This Real Benefactor May Have Inspired Andrew Cunanan’s Obsession With Gianni Versace

As American Crime Story Season 2 continues its backward trajectory through time, another strange chapter in its subject’s life will be put under the microscope. Andrew Cunanan’s relationship with Norman Blachford is The Asassination Of Gianni Versace’s next focus, in the Feb. 28 episode, titled “Descent.” For those fans wondering what the show would be about now that the entirety of Cunanan’s allleged cross-country killing spree has been depicted, don’t worry: there’s still plenty of tragic material left in Cunanan’s life to examine in the season’s final four episodes. Spoilers ahead.

What was Andrew Cunanan doing before he flew to Minnesota, murdered Jeff Trail, and abducted David Madson? That’s the subject of “Descent,” which presents the show’s version of Cunanan’s time in San Diego, and his relationship with an older, wealthy man, played by Michael Nouri. Viewers have already gotten to know Cunanan’s habit for lying about his extravagant lifestyle; but for a while those lies were true. Per the episode, he lived large off the dime of Norman Blachford, a retired millionaire in his 60s, and enjoyed all the excesses and privilege that he so envied Gianni Versace for. But how accurate is this plot?

According to an article in the San Diego Reader published after the first four murders but before his assassination of Versace, Cunanan met Blachford in Scottsdale, AZ, which is typically filled in the winter with citizens of La Jolla, an affluent San Diego neighborhood. In Maureen Orth’s 1997 Vanity Fair article “The Killer’s Trail” — which would go on to become her 1999 non-fiction book Vulgar Favors, on which Versace is based — she states that Cunanan began accompanying Blachford everywhere under the pretense of being his “decorator.”

Blachford himself was a member of Gamma Mu, an “extremely private fraternity of about 700 very rich, mostly Republican, and often closeted gay men,” as Orth describes. In 1995, Cunanan convinced Blachford to move permanently to La Jolla (citing “allergies he encountered in [Arizona],” according to the Reader), and enjoyed a lavish allowance given to him by his older consort. Orth reported that Blachford gave Cunanan “$2,000 a month, and provided him with a 1996 Infiniti I30T to tool around in.” She added that they traveled to the South of France and Paris in June of 1996 and also to New York City to see shows.

During his time with Blachford, many of the older man’s friends and associates seemed to notice Cunanan’s penchant for spinning elaborate lies — but the young man was charming enough to get away with it. “He was young and attractive, entertaining, good company — what’s not to like?” Orth quoted one acquaintance as saying. But Cunanan was also “sad on two levels: He’s got a lot going for him, I thought. He doesn’t need all this sham. He was also a young man ultimately with no career ambitions in any direction. He pretty much said he was interested in older men for their financial situations. He made no bones about that, and he would say it in front of Norman.”

Eventually not even Blachford’s level of extravagance was enough for Cunanan. The young man moved out of Blachford’s home, complaining to his friend Tom Eads that his patron was “too cheap,” and he was tired of his “nickel-and-diming,” according to Orth’s article. She also reported that Cunanan wanted an even nicer car, to fly first class more often, and to repaint all the rooms in Blachford’s La Jolla home. When he moved out, “Cunanan was astonished that Blachford would let him go,” she wrote.

Ultimately, his separation from Blachford may have been a contributing factor to Cunanan’s subsequent downward spiral. It was after this breakup that Cunanan grew even more obsessed with Jeff Trail, becoming the ex-Navy man’s “constant companion,” according to another article in the San Diego reader published a week after the first.

“I asked Jeff how Andrew was making ends meet after being frozen out by Blachford,” the article quoted Michael Williams, a friend of Trail’s, as remembering. “Jeff said, ‘You know, I think Norman was giving him an allowance for a while, but I know that he’s back to his old profession.’ And I said, ‘Profession? Why? What was his old profession?’ And Jeff said, ‘Oh, well, he sold drugs.’ Cocaine. Crystal meth, ecstasy. And I think that that affected Jeff a lot. I think that if Jeff suspected that, he didn’t want anything to do with it. And there became a huge distance between the two at that point, the end of last year.” Of course, viewers will already know how that strained relationship allegedly ended.

