Black Dahlia Book Club – Coming May 19, 2026

Posted on May 12, 2026 by lmharnisch

Reminder, Boxie and I will be doing the next session of the Black Dahlia Book Club on Tuesday, May 19, at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube. In this installment, I’ll be discussing Jack Webb’s influential 1958 book, The Badge.

Helpful links:

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated +)

Posted on May 11, 2026 by lmharnisch

Man resting his head on his hand. His face is not visible.
For Monday, we have a mysterious fellow.

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Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, May 2026

Posted on May 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

For May’s Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case, I gave an update on the book, Heaven Is Here!, and discussed the latest news in the Black Dahlia case, and alleged links to the Zodiac case made by self-taught codebreaker Alex Baber.

Reminder: The Black Dahlia Book Club will meet May 19 at 10 a.m. on YouTube, when I will discuss the portrayal of Elizabeth Short in Jack Webb’s The Badge.

I also discussed:

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Black Dahlia Book Club for April 2026

Posted on April 21, 2026 by lmharnisch


Welcome to the fourth session of the Black Dahlia Book Club!

I finally got tired of talking about George Hodel and Steve Hodel (at this point, I know Steve’s monologues from memory) so I decided to spend some time looking at portrayals of the murder and the investigation. I consider myself first and foremost a historian of the Black Dahlia case, and think it’s important to examine the source material in detail to emphasize the challenges of researching the murder.

In this episode, I looked at the treatment of the Black Dahlia case in early crime anthologies leading up to Jack Webb’s The Badge in 1958. Books I discussed (none of which is especially accurate):

—Problems of Modern American Crime (1923), by Veronica King. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet…. –
–Terror in the Streets (1951), by Howard Whitman, adapted from articles in Collier’s magazine.
https://archive.org/details/terrorins…
—My Favorite True Mystery (1954), article by Craig Rice, adapted from articles in Hearst’s The American Weekly Magazine. https://archive.org/details/myfavorit…
—Ten Perfect Crimes (1954), by Hank Serling, with an extremely downbeat portrayal of Elizabeth Short. https://archive.org/details/tenperfec…

I also discussed: Continue reading →

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May 12, 1908: Stanford Officials Open Unmarked Graves

Posted on May 12, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 12, 1908: Graves are opened in an unmarked cemetery near the Stanford campus.

Above, a gruesome story from Stanford is Page 1 news … Below, a cross-section of what The Times often called “Life’s Seamy Side” … Continue reading →

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May 12, 1907: History Deals a Deadly Hand

Posted on May 12, 2026 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

May 12, 1907

We’ve been having fun all week with the Shriners, parading around in their costumes, engaging in peculiar rites and pondering silly questions like “What Makes the Wildcat Wild?” Then in a moment, a train wreck at Honda north of Point Conception transforms everything.

The engineer, Fred Champlain, ran three-quarters of a mile to the nearest ranch house for help even though he had a broken arm from being thrown 40 feet from the wreck.

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May 9, 1959: Family Evicted From Chavez Ravine

Posted on May 9, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 9, 1959: Members of the Arechiga family watch as their home is razed.

The Times’ coverage of the Chavez Ravine evictions isn’t easy reading and clearly not the paper at its best.

The construction of Dodger Stadium was something the paper campaigned for and those who opposed the plan were either ignored or minimized in print. But the events of May 8 couldn’t be ignored, in part because the evictions of the Arcechiga family and some of
their neighbors were televised.

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May 9, 1907: Shriners Present a Colorful Array

Posted on May 9, 2026 by lmharnisch


Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

What, you might ask yourself, did Shriners do before the advent of those little cars and Harley-Davidson Electra Glides? The elaborately costumed men staged precision, close-order drills accompanied by marching bands.

The effect, according to The Times, was stunning, inspiring the unidentified author to summon forth his (or possibly her) own gaudiest prose.

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May 8, 1947: Mixed Marriage Was Illegal, Louisiana Court Rules, Ordering Woman to Vacate Home for New Owner

Posted on May 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 8, 1947, Girl Wins Bike

Daisy Lee Wade, 14, shows off a bike she won in a contest to name a bicycle. Her winning entry: A Master Chaser.

Court voids mixed marriage

May 8, 1947: Tony Rice and Azelia Barthelmy (sometimes Berthlemy) were married by the Catholic Church of St. Charles Parish, La., on Jan. 8, 1914. They had seven children before he deserted her in 1931.

