Hollywood's darkest secret: the mysterious disappearance of Jean Spangler

Jean was born in Seattle in 1923 and later moved to Los Angeles, where she completed her schooling. She kickstarted her film career in 1948 when she appeared in several bit parts, like in Miracle of the Bells, When My Baby Smiles At Me, and Chicken Every Sunday.

The young star married manufacturer Dexter Benner in 1942, and their tumultuous relationship ended in divorce in 1946, followed by a lengthy custody battle over their daughter, Christine, which Jean won in 1948. At the time of her disappearance, she was living with her mother, her five-year-old daughter, her brother and her sister-in-law.

The mystery began in the evening of October 7, 1949, when Jean left her daughter under the care of her sister-in-law, Sophie, while claiming that she was going to meet her ex-husband and discuss a child support payment before heading to work for the night.

"She came down the stairs and asked how she looked," Sophie recalled to reporters. "She smiled at me, and then her little girl, Christine, asked where she was going. 'Going to work,' Jean answered again, but she winked at me when she said it."

Jean was then seen at a grocery store near her house at around 6 p.m., and she called to check in on Christine at around 7 p.m., before telling Sophie that she would have to be on set "the full eight hours".

When the actress failed to return home the next morning, Sophie filed a missing persons report, kickstarting the investigation into her disappearance.

Police scoured the area for clues as to Jean's whereabouts, and were able to find one piece of evidence: her purse. The purse, which was discovered in Griffith Park in LA – just under nine kilometres from her home – had tattered straps, indicating there may have been a struggle. 

Authorities also found a mysterious note inside the purse that read: "Kirk: Can't wait any longer, going to see Dr Scott. It will work best this way while mother is away,". Police believed that "Kirk" may have been the world-famous actor Kirk Douglas, who had been filming Young Man with a Horn, a movie that Jean had a bit part in. After being questioned extensively, Kirk was cleared of suspicion.

Jean's friends and family had no clue who "Kirk" or "Dr Scott" could've been; her mother, Florence, recalled that a man named Kirk had picked her up from her house on two occasions, but she had not seen his face. Furthermore, the police found no LA doctor with the last name Scott who had Jean on their patient list. 

Her friend, Robert Cummings, confirmed to authorities that she had talked about dating someone before her death, as he told the Los Angeles Times. "I asked her if it was serious. She said, 'Not exactly, but I'm having the time of my life.'"

Meanwhile, the police found no trace of Jean having worked on the night of the 7th, despite her claims to Sophie before leaving the house. They also questioned her ex-husband, who explained that he had not heard from her in weeks, even though Jean said she was meeting with him to settle a custody issue.

Several theories as to the fate of Jean Spangler are still floating around today, almost eight decades after the night of her disappearance. One of the leading theories is that Jean died due to a botched abortion performed by "Dr Scott". 

Her friends claimed that Jean believed she was three months pregnant around the time of her death, and fingers were pointed at Kirk Douglas, although he denied that they shared an intimate relationship. Kirk initially claimed he had no idea who Jean was to the police, before admitting that they had joked around on set. 

"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," he said in a statement.

Another leading theory purported that Jean had gotten tangled up with The Mob, and had fled LA with an associate of Mickey Cohen, a notorious mobster. She had reportedly worked as a dancer at a nightclub that had ties to The Mob, and had allegedly been seen with Davy Ogul, a Mob associate who disappeared two days after Jean despite being under investigation for conspiracy.

In 1950, a customs agent and a hotel clerk claimed to have seen Jean and Davy together at a hotel in Texas, but unfortunately this lead went cold. Speculation also grew around her ex-husband, with theories purporting that he could've orchestrated her disappearance or death to gain full custody of their daughter, although Dexter's alibi was backed up by his wife.

Jean's disappearance led some to theorise that she had been killed by the Black Dahlia murderer, who had brutalised and killed Elizabeth Short in 1947 before leaving her body in a vacant lot in LA. Former detective Rick Jackson, who worked for the LAPD, told Entertainment Weekly decades later that he believed Jean was murdered, despite the case never being listed as a homicide.

"Nothing I've ever read would indicate [she skipped town]," Rick told the publication. "People generally don't do that kind of thing unless there's a motive or a unique set of reasons. Obviously, she cared for her daughter enough to get custody back. It just makes sense that she met foul play. There's no doubt she was dead, and that's why she never surfaced."

After Jean's death, her ex-husband and her mother fought each other for sole custody of Christine, culminating in Dexter taking their daughter with him and settling in Florida. 

Several films that Jean appeared in were released after her disappearance, including Young Man with a Horn, Wabash Avenue, Champagne for Caesar and The Petty Girl. 

She is listed as a missing person to this day, and the mystery of her disappearance still lives in the minds of many.