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Jean Spangler

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Jean Spangler
Headshot of Spangler, 1943
Born
Jean Elizabeth Spangler

(1923-09-02)September 2, 1923
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
DisappearedOctober 7, 1949 (aged 26)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
StatusMissing for 75 years, 1 month and 18 days
Spouse
Dexter Benner
​
​
(m. 1942; div. 1946)​
Children1

Jean Elizabeth Spangler (September 2, 1923 – disappeared October 7, 1949) was an American actress who appeared in bit parts in several Hollywood films in the late 1940s. She garnered public attention for her mysterious disappearance in late 1949.

Born in Seattle, Washington, Spangler attended high school in Los Angeles, California, before beginning a career in film in 1948, appearing as a dancer in several uncredited roles, including in Walter Lang's When My Baby Smiles at Me (1948), the comedy Chicken Every Sunday (1949), and the musical drama Young Man with a Horn (1950).

On the evening of October 7, 1949, Spangler left her home in Los Angeles, telling her sister-in-law that she was going to meet with her ex-husband before going to work as an extra on a film set. She was last seen alive at a grocery store several blocks from her home at approximately 6:00 p.m. Two days later, Spangler's tattered purse was discovered in a remote area of Griffith Park, approximately 5.5 miles (8.9 km) from her home; inside was a letter addressed to a "Kirk", which mentioned seeing a doctor. Given Spangler's recent work on the film Young Man with a Horn starring Kirk Douglas, he called police to clear his name, telling them he was in Palm Springs at the time, which police accepted.[1]

Spangler's disappearance generated various theories, which ranged from her alleged death in a botched abortion to her fleeing with Los Angeles gangsters with whom she was acquainted. To date, no additional evidence has been uncovered in Spangler's case, and her whereabouts remain unknown.

Early life

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Jean Elizabeth Spangler was born on September 2, 1923, in Seattle, Washington, as the youngest daughter and child of the four children of Cecil Martin Spangler and Florence Matilda Morris.[1][2] She had two brothers, Richard Martin and Edward Franklin Spangler, and an older sister, Betsy Anne Shreckengaust. She attended Franklin High School in Los Angeles, California, and graduated in 1941.[1] As a teen, Spangler had danced with the Earl Carroll Theatre and Florentine Gardens.

In 1942, Spangler married manufacturer Dexter Benner.[3] They had a daughter, Christine, and divorced in 1946. Spangler and Benner engaged in a long custody battle over their daughter, until Spangler was eventually awarded custody in 1948. At the time of her disappearance, she lived with her mother Florence, five-year-old daughter Christine, brother Edward, and sister-in-law Sophie, on Colgate Avenue in the Park La Brea residential complex near Wilshire Boulevard.[1]

Disappearance

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On Friday, October 7, 1949, Spangler left her home in Los Angeles around 5:00 p.m. She left her daughter with Sophie and said that she was meeting Benner to discuss a late child support payment;[4][5] after that, she was going to work on a night shoot for a film.[6] Two hours after leaving, Spangler called home and spoke with Sophie as well as her daughter; she told Sophie she would "have to work the full eight hours" and would probably not return home that evening.[7] At the time, Spangler's mother Florence was out of town visiting family in Louisville, Kentucky.[8] The following morning, October 8, Sophie went to the police and filed a missing person report after Spangler failed to return home.[1]

Though Spangler had told her sister-in-law that she was going to work on a film set after she met with Benner, police checked with studios and the Screen Extras Guild and found no records indicating she had worked that night.[1] A saleswoman at the Farmers Market, only a few blocks from Spangler's home, recalled seeing her browsing around 6 p.m., and noted that she "appeared to be waiting for someone."[1] This was the last known sighting of Spangler.[1] Police questioned Benner about her statement to Sophie that she was going to meet him about his child support payments. He claimed that he had not seen his former wife for several weeks. His new wife, Lynn Lasky Benner (1924-2019), to whom he had been married only one month, corroborated his story.[1]

Handbag and note discovery

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Fern Dell section of Griffith Park, where Spangler's purse was discovered

Kirk: Can't wait any longer, Going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while mother is away,

Handwritten note found in Spangler's purse in Griffith Park[7]

