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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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated +)

Posted on April 20, 2026 by lmharnisch

Surgical team in green scrubs, wearing masks.
For Monday, we have a mysterious surgical team.

Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, April 2026

Posted on April 14, 2026 by lmharnisch

In this session of the Black Dahlia Ask Me Anything, I addressed some of the claims made in Michael Connelly’s 10-part podcast, Killer in the Code.

The Black Dahlia Book Club will be Tuesday, April 21, at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube. The next Black Dahlia Ask Me Anything will be May 5 at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube.

Can’t make the live session? Email me your questions and I’ll answer them! I’ll also get to the backlog of questions from previous sessions.

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April 21, 1908: Dispute Over Black and White Children Playing Together Turns Deadly

Posted on April 21, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 21, 1908: In Memphis, a quarrel between women over Black and white children playing together leads to a fight and then a shooting.

Note: This is an encore post from 2008.

Below, an update in the saga of some “Hearstlings” who stole pictures of the Great White Fleet to be published in the Examiner … Note the story about the 1906 Brownsville, Texas, incident in which African American troops of the 25th Infantry were charged with going on a deadly rampage. I haven’t touched on this case (so many stories, only one Larry Harnisch), but reports on the congressional hearings crop up regularly in 1908 editions of The Times … Also note the article about the U.S. postmaster taking action against alleged abortionists who used the mail to provide birth control information. Well into the 1950s, The Times was squeamish about using the term “abortion,” preferring “illegal operation,” “criminal operation” or something similar. Continue reading →

Posted in 1908, Abortion, African Americans, Countdown to Watts, Front Pages, health, Homicide, Politics | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

April 20, 2008: Club Mecca Firebombing Victims Remembered

Posted on April 20, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 5, 1957: Club Mecca bombing
April 20, 2008

April 20, 2008: In memoriam for victims of the Club Mecca firebombingSomeone asked me if I placed this notice in today’s issues of The Times. No, I didn’t. But I’m glad these people are remembered.  Read my original Club Mecca post here.

Email me

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April 20, 1959: It’s a Woman’s World — Auto Mechanic

Posted on April 20, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 20, 1959: Mrs. Roy Harper, an expert auto mechanic specializing in carburetors.
April 20, 1959: Meet Mrs. Roy Harper, a trained auto mechanic who helps run her husband’s auto garage, where she is apparently a service writer and specializes in carburetors. But the Los Angeles Times assures readers that she’s still ladylike and prefers “high heels and chic clothes” to dirty coveralls and tools in the hip pockets.

Continue reading →

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April 20, 1908: Great White Fleet Draws Huge Crowds, Overwhelming Capacity

Posted on April 20, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 20, 1908: Train service to see the Great White Fleet

Recall from yesterday that crowds hoping to see the Great White Fleet overwhelmed the city’s transportation systems. Those who managed to get to the wharves at Long Beach, San Pedro, Redondo Beach and Venice overtaxed the ability of boats to take them out to see the ships, The Times said. Even after 5 p.m., when the ships stopped letting visitors aboard, the crowd bought boat tickets merely to a closer look at the fleet. Because it was Easter Sunday in 1908, the fleet’s Rear Adm. Charles M. Thomas, an Episcopalian, attends services at St. Paul’s Pro-Cathedral in Los Angeles and takes Communion at the rail. Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — Hollywood by Sidney Skolsky, April 15, 1944

Posted on April 15, 2026 by lmharnisch

image

April 15, 1944

Some quotations from the Motion Picture Herald, including this about “Princess O’Rourke.”

I played this fine picture on Sunday-Monday to just fair business and had more raves about it than anything I played in years. Maybe  it was the title that kept them away. I really exploit my pictures, using four weekly newspapers, 100 tack cards and 1,000 heralds; plus a public address system. If the preview had a hillbilly chirping “Coming Round the Mountain” or something, maybe that would have got them. My patrons like corn, green, ripe, in muffins, cans or jugs, and I simply have got to give it to them and that’s what they are going to get from now on. This picture business is getting me, or has it got me?