There is one other interesting wrinkle in Cunanan’s story introduced by his relationship with Blachford. According to Orth, the La Jolla house that he convinced Blachford to buy previously belonged to Lincoln Aston, another wealthy elderly friend of Cunanan, who was found bludgeoned to death in his home in 1995 — the same manner of death in which Trail was killed, only this time with a stone obelisk instead of a hammer. Eventually, a young drifter named Kevin Bond pled guilty to the murder, and San Diego police remain “satisfied with his confession,” according to the Reader. But some people have their doubts, including someone who was close to Cunanan.

“I do think it’s a possibility,” Williams told the Reader. “I think it’s very odd that the man was killed in that fashion, and Jeff was killed in that fashion. And Jeff told me Andrew told him he — Andrew — was the one who found [Aston’s] body.” We may never know whether Cunanan had anything to do with this sixth death… but the question itself is yet another reason why Cunanan’s story remains so fascinating 20 years later.

How Jeff Trail & David Madson’s Real Relationship Reportedly Stoked Andrew Cunanan’s Paranoia

Spoilers through the episode “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The past two episodes of American Crime Story (executive producer: Nina Jacobson) Season 2 have introduced Darren Criss’s Andrew Cunanan’s first two victims. But given the backwards chronology of the show, some viewers may still be confused about the real life history between the three men. In The Assassination Of Gianni Versace, Jeffrey Trail and David Madson are depicted somewhat ambiguously as having been in a relationship with each other at the time of their deaths. The episode “House By The Lake” seems to imply that jealousy over this relationship is what motivated Cunanan to murder both men. But is this really what happened?

In the opening moments of the Feb. 7 episode, Andrew invites Jeff over to David’s apartment with the intention of murdering him. As David and Jeff are on the way up in the elevator, David nervously tells his friend, “He knows about us.” A few moments later, Jeff is dead. Given that the real Cunanan took his own lifebefore he could be interrogated by police, the world may never know his true motives for allegedly killing his five victims. As such, Versace writer Tom Rob Smith is forced to take some creative liberties to fill in gaps in the heavily researched narrative of Maureen Orth’s 1999 non-fiction book Vulgar Favors, on which the season is based. But the idea of a relationship between David and Jeff might be one of Smith’s biggest inventions, according to other sources.

In an article published four days after Versace’s 1997 murder, The New York Times quoted Trail’s sister Lisa as saying, “Jeff had just started a new relationship.” Lisa alleged her brother was uncomfortable over Cunanan’s impending visit to Minneapolis: “Her brother, she said, feared Mr. Cunanan might insinuate himself in a way that would make trouble for Mr. Trail and his partner,” the article states. Although the piece never names Trail’s partner, it’s clear that it wasn’t Madson, since the article explains that Cunanan had to spend the night at Madson’s apartment because “Mr. Trail had gone out of town with his partner.” Ergo, Trail’s partner and the person Cunanan was staying with couldn’t have been the same person.

Indeed, Orth’s 1997 Vanity Fair article “The Killer’s Trail” — which formed the basis for Vulgar Favors — names Trail’s partner at the time of his death. “Trail had made it clear that he wouldn’t be around much the weekend of Andrew’s visit,” Orth wrote. “His boyfriend, Jon Hackett, a student at the University of Minnesota, was celebrating his 21st birthday, and Trail was taking him out of town Saturday night.” In fact, Orth’s account of the murders implies that Trail and Madson weren’t even that close; she states that the pair had only “casually” befriended one another after meeting in Minneapolis and realizing they both knew Cunanan.

