Insider Tells Us About Tracy McCourt, Post Wonderland
Thanks to Betty for sharing some insight into the private world of Tracy McCourt. Actually, I cannot thank you enough. I had tried to contact Joni and their daughter before, but was not able to get in touch with them for an interview.
Here’s what Betty had to say:
I knew Tracy very well while he attended EKU. I was a den mother of sorts to him & his college roommates. He loved to come to our house to be a part of a southern, country style family. When Tracy first spoke of his involvement in the Eddie Nash caper we thought he was really full of it only to find he was telling the truth.
He repeatedly landed in jail in Madison County, but was always released to our amazement. I later learned it was because the LA police told Madison Co. to let him go. I guess when they arrested him here & ran his name his record came up which prompted them to contact Orange County. They eventually came to EKU pulled him out of class & offered him money & a new identity to testify in the trial against Nash.
They flew him & wife Joni out to LA. Put them up during the trial. When it was over he got nothing they promised him. That was when the family packed up & moved to Colorado. He was always looking over his shoulder & justifiably so, He spoke rarely of the murders, it pained him deeply. He did speak of the ordeal in depth on more then one occasion. I knew the name of his daughter & have been in contact with her. We talked about the movie & I commented on the very small acclaim they gave his character. She replied w/ information that sounded so Tracy McCourt. She told me that her dad couldn’t leave (the film) well enough alone & kept buggin’ the crap out of them for more money for his part or information he could give. He called them so much that he pissed them off and cut his recognition of involvement to what we saw on the screen. So typical Tracy never being satisfied, always wanting more. Those of us who knew him here had a genuine fondness for him & his crazy ways. He could be extreme with his desire for drugs & alcohol, but I reckon’ that’s what addicts do.
I used to take him to his grandmother’s house several counties over where I met his family on more then 1 occasion. His mother made stained glass. I saw several beautiful pieces she had made. His grandmother was wonderful!!! His brother was there as well but his name slips my memory. Last time I heard from Tracy was in ’97. He called from Colorado wanting to stop & visit on his way to Florida. He never showed. I wondered about him from time to time. It was only when I made contact w/ his daughter that I learned of his passing. She told me it was Hep C. That was no surprise to me. RIP TRACY. LOL He loved to think he looked like Huey Lewis!!!!
Wow. Thanks again, Betty. You are Awesome!
I read that the movie shot in like 20 days, and so no wonder James Cox ran a tight ship, did things his way, and already had his angle for the movie via David Lind, Sharon and Dawn’s version of events. That’s too bad. Tracy’s view would have helped a lot because his testimony is truthful to the Wonderland reality, the way the gang was, the personas of each person, the drugs involved, the way that the house was run. His testimony is for Holmes prelim trial is posted here on this blog. Go check it out.
Brandy 11:12 am on November 19, 2013 Permalink |
This is amazing John, as usual! No one, NO ONE can get the inside info like you can. I feel HORRIBLE for Tracy. Although some implied he wasn’t as bright as the rest of the Wonderland gang who went to college? Who saw the Buick watching the house & escaped with his life? WTF, why would the LAPD do that? Just because a conviction wasn’t optained? What a jackass move, way to go LAPD.
John 11:24 am on November 19, 2013 Permalink |
In the credits for the movie… via IMDB… they even list his character as some alias or other name. The character is not even listed as Tracy McCourt! He must have upset someone on the crew, prob a creative type or the director or producer.
John 9:58 am on December 2, 2013 Permalink
His character is listed as Tommy Conway in the movie. They stiffed him on the credit.
