Betty Grable Was America’s Favorite Pinup — Then the Threatening Letters Started Coming from a Shocking Source

The first extortion letter arrived on Feb. 6, 1943, addressed to 26-year-old Betty Grable — then a rising screen sensation and already embraced as World War II’s iconic pinup.

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

According to the FBI, the payment was to be sent to a Jonathan C. Wild, Esq. at the Gates Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, and the letter was signed only as “The Leop.”
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At the time, Grable was at the height of her fame with hits like Down Argentine Way, Tin Pan Alley, and Moon Over Miami, sharing the screen with stars such as Don Ameche and Carmen Miranda.

A second letter arrived on March 9.

This time, the writer instructed the actress — whose famously photogenic legs were insured for $1 million — to appear at a specific location: “Come north on Gower Street and ½ block of Santa Monica Blvd. on March 19 at 9:40 a.m.” The message warned, “Bring $5,000 or you will not be alive on the 20,” and was signed “Snow.”

Because the threats were sent through the U.S. mail, the FBI stepped in to investigate.

On March 19, federal agents staged an elaborate sting operation at the designated Hollywood cemetery rendezvous.

Agents disguised themselves as gravediggers and gardeners, and one even posed as Grable with a fake money package. At about 9:40 a.m., a blue sedan pulled up and tossed out a brown parcel. Moments later, 18-year-old high-school student Russell Eugene Alexanderson of Omaha, Neb., snatched it and attempted to flee. He was quickly detained.

During his federal hearing, Alexanderson admitted writing the letters but insisted he never intended harm. He told U.S. Commissioner David B. Head that he only wanted money to “see movie stars” and had little freedom at home to spend money without oversight. He was sentenced to five years’ probation.

But the case did not end there.

In May, Alexanderson mailed yet another threatening letter to Grable, this time demanding $500. When he arrived at a federal probation office — the same location he instructed Grable to bring the money — he was arrested once again.

He explained his obsession bluntly: “For seven years I have been in love with Miss Grable, since I first saw her in pictures. I think if I could see her, I’d be satisfied.” This time, he was imprisoned.

Grable continued her successful career, starring in numerous films including How to Marry a Millionaire with Marilyn Monroe. She became the highest-paid American woman in 1946 and 1947, according to the Treasury Department. She passed away in 1973 at age 56 from lung cancer.

Alexanderson resurfaced in headlines in 1957 when he unsuccessfully sought a restraining order to stop CBS from airing The FBI, after filing a $135,000 invasion-of-privacy lawsuit over footage of his interrogation.