The couple bought a home in 1919 and Azelia remained there for 28 years.  On Feb. 28, 1937, she declared that the property on Lot 5 of the Gilbert Darensbourg’s Place at Killona, St. Charles Parish was “a family home.” But on Oct. 7, 1946, Tony sold the property to Helen Ryan.

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May 7, 1938: Remembering Jack Parsons

Posted on May 7, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 7, 1938: Jack Parsons poses with replica of pipe bomb used in the Harry Raymond bombing.
May 7, 1938

Above, John W. “Jack” Parsons poses with his replica of the pipe bomb used in an attempt to kill Harry Raymond. Parsons, one of the founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is an enigmatic figure who became the subject of much speculation surrounding a “mystery cult” after he died in a 1952 explosion. The blast destroyed his home laboratory on the former Busch estate in Pasadena and his grief-stricken mother committed suicide when she learned he had died. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Where True Art Transcends Time

Posted on May 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

San_Francisco_Silent_Film_Festival
The San Francisco Silent Film Festival returns to the newly renovated Castro Theatre May 6 through 10 for a trip back in time and history, with screenings of newly restored and classic movies from around the worlld. These films transport viewers into a dream world of beauty and feelings, capturing humanity at its best and worst.

All films feature live accompaniment by talented musicians from around the globe, including Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Stephen Horne, Frank Bockius, Guenther Buchwald, and Wayne Barker, along with detailed introductions by authors and archivists involved with saving and promoting them.

Guide to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

Both full passes and individual tickets may be purchased online at www.sfsff.org.

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May 6, 1944: Woman’s Body Found in Trunk at Union Station

Posted on May 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

 

May 6, 1944, Trunk Murder

May 6, 1944

An old trunk wrapped with wire and tied with rope arrives at Union Station, where people noticed that it was leaking — and smelled. Sent to the repair department for inspection, the trunk was opened by Eugene Biledeau, who discovered a woman’s body wrapped in a sheet.

The victim had been dead about six days and was described as a young, 5-3 brunette, weighing 130 pounds. She was wearing a girdle, bra, slip and white bobby socks, with fingernails painted a “brilliant red,” The Times said. She had curlers in her hair.

 

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May 6, 1908: Shocked Judge Grants Divorce; Bodies Found at Indiana Murder Farm

Posted on May 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 6, 1908: A scandalous divorce!

Above, an update in the divorce case of Henry Lord … The judge doesn’t even bother to hear all the testimony before dissolving the marriage. What became of Augustine Emanuel Lord and coachman Harry Cameron? Alas, The Times is no help. It would be interesting to know the rest of the story. Below, nothing quite says “read me” like the headline “Gruesome Mystery” … Unexplained disappearances, lots of bodies buried in the backyard and other strange events make for an early 20th century “death farm” in Laporte, Ind. In a few days, special excursion trains brought more than 15,000 curiosity seekers to the Gunness place.

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Union Station Opens in Los Angeles, May 1939

Posted on May 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

1938_0629_nuestro_pueblo

June 29, 1938: Nuestro Pueblo, by artist Charles Owens and writer Joe Seewerker,  depicts the construction of Union Station.

Here are some posts that I wrote years ago, including several when Union Station turned 70.

— Grand Design for Los Angeles Proposes Union Station at 5th and Central.

— Memories of Union Station, by Keith Thursby.

— Chinatown to Make Way for Union Station.

— Los Angeles Prepares for Opening of Union Station.

— Union Station Turns 70.

— Union Station Preview.

— Union Station Opens, May 4, 1939.

— Union Station Opens, May 5, 1939.

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May 5, 1939: Union Station Opens

Posted on May 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 15, 1939: Luncheon at the Biltmore to plan the opening for union station. Guests get their tickets punched by railroad conductors. Photograph by the Los Angeles Times

March 15, 1939: At a luncheon at the Biltmore Hotel to plan the opening gala for  Union Station, R.E. Southworth stamps the tickets of A.D. McDonald, president of the Southern Pacific; J.R. Hitchcock, manager of the board that supervised Union Station, and W.M. Jeffers, president of Union Pacific.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 4, 2026 by lmharnisch

Main title: Lettering over rings, as if a pebble dropped in a pool of water.

