The Disappearance of Jean Spangler

The Disappearance of Jean Spangler PDF Author: Charles River Charles River Editors
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781985172173
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description
*Includes pictures *Profiles Spangler's life and looks at the theories and suspects regarding her disappearance *Includes online resources, footnotes, and a bibliography for further reading "Can't wait any longer, Going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while mother is away," - An unfinished letter found in Spangler's purse after her disappearance The Hollywood culture of the 1940s served as a symbol of fantasy for a country at war. The American population, steeped in a dark global reality, lived vicariously through the film industry's fantasy offerings on the big screen, and eagerly embraced the advent of television in the latter part of the decade. On the stage, images of idealized feminine beauty thrived in the Ziegfeld Follies tradition, Radio City Music Hall, Las Vegas, and the fantastical world created by Earl Carroll in his Hollywood theater. The marketing of American fantasy made for a spectacular outward show, but the interior of Hollywood's entertainment industry was at the same time experiencing its most corrupt decade. Mob bosses vied for power over the drug, alcohol, prostitution, and "protection" markets interconnected with the larger Hollywood image, and for women trying to get ahead in the movie or stage business, the environment was a dangerous one. Beauties came from all over the country to take their chance with fame, but for several, being abducted and gruesomely murdered was the best they could do to attain name recognition. Beginning with the mid-decade murder of actress Elizabeth Short, dubbed the Black Dahlia, a series of murders thought to be the serial work of one perpetrator became emblematic of Hollywood's hidden dangers. The mysterious case of actress and dancer Jean Spangler remains one of the most enduring such riddles in the annals of Hollywood crime. The nature of the case itself still evokes a public fascination many decades after her disappearance. Spangler found herself in southern California as a beautiful actress and dancer trying to land movie roles, a common story among the many young women gravitating to American entertainment centers from more conservative towns and cities. As a high-profile celebrity event, Spangler's case does not match the sensationalism attributed to figures such as Amelia Earhart, who sought to circumnavigate the globe by air, the political importance of union boss Jimmy Hoffa, or the fate of Judge Crater, a likely victim of the New York underworld. However, the Spangler story differs in that it carries no dearth of rational possibilities or relevant clues with which to accommodate all of the leading theories. In fact, in the minds of investigators, the difficulty of finding the best path to pursue was that there were "too many good clues, pointing in different directions." Likewise, where Earhart, Hoffa, and Crater intentionally pursued goals with inherent hazards, Spangler was publicly perceived as a professional if not personal innocent, hoping to make a living and to be discovered for greater things. The Disappearance of Jean Spangler: The History of One of Hollywood's Most Enduring Unsolved Mysteries looks at the life of Jean Spangler and the mysterious events behind her disappearance. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Jean Spangler like never before, in no time at all.

The Disappearance of Jean Spangler

The Disappearance of Jean Spangler PDF Author: Charles River Charles River Editors
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781985172173
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 76

Get Book

Book Description
*Includes pictures *Profiles Spangler's life and looks at the theories and suspects regarding her disappearance *Includes online resources, footnotes, and a bibliography for further reading "Can't wait any longer, Going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while mother is away," - An unfinished letter found in Spangler's purse after her disappearance The Hollywood culture of the 1940s served as a symbol of fantasy for a country at war. The American population, steeped in a dark global reality, lived vicariously through the film industry's fantasy offerings on the big screen, and eagerly embraced the advent of television in the latter part of the decade. On the stage, images of idealized feminine beauty thrived in the Ziegfeld Follies tradition, Radio City Music Hall, Las Vegas, and the fantastical world created by Earl Carroll in his Hollywood theater. The marketing of American fantasy made for a spectacular outward show, but the interior of Hollywood's entertainment industry was at the same time experiencing its most corrupt decade. Mob bosses vied for power over the drug, alcohol, prostitution, and "protection" markets interconnected with the larger Hollywood image, and for women trying to get ahead in the movie or stage business, the environment was a dangerous one. Beauties came from all over the country to take their chance with fame, but for several, being abducted and gruesomely murdered was the best they could do to attain name recognition. Beginning with the mid-decade murder of actress Elizabeth Short, dubbed the Black Dahlia, a series of murders thought to be the serial work of one perpetrator became emblematic of Hollywood's hidden dangers. The mysterious case of actress and dancer Jean Spangler remains one of the most enduring such riddles in the annals of Hollywood crime. The nature of the case itself still evokes a public fascination many decades after her disappearance. Spangler found herself in southern California as a beautiful actress and dancer trying to land movie roles, a common story among the many young women gravitating to American entertainment centers from more conservative towns and cities. As a high-profile celebrity event, Spangler's case does not match the sensationalism attributed to figures such as Amelia Earhart, who sought to circumnavigate the globe by air, the political importance of union boss Jimmy Hoffa, or the fate of Judge Crater, a likely victim of the New York underworld. However, the Spangler story differs in that it carries no dearth of rational possibilities or relevant clues with which to accommodate all of the leading theories. In fact, in the minds of investigators, the difficulty of finding the best path to pursue was that there were "too many good clues, pointing in different directions." Likewise, where Earhart, Hoffa, and Crater intentionally pursued goals with inherent hazards, Spangler was publicly perceived as a professional if not personal innocent, hoping to make a living and to be discovered for greater things. The Disappearance of Jean Spangler: The History of One of Hollywood's Most Enduring Unsolved Mysteries looks at the life of Jean Spangler and the mysterious events behind her disappearance. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Jean Spangler like never before, in no time at all.

