Jean Spangler(1923-1949)

Jean was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1923. She graduated from Franklin High School in Los Angeles in 1941. Soon, Jean was working as a model for a local clothing firm. Later, she was a dancer with the Earl Carroll Theatre. Jean got married to Dexter Benner, and they had a daughter, Christine, in 1944. Two years later, in 1946, she had a bitter court battle with her ex-husband regarding the custody of their young daughter. In 1948, ruling a daughter's place is with her mother, a judge awarded full custody to Jean. Sultry and statuesque, Jean, a divorced mother and nightclub dancer, struggled to make it as an actress; she was a bit player and uncredited extra in movies and early television. In 1949, she met Kirk Douglas on the set of La femme aux chimères (1950), which was released February 9, 1950. On October 7, 1949, when she was 3 months pregnant, she disappeared. A note was found in her purse that read: "Kirk, Can't wait any longer. Going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while mother is away." All the police found was her purse and this cryptic note -- Jean had vanished without a trace. Her disappearance is still an unsolved mystery.