A sneak peak at Samantha Cornwell's full report, which will appear in the first issue of the Ad Hoc zine. 

Hollywood is no stranger to the high profile murder mystery. In a world where celebrities are elevated to the level of gods, an early death can cause a collective pause. When murder is involved, and an unsolved one at that, those wheels of stasis and speculation can spin in place for an eternity.

One such case was recently reopened by the LAPD. Musician and Television personality Peter Ivers, host of the defunct variety show New Wave Theater, was found bludgeoned to death on March 3, 1983 in his Skid Row loft. It was a few weeks before the close of Los Angeles’s excuse for Winter, and the temperature was just below sixty degrees.

Throughout the day, as news of his death spread, friends from the underground music scene and the elite Hollywood world crowded his living space in disbelief. He had been expected in the recording studio with collaborator Franne Golde that morning. His absence had certainly lead to some rumbling, but nobody could have ever guessed that Peter had met such a gruesome fate. The rumor mill pointed fingers at the likes of director Howard Ramis-- who was close with Peter, and early on the crime scene-- and New Wave Theater producer and David Jove, who was allegedly fearful that Ivers would leave the show for another opportunity. These stories, however, were likely the stuff of speculation.