Jenny Maxwell was a promising starlet who was murdered under mysterious circumstances
She was born Jennifer Helene Maxwell on September 3, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, John Maxwell, was a construction worker from Norway. During her childhood she began modeling and took acting classes. While attending Brooklyn high school the sixteen year old was discovered by director Vincente Minnelli. He brought her to Hollywood to make screen test for the film Some Came Running. Although she didn't get the role she decided stay in Hollywood. In 1958 she made her acting debut in an episode of Bachelor Father. Jenny appeared on numerous television shows including The Twilight Zone, Dr. Kildaire, and Father Knows Best. She claimed to be a distant cousin of Marilyn Monroe but this might not be true, At the age of seventeen she married Paul Rapp, an assistant film director. Their son Brian was born in 1960. The pretty blonde landed a featured role in Elvis Presley's 1961 musical Blue Hawaii. Jenny also had smalls roles in the films Take Her She's Mine and Shotgun Wedding. Unfortunately she started partying and using drugs. Her marriage to Paul ended in 1963 and she lost custody of their son.
By the late 1960s her career had stalled and she decided to quit acting. Her final role was in a 1968 episode of the TV western Wild Wild West. She stopped partying and was able to get joint custody of Brian. In 1970 she married Ervin Roeder, a lawyer who was twenty-one years older than her. The couple bought a large home on Cherokee Lane in Los Angeles. Their marriage was tumultuous and they separated several times. After she filed for divorce in 1980 they began fighting over money and property. On June 10, 1981 Ervin visited her at her at her Beverly Hills apartment building. While walking in the lobby they were both shot and killed. Jenny was only thirty-nine years old. The police initially believed it was a robbery gone wrong. However there is evidence that Ervin had taken out a mob hit on his estranged wife. He was only supposed to be shot in the arm but was accidentally killed. No one was ever arrested for the murders and today the case officially remains unsolved. She was cremated and her ashes were given to her family.
With Elvis Presley
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