The rumors about KD has been around for decades, and an ex-GF disappeared in the 1940s - Kirk Douglas Discussion

[–] AmericaILoveU (1030) 2 years ago

While filming Saturn 3 in the UK back in 79 some report did surface about underage girls!He was also requested to come in for questioning. Nothing came of it. He lived in a time when the famous could misbehave with impunity. Like Jimmy Savile.

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[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

They're still misbehaving with impunity, and not telling where the bodies are buried.

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[–] strntz (12773) 2 years ago

Let me start by saying I strongly believe Natalie Wood was raped and it was Kirk Douglas who raped her, but we can't forget that those allegations are indeed "blind" items. Put a gun to my head and I go with Douglas as the rapist, but it's not enough for me to convict him in a trial. Now that Natalie Wood is gone, any Douglas involvement will forever remain a rumor and nothing more.

Also, Michael being a "womanizer" doesn't mean he internalized anything - just that he's a womanizer. If that's all we go on, most of Hollywood's leading men would have been children of rapist fathers.

Natalie could have solved this by either naming her rapist while she was alive, or at least recording the event for posterity after she passed. It's unfortunate that whoever it was who raped that child will forever remain unknown.

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[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

You're missing the point of why I said "blind item."

For decades, people other than Lana Wood dropped hints that it was Kirk Douglas who raped Natalie Wood. Again, this was before LW said anything about it, as she was more obsessed with trying to go after Robert Wagner over Natalie's death. People are trying to downplay the accusations by saying that LW randomly pulled this accusation out of her ass recently for publicity, as in, "Well, that whole thing with Robert Wagner went nowhere, so she randomly went after Douglas." But, like I said, these blind items had been posted for decades before, to such an extent that people named Douglas well over a decade ago.

I understand what you're saying about Michael Douglas. The problem is that his lifestyle coupled with the movies he eventually decided to star in paint a dark and ugly picture. Fatal Attraction seems to be nearly similar to his father's situation with Jean Spangler, and KD was known to like rough sex, which is a theme in MD's movies as well.

In the end, we'll never know what happened, but I believe the allegations because of the blind items that preceded Lana Wood, not because of Lana Wood herself. For instance, I don't believe her about Robert Wagner. I think she was in denial about her sister dying the way she did and was so tainted by how toxic Hollywood is that she just assumed the worst.

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[–] strntz (12773) 2 years ago

For decades, people other than Lana Wood dropped hints that it was Kirk Douglas who raped Natalie Wood.

I've heard that as well, but I can't seem to find anything other than the same repeated story that Hollywood knew (1) Natalie was raped and (2) it was Douglas that raped her. Everything I've found up till now (certainly not exhaustive by any stretch) all comes back to Lana's book and nothing before she said something. So that leaves open the possibility that if only Lana talked about this, maybe the entire thing is fabricated. To be fair, if it was only Lana that ever said anything, it does not impeach her story as the truth.

Has anyone from Hollywood spoken up about this?

Again, I'm inclined to think that Natalie was raped and that it was Douglas that did it, but I need to know this as fact before I condemn someone.

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[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

I've heard that as well, but I can't seem to find anything other than the same repeated story that Hollywood knew (1) Natalie was raped and (2) it was Douglas that raped her.

You're not going to find anything, because it's the internet. Archives are disappearing or getting paywalled. That's the problem with the internet. For example, I've been trying to find articles about specific things that happened in the past that I remember clearly, but everything is vanishing into thin air or is under lock and key.

On the whole rape thing, I first came article the allegations in a PRINTED article I had read about long time ago--not the internet, not Lana Wood's book. At the time, absolutely nothing was mentioned of Kirk Douglas and everything was done to hide his identity, so it was anyone's guess (Burt Lancaster, Charles Heston, etc.).

