash had forced Holmes to help Diles murder the culprits. But Holmes was acquitted in 1982; Diles and Mr. Nash, whose real name is Adel Nasrallah, were acquitted in 1991 after a mistrial in 1990. In 2001, as part of a plea bargain on racketeering charges, Mr. Nash conceded that he had given an underling instructions to go to 8763 Wonderland and do whatever was necessary to recover the $1 million in cash, drugs and jewelry that had been stolen from his house two days before. Mr. Nash, whose younger self is played in the film by Eric Bogosian, also admitted that he had given a juror at his 1990 murder trial, which ended in a hung jury, $50,000 to hold out. Mr. Nash was sentenced in 2001 to 37 months in jail.
After the murders, Ms. Schiller went to live with her father in Thailand, where he owned a hotel. She came back in 1988, hoping to see Mr. Holmes, who was by then married to the porn star Misty Dawn. ”I wanted him to see how well I was doing,” she says. ”I wanted to show him how good he’d had it and that he was the one who blew it.”
But before she could visit Mr. Holmes, who was dying, she reconnected with his first wife, who advised her not to see him, saying, ”He’s not worth it.”
”I felt a little cheated,” says Ms. Schiller. ”But I can still remember the love, and I honor that.”
Bonnie Brae 1:21 pm on April 26, 2013 Permalink |
Can’t wait to read this and see how Dawn was victimized here!!!
Bonnie Brae 3:24 pm on April 26, 2013 Permalink |
Yep! I was right. Her comment that “Sharon must have known on some level” implying Sharon therefore should have stopped her.
God – get a life Dawn.
John W 7:21 pm on April 26, 2013 Permalink
She was a know-it-all smartass teen girl. She blew her parents off to be with John. Then, when shit hit the fan, she fled John Holmes, only to reunite with him 2 months later, in time for his ultimate downfall being the Nash Robbery and Wonderland Murders. The Nash house and Wonderland Gang were victims too! of John’s twisted psyche.
John W 2:07 pm on April 27, 2013 Permalink
I like how in her book, Dawn doesn’t have the actual letter Sharon wrote her, but goes by memory. A lot of the book is that way, especially the dialogue- how the hell can anyone remember the exact dialogue from a situation 20 yrs prior. Fuh-getta-bout it!!
Bonnie Brae 12:07 pm on April 28, 2013 Permalink
She made a big stink about trying to forgive Sharon in the end of her book and trying to extract an apology out of her. Why are her parents granted immunity here? Her dad knew. Her mom knew. Her sister knew. Her brother knew. But she wants an apology from Sharon.
John W 2:56 pm on April 28, 2013 Permalink
I can’t imagine leaving my teenage daughter and moving back to Florida or Oregon. That’s dumb.
Anthony 2:06 pm on April 27, 2013 Permalink |
These Wonderland posts are great but out of all of the characters involved, Ron Launius intrigues me the most. I’ve done some research and there really isn’t that much about him — this site has by far the most. You’d think someone he spent time with in the military or prison would speak out and give some details about him. Based on what’s written about him, he doesn’t strike me as the type a guy who’s easily forgotten.
John 9:33 am on April 29, 2013 Permalink |
I know, my thoughts as well. Allegedly, his brother gave an interview with a California paper 6 or 8 years ago. He said he didn’t see much of Ronnie after he got out of prison in 77-78. I guess it would be hard to talk about. I’m still trying to track down said article! Stay tuned!
scabiesoftherat 11:25 pm on April 29, 2013 Permalink |
Got to figure, though. The crime happened in 81. The web didn’t even get into full force until 93. Until the movie came out, what books were written about the crime except the ones by the cops? None as far as I can see. Plus, since he was a criminal, he no doubt kept a low profile. I remember the crime when it happened but it was never on par with Tate until Holmes became a suspect. Even then it still wasn’t really on par with Tate because nobody really cared about JCH. In 2003, when the movie came out, THAT was when people got intrigued. By then, people have largely disappeared. I remember July 1, 1981 like it was yesterday. That summer, I worked in a raquetball club. I worked every Monday and Wednesday. I would then, after work,…ummm,…imbibe in some stimulants with my girlfriend at the time,…who also worked with me. I narrowed down all four of my paydays that month. I was paid on Wed. I worked extra hours the last week in June and I remember I got a VERY good paycheck that day,…and I was also caught by the owner playing raquetball while on the clock that day. Very memorable Wed. for me. July 1st, 1981. Yup
He wanted to fire me but my girlfriend turned on the waterworks and saved my job….for the moment. LOL. Also, the summer of 81. Luke and Laura were a couple on General Hospital. I watched that religiously
What was the question I meant to try and answer?
John 9:08 am on April 30, 2013 Permalink
I was 11, but I remember hearing about the brutality of the killings, and how they initially thought it was a random act of murder. We were just about to move out of state. My dad liked to watch the news while we ate dinner.