But just because Trail and Madson weren’t dating — or reportedly even particular close — doesn’t mean Cunanan knew that. In fact, Orth claimed in her piece that a large part of the reason for his visit to Minneapolis was his paranoia over their relationship. “Cunanan had told a friend that he was uncomfortable having the two people he cared most about living in the same faraway city without him,” she wrote, getting up to who knows what in his absence.

So why does Versace (executive producer: Alexis Martin Woodall) include the line where David worries that Andrew “knows about” him and Jeff? Well, the Feb. 14 episode, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” might clear that up. Despite seeming to imply that they were in a relationship only a week before, the show makes no mention of such a connection between Jeff and David while exploring Trail’s backstory and the events leading up to his murder. In fact, David is shown inviting another man over to his apartment — although no mention of Hackett is made.

There are two possibilities that explain the “he knows” line in retrospect. One is that the scene is Andrew’s imagined version of events of what happened after David went to let Jeff in; he feared that his two closest friends were in a relationship, so that’s what the viewer sees. The other is that David simply wasn’t referring to Andrew knowing about some secret relationship — but rather, that he knew both he and Jeff were planning to cut Andrew out of their lives after that weekend, as is revealed in the opening moments of the Feb. 14 episode. Either way, the line seems designed to instill the same paranoia in the viewer that Andrew was feeling at the time, while clearing up the truth of David and Jeff’s relationship in the following episode.

Ultimately, Smith isn’t writing Versace to serve as a factual tell-all of the people involved in Cunanan’s killing spree, but rather to serve as a parable to highlight how life in the closet damages gay men in various ways. “If you look at the crimes themselves, they express various facets of homophobia,” Smith told The Hollywood Reporter in a recent interview. He continued:

“You have the murder of Jeff, which is clearly about someone who should have had this brilliant military career. He was the perfect soldier, utterly dedicated, and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was just such a travesty. You have people who went to give their lives for their country and to say to them, ‘We don’t want your life,’ or, ‘Your life is meaningless to us’… It seems to me irrational and cruel, and it destroys people. And then you have a very different facet of homophobia with the second victim, David. You had this brilliant young man caught up in a murder, and so ashamed of who he is that he just can’t say to Andrew, ‘I need to go to the police now.’ Why doesn’t he break from that guy much sooner? It’s because he just knows, ‘If I go to the police, they won’t believe me.’ That’s heartbreaking.”

Versace will continue to explore the various ways in which homophobia contributed to the tragic events of this story in the season’s remaining four episodes.

How Jeff Trail & David Madson’s Real Relationship Reportedly Stoked Andrew Cunanan’s Paranoia

Yes, The US Military REALLY Handed Out “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Comic Books

In case you were wondering what Season 2 of American Crime Story would be about now that all five of Andrew Cunanan’s alleged victims have met their fates, the title of the Feb. 14 episode is here to give you a clue. In “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” The Assassination Of Gianni Versace (executive prodicer: Nina Jacobson) continues to tackle the issue of homophobia in the ‘90s and the ways in which being forced to live life in the closet can emotionally and psychologically affect gay men. But is the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell training comic shown in the episode real? Or is that a fanciful creation on Ryan Murphy’s part to illustrate the military’s institutional homophobia?

It’s reasonable (and perhaps even smart) for viewers to question the veracity of everything they see in Versace (executive producer: Alexis Martin Woodall). While The People v. O.J. Simpson had a very public and notorious televised trial to base its episodes on, there is still a lot that’s not known about why Andrew Cunanan killed Gianni Versace, what their relationship was (if any), and what exactly happened between him and his other alleged four victims. Although the series is adapted from Maureen Orth’s 1999 non-fiction book Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U. S. History, the credits of each episode declare that portions of each episode had to be imagined based on what little is known about the case.

