Peter Lorre may not necessarily be a household name in modern celebrity news, but he was quite the celebrity during Hollywood's Golden Age. The Hungarian-born Lorre was a megastar who became famous for playing villains. He stood out for his chilling, quiet, almost psychotic stage presence, which led to him appearing in some of the most well-known films you'll probably recognize, including Crime and Punishment, Casablanca, and The Maltese Falcon.
It was actually his daughter who led Lorre into the dark and notorious realm of death. In November 1977, Katherine Lorre was walking home when two men approached her and tried to convince her to get into their car. She refused, proving that she was Peter Lorre's daughter and showing a photo of her as a young child with her father. They eventually released her, but as the world would later find out, Peter Lorre's daughter almost became a victim of the Hillside Stranglers.
Cousins Angelo Buono Jr. and Kenneth Bianchi terrorized the Los Angeles area between October 1977 and February 1978. During this time, the pair kidnapped, assaulted, and strangled ten women, then dumped their bodies on hillsides. Lorre was one of the intended victims, but the pair were fans of her father's movies and decided not to harm her, believing killing a star's daughter would bring too much attention to them.