The Song Is You

The Song Is You PDF Author: Megan Abbott
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0743291727
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
A fictionalized account based on the mysterious 1949 disappearance of actress Jean Spangler, whose demise was linked to the Black Dahlia killings, is a darkly sensual tale that imagines what may have been her fate.

Hard-Boiled Hollywood

Hard-Boiled Hollywood PDF Author: Jon Lewis
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520284321
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
"The history of Hollywood's postwar transition is framed by two spectacular dead bodies: Elizabeth Short, AKA the Black Dahlia, found dumped and posed in a vacant lot in January 1947 and Marilyn Monroe, the studio era's last real movie star, discovered dead at her home in August 1962. Short and Monroe are just two of the many left for dead after the collapse of the studio system, Hollywood's awkward adolescence during which the company town's many competing subcultures--celebrities, moguls, mobsters, gossip mongers, industry wannabes, and desperate transients--came into frequent contact and conflict. Hard-Boiled Hollywood focuses on the lives lost at the crossroads between a dreamed-of Los Angeles and the real thing after the Second World War, whose reality was anything but glamorous"--Provided by publisher.

Black Dahlia Avenger

Black Dahlia Avenger PDF Author: Steve Hodel
Publisher: Skyhorse
ISBN: 1628725966
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 465

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Book Description
For Viewers of the TNT Series I Am the Night and Fans of the Root of Evil Podcast, the Bestselling Book That Revealed the Shocking Identity of the Black Dahlia Killer and the Police Corruption That Concealed It for So Long A New York Times Bestseller An International Bestseller A New York Times Notable Book An Edgar Award Finalist In 1947, the brutal, sadistic murder of a beautiful young woman named Elizabeth Short led to the largest manhunt in LA history. The killer teased and taunted the police and public for weeks, but his identity stayed a mystery, and the murder remained the most tantalizing unsolved case of the last century, until this book revealed the bizarre solution. Steve Hodel, a retired LAPD detective who was a private investigator, took up the case, reviewing the original evidence and records as well as those of a separate grand jury investigation into a series of murders of single women in LA at the time. The prime suspect had in fact been identified, but never indicted. Why? And who was he? In an account that partakes both of LA Confidential and Zodiac, for the corruption it exposes and the insight it offers into a serial killer’s mind, Hodel demonstrates that there was a massive police cover-up. Even more shocking, he proves that the murderer, a true-life Jekyll and Hyde who was a highly respected member of society by day and a psychopathic killer by night, was his own father. This edition of the book includes new findings and photographs added after the original publication, together with a new postscript by the author.

