In Memory of Sal Mineo: 48 Years After He Was Murdered

Photo bylistal.com

It's been 48 years since acclaimed actor Sal Mineo was stabbed to death in Hollywood, CA, on February 12, 1976, at only 37. This is his story.

A Closer Look

Born on January 10, 1939, in New York, New York, Sal Mineo established a career as a teen actor and heartthrob, earning a supporting actor Oscar nomination for his performance in Rebel Without a Cause, opposite James Dean. Other prominent projects included Giant, and Exodus—for which Mineo received a second Oscar nod and a Golden Globe award.

He later appeared in movies like The Longest Day and Escape From the Planet of the Apes and was a frequent guest on countless TV shows.

On the evening he was killed, the handsome actor was returning from a play rehearsal. He had parked his car behind his apartment when neighbors heard his cries for help.

Some said a Caucasian male with brown hair was seen fleeing the scene. But by the time they reached the actor, he was almost dead from a severe chest wound. And then, minutes later, Sal Mineo was gone.

A Lengthy Investigation

For two years, authorities searched in vain for clues to the killer’s identity. At first, they suspected that Sal Mineo’s work for prison reform had placed him in contact with a notorious ex-con.

The Personal Side

However, their investigation then switched to Sal Mineo’s personal life. Law enforcement had discovered Mineo's residence was littered with photos of naked males. But it all led to nowhere.

Later, Michigan authorities had learned that Lionel Williams, incarcerated for passing bad checks, was boasting that he had murdered Mineo.

Although Williams later retracted his startling revelations, at approximately the same time, his wife back shared her shocking tale in L. A.

She told authorities that her husband had arrived home, soaked in blood, on the evening of Mineo's murder.

But One Thing Did Not Add Up

But one thing did not add up: Lionel Williams was a Black man, and all of the eyewitnesses had described the perpetrator as a White man with long brown hair.

Fortunately, the police were able to unearth an old photograph of Williams in which his hair had been dyed brown and processed so that it was straight and long.

Additionally, the medical examiner had made a cast of Mineo’s knife wound, which managed to match the description of the knife provided by Williams’ wife.

In the End

In the end, Lionel Williams was convicted and given a sentence of life in prison, while the legacy of Sal Mineo's life and career became a deadly, dark tale in the history of Hollywood.