From the Miami News.

Continue reading →

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April 15, 1908: Accused Wife Killer Says ‘Everything Went Black’

Posted on April 15, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 15, 1908: Ad for the Columbia Graphphone Talking MachineNote: This is an encore post from 2008.

Below, an old-fashioned lunatic–really crazy–is on trial in the killing of his ex-wife, who used to sleep with a knife under her pillow. He uses the “everything went black” defense … The Police Board appoints a committee to study scam artists who specialize in the occult: “slate writers, trance mediums,” etc. … Quong Wai, who is fighting a deportation order, says he is an American born in San Francisco. He says immigration officers arrested him at a streetcar station without reason. Continue reading →

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April 11, 1958: Johnny Stompanato inquest

Posted on April 13, 2026 by lmharnisch


April 11, 1958
Los Angeles

Note: This is an encore post from 2008.

The Mirror published excerpts of the coroner’s inquest in the death of Johnny Stompanato. Several crucial paragraphs about the stabbing are, unfortunately, illegible in my scan of the first runover page. I’ll try to get a lighter image soon. It is evident that, just as Stompanto’s brother, Carmine, alleged, there was some delay in contacting medical personnel and a further delay in dealing with the dispatcher. Lana Turner’s account of her relationship with Stompanto makes him sound brutal and ugly.

April 11, 1958: Opening paragraphs of the Johnny Stompanato inquest

Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 13, 2026 by lmharnisch

Main title. Zooming letters over image of an off-world planet.

This week’s mystery movie was the 1950 film Rocketship X-M, with Lloyd Bridges, Osa Massen, John Emery, Noah Beery Jr., Hugh O’Brian, Morris Ankrum, Patrick Ahern, Sherry Moreland, John Dutra and Katherine Marlowe. Continue reading →

Posted in 1950, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 24 Comments

April 13, 1908: Dr. Hoffman’s Nerve Syrup Cures ‘Fits’

Posted on April 13, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 13, 1908: Nerve syrup cures fits! Ad for "nerve syrup" a treatment for epilepsy and "falling sickness" and St. Vitus Dance. What's in it? No telling!

Note: This is an encore post from 2008.

Above, wouldn’t it be fun to know what exactly is in Dr. Hoffman’s Nerve Syrup? Below, the sad tale of a woman believed to be Mrs. W.I. Roberts, who died after collapsing in line at the Pacific Electric Depot, 6th Street and Main. Unfortunately, I can’t find any further stories on whether she was conclusively identified … The Times reports the death of Lt. C.A.L. Totten, who upset his colleagues on the Yale faculty by issuing predictions of such events as the Russo-Japanese War, the San Francisco earthquake (he was apparently correct on those two) and the end of the world (we’re still waiting on that one) … And be sure to see Los Angeles Hay Storage, 1620 E. 7th, for the finest in equine comestibles.

Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood’s Salute to Atmosphere – The Afton Arms

Posted on April 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

Afton Arms Exterior Hollywood Citizen 1-25-25

A photo of the Afton Arms from the Hollywood Citizen, Jan. 25, 1925.

Note: This is an encore post from 2019.

Built in 1925 and advertising itself as modern and up-to-date, filled with every convenience, the aristocratic Afton Arms offered stylish living for aspiring entertainers and striving businessmen. Located a few blocks away from motion picture studios, the Afton Arms appeared as a luscious fantasy designed for cinematic dreams.

During the 1920s, striking apartment complexes sprang up all over Hollywood and Los Angeles, offering gorgeous designs and and comfortable living to a growing middle class. They represented attainment of financial or career success, or at least the illusion of having it all. For those trying to achieve stardom in Hollywood, these residences suggested that they too, had arrived.