100 Things They Don't Want You To Know

100 Things They Don't Want You To Know PDF Author: Daniel Smith
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1784290343
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Who was the Mothman? What caused the death of the Bordens? Did Lee Harvey Oswald assassinate JFK? And what was the true meaning of the 'WOW' signal? Daniel Smith, author of 100 Places You Will Never Visit, sets out to uncover the truth behind 100 unexplained events that have been shrouded in secrecy for generations. Under his investigative searchlight are mysterious landmarks, disappearances at sea, legendary myths, astonishing coincidences, UFOs, missing people and bizarre natural phenomena. Ranging from suspicious deaths (The Black Dahlia) to notorious murderers (Jack the Ripper) and from ancient artefacts (Tarim Mummies) to Cold War cover-ups (Lost Cosmonauts), via documents that remain untranslatable (Voynich Manuscript), debated icons of religion (Shroud of Turin) and puzzling paranormal appearances (Marfa Lights), Daniel Smith leaves no stone unturned in his quest to expose the bare facts and unravel the tales that have gripped curious minds for years. Also includes: Spontaneous Combustion, Whereabouts of Nazi Gold, Red Rain, Lost Literature of the Mayan Civilisation, Disappearance of Jean Spangler, Severed Feet of British Columbia, Shakespeare's Dark Lady, The Shugborough Inscription, Stonehenge, The Flying Dutchman, Lewis Carroll's Lost Diaries and the Beast of Bodmin Moor.

American Murder

American Murder PDF Author: Mike Mayo
Publisher: Visible Ink Press
ISBN: 1578592569
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
Investigating the way Hollywood scoops up notorious criminals and turns them into legends, this entertaining who's-who guide provides thumbnail sketches of such killers as Ma Barker, Black Beard, Al Capone, John Wesley Hardin, and Charles Starkweather. Noting that some figures are glamorized in popular culture (Jesse James), while others are demonized (Charles Manson), this encyclopedic collection explores the legends' emotional truths as depicted in movies, stories, and songs. Facts of the real cases behind these notorious criminals are also presented, including the landmark rulings that pioneered new approaches to criminal justice.

The Disappearance of Dorothy Arnold

The Disappearance of Dorothy Arnold PDF Author: Charles River Charles River Editors
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781985172067
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Book Description
*Includes pictures *Includes contemporary accounts from family members, authorities, and newspapers *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "It would be bad enough if the daughter I loved so well [were] lying beside her grandmother in Greenwood Cemetery, but this suspense and uncertainty are a thousand times worse." - Francis Arnold, Dorothy's father It was the great mystery of its time and still reads like an episode of "Law and Order" today. In December 1910, a wealthy young woman, thought to be sheltered and above reproach, goes missing shortly after being seen in broad daylight on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The police are called in and begin to question those closest to her, only to have her father, a wealthy manufacturer, insist it must be foul play and that his daughter was on good terms with her entire family. Likewise, he claims that though she was in her mid-20s and in the prime of life, she had no serious romantic attachments. The mother tearfully backs these claims up. Eventually, far different information leaks out, like the fact that the victim was an aspiring writer who kept much about her work a secret, that she had been trying to cut ties with her family for some time, and, most interesting of all, that there certainly was a boyfriend, and that her family had tried to hide their relationship. For a time, all eyes are on the romantic interest, who is significantly older but a longtime friend of the family. In fact, the victim's brother is seen in beautiful Florence, Italy, beating the boyfriend up in a failed attempt to get more information about his sister's disappearance. Letters surface, as do photographs, but ultimately nothing to indicate the he had anything at all to do with her disappearance. Finally, everyone gives up and turns their attentions elsewhere. Meanwhile, there are rumored sightings, as she is "seen" in various large cities across the United States and Europe. Mentally ill women claim to be her, but again and again, no lead checks out. Eventually, the story grows cold and people lose interest, but then, more than three years after she disappeared, a new lead turns up. A back room abortionist claims that she came to him for an "illegal" operation and died, and as he did with all his other victims, he cremated her body and tossed out the ashes. The story makes the front pages for days, even as the family denies it is possible, but by now, it's April 1914 and the newspapers have more pressing matters to report, so the story quickly falls off their radar again. While the story was certainly fit for a gripping thriller, it was all too true for Dorothy Arnold and her family. Arnold was a young, well-known socialite whose disappearance was front page news on the East Coast in the early 20th century, and over 100 years later, armchair gumshoes continue trying to piece together the puzzle over her fate. In an era before other famous disappearances like that of the Lindbergh baby and Jimmy Hoffa became grist for writers, it was Dorothy Arnold who left people wondering and speculating. To this day, the mystery remains unsolved and, except for periodic stories and lists about enduring mysteries, largely forgotten. The Disappearance of Dorothy Arnold: The Unsolved Mystery of the American Socialite Who Vanished in 1910 looks at one of the early 20th century's most enduring mysteries. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the disappearance of Dorothy Arnold like never before.