But the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell comic that Jeffrey Trail (Finn Wittrock) is given by his superior officer in the flashback to his time in the Navy is actually a case of truth being stranger than fiction. Yes, the military really did hand out pamphlets illustrating its policy against discussing homosexuality with comic-book-like panel drawings. One such example is a brochure entitled “Dignity & Respect: A Training Guide On Homosexual Conduct Policy,” published by the Pentagon in 2001, as reported by Mother Jones. This is the exact book that’s handed to Jeff by a superior officer in ACS. The real publication date is four years after Versace’s death, so the series did fudge the dates. However, it’s proof that pamphlets lie these did, sadly, exist.

The real-life pamphlet depicts several examples of soldiers being subjected to discharge proceedings due to their sexuality: one for being caught engaging in “homosexual acts” by another soldier, another for volunteering to his superior officer the fact that he’s gay. In another panel, a soldier is informed that “Don’t Tell” means that the only persons he should talk to about his sexuality are a chaplain and/or an attorney. In another, an officer explains:

“Army policy does not focus on what a person ‘is,’ but on his or her conduct. Homosexual conduct creates an unacceptable risk to unit cohesion and standards of morale, good order, and discipline. Therefore, a soldier who commits a homosexual act, or has a propensity for homosexual conduct as demonstrated by a statement or admission, will be subject to discharge.”

The Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy was officially repealed by President Obama in 2010, but the atmosphere of suppression and suspicion that it engendered within the military continues to impact LGBTQ servicemen and women to this day — especially transgender recruits.

It’s a neat trick that, the further back in time Versace moves, the more socially relevant the show becomes to our current times. What started as a lavish and colorful recreation of a beloved fashion designer and his tragic death has slowly transformed into something more universal, melancholy, and insightful. By examining the societal pressures and prejudices that inflicted both Andrew Cunanan and those who came into contact with, Versace is doing more than providing audiences with a true crime fix: it’s highlighting injustice by contrasting how much has changed since the ’90s… with how much hasn’t.

Yes, The US Military REALLY Handed Out “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Comic Books

This Musician’s ‘Assassination Of Gianni Versace’ Cameo Is So Haunting

American Crime Story has been jumping timeframes and locations to tell the full story of The Assassination Of Gianni Versace (executive producer: Alexis Martin Woodall). So while Gianni Versace is nowhere to be found in the Feb. 7 episode, “House By The Lake,” Andrew Cunanan’s alleged first victims in his cross-country spree are. Spoilers follow. After murdering Jeffrey Trail (Finn Wittrock), Darren Criss’ Cunanan goes on the run in Minnesota with architect David Madson (Cody Fern). As Madson considers fleeing out of a bar’s bathroom window, Cunanan takes in a performance by a singer with an acoustic guitar. If you thought the singer looked familiar, there’s a good reason for that. Because it’s Aimee Mann in American Crime Story doing this low-key and slightly surreal cameo.

The Assassination Of Gianni Versace (film editor: Shelly Westerman) primarily takes place in 1997 and in real life, Mann was already an established musicianat that time. Her career started off with the band ‘Til Tuesday in the ’80s and in the ’90s, she was releasing solo music. By the year 2000, Mann had already released three albums as a solo artist and was nominated for an Academy Award for her music in the film Magnolia. But in American Crime Story’s version of events in 1997, Mann is just a lone cover singer in a Minnesotan dive bar off the highway.

Although American Crime Story Season 2 started in Miami Beach, Florida, the setting of Minnesota is important to “House By The Lake.” It is desolate by the rural lake where Cunanan kills his former lover Madson at the end of the episode — far different than the vibrant city of Miami Beach where Versace lived. And Mann’s performance of The Cars’ “Drive” drives that point home.

Yet, the focus isn’t on the special guest star for the scene. Instead, the camera mostly stays on Darren Criss to show how Cunanan is emotionally impacted by the singer. Trail and Madson, respectively, are the “best friend” and “love of my life” that Cunanan told Ronnie about in Episode 2. (These descriptions also match how TIME reported on Cunanan’s relationship with the two men.) Unlike other alleged victims Versace, Lee Miglin, and William Reese, Madson and Trail were a significant part of Cunanan’s personal life. So is it any wonder that he gets emotional when he hears Mann sing, “You can’t go on/Thinking nothing’s wrong, ohh no/Who’s gonna drive you home tonight?”

