| Author | Message | ||
     Ed_neil Username: Ed_neil Registered: 5-2006 |
On the evening of Friday 10-7-1949, 26 year old Jean Elizabeth Spangler, a dancer and a struggling actress who appeared as an extra in a handful of films, vanished from Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Two days later, her purse was found with a broken strap, as if she had been involved in a struggle. Other than a silver dollar, she was broke, and the contents of her purse appeared to be otherwise undisturbed. The only thing of note was an apparently incomplete letter in Spangler's handwriting: Kirk, Can't wait any longer. Going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while mother is away. Spangler was 3 months pregnant at the time, at it was thought she was going to have an illegal abortion. No Dr. Scott was located, and no one knew who Kirk was. Spangler and Kirk Douglas both recently worked on the movie Young Man With a Horn (released on 2-9-1950), and, oddly enough, even though he was in Palm Springs at the time and before they had a chance to contact him, Douglas called authorities to deny that he was the one the note was intended for. Florence, Spangler's mother (who was vacationing elsewhere when Spangler vanished), claimed that Douglas did know her daughter and that he had picked her up at her apartment on two different occasions. Spangler's disappearance and presumed murder was never solved, and the connection to Kirk Douglas is, to say the least, thought provoking. http://www.geocities.com/welkerlots/jean.htm http://www.answers.com/topic/jean-spangler | ||
| Johno Username: Johno Registered: 4-2006 |
She told friends that she was three months pregnant but it was never verified and she had not seen any known doctor concerning the so-called pregnancy. Interestingly she kind of resembled the Black Dahlia who was killed two and a half years before Spangler dissapeared and LA Homocide Detective Thad Brown was the lead investigator of both cases. She had dated Johnny Stompanato who would be killed by Lana Turner's daughter. Her husband's second wife was Lynn Lasky who had been married to Ely Lasky who was an associate of mobster Mickey Cohen. Spangler herself was friends with Mickey Cohen and two of his associates David Ogul and Frank Niccol and both Ogul and Niccol dissapeared around the same time as Spangler. | ||
| Ed_neil Username: Ed_neil Registered: 5-2006 |
Quite right, but who was "Kirk"? The only one by that name anyone could connect to her was Kirk Douglas. Food for thought... | ||
| Johno Username: Johno Registered: 4-2006 |
A very uncommon name in 1949 for sure. Plenty of people with the last name of Kirk back then but very few with a first name of Kirk. | ||
| Ed_neil Username: Ed_neil Registered: 5-2006 |
Exactly. And what woman would address an apparent love interest by his surname? | ||
| Howard_davis Username: Howard_davis Registered: 4-2006 |
Wow,Ed what a good cold case find! It is very hard not to think that if she turned up pregnant it would have greatly harmed KD's(if he were the "Kirk"in the note)career,especially in those days. It would seem from the note that Douglas(if indeed it was the actor)did not know at that time she had decided on an abortion-so she vanishes. She may not have had a chance to explain! Of course,he was so powerful in those days he could have had it done. | ||
| Sandy Username: Sandy Registered: 4-2006 |
Maybe she went to see Dr. Scott to get rid of her unborn baby. She then died on the table (like some did back then). Dr. Scott couldn't report what he had done, so he had to hide the body.The money she had had in her purse paid for the abortion. The broken strap was to make it look like a robbery had taken place.Or she just went away to have her baby and start a new life, threw the purse with the note in it to make it look like foul play,and get even with Kirk at the same time. Just a thought. | ||
| Bargle Username: Bargle Registered: 9-2006 |
Johno wrote: A very uncommon name in 1949 for sure. Plenty of people with the last name of Kirk back then but very few with a first name of Kirk. One other person with that first name that was at least somewhat known in Hollywood was Kirk Alyn. The first actor to play Superman. Against him being the 'Kirk'. He and Spangler didn't appear in any films together. They worked for different production companies at the time, so he is far less likely to be the 'Kirk' named. | ||
| Yarbchris Username: Yarbchris Registered: 9-2006 |
www.blackdahliaavenger.com/faq4.doc There is mention of Jean Spangler in this file, and also a suspect theory. You can also find a memorandum of the search for "DR. Scott." Steve Hodel thinks his father, George Hodel, was a serial killer and most notably, the murderer of the Black Dahlia. |