The FBI has been collecting information about celebrities and public figures since it was
formed in 1908.
Most of it was hidden until 2011.
That was when the organization created the Records Vault.
This new system makes certain FBI files available to the public.
Fans now have unprecedented access to the secrets of their favorite stars.
They were part of interesting investigations.
Even the ones that were dropped provide plenty of juicy details involving Communist party
leanings, arrests, anti-war sentiments, and more.
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Keep watching to learn about famous celebrities who were under FBI surveillance.
Aretha Franklin The Queen of Soul was under surveillance for
years with a file that’s over 270 pages.
She was monitored due to her potential involvement with Communism and the Civil Rights and Black
Power movements.
She attended meetings and performed for civil rights groups such as the NAACP or the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the SCLC or Southern Christian
Leadership Conference.
She was mentioned in memos for the latter’s 1967 and 1968 national conventions.
Aretha used her money and connections to support the organizations she believed in.
She paid activist Angela Davis’ bail after her arrest in 1970.
Her father, Rev. C.L. Franklin, was friends with Dr. Martin Luther King.
She was scheduled to perform a memorial concert for him on April 8, 1968, four days after
his death.
Other notable performers included Sammy Davis Jr., Marlon Brando, Mahalia Jackson, and the
Supremes.
The SCLC canceled the performance.
They said it could “ignite racial disturbance” in the area because of the performers’ connection
to civil rights and black power movements.
Aretha was mentioned by name in a 1969 memo titled Possible Racial Violence, Urban Areas,
Racial Matters.”
She’d refused to perform at a Red Rocks amphitheater in Denver that year, and disappointed
concertgoers rioted.
She appeared in another memo in 1971.
It claimed that the Black Panther Party of Los Angeles and the Boston Young Workers Liberation
League had both intended to book her for rallies.
Two informants came forward in May of 1973 to say that Aretha had never been connected
to any radical movements.
There were even death threats made against her and her performances.
The FBI then decided it was time to stop the investigation.
Whitney Houston Whitney Houston was one of the greatest singers
of all time.
She was beloved by everyone, but one fan took it a bit too far.
Her FBI report includes 89 concerning love letters and a cassette tape.
It also details a $250,000 extortion attempt by one of her friends.
They threatened to reveal intimate details about her relationship with Bobby Brown if
she didn’t pay up.
Whitney admitted to discussing personal details with her.
Her father sent a confidentiality agreement and a large sum of money.
The case was quickly closed.
Anna Nicole Smith Anna Nicole Smith may or may not be remembered
for her acting, but there is one other major note in her life.
She became the subject of an FBI murder investigation.
She was in a fight over the estate of her late husband oil tycoon J. Howard Smith’s
estate.
She was investigated for attempting to murder his son E. Pierce Marshall.
Prosecutors never collected enough evidence to charge her with anything before her death
in 2007.
Tupac Shakur This famous rapper’s life and death are
shrouded in mystery.
His file is 122 pages long and details a complex extortion scheme.
Tupac and Eric Eazy E Wright received death threats from an anonymous caller.
The Jewish Defense League, whom the FBI considered a right-wing terrorist group, offered them
protection in exchange for money.
They never found proof of the plan or the group’s involvement, but they kept it on
file.
Tupac is not the only rapper with an extensive FBI file.
Others include Christopher Biggie Smalls Wallace, a.k.a., Notorious BIG, and Russel Tyrone Jones
a.k.a.
Ol Dirty Bastard from the Wu-Tang Clan also have FBI files.
John Lennon John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono were leftists
and pacifists.
That worried the right-wing politicians of his time.
Richard Nixon attempted to have his visa revoked so he could be deported.
He was convinced the singer’s popularity could ruin his chances at reelection.
The election of 1972 was the first one where the voting age was lowered to 18.
Much of the younger generation was on John’s side and not on Nixon’s.
He won but was forced to resign in August of 1974 after the Watergate scandal.
John had to fight for 4 years to remain in America.
The Supreme Court overturned the deportation order in October of 1975, saying that they
wouldn’t support deportation based on political grounds.
The incident has been the subject of several writings.
John’s FBI files, however, weren’t released to the public until 25 years after his assassination
on December 8, 1980.
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe hid plenty of secrets behind
her smile, including her genius IQ.