John 1:12 pm on November 19, 2013 Permalink |
Yes, Tracy took a cab from Wonderland back to North Hollywood on the day of the robbery. I guess Ron was going to use the stolen Ford Granada as his wheels. I looked hard on the last part of the crime scene footage out in the street but could only make out that big Dodge van behind Billy’s yellow truck. No Ford Granada, but it was dark was probably parked up the street. If Ronnie picked up Susan the next day in his stolen car, then that is pretty funny. Based on news reports, she either flew down… I think that Nils said she flew down too, or other reports say she was living in Tujunga, which is about a 1 to 2 hours drive northeast of the Wonderland house location and north of Burbank and Glendale.
localarts 11:54 am on November 19, 2013 Permalink |
Great work John! I knew Tracy testified in Nash’s 1990 trial but this adds a whole new dimension. I bet Tracy was pissed when the DA didn’t honor their word. Tracy McCourt is perhaps the most overlooked character in this entire saga and yet he was the only one smart enough to get out of Dodge before the ensuing massacre.
dreamweaverjenn 1:55 pm on November 19, 2013 Permalink |
That’s awesome!
criticextraordinaire 5:51 pm on November 19, 2013 Permalink |
This site kicks ass. Nowhere else can you get this kind of scoop. As to Tracy getting stiffed on a Witness Protection gig… I’m guessing that he left out some details when he was on the witness stand and that caused the deal to be withdrawn. But really in the end, how valuable could his testimony have been? The robbery was already stipulated by the time the case went to trial, and Tracy could not testify anything about the murder since he was not there. I’m calling BS on Tracy saying he was promised a WPP deal and it was unreasonably reneged upon. (Not calling BS on Betty, just Tracy).
John 7:40 am on November 20, 2013 Permalink |
The bribed juror thing really plays here…in the first mistrial. Without that, Nash may have rec’d the death penalty. The prosecution was soooo close. But Nash, again, was too teflon…and his PI’s and cohorts found a way. Bribe a poor 18 yr old black girl from south central. Total Nash!
localarts 9:03 am on November 20, 2013 Permalink
Yes, that 1990 trial was a death penalty case as I recall. Eddie probably would have given that 18yo a blank check if she would have asked.
John 10:46 am on November 20, 2013 Permalink
I wonder what if anything, McCourt and Lind said to each other, if they met at the Nash trial(s). I can’t picture Lind being put up at the Hotel Belmont or a fancy place. Maybe he requested the Cecil Hotel LOL!
Julia Negron said that Lange introduced her to Susan Launius in the green room waiting area for witnesses at the Holmes trial. Susan was quiet and kept her head down. The state had Julia on call to be a possible witness at Nash’s trials but she was never contacted again. In 1981, when cops came to her hills home around the corner from Wonderland showing her pics of Holmes and asking questions, she was shocked “I remember that guy!”
John 7:45 am on November 20, 2013 Permalink |
Thorson was an eyewitness to what happened with Holmes at Nash’s that night, allegedly. Thus, he got a witness protection deal and even a name change and moved to Florida. I think the prosecution misled Tracy, and with just his mostly indirect testimony about the house and robbery, the higher ups reneged on their promise to him. They were stacking their witness list is all. I guess Tracy testified at both instances of the Nash/Diles trials. The first being the bribed juror trial, the second was the red herring trial where the defense accused Paul Kelly of the murders…and the jury bought it.
localarts 1:45 pm on November 20, 2013 Permalink |
I don’t think McCourt cared much for Lind with the way Dave treated him so I would image very little was said. I believe the only reason they had McCourt Testify was he could put Holmes at the Wonderland house (planning of the robbery) Lind testimony corroborates the robbery itself and Thorsen’s eyewitness account of the extraction of information form Homes at Dona lola would tie everything back to Nash.
Mark C 6:22 pm on December 4, 2013 Permalink |
Depend on what theory you believe in, Tracy McCourt is dead 6 foot under or Tracy is in Witness Protection Program.
What really is sad is if Huey Lewis was sick and could not preform that night concert, Ole Tracy could of step right in his place and took over his place in the band and fooled everybody they looked so much alike and Tracy would of make all the fans happy.
Or more than likely what really could happen, Tracy could of stayed in the Holliday Inn Express last night and in his own mind he could replace Huey Lewis and did the whole next night performance for the sick Mr. Lewis. and made everybody happy passing himself off as Huey Lewis.
I read that about this subject and what his Den Mother @ EKU said about Tracy .That will most likely be stuck in my mind for rest of my life.
Ole Den mother came up with a very good real true life Tracy McCourt quote on that one.