Candice Bergen is back as the title character on “Murphy Brown” — and no longer has to worry about a depraved dictator being her biggest fan! The veteran actress had kept an ugly secret to herself during the hit show’s original run — privately living in terror as Panamanian leader General Manuel Noriega became fixated on the actress. At the time, Noriega was a global villain overseeing a corrupt network of racketeering, drug smuggling and money laundering. U.S. officials had tried to pursue the brutal dictator in court, but Noriega ignored his former American allies while building a massive fortune by working closely with vicious drug lords. Candice had already faced the horror of being targeted by the homicidal hippie cult led by Charles Manson in 1969, but Noriega was just as obsessive, and far more powerful…
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The madman's sick interest in Candice first emerged in early 1989, as General Noriega discreetly tried to lure the star into attending a Panama film festival featuring her movies. Insiders were reportedly suspicious about the massive $1,000,000 fee offered for Candice's personal appearance. One source added that the star's politics quickly ruled out the offer, saying "Candice was sickened" to learn she had a fan in a "tinpot dictator!"
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The offer became more of a threat, however, once it was reported that Noriega had become obsessive about the actress. One insider in Panama reported that the dictator would demand that the island's elites join him for Sunday screenings of "Murphy Brown" from tapes he had flown in from America — with an implied death penalty for turning down the honor of watching Candice!
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Then reports came that Noriega also hosted film parties built around Candice's sexiest scenes — with a special fondness for the 1970 western "Soldier Blue," with the dictator lingering on a scene where the actress is stripped semi-nude and tied to the back of a wagon. The source reported that Candice and her insiders were all alarmed at the thought of Noriega "living out his fantasies while watching sexy tapes of her on his VCR!"
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Stories of the depraved dictator's depraved sex life were already legendary throughout Panama. As a junior army officer, he had narrowly escaped punishment for raping and murdering a young girl. When he ascended to power in Panama in 1983, said one local resident, girls began to live in fear of being summoned at midnight for "utterly depraved" sex sessions.
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Candice was also made aware of how Jasmine Turner, the newly-elected Miss National Black USA, had quickly fled Panama after meeting Noriega while attending the Miss Universe Contest in 1986 "He was very charismatic," she recalled, "but very frightening, too. At first he was very polite. But later he sent a messenger inviting me to his weekend hideaway. I was scared, and I sent back the message, 'No way!'"
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Noriega was also reportedly dreaming of having Candice as a talented replacement for his mistress Vicki Amado — an actress who'd inspired him to spend a fortune on a doomed stage production of "Evita." Candice then reportedly learned that filthy-rich Noriega had turned his $1 million offer into a bounty!
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Noriega was also reportedly dreaming of having Candice as a talented replacement for his mistress Vicki Amado — an actress who'd inspired him to spend a fortune on a doomed stage production of "Evita." Candice then reportedly learned that filthy-rich Noriega had turned his $1 million offer into a bounty!
"The threat of kidnapping is definitely hanging over Candice's head," said a source just months after the original film festival offer. "It may sound crazy, but Noriega is a crazy man. And if Noriega can smuggle drugs into the United States from Panama, then he must have the means to get his hands on her!"
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Candice's nightmare would finally end when American forces invaded to depose Noriega in Dec. 1989 — although she reportedly continued to live in fear of the imprisoned madman until his death in Jan. 2017 from a brain hemorrhage during surgery in Panama City. By then, his mistress Vicki had gone into hiding after cooperating with U.S. intelligence — avoiding a fate that could've been been Candice's!
The madman's sick interest in Candice first emerged in early 1989, as General Noriega discreetly tried to lure the star into attending a Panama film festival featuring her movies. Insiders were reportedly suspicious about the massive $1,000,000 fee offered for Candice's personal appearance. One source added that the star's politics quickly ruled out the offer, saying "Candice was sickened" to learn she had a fan in a "tinpot dictator!"
Photo credit: Getty Images
The offer became more of a threat, however, once it was reported that Noriega had become obsessive about the actress. One insider in Panama reported that the dictator would demand that the island's elites join him for Sunday screenings of "Murphy Brown" from tapes he had flown in from America — with an implied death penalty for turning down the honor of watching Candice!
Photo credit: Getty Images
Then reports came that Noriega also hosted film parties built around Candice's sexiest scenes — with a special fondness for the 1970 western "Soldier Blue," with the dictator lingering on a scene where the actress is stripped semi-nude and tied to the back of a wagon. The source reported that Candice and her insiders were all alarmed at the thought of Noriega "living out his fantasies while watching sexy tapes of her on his VCR!"
Photo credit: Getty Images
Stories of the depraved dictator's depraved sex life were already legendary throughout Panama. As a junior army officer, he had narrowly escaped punishment for raping and murdering a young girl. When he ascended to power in Panama in 1983, said one local resident, girls began to live in fear of being summoned at midnight for "utterly depraved" sex sessions.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Candice was also made aware of how Jasmine Turner, the newly-elected Miss National Black USA, had quickly fled Panama after meeting Noriega while attending the Miss Universe Contest in 1986 "He was very charismatic," she recalled, "but very frightening, too. At first he was very polite. But later he sent a messenger inviting me to his weekend hideaway. I was scared, and I sent back the message, 'No way!'"
Photo credit: Getty Images
Noriega was also reportedly dreaming of having Candice as a talented replacement for his mistress Vicki Amado — an actress who'd inspired him to spend a fortune on a doomed stage production of "Evita." Candice then reportedly learned that filthy-rich Noriega had turned his $1 million offer into a bounty!
Photo credit: Getty Images
"The threat of kidnapping is definitely hanging over Candice's head," said a source just months after the original film festival offer. "It may sound crazy, but Noriega is a crazy man. And if Noriega can smuggle drugs into the United States from Panama, then he must have the means to get his hands on her!"
Candice's nightmare would finally end when American forces invaded to depose Noriega in Dec. 1989 — although she reportedly continued to live in fear of the imprisoned madman until his death in Jan. 2017 from a brain hemorrhage during surgery in Panama City. By then, his mistress Vicki had gone into hiding after cooperating with U.S. intelligence — avoiding a fate that could've been been Candice's!
Photo credit: Getty Images