Mary Mallory’s latest book,  on Grace Kelly, “Living With Grace.”

Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

Main Title: Lettering over black background and image of the moon.

This week’s mystery movie was the 1964 Columbia film First Men in the Moon, with Edward Judd, Martha Hyer, Lionel Jeffries, Miles Malleson, Norman Bird, Gladys Henson, Hugh McDermott and Betty McDowall. Continue reading →

Posted in 1964, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , | 32 Comments

Johnny Stompanato, RIP

Posted on April 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

Above, the Mirror brings out an extra on the Johnny Stompanato killing. Continue reading →

Posted in 1958, Front Pages, Homicide, Mickey Cohen | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

April 2, 1908: Great White Fleet Out of Tunes, Seeks Songs in the Key of Sea

Posted on April 2, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 2, 1908: Sailors of the Great White Fleet are tired of the same old songs

Above, the tars of the Great White Fleet are fed up with the same old songs. I’m not sure about “I’m Afraid to Go Home in the Dark,” but I did find a song titled “I Used to Be Afraid to Go Home in the Dark. And what’s this? “You’ve Heard of Hiawatha” at Indiana University’s sheet music collections. Of course, it’s a model of multiculturalism. Continue reading →

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April 1, 1938: Herbert Hoover on the Rise of Fascism in Europe

Posted on April 1, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 1, 1948: Thomas Mann speaks at Shrine Auditorium, "The Drunkard," and a production of "Fra Diavolo" with an all-Black cast.

Above, Thomas Mann, “The Drunkard” and “Fra Diavolo” with an African American cast. Below, former President Herbert Hoover (yes, a graduate of Stanford, home of the Hoover Institution) discusses his views on international relations after his European tour.

Continue reading →

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Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is April 14

Posted on March 31, 2026 by lmharnisch

Reminder: Boxie and I will be doing an Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case a week later than usual: April 14, 2026, at 10 a.m. Pacific Time on YouTube.

As always, I’ll give an update on the book and discuss various subjects, notably Michael Connelly’s Killer in the Code podcast.

Then our schedule returns to normal with the Black Dahlia Book Club on April 21, 2026, at 10 a.m. Pacific Time on YouTube. In this session, I expect to discuss the treatment of the Black Dahlia case in various crime anthologies before publication of Jack Webb’s The Badge in 1958.

Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, via Archive.org.

Can’t make the live session? Email me your questions and I’ll answer them! I’ll also get to the backlog of questions from previous sessions.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywoodland Opens March 31, 1923

Posted on March 31, 2026 by lmharnisch

Hollywoodland Ad 10-23 Hollywood Citizen
An ad for Hollywoodland, October 1923.

Note: This is an encore post from 2022.

On March 31, 1923, owners of a new hillside development in the Hollywood Hills called Hollywoodland announced the opening of their elaborate new tract in stories run in Los Angeles and Hollywood newspapers. For all the syndicate partners, it represented the pinnacle of their real estate careers in hyperbole as well as class, the first tract to sell a lifestyle of glamour and success. Hollywoodland would be as much about selling ambition and making it as it would be in promoting a humble family home location.

Hollywoodland perfectly encapsulated the lives and careers of its five owners, men who had risen from modest means to achieve wealth and power. Savvy in real estate and business promotion, all were as shrewd in crafting career personas to build their empires. Behind the scenes, these dreamers and schemers plotted their rise up the ladders of success, achieving renown and respect from other hard-nosed businessmen.

Continue reading →

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March 31, 1908: Traveling Blacksmith Shoes Fire Department Horses

Posted on March 31, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 31, 1908: Traveling blacksmith visits L.A. firehouses.

Above, the city introduces the concept of a traveling blacksmith who shoes all of the Fire Department’s horses rather than take them to the nearest blacksmith. The Times says the blacksmith (for some reason, we didn’t use his name) shoes about 150 horses on a monthly rotation. But the new program didn’t last long.

Continue reading →

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