Years ago actor Jack Merrill spoke to a Hollywood movie executive about telling the story of the harrowing night in 1978 when he was abducted by serial killer John Wayne Gacy. “That’s how you want to be remembered?” asked the exec. Merrill recalls,“I thought, ‘No, I guess not. That would be tying myself to him.’
For decades Merrill tried to put the attack behind him, only telling his closest friends about how Gacy had put a loaded gun in his mouth during a night of rape and torture at his ranch house on the outskirts of Chicago.
Miraculously Merrill survived. Several months later, on Dec. 21, 1978, Gacy—a contractor who also performed as Pogo the Clown—was arrested and eventually charged with the murder of 33 young men. He was executed by lethal injection in 1994. Now ready to share his account of survival, Merrill, 65, has written a one-man show about his extraordinary life, The Save, at the Electric Lodge theater in Los Angeles. Performing the show is “cathartic,” he says. “I’m proud of my journey.” Here, his story in his own words.
I grew up in a big house in Evanston, Ill., with four older sisters. It was a beautiful home but a very unhappy place. Everything looked good from the outside. My dad, Jerome Holtzman, was a baseball writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, the quintessential cigar-chomping sportswriter. He invented “the Save” statistic, used when a relief pitcher maintains his team’s lead to win the game. He’s in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
My mother had a narcissistic personality. Nothing existed outside of how life affected her. Me and my sisters were walking on eggshells, always getting yelled at. No matter what I did, I was wrong.
This story is from the November 04, 2024 edition of People US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 04, 2024 edition of People US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Hayley Erbert Hough's Return to DWTS
Less than a year after being rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery because of a cranial hematoma, Hayley Erbert Hough made a triumphant return to the Dancing With the Stars ballroom on Oct.15.
Charles & Camilla Welcomed in Australia With Cheers...and Protest
King Charles made his first trip to Australia as head of state and received some vociferous evidence that not everyone welcomed him as sovereign.
Jennifer Lawrence Expecting Baby No. 2!
Jennifer Lawrence is expecting her second child with husband Cooke Maroney, reps for the actress confirmed to Vogue on Oct. 20.
Carrie Preston
THE ACTRESS, 57, RETURNS FOR SEASON 2 OF THE CBS SERIES ELSBETH
SUSAN POWTER HAS EXCL SURVIVED THE 'INSANITY'
POWTER MADE MILLIONS IN THE '90S WITH HER 'STOP THE INSANITY!' FITNESS PROGRAM. BY 2018 SHE WAS DELIVERING GRUBHUB TO MAKE ENDS MEET. AT 66, STILL FIT AND FIERY, SHE'S READY FOR HER COMEBACK
'I Had to Save Myself'
AT 19 YEARS OLD, ACTOR JACK MERRILL WAS ABDUCTED BY JOHN WAYNE GACY. NOW, 46 YEARS LATER, HE RECALLS HIS SHOCKING ORDEAL AND HOW HE REFUSED TO LET IT BREAK HIS SPIRIT: 'I WASN'T GOING TO LEAVE MY HAPPINESS IN THAT HOUSE'
A Taste of the Crown
QUEEN CAMILLA'S SON, COOKBOOK AUTHOR TOM PARKER BOWLES, REVEALS ROYAL CULINARY SECRETS AND FAMILY DYNAMICS
ELLA BLEU TRAVOLTA LOVE, FAMILY & FINDING MY VOICE
HOW THE SINGER-SONGWRITER'S FAMOUS FAMILY AND THE LOSS OF HER BELOVED MOTHER-HAVE INSPIRED HER BLOSSOMING MUSIC CAREER
A Pop Star's Shocking Death & Tragic Final Days
FRIENDS AND FAMILY MOURN THE ONE DIRECTION SINGER AS AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATE HIS SUDDEN DEATH AT AGE 31
LIAM NEESON IS STILL READY FOR ACTION
THE LEGENDARY ACTOR OPENS UP ABOUT HIS SURPRISING CAREER PATH, RAISING HIS TWO SONS AFTER THE DEATH OF WIFE NATASHA RICHARDSON AND WHY HE CONSIDERS HIMSELF LUCKY'