Editing Caryl Chessman (section)

==In popular culture==
[[Megan Terry|Megan Terry’s]] play, ''The People vs Ranchman'', loosely based on Chessman’s crimes and punishment, was produced Off-Broadway in New York during the 1968–1969 season.<ref>Guernsey, Otis. ''Curtain Times; The New York Theater, 1965–1987''. (1987) pp. 138–9.</ref>

Author [[Dominique Lapierre]] visited Chessman several times during his incarceration. Lapierre was then a young reporter working for a French newspaper. His account of Chessman appears in the book ''A Thousand Suns.''<ref>Dominique Lapierre: Bestselling Writer Turns Philanthropist. [http://www.cityofjoyaid.org/bio_lapierre.html cityofjoyaid.org archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307113030/http://www.cityofjoyaid.org/bio_lapierre.html |date=March 7, 2014 }}. Retrieved November 30, 2014.</ref>

Artist [[Bruce Conner]] created his sculpture ''Child'' in 1959–60 as an homage to Chessman.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/81511|title=Bruce Conner. CHILD. 1959–60 – MoMA|website=The Museum of Modern Art}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-bruce-conner-13116|title=Oral history interview with Bruce Conner, 1974 March 29 - Oral Histories {{!}} Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution|last=Art|first=Archives of American|website=www.aaa.si.edu|access-date=2016-12-18}}</ref>

The radio version of ''[[Dragnet (franchise)|Dragnet]]'' referenced the Chessman case and the Redlight Bandit in a 1949 episode. The producers changed the storyline of his crimes, allowing the rape victim to die in the fictitious version, justifying the death penalty.

Chessman's execution is referenced in [[Lucio Fulci]]'s 1969 [[giallo]] ''[[One on Top of the Other]]'', in which the character of George Dumurrier ([[Jean Sorel]]) is prepared to be executed in San Quentin's gas chamber. Not only were these sequences shot on location in San Quentin, but several of the prison personnel who were responsible for Chessman's death acted in them; a fact that was especially highlighted in the film's [[Film trailer|trailer]].<ref>{{cite AV media
 | people = [[Stephen Thrower]]
 | date = 2018
 | title = [[One on Top of the Other]] (Interview with Stephen Thrower)
 | medium = Blu-ray Disc
 | location = [[Seattle]]
 | publisher = Mondo Macabro
}}</ref>

Chessman is mentioned in [[Neil Diamond]]'s 1970 song "[[Done Too Soon]]" and in French singer [[Nicolas Peyrac]]'s song "So far away from LA".

Chessman's execution in the gas chamber is mentioned in [[Richard Brautigan]]'s 1967 novella ''[[Trout Fishing in America]]''.<ref>{{Citation|last=Brautigan|first=Richard|title=Trout fishing in America : a novel|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/958962748|isbn=978-1-5047-5954-0|oclc=958962748|access-date=2021-02-26}}</ref>

In 1977, [[Alan Alda]] starred in an NBC television movie about Chessman's life, ''Kill Me If You Can.'' This was sometimes shown, subsequently, as ''The Caryl Chessman Story.''<ref>Morales, T. (January 4, 2005). Alan Alda Shows Off His Dark Side. [http://www.cbsnews.com/news/alan-alda-shows-off-his-dark-side/ CBS News archive]. Retrieved November 30, 2014.</ref>

The song "The Ballad of Caryl Chessman," written by the songwriting team of [[Al Hoffman]] and [[Dick Manning]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.copyrightencyclopedia.com/could-be-i-love-you-to-the-bank-to-the-bank-to-the-bank/|title=Could be I love you (to the bank, to the bank, to the bank) English lyrics by Al Hoffman & Dick Manning, original Spanish lyric & music by Haroldo Barboza & Lucio Alves|website=www.copyrightencyclopedia.com}}</ref> includes the chorus "let him live, let him live, let him live". It was a minor hit single for [[Ronnie Hawkins]] two months before Chessman's execution.<ref>It peaked at number 32 on the [[CHUM Chart]] in Toronto in March 1960. ''The CHUM Chart Book: 1957–1983,'' Ron Hall, p. 81.
</ref>

Country music star [[Merle Haggard]] stated in an interview in 1995 that many years earlier, when he was a prison inmate, observing Chessman's preparations for his execution helped to set him on the straight and narrow.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/04/08/473507436/fresh-air-remembers-country-music-legend-merle-haggard |title=Fresh Air Remembers Country Music Legend Merle Haggard |publisher=NPR |date=2016-04-08 |access-date=2016-10-29}}</ref>

''Chessman'', a 2016 play by Joe Rodota, tells the story of the execution from the viewpoint of Governor Pat Brown.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Crowder |first1=Marcus |title=Life or death at B Street Theatre in 'Chessman' |url=http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article108822827.html |access-date=February 14, 2017 |work=Sacramento Bee |date=October 17, 2016}}</ref>

The song "Broadway Melody of 1974" by the rock group [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], off their album ''[[The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway]]'', contains the lyrics: "The cheerleader waves her cyanide wand with the smell of peach blossoms and bitter almond." (Gas chamber reference) then: "''Caryl Chessman sniffs the air and leads the parade, he knows, in a scent, you can bottle all you made.''"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genius.com/Genesis-broadway-melody-of-1974-lyrics|title=Lyrics to the Genesis song "Broadway Melody Of 1974"|website=Genius|access-date=May 23, 2019}}</ref> "Sniffs the air" likely refers to the execution method; also the singer Gabriel pronounces "in a scent" indistinguishably from "innocent".<ref>{{Cite web|last=SongMeanings|title=Broadway Melody Of 1974 lyrics comment by monsterwax on 2019-11-04 04:32:41|url=https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/1647/?&specific_com=73016390080#comments|access-date=2021-06-24|website=SongMeanings|date=April 16, 2005 |language=en}}</ref>

Mexican professional [[Lucha libre|''luchador'']], "[[Chessman (wrestler)|Chessman]], the red light killer," from [[Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide|AAA]], is named after Chessman.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://superluchas.com/en/newsletter-aaa-chessman-the-murderer-of-the-red-light-banded-in-glory/|title=AAA Bulletin - Chessman, the Red Light Killer, bathed in glory ｜ Superfights|website=Superluchas {{!}} WWE, RAW, Lucha Libre, UFC y Box|language=en|access-date=2020-04-10}}</ref>

A fictionalized version of Chessman appears in [[James Ellroy|James Ellroy's]] 2021 novel ''Widespread Panic''.<ref>{{Citation|last=Ellroy|first=James|title= Widespread Panic|date=July 2021|publisher=William Heinemann |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1245842550|isbn= 9781785152580|oclc=1245842550|access-date=2021-06-20}}</ref>

Chessman is believed by the fictional serial killer Thomas Bishop to be his biological father in the 1979 novel, ''By Reason of Insanity'' by Shane Stevens.