The Last Embrace

The Last Embrace PDF Author: Denise Hamilton
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439105510
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Los Angeles 1949. A city of big dreams and dark shadows... Lily Kessler, a former stenographer and spy for the OSS, comes to Los Angeles to find her late fiancé's sister Kitty, an actress who is missing from her Hollywood boardinghouse. The next day, Kitty's body is found in a ravine below the Hollywood sign. Unimpressed by the local police, Lily investigates on her own. As she delves into Kitty's life, she encounters fiercely competitive starlets, gangsters, an eccentric special-effects genius, exotic denizens of Hollywood's nightclubs, and a homicide detective who might distract her from her quest for justice. But the landscape in L.A. can shift kaleidoscopically, and Lily begins to see how easily a young woman can lose her balance and fall prey to the alluring city's dangers.... With vibrant characters and unerring insight into the desires and dark impulses that can flare between men and women, The Last Embrace showcases Denise Hamilton at the height of her storytelling powers as she transports readers to a fascinating, transitional time in one of America's most beguiling cities.

Always the Dead

Always the Dead PDF Author: Stephen J. Golds
Publisher: Red Dog Press
ISBN: 9781914480867
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
Los Angeles, California. 1949. Scott Kelly is a World War Two Marine veteran and mob hitman confined to a Tuberculosis sanatorium suffering from consumption, flashbacks and nightmares from his experiences of The Battle of Okinawa and a botched hit for Bugsy Siegel. When his movie actress girlfriend disappears, he bribes his way out of the sanatorium to search for her. What follows is a frantic search, a manic murder spree, stolen contraband, and a briefcase full of cash. A story that stretches from the war torn beaches of Okinawa, all the way to the playground of the rich and famous, Palm Springs, California. An exploration into the depths of L.A crime, PTSD and twisted love. A semi-fictional novel based around the disappearance of Jean Spangler.

Natalie Wood

Natalie Wood PDF Author: Suzanne Finstad
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0593136950
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 610

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Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The definitive biography of a vulnerable and talented actress, now with explosive new chapters and insider details of her tragic death, the cover-ups, and the reopened investigation. An ID Book Club Selection • “Impressive, disturbing, and revelatory.”—Variety Natalie Wood has been hailed alongside Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor as one of the top three female movie stars in film history. We watched her mature on the movie screen before our eyes in classics such as Miracle on 34th Street, Rebel Without a Cause, Splendor in the Grass, and West Side Story. But the story of what she endured, of what her life was like when the doors of the soundstages closed, had long been obscured. Based on years of astonishing research, Natalie Wood (previously published as Natasha) raises the curtain on Wood’s turbulent life. Award-winning author Suzanne Finstad conducted nearly four hundred interviews with Natalie Wood’s family, close friends, legendary costars, lovers, film crews, and virtually everyone connected to her death. Through these firsthand accounts, Finstad reconstructs a life of emotional abuse and exploitation, of unimaginable fame, great loneliness, and loss. She reveals painful truths in Wood’s complex relationships with James Dean, Frank Sinatra, Warren Beatty, and, of course, Robert Wagner. Thirty years after Natalie Wood’s death, the L.A. Sheriff’s Department reopened the investigation into her drowning using Finstad’s groundbreaking research and chilling, hour-by-hour timeline of that tumultuous weekend as evidence. Within a year, the L.A. Coroner changed Natalie Wood’s death certificate from “Accidental Drowning” to “Drowning and Other Undetermined Factors.” In 2018, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department officially named Wagner a “Person of Interest” in Wood’s death. In this updated edition, Finstad will share her explosive findings from the last two decades. With her unprecedented access to the LASD’s “Murder Book,” ignored by the original investigators, and new witnesses who have never spoken publicly, Finstad uncovers what really happened to Natalie Wood on that fateful boating trip in 1981 with Wagner and Christopher Walken. She expands on intimate details from Wood’s unpublished memoir, which affirms her fear of drowning and the betrayal by Wagner that shattered their first marriage. Finstad tells this heartbreaking story with sensitivity and grace, revealing a complex and conflicting mix of fragility and strength in a woman who was swept along by forces few could have resisted.