Phil Spector’s First Wife is Missing

While legendary producer Phil Spector is spending a life sentence for second-degree murder in a California state prison, the LAPD is trying to track down Annette Merar, Spector’s first wife and former singer of Spector’s Three. NBC Chicago reports that Merar, 65, who went missing recently from her home near Van Nuys, CA, is diabetic and might show signs of “possible confusion,” according to family members. For a recent picture of Merar from a page she posted on her Fairfax Class of ’61 page, click here, and contact the LAPD with any information at (818) 374-9500.

Spector, who also attended Fairfax High School, named his record label Annette Records following his marriage to Merar in 1963. Spector’s Three, which an NME biography notes was “undertaken under the aegis of local entrepreneurs Lee Hazlewood and Lester Sill,” had a few releases, but was not as successful as his first group, The Teddy Bears. According to LA Weekly, Spector broke off his marriage to Merar after meeting his future ex-wife, Ronnette’s singer Veronica Bennett.