Lynn Baggett

After the studio released her from her contract in 1946, she signed with Universal and finally received her first substantive role in The Time of Their Lives (1946), an Abbott and Costello haunted-house comedy. Following her marriage to producer Sam Spiegel in 1948, she acted less frequently, appearing in secondary roles. Her portrayal of a shady lady of mystery in the film noir D.O.A. (1949) is probably her best-remembered work, and The Flame and the Arrow (1950) and The Mob (1951) were her most prominent later roles. The Spiegel-Baggett marriage was stormy, marred by adultery and fighting, and they separated in 1952, divorcing three years later.

With her career in shambles, Lynn found work as an Arthur Murray dance teacher. In 1954, she was the direct cause of a fatal two-car accident that killed a 9-year-old boy and seriously injured another. She "blacked out" and was later convicted of felony hit-and-run. A failed comeback attempt led to severe depression, mental problems, and acute substance abuse. She attempted suicide by pills in 1959 before succeeding on March 22, 1960, dying of acute barbiturate intoxication. She had been released from a private sanitarium several weeks earlier and was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. She was 36 years old.