Court Refuses to Drop 2 Film Death Counts
A judge refused Friday to dismiss two counts of involuntary manslaughter against film director John Landis and two associates in the 1982 “Twilight Zone” movie set helicopter crash that killed actor Vic Morrow and two children.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Roger Boren turned down the defense request in a brief written opinion.
Landis, who directed a segment of “Twilight Zone: The Movie,” as well as such other films as “Animal House” and “Trading Places,” is charged in the case with a total of five counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Three of the counts stem from the legal argument that the director’s alleged negligence on the movie set in the rural Valencia area in northern Los Angeles County caused the deaths of Morrow and two Vietnamese child actors.
The remaining two manslaughter counts stem from the legal argument that the two children died because Landis, associate producer George Folsey Jr. and unit manager Dan Allingham brought them onto the set after 6:30 p.m. for the dangerous nighttime assignment in violation of state child labor laws.
Trial is scheduled to begin July 8.
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