This week’s mystery movie was the 1950 MGM film Crisis, with Cary Grant, Jose Ferrer, Paula Raymond, Signe Hasso, Ramon Novarro, Gilbert Roland and Leon Ames. Continue reading →

Posted in 1950, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

May 1, 1907: Runaway Horses and a Fleeing Motorcyclist on the Dangerous Streets of L.A.

Posted on May 1, 2026 by lmharnisch

Motorcycle Hits Her

Miss Gertrude Young, who lives at No. 525 Wall St., was knocked down by a motorcycle yesterday as she stepped from a streetcar at 7th and Hope streets. The rider of the machine hastened away. Miss Young was taken to the Clara Barton Hospital.

No Milk Spilled

The horses attached to a Eureka Dairy wagon became frightened on South Main Street yesterday by an approaching streetcar and ran. A passenger on the streetcar leaped to the street, seized the bridles of the animals and stopped them. Not a drop of milk was spilled.

Paid for Collision

J. Hall of No. 655 S. Hill St., was hurled from a bicycle in a collision with an automobile driven by D. G. McMasters of 1010 W. 38th St. yesterday. The accident happened on Broadway between 3rd and 4th streets. Hall sustained slight bruises and his wheel [bicycle] was demolished. McMasters paid the lad for his wheel.

May Be Insane

Seizing James Harper by the throat and hurling him to the floor of the office of a lodging house at 127 Wilmington St., George May struck him violently several times last night, it is said. May was arrested on a charge of insanity. He is a miner who has been in an insane asylum, his friends say. He will be examined today by police surgeons.

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April 30, 1944: A Salute to Forgotten Heroism

Posted on April 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

1944_0430_bomber_headline

April 30, 1944

Here’s a story of forgotten heroism. I stumbled across it in the Miami News while digging out a Sidney Skolsky column.

Lt. Newell Putnam Wyman waves off rescuers trying to save him and the crew of his Catalina patrol bomber, which had crashed in the ocean 90 miles of Attu in a storm. Wyman knew that a rescue attempt was too dangerous for the planes that had found them.

The victims include co-pilot Ensign Anthony Mannix Moriarty, navigator Ensign Raymond Edwin Rozuk, flight engineer Arvo Arthur Ranta, gunner Charles Leroy Olson Jr., flight engineer Lavere Marvin Ryther, radioman George Leo Huschka and radioman Armestead Sigrest Hardee

From the Miami News.

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April 30, 1939: Los Angeles Prepares for Opening of Union Station

Posted on April 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 30, 1939: Los Angeles prepares for the opening of Union Station. Images of men playing brass instruments, and news story
The city made a special effort to examine and celebrate its past during the opening of Union Station. Officials mounted a much more elaborate “parade of progress” than I suspect we would see today.

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April 29, 1891: ‘The Chinese Murder,’

Posted on April 29, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 28, 1891: Wong Ark, in drawing

April 29, 1891: Headline "The Chinese Murder"
Note: This is an encore post from 2011. 

April 29, 1891: The Times reports the death of a Chinese woman named Ah Gue/Goot Gue, who was shot in the abdomen by her husband, Wong Ark/Gam Duck, outside a brothel on Apablasa Street. Ark allegedly killed Gue because she didn’t give him all the money he wanted for gambling. The Times covered this case extensively, and said that because the Chinese witnesses were “heathens,” they were unconcerned about telling the truth under oath.

The first jury deadlocked. In his second trial, Ark was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder, but the conviction was overturned on appeal because the dying woman’s statements were inadmissible. (The Times reported that she said “him killee me.”) Ark was convicted of manslaughter at his third trial and served six years at San Quentin.

Bonus factoid: Apablasa Street vanished during construction of Union Station, which was built on the old Chinatown.

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April 29, 1907: Blanche Hall Draws Crowds to Burbank Theater in ‘When Knighthood Was in Flower’

Posted on April 29, 2026 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

Los Angeles theatergoers are transfixed by the new production of “When Knighthood Was in Flower,” Paul Kester’s adaptation of Charles Major’s 1898 novel, forming a mile-long line to buy tickets at Morosco’s Burbank Theater at Main and 6th St.

One reason was the return of Blanche Hall, a longtime member of the Burbank’s stock company, after a stint on the New York stage.

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