A friend found Susan on FB. She is friends with Ron’s dad on there. His dad is like 100 now…but looks like he gets around ok. His brother Rickey is on FB too.
scabiesoftherat 12:19 am on April 28, 2013 Permalink |
That is so odd. I just this same conversation with an old friend of mine just tonight. We had gone to a one-off Kim Carnes/Patty Smyth and Scandal/Lou Gramm concert in 2002. When Kim came on, he turned to me and said, “Do you think one of the requirements in regards to her dressing room refreshment situation is to have a bottle of Jack Daniels with a pack of Lucky Strikes attached to the bottle via a rubber-band? (Obviously referring to her somewhat trademark rasp)
That was eleven years ago and he was stunned when I brought it up over dinner tonight. I remember it verbatim. He confirmed my words were. indeed, correct. It can be done. The dialogue just has to be memorable.
scabiesoftherat 12:38 am on April 28, 2013 Permalink |
Hey John!!!!. I just accidentally tapped Entries RSS when I went to log out and a page came up that said wonderland1981 podcasts. Where are the podcasts, man? It says “0 podcasts”. You should make some podcasts and put them up there and you could use Terry Reid’s, “Faith To Arise” as your theme song. It also says “comments RSS”. I’m guessin’ we could reply via podcasts. If you got a tablet, that’s all you need man. Wow. What’s this world comin’ to? Can do all this shit on the internet and they STILL can’t come up with a cure for the common pothole!!! Give it a try for your fans! (so cool….)
John W 8:31 am on April 28, 2013 Permalink |
Lou Gramm is one of my favorites! I’m glad to see he is doing better after his illness. The last time he performed closeby, still 1.5 hour drive, I couldnt find anyone to go with.
I have flirted with the podcast idea. I would do them as narrated videos, so it’s visual and can show pics, videos and discuss. I need to research it more. Can you imagine “tonight’s guest is Ron Launius’ little brother, he is gonna talk about Ron and Sue!”
Excellet idea!
scabiesoftherat 12:09 am on April 29, 2013 Permalink
Hell, yes, it’s an excellent idea!
Me and my one friend decided we were going to set up a tongue-in-cheek website in which it was all about conspiracy. (ala Alex Jones) I write the rants, he does the video magic with green screen and I post it all into the site. It’s great. I clack something out and just deliver it (with sunglasses)…under an assumed name, of course. It’s amazing what can be done. We also have a fake gift shoppe that looks real. The formula is simply this. Write an outline, right? Drink four Red Bulls in quick succession and deliver the 2 min monologue and make sure you get your point across. That’s it. Make this thing breathe, man. The technology is there. Use it. I case you haven’t noticed, your audience is growing exponentially.You are the man who is all things wonderland!
John 9:29 am on April 29, 2013 Permalink
Alex Jones is classic.
Bill 6:49 pm on May 10, 2014 Permalink |
Both Sharon & Dawn need to get over it and quit trying to cash in on sympathy off Johns fame. Nobody would give a crap if it had not been John Holmes. These 2 old bags need to get a life.
Jim 2:02 pm on May 15, 2014 Permalink |
I’m sure Sharon would love to get a life seeing as how she’s been dead for over a year.
Dawn, definitely likes to play the abuse card to absolve herself of all responsibility for her actions.
People need to remember that at age 15 she was absolutely a victim but she didn’t stay 15 years old for the entire 6 years she and Holmes were together. She was making the same bad choices at age 21 that she made at age 15.
Dick Azinya 10:33 am on June 16, 2018 Permalink |
That seems fair. LOL.
MaryAnn 8:09 pm on October 2, 2014 Permalink |
While yes, Dawn made some bad choices, those accusing her of playing the abuse card (mostly men, which is interesting) obviously don’t know much about that time period, teenage girls, abusive relationships, or growing up in a dysfunctional, unloving family; maybe they don’t know about growing up in a close, loving family, for that matter, as if they did, they could see just how different a family life a Dawn had and why Holmes’s attention snared her so completely. Take a young girl, abandoned by the father she adored, left with a harsh mother, growing up in a tough area with little closeness and affection, then add in the reappearance of a not so great father, one who does drugs with his teenager, then takes he’d 3000 miles away and basically abandons her again, even while he’s physically still there. Any charming guy who comes along and pays attention to this kid is going to be irresistible to her. And after gaining her love and devotion, her own naivety and love are going to keep her there no matter what. The drugs didn’t help the situation either. Those who dismiss remaining in an abusive relationship as simply making bad choices or playing the abuse card obviously have no idea what an abusive relationship, physically and/or mentally, actually is, and they should count their blessings. But it’s those types of attitudes that have kept many women from leaving their abusers, reporting them, and testifying against them in court.
Jill E. 9:08 pm on November 30, 2014 Permalink |
You know, I helped take care of Sharon “Jebbi” in her last months and weeks. She was in a facility where I live. She would NEVER speak of any of it..and if I remember it correctly (and I do) Ms. Schiller NEVER came to see her, although Sharon asked about her alot. Interesting.
Hash 5:51 am on February 24, 2016 Permalink |
Dawn could of saved a lot of lives . Not only did John bash a guys head in at Wonderland . John also killed loads of people with his AIDS . Dawn knew John was a killer . So why didn’t Dawn tell the police. John gets life in prison. People don’t get AIDS from that Scumbag devil . John killed a lot of people not just at wonderland .
Harry 7:31 pm on March 27, 2018 Permalink |
Hash so much wrong in what you said no evidence John killed anyone I do agree he should of got manslaughter as he indirectly got them all killed!
John did not give anyone AIDS as far as we know certainly not in porn industry as no one 30 year’s later has come forward and said I got it of him. One he worked with did die in 1993 from AIDS however she last worked with him in 1979 so unlikely from him. Also considering she was a pornstar so exposed to it a lot!
He could of cause given it too people he slept with privately in his prostitution,swinging general private life! I do agree John was a pretty bad man but I think severe drug addiction does this to people imo. He should of severed at least 5 year’s for manslaughter I think ironically this would of almost certainly saved his life!