It wasn't until later that people started getting bolder naming Douglas and filling in the details. For example, here is a Gawker article, going back to 2012: https://www.gawker.com/5893793%2Fdid-robert-downey-jr-really-just-accuse-kirk-douglas-of-a-brutal-rape

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[–] letess (1803) 2 years ago

Why do you strongly believe Kirk Douglas raped Natalie Wood? What is your source? I wouldn’t take her sister’s allegations seriously on anything. So what do you have?

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[–] strntz (12773) 2 years ago

I don't have any hard evidence, but it's one of those things where you say that "put a gun to my head"... We've all read for years that Natalie was raped and that was a well known Hollywood secret, we've all read the description of the rapist fitting Douglas perfectly, we've read that he's admitted to liking young girls, we've read by his own words he's had sex with very young girls who could have been underage, and we've read he's admitted to being very aggressive. We also have the story of Lana relating what Natalie told her. If Lana's was the only person that Natalie told of the rape, then it leaves a big question mark certainly, but that doesn't totally eliminate the possibility of story being true. Unless Lana has a history of drama and telling lies, then I'm inclined to believe what we know at this point. That's an awful big and specific lie she would hatch to sell a book.

Would I convict Douglas in a trial? Certainly not unless the trial took place in 1955 with Natalie testifying along with physical evidence (it was reported that she was badly hurt and bleeding).

Personally, I hope Natalie wasn't raped at all and that it was a fabrication to sell books by her sister.

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[–] letess (1803) 2 years ago

This may have happened. May not have happened. Happened in a way only Natalie Wood knew and those close to her. But it may be also something Natalie wanted to remain private. Something she only told to a few people and they managed not to write a book. And I bet it was a promise made that Lana decided to break so she could cash in. Did Lana consult Natalie’s husband and daughters? Wasn’t she also the one to accuse Wagner of killing Natalie?

Lana Wood has been riding on her sister’s coat tails since Natalie became famous. She never could find her own life. She pursued and bedded Natalie’s boyfriends, including Beatty. She’s not close to the family. Natasha Gregson Wagner did a great documentary of her mom. What Remains Behind.

Natasha also said of her aunt, Lana. “Though my aunt was at our house for the holidays, she was never part of my parents’ inner circle." Gregson Wagner says that after Wood left her clothes to Lana, they were sold, despite promises to Wagner that she wouldn't. A shop promoted the items – "Belonged to Natalie Wood" – enraging Wagner. "None of us were able to forgive Lana for that," she writes. "After that, my aunt was no longer welcome in our home."

Lana continues to try to get attention and make money from her sister’s private life long after her death at the cost of Natalie Wood’s true family. Lana thinks she relevant. She’s just intrusive and a horrible sister.

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[–] Noirdame79 (107) 2 years ago

Lana could not keep all the clothes Natalie left her, as she didn't have room for all of it. She used the same shops Natalie used to sell things she didn't want. Since Natalie left the clothes to Lana, they were hers to do with what she wished. And she did keep some of them.

As for Robert Wagner, he was seen out with Jill St. John ten weeks after Natalie died, Valentine's Day, 1982. It's hilarious how Wagner and Natalie's daughters always accuse Lana of profiting off of Natalie and being money-hungry when they have profited of off Natalie more than anyone. Natalie's death left Wagner a very wealthy man, and he and Natalie's daughters have written books, marketed a perfume in her name, and sold her personal items - including her Golden Globe Award at auction, and you can't say that Natasha hasn't benefitted during her years as an actress for being Natalie Wood's daughter. Lana wrote two books, over 30 years apart, and has given interviews (and she has talked about her own career, which began when she was a child, in 1955 - so any claims that she took Natalie's screen name is false - her mother chose it for her), and apart from selling clothes that she didn't have room to keep, how is she money-hungry, exactly? The case was re-opened, and Wagner was named a person of interest, and that was not Lana's doing. Natasha and Courtney were children when their mother died, there's a lot that they would not know. Wagner no doubt "filled in the lies" (I mean, gaps).