On October 9, 1949, Spangler's purse was found near the Fern Dell entrance of Griffith Park in Los Angeles, approximately 5.5 miles (8.9 km) from her home. Both of the straps on one side of the purse were torn loose as if it had been ripped from her arm.[1] Sixty police officers and over one hundred volunteers searched the 4,107-acre (16.62 km2) natural terrain park, but no other clues were found.[1] There was no money in the purse (Sophie said that Spangler had no money when she left the house the evening of her disappearance) so the police ruled out robbery as a motive. There was a note in the purse addressed to a "Kirk", which read: "Kirk: Can't wait any longer, Going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while mother is away,".[7] The note ended in a comma.[9]

Neither "Kirk" nor "Dr. Scott" could be located, and neither Spangler's family nor her friends knew anyone by those names. When Spangler's mother, Florence, returned to Los Angeles, she told police that someone named "Kirk" had picked up Jean at her house twice but stayed in his car and did not come in. Police questioned every doctor with the last name Scott in Los Angeles, but none of them had a patient with the last name Spangler or Benner, her married name. Spangler had once been involved with an abusive man she called "Scotty," but her lawyer said she had not seen him since 1945.[10] Griffith Park was searched over the following week by over 200 volunteers and law enforcement.[8] During the search, one volunteer's dog dug up a denim Los Angeles County Jail uniform in a shallow hole, but no other belongings of Spangler were found.[8]

Theories and alleged sightings

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At the time she disappeared, Spangler had recently completed filming a bit part in the film Young Man with a Horn starring Kirk Douglas; this led to public speculation that he was the Kirk mentioned in the note found in her purse.[7] Upon reading about the discovery of the note, Douglas himself called the police and denied that he knew Spangler.[7][11][12] Later, when interviewed via telephone by the head of the investigating team, Douglas admitted that he had "talked and kidded with her a bit" on set,[13][14] but that he had never spent time with her outside of the film production.[6] On October 12, Douglas gave a formal press statement in which he 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 ... then I recalled that she was a tall girl in a green dress. I talked and kidded with her a bit on the set ... But I never saw her before or after that and have never been out with her."[15]

Spangler's girlfriends told police that she was three months pregnant when she disappeared and that she had talked about having an abortion, which at the time was illegal.[4] Witnesses, who frequented the same nightclubs and bars as Spangler, told police they had heard of a former medical student known as "Doc", who performed abortions for money, but police could not locate him, nor prove that he existed.[6] The theory that Spangler disappeared under circumstances related to a botched abortion attempt was investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).[7] Spangler had also told her friend, actor Robert Cummings, that she was having a casual affair at the time, but did not mention the identity of the man.[15] When Cummings asked her if it was serious, she responded: "No. But I'm having the time of my life."[15]

At the time, some newspapers reported that Spangler was feared to be one of several female victims in a series of killings in Los Angeles, potentially linked to the Black Dahlia murder in 1947, given her hair coloring and resemblance to the victim Elizabeth Short.[16] Another theory investigated by police was that Spangler's disappearance was related to Los Angeles gangsters with whom she purportedly was associated.[17] According to historian Jon Lewis in his book Hard-Boiled Hollywood: Crime and Punishment in Postwar Los Angeles, Spangler had worked for a time as a dancer at Florentine Gardens, a nightclub owned by Mark Hansen and Nils Thor Granlund.[17] Lewis claims that her acquaintance with Hansen and Granlund "put her in the orbits" of various mob affiliates, including Anthony Cornero and Mickey Cohen.[17] Spangler had allegedly been seen with Davy Ogul, an associate of Cohen's, in Palm Springs,[18] as well as in Las Vegas, Nevada, with Ogul and Frank Niccoli, another associate of Cohen's.[4] Ogul disappeared on October 9, 1949, two days after Spangler.[17] This led police to investigate the possibility that Spangler and Ogul, who was under indictment for conspiracy, had fled to avoid prosecution. Police interrogated Thomas Ellery Evans, a gangster and acquaintance of Ogul, during their investigation.[19] In April 1950, Spangler's sister Betsy testified that neither she nor her sister were ever acquainted with Ogul, Cohen, or any of his associates.[20]

In 1950, a customs agent in El Paso, Texas, reported seeing Ogul and a woman who looked like Spangler in a local hotel. The hotel clerk identified Spangler from a photograph, but neither Ogul nor Spangler's names appeared on the hotel register.[21]

