Hollywood actress’ body never found after meeting with

Hollywood star Jean Spangler vanished without a hint on October 7, 1949, after leaving her Hollywood condominium and hugging her five-year-old daughter goodbye.

She left the little one in the care of her sister-in-law as she headed out to work, one thing typical for her as an actress who mainly labored in bit elements in films that often shot late into the night. However, she was not seen again, and two days later her purse was found in Griffith Park, a well-liked spot for hikers that overlooks Los Angeles.

One actor particularly grew to become the focus of the police investigation in the search that adopted, certainly one of the best-known names in the enterprise at the time, Kirk Douglas. Jean – who was born in Seattle in 1923 – had been struggling as an aspiring star, engaged on bit elements and as a nightclub dancer while ready for her big break.

In the yr previous to her disappearance sh she labored on films such as The Miracle of the Bells, When My Baby Smiles at Me, and Young Man With a Horn. She had also been struggling with her on-and-off relationship with her ex-husband, plastics producer Dexter Benner.

The couple first married in 1942, however six months later, they divorced, with Jean citing “cruelty” as the motive for his or her cut up. However, the relationship remained on and off, with the pair welcoming a daughter in 1944.

At the time of her disappearance, Jean and Dexter had been in the midst of a fierce custody battle, which induced police to initially suspect him of murder. He was questioned by police and claimed that he hadn’t seen his ex-wife for weeks, with officers believing his story.

Part of the motive why Dexter was shortly cleared of suspicion was a clue that was found inside Jean’s tattered purse, a word which read, “Kirk, Can’t wait any longer. Going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while the mother is away.”

The motive why Kirk Douglas was linked to the word was that just before she vanished, Jean completed engaged on Young Man with a Horn, which starred Kirk. The iconic star called the police himself when he heard about the word.

Talking to The San Bernardino Sun in 1949, Kirk said, “I told Detective Chief Thad Brown that I didn’t remember the girl or the name until a friend recalled it was she who worked as an extra in a scene with me in my picture Young Man With a Horn. I recalled that she was a tall girl in a green dress and that I talked and kidded with her a bit on the set, as I have with many others. But I never saw her before or after that and have never been out with her.”

Jean’s disappearance stays a thriller, and to this day, the Los Angeles Police Department still hasn’t closed the case. Many theories surrounding what occurred to her have circulated by way of the years, with suspects also including the Dr Scott talked about in the word, well-known mob boss Mickey Cohen, and the still unidentified Black Dahlia serial killer.

Speculation has also advised that Jean was planning an unlawful abortion resulting from the wording on the word. Many still consider Dexter was the most seemingly suspect, previous to his demise in 2007. He was granted full custody of their daughter within weeks of Jean disappearing, and then fled to Florida, refusing to honor the partial custody granted to Jean’s mom in defiance of a Los Angeles courtroom.