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[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

1. Rumors and blind items about the rape were around for decades before Lana Wood said anything. That's most likely why he believes that Douglas raped her. In fact, other people had outed KD long before Lana Wood.
https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/do-you-believe-kirk-douglas-really-raped-natalie-wood.445623/page-3#post-42979579

2. Kirk Douglas was also wanted as a SUSPECT in the disappearance of an ingenue named Jean Spangler.

3. There have been rumors about him, unrelated to Natalie Wood, about how he loved to abuse women.

Someone else mentioned Douglas as very angry during xes. Here's something that takes it to another level. In his autobiography, Ragman's Son, Douglas referred to his deliberate xesual pursuit of a young woman that he believed to be anti-Semitic (not saying that's right, btw) and when they were in the middle of having xes, he told her something along the lines of "Oh, by the way, I'm Jewish, you're getting f***ed by a Jew, that's a Jewish dick inside you" etc, and proceeded to scream threats and obscenities at her while he continued to violently penetrate the terrified woman who pleaded with him to stop.
https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/do-you-believe-kirk-douglas-really-raped-natalie-wood.445623/page-3#post-42897338

4. His son, Michael, not only seems to have taken after him but played in many movie roles where it seemed as if he was role playing as his father.

Of course, no one should automatically believe unsubstantiated allegations. But then again, there's that saying, where there's smoke, there's fire.

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[–] MCguy (1346) 2 years ago

Douglas was never a suspect in the disappearance of Jean Sprangle. When a note in her purse mentioned a Kirk, he went to the police and they cleared him,

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[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

Okay, fine--I stand corrected. But there was always something suspicious about his connection to her disappearance, in any case.

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[–] MCguy (1346) 2 years ago

The police found neither person mentioned in the note - Kirk or Dr. Scott. She admitted to Bob Cummings she was having an affair. She was pregnant and seeking an abortion according her friends. As you know abortions were illegal and unsafe then.

The night she disappeared, she lied twice to her sister-in-law about where she was going and how long she would be gone.

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[–] letess (1803) 2 years ago

Biographer Suzanne Finstad mentioned in Natalie Wood bio that she was raped by a powerful, married movie star but she didn’t name him. Why are you quoting threads in lipstick alley.

Kirk Douglas was not a suspect in the disappearance of Jean Spangler.

You are completely misquoting scene Kirk Douglas describes in his book, The Ragman’s Son, about experience with anti-Semite using another thread in lipstick alley

No. 4 is just plain stupid.

Where there’s smoke - there’s fire - it’s good you are not a journalist.

This whole conversation wouldn’t even be discussed if it weren’t for Lana Wood’s book. If this is something that did happen, maybe Natalie Wood didn’t want it publicized. Why does everybody have to tell their story, her story, a side of the story. Some things that are personal to the person is something that they might have the right to their privacy. Cashing in on it seems disingenuous. Brooke Shields just revealed a sexual assault she experienced during university. She was the one who decided to tell it, her way, on her terms and at the time she wanted to. I think Natalie deserved the same. There was a great deal of estrangement with the sisters as Lana was always trying to cash in on her sister’s clothes, her experiences, her boyfriends, and it’s lurid. But this stuff you’ve written doesn’t have any continuity and just come across as very disorganized.

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[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

#4 is stupid? Good thing I'm not a journalist?

*puts on ignore*

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[–] letess (1803) 2 years ago

Sorry. I was a little heavy handed.

