LOS ANGELES — Among the acting accomplishments Lana Clarkson kept in her portfolio were flattering letters forged in the names of television executives, according to evidence presented at Phil Spector's murder trial Monday.

The three letters were turned over to prosecutors earlier this month by Clarkson's mother, who had culled them from her daughter's belongings in an apparent attempt to provide corroborating evidence for testimony that the actress was sought-after as a performer and model.

Prosecutors concluded the letters were faked and never showed them to jurors, but Spector's defense got permission Monday to read them to the panelists and call to the stand the purported authors to identify them as forgeries.

The defense claims Clarkson was severely depressed and killed herself in Spector's mansion Feb. 3, 2003, over a flagging career and financial problems. A lawyer for the music legend said the defense will argue to jurors that the fabricated letters from employees at NBC and Fox News were part of a last-ditch effort by Clarkson to persuade an older male benefactor to continue loaning her money.

"[The letters] further amplify the desperation she was feeling," attorney Bradley Brunon said in court.

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One of those purported authors, Marc Hirschfeld, executive vice-president for casting at NBC, testified that he knew Clarkson from guest appearances on "Who's the Boss?" and "The Jeffersons" and respected her work, but never wrote the letter in the portfolio signed in his name. (VIDEO)

The 2001 letter praised an acting reel Clarkson had recently finished, "Lana Unleashed," and said that if the actress delivered "the finished product" they had discussed she would be a prime candidate for a sketch show he was developing for the network.

"You've done it, kid," the author wrote.

"I would never say that," Hirschfeld told the jury. He pointed out several factual inaccuracies, including a reference to him casting "Three's Company," a show he never worked on, and an incorrect title for his boss. He said the letterhead and his signature were also wrong.

Hirschfeld said that he never discussed specific roles with Clarkson in 2001 but probably followed up his viewing of "Lana Unleashed" with a complimentary letter. After listening to the first line of the letter, "I must say I'm impressed. You've grown into quite a beautiful woman and a talented performer," he acknowledged, "It sounds like something I would say."

The defense said they had confirmed with an employee of Fox News that another letter was a forgery. The purported author of the third was not identified.

In arguments outside the jury's presence, the prosecution strenuously objected to the admission of the letters, saying there was no way to prove that Clarkson wrote them since they were found only in the portfolio, not on the hard drive of her computer.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Larry Fidler brushed off that argument, asking, "Who else would have put them there?"

Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson said the defense was trying to sully Clarkson's name in an effort to concentrate the jurors' focus on "what kind of person she is, not who pulled the trigger."

The judge, however, said the letters were relevant to Clarkson's state of mind at the time of her death.

After his ruling, the defense called Clarkson's mother to the stand briefly to recount handing the letters over to prosecutors and her daughter's contact with Hugo Quackenbush, a San Francisco financier. Donna Clarkson said she had never met Quackenbush, who died in March, but knew he was a friend of her daughter.

"I never asked her, but she did tell me that he had loaned her some money," she said.

"Did she tell you these loans occurred once or on different occasions?" asked Brunon.

"I think there was more than one loan," she said.

Donna Clarkson remained composed during the brief examination by the defense attorney, but during questioning by the prosecutor, her voice trembled. She recalled the last time she had seen her daughter, about 12 hours before her death. The two went shopping at a discount store for flat-heeled shoes for her job as a hostess at the House of Blues. (VIDEO )

"She had to stand on her feet. And all she had were heels," she said.

Dr. Michael Baden, a prominent pathologist, began testifying for Phil Spector's defense Monday.

Jurors also began hearing testimony from prominent forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, a defense expert witness. Baden spent more than an hour Monday afternoon detailing his credentials.

Baden's wife, Spector defense attorney Linda Kenney-Baden, has been absent from court for more than a week because of illness.

Asked about the relationship by another defense attorney, Baden said Kenney-Baden "should be here soon, I hope."

His testimony resumes Tuesday morning.

Spector, 67, faces 15 years to life if convicted of murder.