Carter Roy

He'd want to keep quiet so as to not draw suspicion.

But as we mentioned, Mickey thought of Johnny as a brother and couldn't stand idly by as the press sullied his name.

He even gave the press all of Lana's love letters to Johnny to show that he, quote, wasn't exactly unwelcome company.

And while Mickey did accuse Lana of killing Johnny, it wasn't his only theory.

He believed it could have been rival mobsters, but he didn't ever seem to name anyone specific or explain their motive.

While this theory was popular at the time, it was based less on facts and more on selling papers.

The story of a movie star's daughter killing a mobster was already a tabloid goldmine.

Add in that it could have all been a mob cover-up?

The public ate that up.

Who doesn't love a good mafia story?

And in the end, that's partly why the story of Johnny's death grabs so much speculation.

It's a great headline.

It's why it always shows up as the paragraph, as Lana and Cheryl called it.

It's easy to forget that at the forefront was a mother and daughter, tormented by years of abuse and splintered by Hollywood expectations.

The murder didn't make any of that easier.

After Johnny's death, Cheryl self-medicated with pills.

At the same time, Lana was drinking, and they seemingly couldn't come together and work on their relationship until decades later.

By 1980, Lana quit drinking, and Cheryl was a thriving restaurateur in Honolulu.

and the two began airing their grievances to each other.

They talked about Johnny and the aftermath of the scandal, and reportedly, thanks to Cheryl's partner, they opened up about their love for each other.