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[–] Noirdame79 (107) 2 years ago

This was discussed long before Lana Wood said a word about the sexual assault. Check out the message board here for the miniseries The Mystery Of Natalie Wood. The discussion of the rape and the perpetrator's identity has been a topic of discussion since before the miniseries aired in 2004; Suzanne Finstad's biography of Natalie (the main basis for the miniseries) was the first time the rape appeared in print and at least five of Natalie's friends confirmed that she told them about the rape and the identity of the perpetrator, and they all said it was the same actor/producer. Douglas was still living at the time, and Finstad (who is also an attorney) didn't want to be sued so she didn't name him but she dropped several clues to his identity, and he was referred to in the present tense, meaning that he was alive when the book was published (in the miniseries, the actor who raped Natalie was given a pseudonym, again, in order to avoid a lawsuit).

As for his first autobiography, do you recall these passages?

In Chapter 12 "Israel", Douglas meets General Moshe Dayan and his family, including his "precocious" TWELVE-year-old daughter, Ya'el. The following paragraph is reproduced in full:
"Ya'el was a very bright girl, sexy even at that young age. Jokingly, I said, 'Listen, Ya'el, here's a dime. When you get to be seventeen or eighteen, if you're around Hollywood, call me.' Sure enough, about five or six years later, I got a call in Los Angeles. It was Ya'el Dayan. 'Well, here I am.' Israelis are amazing people."

*In Chapter 19 "Stateside", Douglas describes his after-filming activities in Jamaica thus:
"There were beautiful, young (I hate to think how young) copper-colored girls dancing and singing Calypso songs - 'Please, mister, don't touch my tomatoes'. Afterward, I would take them up to my bungalow. I'm glad I never asked them how old they were. I think I should have been in jail."

He preyed on young girls, by his own admission, which is proof enough.

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[–] Noirdame79 (107) 2 years ago

While Douglas was never named as a suspect in the disappearance of Jean Spangler, even the police thought that his actions were strange (contacting them, first to insist that he didn't know Spangler, and then to say that a friend jogged his memory and that he remembered seeing her on the set and joking around with her, and they never interviewed him in person). According to Spangler's family, she did date a man named Kirk briefly, but they never met him or got a good look at him, because he remained in the car both times he came to pick her up. Even if he had nothing to do with her going missing (there are other theories, and her ex-husband, who was actually under investigation at one point, had a motive to want her gone) it's possible (even likely) that Douglas knew Spangler better than he claimed, that perhaps they were involved and there was a possibility that he might have gotten her pregnant. Even though he was a married man, he was unfaithful to his wives and was well-known for making aggressive sexual advances.

As for the "this conversation wouldn't be discussed at all if it weren't for Lana Wood's book", that's not true. Her book was published in 2021, this article is from 2018: https://www.mediaite.com/online/twitter-calls-out-golden-globes-for-honoring-kirk-douglas-accused-of-raping-natalie-wood-not-a-good-look/

These two threads on the board for "The Mystery Of Natalie Wood" prove that it was talked about long before Lana's book was published, some of these posts are nineteen years old:

https://moviechat.org/tt0389121/The-Mystery-of-Natalie-Wood/58c7891f93cef4080d87dbbd/Who-was-the-rapist

https://moviechat.org/tt0389121/The-Mystery-of-Natalie-Wood/58c7892093cef4080d87dc28/who-was-the-actor

When Natalie Wood was featured on the television series, "Too Young To Die" in 2016, Suzanne Finstad mentioned that she was raped by a famous actor, and right after that, footage was shown of The Kirk Douglas Theater, which is likely as close as they could come to naming him without being slapped with a lawsuit.

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[–] letess (1803) 2 years ago

That was long so this will be too.

