Cindy Birdsong 1969 kidnapping

[luke]

It was soooo hushed up. Why? Pretty horrific for her.

[Roberta75]

It was soooo hushed up. Why? Pretty horrific for her.Stirring up the horets nest again dear? This happen almost 45 years ago so I doubt there is anything new to tell.

[Jimi LaLumia]

Patti LaBelle was behind this??? [[ Imagine if Patti asked Flo Ballard to join The Bluebells in Cindy's place..)

[captainjames]

I don't remember it being hushed up................it was everywhere I tuned back then. I remember Jet had the story and then it hit on the News. We didn't have the resources back then as we have now.

[thanxal]

It was obviously an inside job by Barry + Diana that Mary wrote about in her book and the Andantes sang background on. Flo was also somehow disparaged. </snark>

[smark21]

Well, at least unlike the Mary Wells incident, this was sadly a real kidnapping and not a publicity stunt/attempt to get out of doing a gig because someone missed the plane.

[jillfoster]

Stirring up the horets nest again dear? This happen almost 45 years ago so I doubt there is anything new to tell.

When you visit a forum dedicated to classic era music, it's safe to assume that about 80 percent of the discussions are going to be about events that happened 45 years ago. Do you feel that all the shows and commemorations of the 50th anniversary of JFK's assasination are 50 years old and there is nothing new to tell?

[jobeterob]

Mary Wilson did it to try and get Flo back in the group; she was jealous of how kind Cindy was. She called Berry to see if he would wash his hands of Cindy too. It was a lowlife associate of Jack Ruby's that kidnapped Cindy. Smokey issued another statement saying Berry thoroughly loved all the girls.

[marv2]

It was soooo hushed up. Why? Pretty horrific for her.

Well it was around the time of the Sharon Tate murders, so I am guessing that they did not want to unduly alarm local communities. I recall Jet Magazine printed a news article about the kidnapping.

[theboyfromxtown]

It made the British newspapers - I still have the original clipping - headed "Supreme Cindy kidnapped". It's only a real brief explanation

[antceleb12]

Stirring up the horets nest again dear? This happen almost 45 years ago so I doubt there is anything new to tell.

This is a fair question. Out of all of the Supremes' personal lives, this is probably one of the more devastating events in their personal lives, but it's not a subject often written about.

I think Mary writes about it in detail in her book, as does Taraborelli [[I think). I can see why Cindy wouldn't want to discuss it. It must have been pretty traumatizing.

[jobeterob]

I'm sure it was traumatizing although it seemed to leave no obvious effect.

It was written and reported about.

But Cindy Birdsong was not a commonly recognized name and it just didn't create a lot of interest and there was no CNN in those days.

Nobody hushed it up before Luke.

[luke]

Many of the books state Gordy wanted it hushed up. Seemed to work as they state little publicity compared to the enormity of one of the singers of America's premiere group kidnapped.

[supremester]

There was little entertainment news back in '69. Everything was Viet Nam and politics. It was over quickly and there wasn't much more to say. She was kidnapped and escaped. I don't think there was a hush job.

[blueskies]

This was a topic here 3 years ago. Interesting reading the comments...back then.
http://soulfuldetroit.com/showthread.php?1442-Remember-when-Cindy-Birdsong-was-kidnapped

[jobeterob]

If Motown didn't have their publicity department push this story for all it was worth, as was pointed out in the old thread, it was because a "kidnapping" did not fit the Supremes image.

Then also the point was made that it was a publicity stunt!

[BigAl]

It's been opined over the years by a number of "conspiracy theorists," that this kidnapping was actually orchestrated by one or more persons close to Cindy, either in an attempt to snag a fat ransom or to scare Gordy into paying her more, since her absence during whatever hostage-plan was in progress would demonstrate how essential she was to the act. Pretty far-fetched I'll grant you. Cindy, of course, would not have been in on such a scheme [[if in fact such a scheme there was), or she certainly would not have risked life and limb by grabbing a knife blade and jumping out of moving vehicle. In later years, she said that the incident did not spook her nearly as much as did a California earthquake she experienced, prompting her to move, I believe, to Colorado. She's one plucky gal, our Cindy.

