Music producer Phil Spector is likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars after he was sentenced to 19 years in prison today for the murder of a Hollywood actress in 2003.

Spector, 69 and in frail health, who revolutionised pop music in the 1960s with his layered "Wall of Sound" production technique, was convicted in April of second-degree murder by a Los Angeles jury after a second trial. The first trial ended in a deadlock in 2007.

Lana Clarkson, 40, a B-movie actress, died of a shot to the mouth fired from Spector's gun in the foyer of his mock castle home outside Los Angeles. The two had met hours earlier at a Hollywood nightclub.

The sentence means that Spector, who stared impassively at the judge as he spoke, must spend at least 19 years in prison before being eligible for parole. If this does not happen, he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Spector, who worked with The Ronettes, The Beatles, Cher and Leonard Cohen at the height of his fame, denied murdering Ms Clarkson but did not testify at either trial. He had suffered bouts of depression and told a reporter shortly before the shooting that he had "devils that fight inside me."

Spector has been held in custody since his conviction. Dressed in his customary dark pinstripe suit with a red silk tie, the music producer was led away. His attorney asked that he be transferred immediately from county jail to a state prison. It was not immediately known to which prison Spector would be assigned.

Prosecutors said the shooting of Ms Clarkson was part of a pattern of gun play and violence that Spector displayed toward women over the past 20 years, saying he had a problem with rage and was "a bully".

Spector's lawyers claimed that Ms Clarkson was depressed about her failing career and had committed suicide.

Spector's attorney said the defence sympathised with the family "with its loss." But attorney Doron Weinberg maintained that Spector was convicted wrongly.

"The evidence did not establish Mr Spector's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," the lawyer said. He plans an appeal.

Before the sentencing, the victim's mother, Donna Clarkson, told the judge she was heartbroken over the death of her daughter. "All our plans together are destroyed. Now I can only visit her in the cemetery," she said.

Ms Clarkson's family has also filed a wrongful death civil suit against Spector which has yet to be heard.

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