So, to encapsulate your words. These are YOUR assertions and none has been proven:

1. Kirk Douglas raped Natalie Wood when she was 16. Although it was mentioned 20 years ago, the author of Wood’s bio, an attorney, fearing libel did not name actor. Natalie’s sister, Lana, did in 2021.
2. Kirk Douglas has sexually pursued other young girls with or without their consent whether they are from Jamaica or other places and even Moshe Dayan’s daughter when she showed up to his house.
3. Robert Wagner is responsible for the death of Natalie Wood on the yacht Splendour in Catalina as he was seen with Jill St. John 10 weeks after Natalie’s death.
4. Lana Wood had the right to sell her sister’s clothes as she did not have enough room to keep them even though the family preferred that she didn’t.
5. Jean Spangler’s disappearance is attached to Kirk Douglas because he acted strangely in calling the police station when she disappeared and seemed not to know who she was. She was pregnant. Even though Kirk was married, he was unfaithful to his wife and well known for making aggressive sexual advances. Therefore, Kirk Douglas is most likely the one who made her pregnant. I am not sure if you are hinting that Kirk had something to do with her disappearance because of this possible affair. [Not mentioned by you but relevant. Other sources say she was attempting to get an abortion. Other articles suggest her disappearance may have been connected with the Black Dahlia murder.]

Did I miss anything.

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[–] Noirdame79 (107) 2 years ago

Your point is what?

As for the Jean Spangler connection, all I said is that it is possible.

I posted direct quotes from his autobiography, where he admitted to grooming or preying on young girls.

That isn't a red flag to you?

It's obvious that you didn't even look at the links I posted. Bury your head in the sand if you want.

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[–] letess (1803) 2 years ago

Everything is a red flag with you. That’s why I listed them. I listed your red flags just the way you wrote them. I gave No opinions. How can you say I didn’t read your links. I wrote down everything you said. And asked you. Did I miss anything and you said. What’s your point.

Now I will add: As of May 2022, Natalie’s death is now an open unsolved cold case as lead detective retires. No charges brought against Robert Wagner replacing Wagner cleared. Also, Natalie paid all of Wagner’s debts in 2nd marriage. I guess this is in response to Lana needing Natalie for money. Although, Wagner was really successful whereas Lana wasn’t. You mention her daughters benefited the most from her money.

Have you noticed you went from Kirk Douglas to Robert Wagner.

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[–] Noirdame79 (107) 2 years ago

Again, your point being what? Or are you just being a parrot?

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[–] letess (1803) 2 years ago

My point is that this discussion is pointless and endless. That anything said, there’s another red flag and another. My only opinion is that Natalie herself may not have wanted that part of her life made public and that might also be the wish of her daughters. I don’t hold Lana in a good light like you do. Not only do you not like Douglas or Wagner, but you don’t even like her daughters. I think at the end that even Natalie was done with her sister. I think you are more supportive of Lana than you are of Natalie. And that’s odd to me. Because that is what this is all about, isn’t it? Natalie. BTW, you are not good at sarcasm. That’s an art you don’t possess.

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[–] Noirdame79 (107) 2 years ago

Oh, so you're a parrot and a troll. Got it.

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[–] Noirdame79 (107) 2 years ago

[deleted]

[–] letess (1803) 2 years ago

Next….

It has been my recollection in the past, that Natalie didn’t necessarily get along with her younger sister even though she provided a great deal of financial and professional support. I thought I would look up who were the beneficiaries of her will to see how she bequeathed her assets as that would be an indicator of Natalie’s motivations.

Robert Wagner was the executor of her trust. He got half and her biological daughters got the other half. The division in two was for tax proposes. Art and jewelry were given to her husband with instructions for disbursement. Provisions were made for her mother, her step-daughter, her older sister Olga, and Lana her younger sister. All of the provisions were listed in amounts or percentages. Lana only got her clothes.

“However, while these bequeaths were generous, not everyone was happy. According to the New York Daily News, Lana Wood showed up to claim her inheritance even before the will was read. Moreover, she allegedly took every single piece of clothing, including Wood's bras. Before her death, Natalie helped financially support her younger sister and it seems that when that stopped, Lana had to resort to another method of income: A salacious tell-all book. Lana's book was viewed as so full of gossip that when it was published in 1984, both hers and Wagner families cut her off. But Lana Wood wasn't finish with leveling accusations, and decades later claimed that Wagner killed her sister.”