Secret Communist support made her the subject of an FBI file.
It was her husband Arthur Miller who supported the party, but the FBI kept close tabs on
the couple while they were married from 1956-1961.
Her file also includes theories about her death on August 4, 1962.
Norman Mailer’s biography of the superstar even implicates the FBI and CIA.
Charlie Chaplin J. Edgar Hoover opened a 2000-page FBI file
on this silent film icon in 1922.
He was paranoid that Charlie’s British citizenship made him a Communist sympathizer.
He even hired an M15 to spy on him.
Charlie went to London in 1952, but the Attorney General prevented him from returning to the
US.
He was tired of being treated like a potential criminal and moved with his wife to Switzerland
where he died of a stroke on Christmas in 1977.
Michael Jackson Michael’s files weren’t released until
after his death on June 25, 2009.
They provided the details of his child molestation trials in 1993 and 2004.
The FBI had already been monitoring the singer for decades.
They supported local jurisdictions during the trials.
They even tried to convince the accuser in the first case, Jordan Chandler, to testify
in the second one.
He’d already settled a lawsuit with Michael for $15 million and refused to return to court.
The files only rehashed the past and didn’t reveal any new details.
They also failed to provide enough evidence for a federal case.
Lucile Ball Lucy made a single decision that was almost
sure to put her under FBI investigation; she listed herself as a Communist when registering
to vote in 1936.
She claims she only did it to make her socialist grandfather happy
That wasn’t enough to satisfy the Bureau.
It claims to never have officially investigated her, but her file eventually ballooned up
to 156 pages.
Jerry Garcia The lead singer of the Grateful Dead’s long
hair and party-hard lifestyle made the FBI suspicious.
They investigated potential connections to LSD suppliers.
They never found proof, and much of the band’s file has since been redacted.
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Keep watching to learn about more famous celebrities who were under FBI surveillance.
Walt Disney The founder of Disney had a 570-page FBI file.
He was allegedly a Communist informant who gave the Beauru the names of fellow celebrities
who were associated with the party.
J. Edgar Hoover was the director at the time, let him film at the headquarters, and even
allegedly helped with a few scripts.
Liberace This famous entertainer has a varied, 400-age
FBI file.
It tells of an event in 1974 where he was robbed of several famous jewels.
The Bureau also allegedly attempted to expose his sexuality and involvement in an illegal
horse betting ring.
Jimi Hendrix Jimi Hendrix is considered one of the world’s
greatest guitarists, but his FBI file isn’t as noteworthy.
He was under surveillance for a short time due to a few arrests for grand theft auto
when he was younger.
Jim Morrison Jim Morrison’s FBI file shows he was arrested
at least 10 times.
Most of them were for minor offenses such as being drunk.
The one in 1969 was a bit more dramatic.
The file claims that, during a concert at the Miami Dinnery Key Auditorium, he attempted
to “provoke chaos among a huge crowd of young people.”
He allegedly began swearing, exposing himself, and singing only one song the entire time.
According to another report, he was arrested again in Miami.
They were misdemeanor charges that once again included “lewd and lascivious behavior.”
James Brown James Brown began a 6-year sentence for aggravated
assault and attempting to escape the police in 1989.
His wife asked the FBI to get involved because she believed the local police were violating
his civil rites.
Her account said that the police had been harassing him for 18 months before the arrest.
She also didn’t think the drug test showing that he was high on PCP at the time was accurate.
The FBI agreed to investigate.
They sent their findings to the District Attorney, but he declined to prosecute.
James Brown was released from prison in 1991.
John Denver John Denver appeared at a rally to protest
the Vietnam war in 1971.
He also admitted to using drugs in his 1994 autobiography Take Me Home: An Autobiography.
These two pieces of information were enough for the FBI to start investigating him.
The Monkees The FBI began investigating the Monkees after
a concert in 1967.
They allegedly showed pictures and messages in protest of the Vietnam war while they performed.
The only surviving band member, Micky Dolenz, sued the organization to get access to these
records.
Princess Diana The “People’s Princess” has the distinction
of having two separate FBI files despite not being a US citizen.
One of them gathered details about threats to her and Prince Charles while they were
married.
The other focused on potential dangers during her trip to the US in 1989.
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