While the lyrics are moving, there’s actually a far more fascinating connection between “Drive” and The Assassination Of Gianni Versace. Model Paulina Porizkova, who’d go on to marry The Cars’ lead singer, is featured in the 1984 music video for the song. According to New York Magazine, Porizkova was the face of Versace four years later in 1988. It’s a point of contention if Cunanan had even ever met Versace, but the model in the “Drive” music video truly did know the fashion designer.

As for if Mann had any sort of relationship with Versace, that doesn’t appear to be the case. And while Mann has never collaborated with Ryan Murphy before, she’s no stranger to TV and film. Her voice appears on a number of soundtracks, but she has also appeared in projects ranging from The Big Lebowski, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and Portlandia. She even showed up on Comedy Central’s Corporate as the well-balanced Peg Peterson just two weeks before singing on American Crime Story.

It’s most likely that American Crime Story recruited Mann because she’s an acclaimed singer-songwriter. But the one connection she does have to “House By The Lake” is the setting. Although Mann isn’t from Minnesota, her sister, Gretchen Seichrist, is based in Minneapolis. The Star Tribune reported that Mann performed with her sister in the Minnesotan city in 2010. Yet, Mann’s unnamed bar singer in American Crime Story isn’t in Minneapolis, the city highlighted at the beginning of “House On The Lake.” Instead, she performs closer to where Madson’s body would be found.

As The New York Times reported, Madson was discovered at East Rush Lake in Chisago County on Saturday, May 3 — nearly a week after Trail was killed. The lake in Rush, Minnesota, is only approximately 60 miles away from Minneapolis, according to Google Maps. But its isolated location makes it feel likes it’s further away from civilization. And while Mann’s solo singer at a lonely bar highlights that isolation, her performance also simultaneously conveys a feeling of being trapped. Because even when he has the chance to escape, Madson is still ensnared by Cunanan.

Mann’s cameo in American Crime Story was less Stevie Nicks in American Horror Story and more bar singer in True Detective Season 2. Her identity doesn’t necessarily matter to the plot because what’s important are the emotions she brings up for Cunanan and the viewers. As the final moments of “House On The Lake” blur the line between fantasy and reality, Mann’s dream-like performance manages to have the same effect. And her beautifully painful rendition of “Drive” will haunt you long after the episode.

This Musician’s ‘Assassination Of Gianni Versace’ Cameo Is So Haunting

Oxygen’s ‘Killing Versace’ Documentary Special Is The Perfect Companion Piece To ‘American Crime Story’

Fans of American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace have dived headfirst into the tragedy of the famed fashion designer’s murder at the hands of Andrew Cunanan, and now they have an opportunity to look at the case through a new and different lens. On Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. ET, Oxygen will debut Killing Versace: The Hunt for a Serial Killer, which is likely to be a must-see for anyone intrigued by the case. The hour-long special will not only focus on Versace’s murder, but also track the path that lead Cunanan to his doorstep that fateful day and the manhunt that ensued after Versace’s death. The documentary will use real footage from the scene of the Versace murder, and will be hosted by NBC News Senior National Correspondent Kate Snow. Additionally, experts on the 1997 case will weigh in and explore both new and known information about the infamous murder.

It’s the perfect companion special for those who may have been tuning into The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, except this one uses real footage and experts and information to tell the true story. As you can see in the exclusive trailer for the Oxygen special below, it’s just as compelling a story unedited and raw as it is dramatized for ACS.

The cause of Versace’s untimely death is well-known, especially by those who are fashion enthusiasts or who lived during the time in which it took place. Versace fell victim to Cunanan, who shot the fashion mogul just outside his famed Miami Beach home, before heading on the run, according to the FBI account of the events. According to Time magazine, 27-year-old Cunanan was on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitive list at the time of Versace’s murder, and was suspected in the murders of people in Minnesota, Illinois, and New Jersey. Eight days after he shot Versace, Cunanan was found dead by suicide, according to the FBI.