In 2022, Robert Wagner was cleared of any wrongdoing in Natalie’s death. In 2015, Natasha did create a perfume for her mother. In 2020, Natasha also did a documentary called Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind. There is NO mention of the rape in this documentary. This doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, it just might mean that’s how she wants to remember her mother or that her mother also had a wish - to not publicly be a victim of rape.

That’s it for me.

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[–] Noirdame79 (107) 2 years ago

The lead detectives NEVER cleared Wagner. They both believe he is guilty. As both have since retired, the LASD decided to throw in the in the towel, but the case is still open, and Wagner is still a person of interest. One of the retired detectives has stated that he will continue to seek justice for Natalie.
Just because Wagner has not been charged does not mean that he's innocent.

You can believe Robert Wagner's version of events if you choose, but he's not a trustworthy source. Natalie also paid his debts when they got together the second time. As I said, he and her daughters have benefitted the most from her money.

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[–] AmericaILoveU (1030) 2 years ago

Kirk: In his autobiography, The Ragman's Son, he described himself as a “son of a b****”, admitting: "I’m probably the most disliked actor in Hollywood. And I feel pretty good about it. Because that’s me... I was born aggressive, and I guess I’ll die aggressive and I like very young woman.

"There was an awful lot of rage churning around inside me, rage that I was afraid to reveal because there was so much more of it, and so much stronger, in my father."

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[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

Almost all of these actors are basically criminals, sociopaths and thugs who just happened to be blessed with God given talent. There were so many of them working in Hollywood that they had to create a new cottage industry in the film industry called "fixing" to control them. Makes me understand why in most ancient societies, actors were seen as lower than dirt and no better than prostitutes. Maybe they knew something we all didn't.

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[–] AmericaILoveU (1030) 2 years ago

You are not wrong!

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[–] alexjohans0n (2094) 2 years ago

This is crazy, just crazy! A rapist of children & an aggressive sociopath!

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[–] javie (2217) 2 years ago

He was the first of 2 sons and his parents had married 7 months befor his birth.

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[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Jean Spangler? I thought she wasn't an ex, she was some regular woman who was found dead, with a note referring to "meeting Kirk" on her person.

I always though it was darkly amusing that everyone's thoughts immediately turned to Kirk Douglas when they heard about that, if her note had referred to meeting a guy named Van, would anyone have suspected Van Johnson? I mean, now many guys named Kirk were there in the LA Basin - hundreds or thousands? But everyone thought of him and apparently they still do, because apparently deep down everyone thinks he might have been capable of it.

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[–] MCguy (1346) 2 years ago

Spangler's body was never found. She is still considered missing.

Kirk Douglas was never a police suspect. When he heard a Kirk was mentioned in the note, he went to the police to clear himself. They cleared him. I don't have access to the records, so I don't know why and won't speculate. Because Kirk took the effort to clear himself the uninformed make baseless accusations.

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[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

I find it interesting that rumors of Douglas's involvement have grown with time, rather than having died down, and have done so without any evidence at all. I mean, people are now saying she was his ex! Would they be saying that Spencer Tracy killed her, if a note about a Spencer had been found among her effects?

Hell no, but they assume it about Kirk Douglas...

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[–] MCguy (1346) 2 years ago

People. They're the worst.

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[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Or maybe they're perceptive...

About Douglas's character, at least. Not about poor Spangler.

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[–] Noirdame79 (107) 2 years ago

Spangler's body was never found. She is still considered missing.

Kirk Douglas was never a police suspect. When he heard a Kirk was mentioned in the note, he went to the police to clear himself. They cleared him. I don't have access to the records, so I don't know why and won't speculate. Because Kirk took the effort to clear himself the uninformed make baseless accusations.

I know it's been a while since this thread has been commented on, but fasten your seatbelts!

