Overview

Sam Cooke died at the age of 33 on December 11, 1964, at the Hacienda Motel, at 9137 South Figueroa Street, in Los Angeles, California. Answering separate reports of a shooting and of a kidnapping at the motel, police found Cooke's body, clad only in a sports jacket and shoes but no shirt, pants or underwear. He had sustained a gunshot wound to the chest, which was later determined to have pierced his heart. The motel's manager, Bertha Franklin, said she had shot Cooke in self-defense after he broke into her office residence and attacked her. Her account was immediately questioned and disputed by acquaintances.

Top Cast

Sam Cooke

Self (archive footage)

Z

Zelda Sands

Self

A

Al Schmitt

Self

E

Eugene Jamison

Self

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Bill Gardner

Self

Denise Dowse

Self

E

Erik Greene

Self

Cyril Wecht

Self - Forensic Pathologist

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Joe B. Kellum

Self

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Anthony Samad

Self

Dick Clark

Self (archive footage)

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John Antonelli

Self