28 Clubhouse Avenue

(Home of Mark Ross, aka Mark Rosen, Y Lee Freeman, Aesop Aquarian)

The home of Mark Ross at 28 Clubhouse Avenue, Venice, CA 90291. On several occasions, family associates stayed at this Venice Beach home which is also the location of John Philip Haught’s questionable death.

Mark Ross (Feb. 27, 1945 – May 27, 2022) was a friend of the Manson Family. He lived in a beach house located at 28 Clubhouse Avenue, Venice, CA 90291. On several occasions, family associates stayed at this Venice Beach home which is today described as a 3 bedroom, 2 bath restored classic beach house situated on one of Venice’s “Walk-Streets” which are tiny cobblestone walkways that do not allow vehicles and resemble more of small alleyways.

It was at the home of Mark Ross, where on November 5, 1969, Manson family associate John Philip Haught, aka “Zero”, allegedly killed himself playing Russian roulette. When Los Angeles County Police responded to a call at 28 Clubhouse Avenue they found the body of a young man lying on a mattress with a gun and its holster nearby. The victim had a gunshot wound to the right side of his temple.

Still in the home were other Manson family members who were all questioned individually and all provided matching witness statements; that Zero picked up a .22 Calibre revolver, spun the cylinder, and shot himself in the head. One of the family members was inside the bedroom with Zero and the others only heard the shots, however they all ran in and collaborated on what they had seen.Without any other evidence, the police concluded that it was indeed suicide. Later, an anonymous man told a Los Angeles Times writer that he was present when Zero died and that Zero didn’t kill himself but that one of the girls had shot him. However, the man disappeared before authorities could talk to him.

Mark Ross, whose real name was likely “Mark Rosen,” later changed his name to “Aesop Aquarian”, which speculation exists that this was done so he could better hide from the Manson Family as he was in fear of them. However, in the early 1970s another group sprouted up on the Los Angeles scene and many of those members changed their names to include the “Aquarian” surname, which suggests and alternative possibility; that he changed his name to follow another group of wanderers.

A biography of Mark Ross is currently in the works.