Direct quotes from Kirk Douglas's 1988 autobiography, The Ragman's Son

Crazier things have happened. While I was shooting "Young Man With A Horn" (1949), I spent a weekend in Palm Springs with actress Evelyn Keyes (keep in mind, Douglas was still married to his first wife, Diana Dill, at this time). We were sitting around the pool, reading the morning newspapers. Evelyn gasped and said, "Look at this!" There was a photograph of a statuesque starlet who had mysteriously disappeared. Her purse was found in Griffith Park. Inside was a note, "Dear Kirk . . . . mother knows about it . . . I can't wait . . . . Jean." I grabbed the paper. "Actor Kirk Douglas enters investigation of the disappearance of actress Jean Spangler."

We joked about it until we heard on TV that the girl's murdered body was found near the Mexican border.

I rushed back to Beverly Hills. There was a call from Thad Brown, chief of the Homicide Bureau. He was sending over a couple of his men to question me. There were photographers at the precinct waiting for me to be brought in. He wanted to spare me that until he had more information.

Needless to say, I became alarmed. I called my stand-in.

(Continued in next post)

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[–] DoctorThirteen (15260) 2 years ago

'We joked about it until we heard on TV that the girl's murdered body was found near the Mexican border.'

I thought Spangler's body was never found.

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[–] Noirdame79 (107) 2 years ago

Yes, that's what I mean. I will comment more about this in my reply to the last post.

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[–] DoctorThirteen (15260) 2 years ago

Ah, gotcha.

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[–] Noirdame79 (107) 2 years ago

"Larry, do I know a Jean Spangler?"
"Yes," he answered.
"I do! Where?"
"Don't you remember the afternoon that you shot a scene with that beautiful extra and made a date with her?"
"Oh yes, but you talked me out of it."
"That's right. I told you that she's a star-f****r and bad news."
I remembered, I called. Jean was not there. I left a message that something had come up and I wouldn't be able to see her that night. I never saw or spoke to her again.
I told all of this to the detectives when they questioned me. They looked at their notes.
"Mrs. Spangler said you called many times."
"That's ridiculous. I called once."
The detective kept looking at his notes.
"Some of her friends said that you dated her often."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He flipped a page.
"One of her friends said that she was at a party with both of you."
I was bewildered. "Do you have the exact date of the party?"
They had a date, and I was able to prove where I had been that night and with whom.
Meanwhile, the newspapers discovered that Jean had played a bit part in Young Man With A Horn and my name began to pop up in articles about the murder. Eventually, I learned from Thad Brown that they knew that the girl was a psychopathic liar, and I was not involved in the case. I was thankful to Thad Brown - for the considerate way he protected me. The case was never solved.

(Comments in next post)

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[–] Noirdame79 (107) 2 years ago

Not only does KD's version of events differ from that of the police, but note the misogynistic tone throughout, and his attempts to portray himself as a victim of Spangler, her family, and friends, as if they were out to get him.

The most disturbing thing is his claim to have heard about Spangler's murder on television, and this is what prompted him to return to Beverly Hills, talk to his stand-in, and "clear his name". Spangler has never been found, dead or alive. He said he joked about the note that was found in her purse until he heard that she was murdered, and then it was "Oh, she was a liar, trying to frame me," etc. Also, Spangler's family and friends told the police that while she had briefly dated a man named Kirk, they never saw him and she never mentioned his last name. They never said that she dated Kirk Douglas. The police, including two retired detectives who were interviewed for a TV segment about the case, confirmed that Douglas contacted them and that they only spoke to him over the phone. He gave them an alibi - that he was recovering from the flu in Palm Springs. While in his book he mentions being in Palm Springs at the time, he never mentioned anything about recovering from the flu and that was his alibi. Even the comment he attributed to the police chief, that Spangler was a "psychopathic liar" - there's nothing that indicates that she lied about anything concerning him. Even if you believe his version, it was her mother and her friends who claimed she was dating him. He made quite a bit of effort to smear a woman whom he supposedly barely knew. The murder part stands out, even if you concede that it was a mistake, as he was writing about this nearly 40 years later, but it's an odd mistake, not only because he claimed to have heard about it on the news but this was what panicked him about being "associated" with her. Even if he had no involvement in her going missing, I'm inclined to think that he knew more than he let on.

