Susan Atkins

## Susan Denise Atkins

### Died

August 8, 1969, Rick Dalton's house, Los Angeles, California, United States of America

### Cause of death

Burned alive with a flamethrower by Rick Dalton

### Goals

Confront and kill Cliff Booth and Rick Dalton as paypack on Booth for trespassing on the cult's territory, making George nervous, and for assaulting Clem (failed).
Murder Sharon Tate and her friends (abandoned; although succeeded in real life).

## Background information

### Appears in

*Once Upon a Time In Hollywood*

**Susan Denise Atkins**, also known as **Sadie**, was a supporting antagonist in Quentin Tarantino's ninth film *Once Upon a Time In Hollywood*. She was a member of the Manson Family cult, leaded by Charles Manson, and was based on the real-life murderer of the same name. Sadie was burned alive in self defence with a flamethrower by Rick Dalton on 8th of August 1969.

She was portrayed by Mikey Madison.

## Biography

Sadie first appears after another member of the Manson Family, Pussycat, brings Rick Dalton's stuntman, Cliff Booth, to their ranch. She is later present when Cliff beats her fellow cult member, Clem, after he refuses to change the tire in Dalton's car that was pierced by him.

On 8th August 1969, Charles Manson sends Sadie alongside three of his other followers (Tex, Katie, and Flowerchild) to kill all residents of Roman Polanski's house, including actress Sharon Tate and her friends. When Susan and her friends are sitting in a car on Cielo Drive street near Polanski's residence, they are aproched by Rick Dalton (Roman and Sharon's neighbour) who is annoyed by cultist's presence and yells at them which results in to cult members driving off the street. After Tex and Katie recognize Rick from NBC's TV show *Bounty Law*, Sadie tells them an idea that she once came up with when she was high; to kill Dalton in order to kill the people who "taught them to kill". After that, the cultists decide to change their plan and murder Rick instead of Tate, using Sadie's excuse. On their way to Dalton's house, Flowerchild goes to the cultist's car and drives of, abandoning Sadie, Tex and Katie.

After remaining cult members break into Rick's apartment, they find there Cliff Booth, who is high on acid. Tex pulls a revolver towards the stuntman but he orders his dog, Brandy to attack him. When Brandy bites Tex, Sadie tries to attack Cliff but is stopped he throws a can of dog food at her, striking her on the bridge of her nose and damaging the optical nerve, rendering her blind and hysterical. After Brandy begins to attack Sadie she fires blinding at the ceiling with Tex's revolver which scares off Brandy who runs away to the room where Francesca Capucci is hiding. Sadie, in an attempt to escape crashes through the glass doors and falls into Rick's pool, startling Rick who is learning lines for an audition the next day. Despite his initial concern for her safety Rick is soon driven away when she resurfaces and begins firing the revolver once more. Rick flees to his shed where he retrieves a fully operational flamethrower which he uses to torch Sadie and finally kill her.

## Trivia

* In reality, Sadie, Katie and Tex, unfortunately, managed to kill Sharon Tate and her friends.
* In the movie, Sadie is killed by Rick, but in reality, she died on September 24, 2009 from natural causes.