Early morning, Jan. 15, 1947, a young mother quietly walked on the city sidewalks of Los Angeles, Calif., pushing her baby in a stroller. She enjoyed the crisp, dewy morning air. Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks. She spotted something unusual in a field of weeds. At first, she thought it was a department store mannequin. As she inched closer, she realized she was staring at a naked young woman. As she approached even closer, she could see that the woman’s body had been cut into two pieces.
The dead woman was Elizabeth Short. The 22-year-old aspiring actress was born on July 29, 1924, in Hyde Park, Mass. As Short grew up, the beautiful dark-haired girl dreamt of becoming a movie star. She longed for the day she would move to Hollywood. By the age of 19, she did exactly that.
Once in Hollywood, Short would move between the western and eastern coasts over the next two years. By the age of 21 she finally settled in Los Angeles. The sociable young lady began hitting the nightclub circuit, appearing at some of the most high profile hot spots of the time, such as the Florentine Gardens, Hollywood Canteen and Boogie Woogie Club. She did it to get noticed.
Unfortunately, it seemed as if she caught the attention of the wrong person.
Numerous theories have been written about the life and death of Elizabeth Short. She has been portrayed as everything from a slut to a virgin with a sexual deformity. The list of her potential killers has ranged from a nightclub owner to various police officers to famous film director Orson Welles.
