THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 30, 1994 TAG: 9406290084
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Frank Roberts
DATELINE: 940630 LENGTH: Medium
If there is nothing new to report, you can be sure there will be rehashes of the story, plus predictions and opinions.
{REST} At this writing, Simpson is accused but not convicted of murder. We do know that he was not the world's sweetest husband.
What has been happening with the former footballer-actor-TV pitchman is nothing new, of course. Check your Bible. Check yesteryear's news pages.
The first parallel story that came to mind concerned Spade Cooley, who was Bob Wills' rival as western swing king back in the 1940s.
Donnell Clyde Cooley was born in Oklahoma but achieved most of his fame in California, where he and Wills often played in rival ballrooms, vying for the largest audience. Cooley often bested his more famous rival, who drew his largest crowds in the Midwest.
He recorded for Columbia, and his first release was his biggest - ``Shame On You,'' a title fitting for him a few years later.
Cooley also recorded for RCA Victor, then Decca. He appeared in the movies but, unlike Wills, who starred in a couple of westerns, appeared only in short subjects for Universal.
In December 1945, a few months after being acquitted of a rape charge, Cooley married his second wife, Ella Mae, who later played fiddle in his band.
Cooley, who had a daughter and two sons from his first marriage, was a Roy Rogers lookalike and often appeared as a stand-in for his good friend, the King of the Cowboys.
The western swinger had his own show on television in the early to mid-1950s, retiring in 1958 with plans to build a recreation park in the Mojave Desert, no less. He got as far as the digging of artificial lakes.
Cooley was off the tube - his marriage was going down the tubes.
Supposedly, it began when his wife bragged to some of her friends that she and Rogers were having an affair. (Her language was not that polite.).
It wasn't happening, of course, but Cooley heard the gossip and believed it at first. Later, he learned the truth and apologized to Rogers.
On April 3, 1961, Cooley staggered through the front door of his home in Willow Springs, Calif., about 85 miles north of L.A., after spending the day drinking and popping pills.
Moments after he got in the house, he began arguing with his wife.
According to later court testimony, his 14-year-old daughter was there at the time. Cooley forced her to sit down, telling her, ``you're going to watch me kill her.''
A few hours later, the performer's female manager, Bobbie Bennett, came to the house. She later testified that Ella Mae was naked, bruised and dying and that her breasts had been burned with a cigarette.
Bennett said that Cooley was standing in a state of shock and that there was blood on his fancy cowboy boots.
The singer was convicted of first-degree murder, largely on the testimony of his daughter. He was given a life sentence and sent to Vacaville, a prison about 40 miles from Oakland. In August 1969, he was granted parole, scheduled for release in February.
That November, he was granted leave for a night to perform in a show in Oakland sponsored by the Alameda County Sheriff's Association.
Cooley got a standing ovation when he appeared onstage, then entertained for about 45 minutes.
During intermission, he collapsed and died of a heart attack.
A haunting touch of irony: One of Cooley's last recordings for Decca featured a woman named Betsy Gay singing, ``You Clobbered Me.''
So the O.J. Simpson story - a man revered and respected, a good guy turning out to be a bad guy - is really nothing new. But, still, it is something terribly sad.
by CNB