Lovely and Unlucky

5/8/2024

By M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
Late on the afternoon of October 7, 1949, 26-year-old, bit-part actress Jean Elizabeth Spangler left her Los Angeles home, which she shared with her 5-year-old daughter and other family members. This was the last ever seen of pretty Jean.

Jean Spangler with her daughter Christine.

Jean Elizabeth Spangler was born in Seattle, Washington on September 2, 1923 and had appeared in minor roles in Hollywood films and early television. She married Dexter Benner, had a daughter Christine born on April 22, 1944 and when the couple divorced he was granted custody of the child, due in part to Jean's infidelity during the marriage. Benner also cited her lifestyle as a party girl that did not coincide with being a good mother as part of the divorce suit. He denied Jean access to Christine.

Eventually Jean won custody of Christine in 1948 after a tumultuous custody battle. The judge gave Jean the benefit of the doubt, and said the child's place was with her mother, and the ex-Mrs. Benner's questionable conduct was something of the past.

Dexter Benner

On October 7, 1949 Spangler left her Los Angeles home about 5 p.m. Her mother who lived with her was out of town, and Christine was left with her aunt Sophie. Jean's brother Edward and his wife lived with them in a residential complex on Colgate Avenue.

Jean told her she was meeting Dexter to talk about child support payments that were late, then after she was going to work on a movie set.

At a farmer's market near Jean's home, a clerk saw her and later told authorities she appeared to be waiting for someone. It's believed she was the last person to see Jean Spangler alive.

Two hours after leaving, which would have been around 7 p.m. Spangler called home and spoke to her daughter and Sophie. She explained she had to work for 8 hours on a night shoot, and probably would not be home that evening.

Jean never returned to her home, and the next day Sophie filed a missing person's report.

Police followed up with all studios, and it was found that none of them were working with Jean on any project. They weren't even open the evening of October 7.

Dexter Benner said he had not seen his ex-wife for several weeks. His new wife Lynn provided an alibi when she said he had been with her the whole time during the evening that Jean left her home.

Jean Spangler's purse and a note were the only clues found in connection to her disappearance.

Two days after Jean disappeared, her purse was found near the Fern Dell entrance to Griffith Park in Los Aneles. A strap was torn, and police believed Jean had been the victim of a robbery. This theory was discounted when Sophie, her sister-in-law told them Jean had no money in her purse when she left that evening. What was found inside was an unfinished note addressed to "Kirk" which read: "Can't wait any longer, going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while mother is away."

When Jean's mother returned she told police that a man named Kirk had come to pick up Jean a couple of times, but he never got down from the car. Every doctor in Los Angeles with the surname of Scott were questioned by the police, but none had a patient by the name of Benner or Spangler. The search for the mysterious Kirk also came up empty.

Sixty police officer and 100 volunteers combed the 4,107 acres of the park, but nothing further was found.

Jean's dirty laundry was aired out once more, when police found that during her marriage to Dexter she had been unfaithful with a man named "Scotty", but she ended the relationship when he beat and threatened to kill her if she left. According to Jean's lawyer she had not seen this man since 1945.

Was Kirk Douglas the "Kirk" mentioned in Spangler's note?

What authorities found strange was that actor Kirk Douglas called the investigators while he vacationed in Palm Springs, to tell them Jean had a small part in Young Man with a Horn an unfinished movie in which he had the leading role. He also told them he was not the Kirk mentioned in Jean's note. When he was questioned by police, he said that she was just an extra, and that he didn't know her personally.

What police suspected was confirmed by a friend who told them Jean was three months pregnant and spoke about having an abortion. Investigators visited Jean's favorite nightclubs and learned there was an abortionist, a one-time medical student known as "Doc" who ended pregnancies for a hefty fee.

Authorities now suspected Jean suffered from complications brought on by a botched abortion, and had died. The mysterious "Doc" was never found, nor anyone that had actually met him.

Gangsters Niccoli and Ogul both disappeared at the same time as Spangler

Rumors surfaced that Jean was seen in Palm Springs in the company of Davy Ogul known as "Little Davy", a gangster with ties to Mickey Cohen. Jean had once worked as a dancer at the Florentine Gardens which was owned by mobsters. Ogul who was under indictment for conspiracy, and was free on $25,000 bail disappeared two days after Jean did. Had he fled with Jean in order to avoid prosecution?

Strangely another Cohen henchman, Frank Niccolli who was free on a $50,000 bond also disappeared around the same time Ogul did. Police would go on to find out that Niccoli was killed, and Ogul was set to end up in the same lime pit as him.

A customs agent in El Paso reported seeing Davy Ogul and a woman who looked like Jean in 1950. A clerk in the hotel where they were seen identified Jean from a photo. Neither Ogul or Spangler's name were on the registry, and outside of this sighting there were no other for either of them in El Paso.

Mrs. Spangler with a picture of her daughter Jean

This was the time after the Black Dahlia murder, and police also speculated Jean Spangler might be a victim of a series of murders connected to the mutilation death of Elizabeth Short (1924-1947), to which she had a resemblance.

Police came across a gas station attendant who said a man driving a blue-gray convertible with a woman matching Spangler's description had stopped to buy gas on October 8. The man said they were heading to Fresno, but as they drove off the woman cried out, "Have the police follow this car!" By the time police arrived, the car was long gone.

Steve Hodel, author and one-time LAPD homicide detective believes his father Dr. George Hodel murdered Elizabeth Smart and Jean Spangler. He claimed that the district attorney was attempting to tie together the murder of Jeanne French in 1947, Elizabeth Short in 1947, Gladys Kern in 1948 and Jean Spangler's disappearance in 1949.

Hodel was a suspect in his secretary's murder, and he was arrested for raping his own daughter. He was also known for performing abortions for Hollywood's jet set. Hodel explained in his book that the "Kirk" in the note was Dr. Eric Kirk, a doctor arrested for performing abortions days before Jean disappeared. He believes the note was letting Spangler know she needed to find a new doctor.

The purse was found about 1/4 mile from Dr. Hodel's home, and Hodel's brother remembered their father was dating a beautiful actress named Jean around this time. Hodel had been arrested on October 6 on charges of incest filed by his daughter Tamar, and bailed out the same day. Jean Spangler disappeared 48 hours later. Nothing was ever proved against Hodel.

Like Jean Spangler, Frank Niccolli and Davy Ogul have never been found.

Hodel moved to the Philippines in 1950 and returned to the United States in 1990. He died in 1999 at the age of 91.