Not much is known about Versace’s relationship with Cunanan prior to the murder, and that’s one thing that continues to be speculated upon. Maureen Orth, who wrote the book upon which this season of American Crime Story is based, told Vanity Fair that there was “no doubt in my mind that [Cunanan and Versace] met.” Versace’s family, though, has long maintained that he never met Cunanan prior to the murder, according to Vanity Fair.

The Oxygen special will be a new journey for anyone who has already tuned into another exploration of Versace’s murder. American Crime Story’s interpretation is now in full swing this season, with stars Darren Criss and Edgar Ramirez portraying Cunanan and Versace, respectively. That show, produced by American Horror Story’s Ryan Murphy, is based upon true events, but, per Deadline, Murphy has been very clear that there are certain creative licenses that are taken when dramatizing a show of this nature.

“When you’re doing a show like this you’re not doing a documentary, you’re doing a docu-drama. There are certain things you take liberty with,” Murphy said at a panel, according to Deadline. ACS also features a message in each of its episodes, reading, “This series is inspired by true events and investigative reports. Some events are combined or imagined for dramatic and interpretive purposes. Dialogue is imagined to be consistent with these events.” This is true with many shows based on true events — no matter how much respect is paid to the real-life happenings, it’s still a dramatized production, and details are often smoothed out or tweaked in order to help attain a showrunner’s vision.

Oxygen’s Killing Versace is different, though. It will be an entirely new venture even for fans of ACS, because it relies on real, authentic footage and interviews with experts, conducted by a professional and well-respected journalist. There’s no movie magic or invented details, so fans can rest easy that the information they’re seeing and hearing is accurate. When Killing Versace airs on Sunday, viewers will get an even more nuanced and informative account of the mystery surrounding the icon’s tragic end.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

The 10 Most Iconic Uses Of ’80s Jam “Gloria” In Movies & TV Shows

There is no evidence that “Gloria” by Laura Branigan is anything less than the greatest song ever made. It simply can’t be proven. This 1982 anthem about a woman named — you guessed it — Gloria has gone from obscure origins to become one of the most fondly remembered pop songs of the 1980s. A large part of why the song has persisted through the years, in addition to its infectious energy and Braingan’s emotional vocal performance, has been the use of “Gloria” in iconic film and TV moments.

“Gloria” has appeared as a soundtrack choice across a variety of genres, mediums, and tones since it became a pop hit, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has appeared as a punchline in animated comedies like Family Guy or South Park, and a collectable item in the action game Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, or as a moment of lightness in a dark crime series like The Killing (executive producer: Veena Sud). In the latter instance, the song appears at the 26-minute mark of the episode “Ghosts Of The Past,” as a character sings it into a spoon while enjoying a diner meal. Even the darkest shows can’t escape the sheer joy of “Gloria.”

The versatility of “Gloria” has turned it into a go-to soundtracking choice for film and television creators, but if you’re looking for the most iconic moments — the ones that truly celebrate the ephemeral joy and feeling of invincibility that comes with the song — you won’t need to look much farther than the following selections.

1. The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

The most recent entry into the great canon of “Gloria” soundtrack moments, The Assassination Of Gianni Versace (Director: Gwyneth Horder-Payton, two episodes) uses the song to showcase one of the many sides of alleged serial killer Andrew Cunanan. While driving away from his past (the alleged murder of an innocent man) towards his future (the murder of innocent man and fashion icon Gianni Versace), Cunanan flips through the radio to find something he likes — and that something is “Gloria.” It just goes to show that Ryan Murphy will stop at nothing to get Darren Criss to sing.

The 10 Most Iconic Uses Of ’80s Jam “Gloria” In Movies & TV Shows