Why Jocelyn Leroy and Cheryl Crane Still Matter
Most people only know the name Cheryl Crane because of a bloody kitchen knife and a 1958 headline that refused to die. They remember the daughter of Lana Turner, the "justifiable homicide" of mobster Johnny Stompanato, and the tabloid frenzy that followed a terrified 14-year-old girl into adulthood. But if you stop the story there, you’re missing the most interesting part. You’re missing the fifty-year love story with Jocelyn Leroy that essentially saved Cheryl’s life.
It’s easy to get sucked into the "Old Hollywood" drama. Honestly, it’s a lot. You've got the blonde bombshell mother, the abusive gangster boyfriend, and the teenage daughter caught in the crossfire. But the real meat of this story isn't the murder. It’s the survival. And Jocelyn—known to friends and family as "Josh"—is the primary reason that survival was even possible.
The Night Under Marlon Brando’s Pool Table
Hollywood stories are usually full of manufactured "meet-cutes," but the way Jocelyn Leroy and Cheryl Crane actually met is so weirdly specific it has to be true. It was 1970. The scene was a party hosted by Wally Cox.
Cheryl was still struggling to find her footing in a world that saw her as a tragic figure or a villain. She was at this party when she ended up under a pool table. Why? Because Marlon Brando was under there. Apparently, Brando liked to have "deep conversations" in small, enclosed spaces. Underneath that billiards table, he introduced Cheryl to a stunning model named Joyce "Josh" LeRoy.
They didn't just hit it off; they clicked in a way that defied the chaotic energy of the era. Within months, they were a couple. This wasn't a "fling" or a Hollywood phase. In a town where marriages last about as long as a film premiere, these two stayed together for over five decades.
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Moving Past the "Stompanato" Shadow
For years, the public wouldn't let Cheryl go. Every time Lana Turner made a movie or got married (which was often), the press would dig up the Stompanato killing. It was a heavy weight to carry.
Life in Hawaii and San Francisco
By the late 70s, Cheryl and Jocelyn realized they couldn't live their best lives in the Beverly Hills fishbowl. They packed up and moved to Honolulu.
- Business Partners: They didn't just live together; they worked together. Cheryl became a highly successful real estate broker.
- A New Identity: In Hawaii, they weren't "the daughter of a star and her girlfriend." They were a professional power couple.
- Family Approval: Lana Turner, despite her own turbulent personal life, eventually came to adore Jocelyn. She reportedly viewed her "as a second daughter."
They eventually moved to San Francisco in the 80s, continuing their real estate careers and slowly becoming advocates in the LGBTQ+ community during the height of the AIDS crisis. They didn't do it for the cameras. They just did the work.
Breaking the "Curse" of Lana Turner
If you look at Lana Turner’s life, it was a sequence of eight marriages and endless heartbreak. Cheryl grew up watching that instability. It’s kinda miraculous that she ended up in one of the most stable relationships in celebrity history.
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Jocelyn Leroy provided the emotional anchor that Cheryl never had as a child. While the tabloids wanted Cheryl to be a "troubled heiress" forever, she was busy building a quiet, wealthy life in Palm Springs with the woman she loved.
They finally tied the knot officially in November 2014. After forty-four years of being "partners," they made it legal. It wasn't a massive media circus. It was a quiet acknowledgement of a lifetime spent together. Honestly, the fact that they survived the 1970s, the 80s, and the constant prying of historians is a testament to how solid they were.
The Mystery Novels and the "Nikki Harper" Era
In her later years, Cheryl started writing mystery novels. Her protagonist, Nikki Harper, is a real estate agent who solves crimes. Sound familiar? It’s basically a fictionalized version of the life she built with Jocelyn.
People always ask Cheryl the same thing: "Did your mother really kill Johnny Stompanato and you took the fall?"
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She has answered that a thousand times. No. She did it to protect her mother. But the real answer to how she moved past that trauma isn't found in a courtroom transcript. It’s found in the fact that she’s spent nearly her entire adult life with the same person.
What We Can Learn from Their Story
- Privacy is a choice: You can be part of a major historical event and still choose to live a quiet, dignified life.
- Stability isn't inherited: You don't have to repeat the chaotic patterns of your parents.
- Long-term commitment works: Even in the spotlight, "boring" stability is often the greatest rebellion.
Actionable Insights for Researching Hollywood History
If you're looking into the lives of Jocelyn Leroy and Cheryl Crane, don't just stick to the 1958 trial documents. That’s only the prologue.
- Read "Detour: A Hollywood Story": This is Cheryl’s autobiography. It’s remarkably candid about her sexuality and her relationship with Josh.
- Check Real Estate Records: If you're a data nerd, looking at their professional success in Palm Springs and Hawaii shows a side of them the gossip mags ignored.
- Look for 2010s Interviews: Towards the end of Lana's life and into the 2000s, Cheryl spoke much more openly about how Jocelyn helped her heal from the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother's other husbands, like Lex Barker.
The story of Jocelyn Leroy and Cheryl Crane is ultimately one of redemption. It’s about a girl who saw the worst of Hollywood—the violence, the fake romance, the predatory men—and chose to build something real with a woman who stood by her for over half a century.