[marybrewster]

Okay, I'll bite on this one:

The story goes that Charles Collier, the maintenance man at Cindy's apartment, made Cindy tie up her boyfriend Charles and another friend. Then, with a knife, forced Cindy into a car. While on the freeway, Cindy was able to jump out of the car to safety.

Huh?

Was the car going 3 miles an hour? No broken bones? Who can just jump out of a car onto the freeway with a few minor scratches? Was Cindy just sitting in the passenger seat? What the hell kind of kidnapping was this? Interestingly, Cindy was well enough to appear on Ed Sullivan a few weeks later. Is this just a case of "the show must go on"?

And why have we never heard what happened to Cindy's kidnapper? Was there a trial? Jail time? Wouldn't it be three counts of kidnapping, one count of attempted murder? Certainly there would have been some sort of lengthy sentence. And we've heard NOTHING?

[jobeterob]

Okay, I'll bite on this one:

The story goes that Charles Collier, the maintenance man at Cindy's apartment, made Cindy tie up her boyfriend Charles and another friend. Then, with a knife, forced Cindy into a car. While on the freeway, Cindy was able to jump out of the car to safety.

Huh?

Was the car going 3 miles an hour? No broken bones? Who can just jump out of a car onto the freeway with a few minor scratches? Was Cindy just sitting in the passenger seat? What the hell kind of kidnapping was this? Interestingly, Cindy was well enough to appear on Ed Sullivan a few weeks later. Is this just a case of "the show must go on"?

And why have we never heard what happened to Cindy's kidnapper? Was there a trial? Jail time? Wouldn't it be three counts of kidnapping, one count of attempted murder? Certainly there would have been some sort of lengthy sentence. And we've heard NOTHING?

Maybe a Mary Wells style kidnapping?

[marv2]

Okay, I'll bite on this one:

The story goes that Charles Collier, the maintenance man at Cindy's apartment, made Cindy tie up her boyfriend Charles and another friend. Then, with a knife, forced Cindy into a car. While on the freeway, Cindy was able to jump out of the car to safety.

Huh?

Was the car going 3 miles an hour? No broken bones? Who can just jump out of a car onto the freeway with a few minor scratches? Was Cindy just sitting in the passenger seat? What the hell kind of kidnapping was this? Interestingly, Cindy was well enough to appear on Ed Sullivan a few weeks later. Is this just a case of "the show must go on"?

And why have we never heard what happened to Cindy's kidnapper? Was there a trial? Jail time? Wouldn't it be three counts of kidnapping, one count of attempted murder? Certainly there would have been some sort of lengthy sentence. And we've heard NOTHING?

Collier, the kdnapper did go to jail.

[reese]

From what I remember reading, after a night of rehearsal with Mary and Jean, Cindy returned to her apartment, to be confronted by Collier, the building's maintenance man, wielding a knife. Also there were Cindy's boyfriend Charles [[who had a key), and a friend. Collier forced Cindy to tie up Charles and his friend, supposedly with their ties, and then dragged her away to his truck.

Cindy struggled with the kidnapper during the drive, his knife slicing each of her fingers. Supposedly, he threatened her with what would happen when he met up with some of his buddies. Cindy leaped from the vehicle and was eventually rescued by a passing policeman. Whatever her injuries were, they were serious enough for her to be admitted to the hospital. Supposedly, facial bruises can be seen on the final Sullivan appearance, but I admit I can't see any.

I think Collier surrendered to authorities in Vegas a day or two later. Not sure what his sentence was, but Cindy did have to testify against him. She has said that after having nightmares about him, she actually felt sorry for him. While she was in Britain in the 80s, a television interviewer asked Cindy about the kidnapping and seemed a bit startled by the question, but repeated how frightening the situation was.

Aside from the British interview, this is stuff I read in various books over the years. What parts are true, I have no idea.