Aftermath

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Shortly after Spangler disappeared, custody of her and Benner's daughter, Christine, was temporarily awarded to Benner on October 27, 1949.[22] The following year, a custody battle ensued between Benner and Florence, to whom he denied visitation with Christine.[20] Benner defied a court order that he permit Spangler's mother to visit the child. When Benner was ordered to serve fifteen days in jail for being in contempt of court, he fled California with his daughter,[1] and later settled in Florida.[4] Benner died on May 7, 2007, in Jacksonville, Florida.[23]

The LAPD continued the search and circulated Spangler's picture for several years, in an unsuccessful attempt to find her or any reliable leads.[1] Columnist Louella Parsons offered a $1,000 reward for information concerning Spangler's disappearance or location. Despite a nationwide search, no further clues have surfaced. Possible sightings included northern and southern California, Phoenix, Arizona, and Mexico City over the next two years, but none of those sightings could be validated. She is still listed as a missing person, and the LAPD has not closed the case.[24]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1948 The Miracle of the Bells Extra in Church [25]
1948 When My Baby Smiles at Me Chorus Girl [25]
1949 Chicken Every Sunday Dancer [25]
1950 Young Man with a Horn Hula Dancer [5]
1950 Wabash Avenue Showgirl [1]
1950 Champagne for Caesar TV Studio Audience Member [26]
1950 The Petty Girl Nightclub Patron [5]
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Spangler's disappearance was fictionalized by Megan Abbott in her novel The Song Is You (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006), ISBN 978-0743291712.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rasmussen, Cecilia (October 20, 2002). "Mystery of Missing Starlet Was Never Solved". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 12, 2016.
  2. ^ Jean Spangler, Ancestry
  3. ^ Mayo 2008, p. 331.
  4. ^ a b c d Healy, Patrick (February 2, 2012). "Cold Case: Aspiring Actress Left Cryptic Note". NBC News. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on December 13, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Mayo 2008, p. 332.
  6. ^ a b c Lyons, Arthur. "The Mysterious Disappearance of Jean Spangler". Whispering Palms. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Lewis 2017, p. 59.
  8. ^ a b c "Search of Park Yields No Clues in Spangler Case". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. October 17, 1949. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. ^ Ferri, Jessica (19 June 2017). "Can't Wait Any Longer: The Chilling Disappearance of Jean Spangler". Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  10. ^ "The Disappearance of Jean Elizabeth Spangler". Historic Horrors. March 9, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  11. ^ "Police Quiz All 'Kirks' for Clews". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan. October 13, 1949. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^ Jolly, Nathan (December 24, 2016). "Cryptic note: What happened to actress Jean Spangler?". news.com.au. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016.
  13. ^ "Disappearance". MariaMusikka.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2018.
  14. ^ "Actor Quizzed on Missing Girl". The San Bernardino Sun. San Bernardino, California. October 13, 1949. p. 1 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection. Open access icon
  15. ^ a b c Lewis 2017, p. 60.
  16. ^ "Missing Actress' Mother Believes Daughter Alive". Daily Capital Journal. Salem, Oregon. October 18, 1949. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  17. ^ a b c d Lewis 2017, p. 62.
  18. ^ Lewis 2017, pp. 61–63.
  19. ^ Lewis 2017, p. 61.
  20. ^ a b "Battle Over Child of Actress Begins". Los Angeles Times. April 4, 1950. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  21. ^ "Jean Elizabeth Spangler". The Charley Project. Archived from the original on July 29, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  22. ^ "Lost Actress' Child Awarded". The Eugene Guard. Eugene, Oregon. October 27, 1949. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  23. ^ "Dexter Benner Obituary (2007)". Florida Times-Union. Archived from the original on July 23, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022 – via Legacy.com.
  24. ^ Shenfeld, Hilary (November 9, 2017). "Cold Cases Are Not Closed Cases". A&E. Archived from the original on February 7, 2020. Retrieved February 7, 2020. But cold doesn't mean closed, which is what happens when there's not enough proof to show a crime occurred... In a cold case, all leads, evidence and attempts to identify a perpetrator have been exhausted...
  25. ^ a b c "Jean Spangler Filmography". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  26. ^ Hodel, Steve (March 2, 2014). "Cadaver Dog Buster - Black Dahlia Crime Scene "Smell of Death" Confirmed: Leading Scientist Finds that Soil Test Results Are "Human Specific"". SteveHodel.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.

Works cited

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