NEED TO KNOW

Movie star Betty Grable was a victim of extortion in the 1940s

The extortionist, Russell Eugene Alexanderson, was a high school student from Nebraska

“I wanted the money only to enable me to see movie stars," he reportedly said

The first extortion letter was written on Feb. 6, 1943.

It was addressed to Betty Grable — then 26, a rising Hollywood star and already celebrated as World War II’s pinup girl.

It read: “Under threat of your life or great bodily harm, gather $25,000 in uncut diamonds and mail them in 2 envelopes.”

The would-be extortionist wanted the large sum to be sent to a Jonathan C. Wild, Esq. at the Gates Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, per the FBI .

The note was mysteriously signed "The Leop."

At the time of the letter, Grable was at the height of her

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