Elizabeth Short, a “5’6”, 118 lb.” woman with jet black hair, green eyes, and ivory skin, came from a broken home in Massachusetts, where her mother did her best to raise “Beth” and her four sisters (“Wanted: Information on Elizabeth Short” 1). Ms. Short was “the third of five daughters” and lived between Massachusetts and Florida throughout her childhood (Eatwell). She suffered from asthma and continual respiratory infections, forcing her mother to send her to live in Florida during the brutal winter months in the northeast (Gilmore). Due to the constant moving back and forth from Massachusetts to Florida, Elizabeth dropped out of high school at age 16 and moved out on her own (Gilmore). At age 18, she received communications that her father, presumed dead by suicide, was alive and thriving in California (Eatwell). Ms. Short decided to join him; shortly after, she moved back to Florida to live with her United States Air Corps boyfriend, Major Matthew Michael Gordon, Jr. (“The Sun” 1).
It was reported by most who knew Beth that she was enamored by “men in uniform” or soldiers. She was engaged to Major Gordon, Jr. before his untimely death in a plane crash (“The Sun” 1). After his death, she lived with Army Air Force Lieutenant Joseph Gordon Fickling for approximately six months in San Diego, then moved back to LA to pursue her longtime dream of becoming a Hollywood star (Hodel). Policewoman and friend of Ms. Short told a reporter, “There were four soldiers from Camp Cooke” the night she first met Elizabeth (“The Black Dahlia Murder). Ms. Short tended to have blind dates with corpsmen, and one night a woman that claimed to be Elizabeth’s neighbor stated that Elizabeth ran up screaming, “terrified, that her blind date was going to kill her” (“The Black Dahlia Murder”). According to several sources, her life-long dream of fame and her choice of men served as lifestyle evidence for the motive to murder her.
Those who knew her stated she was ambitious and determined; she was ready to shine in the pictures. So, when Elizabeth Short uprooted her life and moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams, she took every opportunity available in Hollywood: modeling, acting, screenplay reading, etc. (Eatwell). Most infamously known as the “Black Dahlia,” she was determined to take her place amongst Hollywood’s A-listers in the cinematic industry; instead, she made headlines in the most horrific way possible. Ms. Short wrote letters home to her mother, updating her on her newest accomplishments – one “received only two weeks before” the discovery of Elizabeth Short’s body (“The Black Dahlia Murder”). Her mother disclosed to reporters that her daughter was a “hard worker”, and she was “working at the naval hospital” to support herself and pursue her dreams (“The Black Dahlia Murder). However, as ambitious as she was, Ms. Short had a rebellious side known to those in her inner circle. Elizabeth had a “tattoo of a rose on her upper inner thigh”; placement of this type was considered taboo in the 1940s (Eatwell). Consistent with many newspaper articles saved in the FBI vault for her case, “[Ms. Short] loved to sit so that [her tattoo] would show.” Though she also had an affinity for dance clubs and bar crawls, “she dressed nicely and was a long way from being a barfly,” her friend, Miss Unefer, declared (“The Black Dahlia Murder”). According to many sources, she was caught and arrested for drinking underage in Santa Barbara, Ca, in 1943 (“The Black Dahlia Murder”). Though expunged, her police record during her rebellion is how the Black Dahlia was eventually identified as Elizabeth Short (Eatwell).
Though her rebellious nature and determination to make it in Hollywood of her volition were admired features, the striking young soon-to-be actress only became famous in the most atrocious way – she was murdered. Elizabeth Short will forever be known as the Black Dahlia.
