Big Picture

Jessica Alba: Colorful Cab Plus, Victoria Beckham struts and Courteney Cox steals a smooch. Get the latest pics!

MORE PHOTOS +

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.

Fashion Police

Leighton's Valentine's Look Plus, Ashlee Simpson and Cate Blanchett. Rate the highs and lows!

MORE PHOTOS +

Top Galleries

MORE PHOTOS +

Our Partners

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.

Spector Goes Blond for Trial

Mon., Mar. 19, 2007 4:00 PM PDT by Joal Ryan

Does a blond Phil Spector have more fun?

The answer is yet to be determined as the music producer's murder trial opened Monday with jury selection.

Spector arrived at the Los Angeles courthouse modeling a soft, honey-hued 'do with bangs. The Sally Jessy Raphael look was in contrast to the gray, electric-shock afro he sported during a 2005 pretrial hearing.

Hairdos aside, Spector stands accused of fatally shooting B-movie actor Lana Clarkson in his castle-style Alhambra, California, home in 2003. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

Spector, currently free on $1 million bail, has pleaded innocent. In a 2003 magazine interview, he said Clarkson shot herself.

According to reports, the 67-year-old Spector appeared in a fine mood Monday, smiling as he made his way to the courtroom. He was said to be accompanied by his second wife, Rachelle Short, whom he wed last year, and whom, unlike his first wife, Ronnie Spector, hasn't published an unflattering account of their union.

Inside the courtroom, officials got down to the business of finding a 12-member jury of Spector's peers, or something approximating that.

In the morning, 75 potential jury-box occupants were brought before Superior Court Judge Larry P. Fidler, reports said. Fidler assured the assembled that while the trial will be televised, the jurors won't be. He also promised that they won't be sequestered during the trial's expected three-month-long run, à la the hotel-bound O.J. Simpson jurors.

Twenty-six people from the morning session were excused from the trial because of various job, home and financial concerns, reports said. Those remaining were given questionnaires aimed at picking their brains for their thoughts on celebrity.

Arguably best known now for his courtroom hair, Spector was renown in the 1960s and 1970s as a genius producer whose "wall of sound" solidified hits such as "He's a Rebel," "Be My Baby" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling."

Three more rounds of jury winnowing were planned for Monday and Tuesday.

Prospective jurors who survive the first cuts are due back Apr. 16 to face questioning from the defense and prosecution.

Opening arguments are tentatively scheduled for Apr. 30, also likely the first day of gavel-to-gavel TV coverage.