Hollywood Starlet, Who Appeared in a Kirk Douglas Film, Vanished Without a Trace 77 Years Ago

Jean Spangler was on the verge of the Hollywood career she had always wanted when she vanished one misty October night in 1949. The 27-year-old actress had appeared in several movies, including one starring Kirk Douglas, but she would become better known for the mystery surrounding her disappearance.

Seventy-seven years later, no one knows exactly what happened to Spangler after she left her Los Angeles home on Oct. 7, 1949.

Her disappearance became one of Los Angeles’ biggest mysteries at the time. The city was still captivated by the “Black Dahlia” murder, which had happened two years earlier, while police were also investigating the disappearance of Bel-Air socialite Mimi Boomhower. For nearly two weeks, Spangler’s case remained a major story as investigators looked for possible links between the two.

After graduating from Franklin High School in Highland Park in 1941, Spangler began pursuing a career in entertainment. She worked as a model and dancer at Hollywood venues such as the Florentine Gardens and Earl Carroll Theatre and landed several small movie roles. 

Her credits included When My Baby Smiles at Me, The Miracle of the Bells, Chicken Every Sunday and Young Man With a Horn. 

Spangler’s Hollywood ambitions grew alongside a complicated personal life. She married plastics manufacturer Dexter Benner in 1942 at age 19, but filed for divorce six months later. The two continued an on-and-off relationship for several years and had a daughter, Christine.

When their divorce was finalized in 1946, Benner was given temporary custody of their 2-year-old. He later denied Spangler visitation several times, but a judge eventually ruled that the child should be with her mother. Spangler and Christine moved into a Park La Brea apartment with her mother, brother and sister-in-law.

On Oct. 7, 1949, Spangler kissed Christine goodbye before telling her sister-in-law she was meeting Benner about a child-support payment that was a week overdue. She also said she had a night shoot scheduled for a new film. 

She reportedly crossed her fingers, winked and said, “Wish me luck,” before walking out. After that, Spangler vanished without a trace.

It wasn’t until two days later that a Griffith Park worker discovered Spangler’s purse in Fern Dell, a wooded area of the park. One of the straps was torn, raising suspicions that she may have struggled with someone.

Inside the purse was a cryptic note addressed to someone named “Kirk.” It read, “Kirk, Can’t wait any longer. Going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while mother is away.”

As investigators tried to piece together Spangler’s final hours, Kirk Douglas reached out to Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Thad Brown, a former investigator on the Black Dahlia case.

Douglas was vacationing in Palm Springs when Spangler disappeared and said he had heard about the case in news reports. He told Brown that Spangler might have worked as an extra on Young Man With a Horn, though he said he hardly knew her.

Given the note found in Spangler’s purse, the connection to Douglas quickly became a point of interest. Police ultimately cleared Douglas of any wrongdoing. 

For years, the search for Spangler continued both officially and unofficially. Police kept circulating her photograph, and the Los Angeles Times ran several stories about the missing actress around the anniversary of her disappearance.

Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons and Spangler’s mother each put up a $1,000 reward for information that could lead to Spangler. Still, the young starlet’s whereabouts remain a mystery. 

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