Today in History - December 8 | How an iconic TV show unlocked a 60-year-old mystery
The six million dollar man
On December 8 in 1976, production crew began filming for the top-rated US television series, Six Million Dollar Man, at The Pike in Long Beach, California.
During the shoot, a prop man repositioned what was believed to be a wax mannequin, causing its arm to fall off.
But, when crew discovered the mannequin contained tissue and bone the police were called.
It was soon discovered that the mannequin was in fact, a mummified corpse.
The Los Angeles County Coroner's office determined the man suffered a gunshot but found other oddities on the body, including a penny dated in 1924 as well as several stubs to a wax museum.
Little did officers know, in an effort to trace his identity they'd unlocked a 60-year old mystery.
The body was discovered to be that of Elmer McCurdy, also known as "The Bandit Who Wouldn't Give Up".
McCurdy was an outlaw, known for robbing banks and trains before his death in a police shoot out in 1911.
His body was preserved and stored in the back of a funeral home but no next of kin came forward.
Years later, McCurdy's corpse ended up being exhibited in a travelling sideshow which featured wax figures of famous outlaws.
But after his body became damaged in a windstorm the sideshow's owner sold it to Ed Liersch, co-owner of The Pike, an amusement park in Long Beach, California.
On December 8, 1963, the Sinatra family fell victim to a ransom kidnapping.
Frank Sinatra's son, Frank Sinatra Jr. was 19 years old when he was kidnapped at hotel, Harrah's Lake Tahoe.
The kidnappers demanded $240,000 for Sinatra Jr's safe return.
He was later found walking on a street in Bel-Air after the kidnappers freed him.
Officer George C. Jones came across him and placed him in his trunk to avoid paparazzi at his home.
Because Frank Sinatra corresponded with the kidnappers through payphone, he carried 10 dimes with him for the rest of his life, just in case he didn't have enough to coins to a make call.
Frank Sinatra Jr was an American singer, songwriter and conductor.
He lived until the age of 72 after dying unexpectedly from cardiac arrest in 2016.
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