Spector assistant testified at trial

Dianne Ogden, 61, a music talent coordinator and former assistant to music producer Phil Spector who was one of four women to testify at his trial last year about his threatening them with guns, died Dec. 29 at her home in Park City, Utah.

Ogden died in her sleep of undetermined causes, her daughter, Angie Ogden Osborne, said Saturday.

Spector was charged with the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, who was shot at his Alhambra mansion Feb. 3, 2003. Ogden was the second woman called by the prosecution to bolster its case that Spector followed a pattern of luring women to his home, drinking, then pulling guns on them when they tried to leave.

In testimony last May in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Ogden, who said she was a friend of Spector’s, described a party in 1989 at his home, then in Pasadena. When she tried to leave about midnight, Spector pushed a gun against her -- “He put it all over me,” she said -- then forced her to his bedroom. She said she lay on the bed next to him until he fell asleep.

The next morning, Ogden said, Spector acted “like nothing had happened” and she left the house. She did not report the incident to authorities, and she was compelled by the district attorney’s office to testify.

In September, after jurors failed to reach a verdict, the judge declared a mistrial. A retrial is scheduled for this year.

Ogden, born Feb. 16, 1946, in Culver City, was a longtime talent coordinator for the Grammy Awards and other music variety programs.

In addition to her daughter, she is survived by her husband, Steven Hadler; son Sean; stepson Shannon; two grandchildren; sister Marcia Ogden; and brother Mike LaFirenza.

Funeral services are scheduled for noon Tuesday at Gates Kingsley and Gates, 1925 Arizona Ave., Santa Monica.