(NBC Southern California) It was one of those cases that seemed straight out of pulp fiction, a noir mystery written by one of those hard-boiled scribes who liked to surround damsels in distress with mobsters and movie stars.
Yet it was real life. And it defied solution.
Not because there were no clues. Perhaps because there were too many--all pointing in different directions.
The damsel was aspiring actress Jean Spangler, 26, whose mysterious 1949 disappearance is still considered an "open case" by LAPD's cold case unit.
"It's absolutely a classic noir mystery," said Denise Hamilton, a former LA Times reporter turned novelist. She reveals that her mystery, "The Last Embrace," was inspired by the Spangler case.
A still-unsolved LAPD cold case is revisited. NBC4's Patrick Healy takes a fresh look at the mysterious disappearance of an aspiring actress.
"You have a beautiful, young starlet. Brunette. She's sultry. She's tall. She's leggy. And she's trying to make it in Hollywood," Hamilton said.
Black and white images from the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection reinforce Hamilton's description of Spanger, who appeared in half a dozen movies, just bit parts.
The late 40's was a time when the studios still reigned over Hollywood, the mob ruled the Sunset Strip, and crooked politicians and police brass ran Los Angeles.
A divorced mother of a five year old, Spangler was still looking for her big break, and making time for an active social life.
"She's a party girl. She goes out with a lot of people: gangsters, movie stars, Hollywood executives. They found her little black book after she disappeared, and there were a lot of prominent names in it," said Hamilton.
She was last seen near her Park LaBrea area apartment on the Friday evening of October 7, 1949.
Over that weekend, a Griffith Park Ranger found a purse near the entrance to Ferndell. Inside was Spangler's ID, and also a cryptic note addressed to someone named Kirk.
"Kirk: Can't wait any longer," it began. "Going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while mother is away."
Perhaps it was written in a hurry. It was not signed.
"Well, The supposition was that she was pregnant by this Kirk and that she was going to have an abortion," said Hamilton. One acquaintance said Spangler was coming to the end of the first trimester.
The most famous Kirk then in Hollywood was the actor Kirk Douglas, who had just finished filming, "Young Man with a Horn," in which Spangler had a small role.
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