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[–] DoctorThirteen (15260) 2 years ago

'Even if he had no involvement in her going missing, I'm inclined to think that he knew more than he let on.'

I can believe he may have known her better than he let on (and for obvious reasons wanted to play that down), but I'm a long way from 'He did it'.

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[–] Noirdame79 (107) 2 years ago

There are other possibilities in the case (such as her ex-husband killing her, because he wanted sole custody of their daughter), but KD's actions are suspicious, as well as his referring to what happened to her as a "murder".

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[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Or alternately, I can believe he exaggerated the whole episode in his autobiography, because he wanted it to sell. So maybe he invented an acquaintance with the murdered woman that never happened, exaggerated the police's interest in him, etc, because scandal sells. And heck, maybe at the time the studio publicity dept. probably sent Douglas down to the police station to "clear his name" and get some press, and the police never had any interest in him!

We'll never know. Too much time has passed, Spangler has never been found, and Douglas isn't a reliable source of information.

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[–] DoctorThirteen (15260) 2 years ago

That is always possible.

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[–] liscarkat (19395) 2 years ago

Lana Wood is desperate for attention and book sales. Her ridiculous "Robert Wagner Murdered My Sister" act never really got traction, so she has attempted a reboot with Douglas as the villain. She is pathetic and doesn't rate being taken seriously. Her "acting" career never went much further than a Penthouse layout and being tossed off a building by James Bond, but she keeps clawing at relevance because she can't face being a forgotten elderly former failed starlet.

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[–] strntz (12773) 2 years ago

We can't forget that none of that disproves Lana's assertions.

I have two wishes that will never come true with regard to Natalie Wood:

1) That she was never raped
2) If she was, the son of a bitch who raped her would be outed.

I don't care about book sales, Lana, or salacious journalism.

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[–] alexjohans0n (2094) 2 years ago

https://www.insider.com/natalie-woods-kirk-douglas-alleged-assault-hurt-her-sister-says-2021-11

Natalie Wood's alleged rape as a teenager by Kirk Douglas 'hurt her for her entire life,' sister says. In "Little Sister," Lana estimates that Natalie was 15 and herself, 7, at the time of the assault.

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[–] alexjohans0n (2094) 2 years ago

Didn`t Jewish Kirk rape shikas left & right ?

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[–] MCguy (1346) 2 years ago

What is your credible documentation for this claim?

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[–] alexjohans0n (2094) 2 years ago

Harvey Weinstein
Jeffrey Epstein
Malka Leifer
Randell Emmet
Steven M. Cohen
Rabbi Barry Freundel
Shlomo Carlebach
Leon Wieseltier
Jules Gutin
Michael Steinhardt
Benjamin Netanyahu
to name a f-jew

Furthermore list of Jewish men implicated in #MeToo includes former Democratic senator Al Franken; ousted CBS chief Les Moonves; actors Dustin Hoffman, Jeffrey Tambor and Jeremy Piven; directors Woody Allen, James Toback and Brett Ratner; playwright Israel Horowitz; journalists Mark Halperin and Michael Oreskes; conductor James Levine; and radio show hosts Leonard Lopate and Jonathan Schwartz!

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[–] MCguy (1346) 2 years ago

I didn't think I needed to be so specific - What is your credible documentation that Jewish Kirk raped shikas left & right?

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[–] Porsche911 (3807) 2 years ago

Kirk had several rape accusations both here in the US and overseas made against him! Read up on it.

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[–] MCguy (1346) 2 years ago

You're making the claim. It is incumbent on you to provide documentation of proven rape. Claims are not proof.

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