# Murder of Don Solovich

Don L. Solovich (6 April 1892 – 6 January 1928) from Austria-Hungary was a gay man formerly employed by famed actor Charlie Chaplin who was murdered by his own chauffeur in 1928 in central Utah. The murder trial made international headlines.

## Biography

Don was born Danus Ljubo Sabovic in modern-day Montenegro to a Serbian-speaking family and moved to the United States at the age of 16. He was 22 at the start of World War I, but was not drafted. He later adopted the Americanized stage name Don Solovich in Los Angeles (LA), by which he went for the rest of his life. In LA, he worked as a waiter, sometimes dressed in drag, and possessed hundreds of letters from a Tom Harrington, expressing "more than ordinary affection" to Don. These were discovered in his luggage, as reported after his death. His murderer stated that Solovich said he "was a woman in nature" and dated men (same-sex sexual activity was illegal in California at the time). In 1923, Solovich was attacked and robbed of $80 USD (equivalent to $1,400 in 2023) by Macon Irby in their hotel room. Irby used the gay panic defense to justify his violent act, but was convicted of two counts of robbery by a jury.
Solovich also worked for Charlie Chaplin's film studio in Hollywood, performed as an opera ballet dancer, and acted as an extra in a few films. He worked as a butler for actress Lita Grey and her actor husband Charlie Chaplin at the time. Grey and Chaplin's marriage later soured and they had highly publicized divorce proceedings finalized in August 1927. By then Solovich was boarding in the California house of the parents of Sheldon Reid Clark.

## Sheldon Clark

In 1927, Clark was 22, was from a small city of Manti, Utah (population 2,200 in 1930), and was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (baptized July 20, 1915 and listed in the Emery, Utah LDS Ward in 1914). He aspired to be an actor in Hollywood.

## Before the murder

A witness stated Solovich had told him days before his murder that Clark's brother Melvin had stolen a large sum of money from Solovich. Don's killer alleged that Chaplin owed a large sum of money to an employee of Chaplin. The convicted killer also alleged Chaplin was upset with Solovich as Don may have had some blackmail material on him that his ex-partner Grey could have used as leverage during the divorce. Clark alleged Solovich had recently received thousands of dollars in cash from Chaplin over the divorce, and further alleged that Solovich and Chaplin were lovers. A prosecution attorney stated a source had told them Solovich feared for his safety in LA and decided to leave. and hired Sheldon to drive him and a large amount of luggage to Utah. An article reported that Lita Grey said Solovich had blackmailed her. A shopkeeper couple in Los Angeles County accused Solovich and Clark of holding them up a few days before the murder and stealing $2000 worth of jewelry (equivalent to $35,000 in 2023).

## The murder

In central Utah on the side of the snowy January road Clark (22) struck Solovich (35) three times in the face and three times on the back of the head with a hammer. He then took Don's car and thousands of dollars of possessions and dragged his body over to a ditch and drove to Salt Lake City. The prosecution stated that papers that may have been divorce depositions for the Chaplin divorce disappeared along with a ring, and that Clark killed Solovich for a $5000 diamond ring, $2000 vehicle, $2000 cash. Together the ring, car, and cash would be worth equivalent to $158,000 in 2023. Solovich was still breathing when found, but died before reaching medical care.

## The trial

Clark was sentenced to a few years in prison for aggravated manslaughter by a jury of people from the town where he went to high school. The judge reported he believed Clark should have been found guilty of the more serious conviction of first-degree murder. Clark alleged that he struck Solovich multiple times because Solovich became abusive and attacked him. The trial received sensational national headlines, and one in Australia. Clark stated that Solovich had told him he was related to French royalty and would inherit a large sum of money.