David Bacon, center, in a still from “The Masked Marvel,” photo courtesy of Steven Bibb.

In case you just tuned in, we are looking at the “Masked Marvel Murder” of actor David G.G. Bacon, who was stabbed to death Sept. 12, 1943. Bacon was apparently driving back to Los Angeles from Venice, crashed his car into a bean field on Washington Boulevard and collapsed, dying of a deep stab wound. His killing was never solved.

In previous posts, we have looked at his coded diary, his secret hideaway a mile from his home with singer Greta Keller, his arrest for contributing to the delinquency of a minor – a 15-year-old newsboy – and his participation in the Hasty Pudding productions at Harvard, in which he was apparently quite gifted at portraying women.

Now it’s time to look at the “sideshow.”

The “Masked Marvel Murder” Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

Uh-oh.

Sept. 20, 1943: An Associated Press story via the Binghamton Press.

Oh dear. The Los Angeles Examiner got taken for a ride. According to the AP account, hospital orderly Blakeley C. Patterson told the Examiner that he had spoken with Bacon about a blackmail note. That must have seemed intriguing and Bacon was clearly a man with a secret life.

And then Patterson’s story fell apart under police questioning. He admitted that he was only after publicity and a chance in films. “I thought I could get into the movies if I had my picture in the paper,” Patterson said.

Notice that The Times and the Herald-Express are eager to distance themselves from the hoax, without identifying the Examiner by name.

And look who else shows up in the Bacon saga: Dr. J. Paul De River, who will play a prominent role in the Black Dahlia case.

Patterson was given 10 days in jail, reduced from 90 days after he promised to go back home to Minnesota.

To be continued.