Black Dahlia Book Club for February 2026

Posted on February 17, 2026 by lmharnisch

 

Welcome to the second 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 the portrayals of the Black Dahlia case. 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 of Elizabeth Short.

I also discussed Michael Connelly’s podcast Killer in the Code on purported links between the Black Dahlia and Zodiac cases, and the problems with his “source,” Alex Baber. Steve Hodel wrote recently that Baber engaged in an extended email exchange in which Hodel shared his material, after which Baber “ghosted” him.

I read a February 4, 2026, text from retired homicide Detective Rick Jackson, a Connelly consultant, inviting me to appear on their show. I read my responding February 5, 2026, text agreeing on condition that they also invite author Elon Green and Zodiac cipher expert David Oranchak, and make a donation in memory of Elizabeth Short to a charity of Connelly’s choice in an amount of Connelly’s choosing. So far, no response.

Retired FBI profiler Julia Cowley of “The Consult” podcast on the differences between the Black Dahlia and Zodiac cases.

Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated)

Posted on February 16, 2026 by lmharnisch

Man in light-colored suit sitting with his head resting on his hand.
For Monday, we have a mysterious fellow. Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: William J. Mann’s ‘Murders, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood’ — Not a Better Answer in the Dahlia Case, Just a Different One

Posted on September 8, 2025 by lmharnisch

Book cover: Lettering over mug shot of Elizabeth Short.
Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood, by William J. Mann, Simon & Schuster, 464 pages, January 27, 2026, $31.

 

Like a game of Clue with an actual cold case to solve, a well-worn list of suspects in the 1947 Black Dahlia killing released 22 years ago continues to provide the “true” crime community and the multimillion-dollar industry that feeds it with endless possibilities for speculation and, occasionally, another book.

Was it the murderous Dr. George Hodel at the Sowden House in a gruesome attempt at surrealist art? Mob nightclub owner Mark Hansen at the Florentine Gardens hiring morgue-trained assassin Leslie Dillon to take care of a troublesome dame? Army butcher Carl Balsiger in a fit of violence?

All of them are fakery and fraud by writers Steve Hodel (the ongoing Black Dahlia Avenger franchise launched in 2003), Piu Eatwell (Black Dahlia, Red Rose, 2017) and Eli Frankel (Sisters in Death, forthcoming in October 2025) who, if they read all of their source material, knew their suspect wasn’t the killer and proceeded anyway. Truth is the first victim for a “true” crime author with hopes of making The New York Times bestseller list and everything that goes with it. Continue reading →

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February 17, 1907: Before Staples Center — City Straightens 12th Street

Posted on February 17, 2026 by lmharnisch
Above, a vanished landmark: The Schermerhorn Inn, at Potter Park, a street that has disappeared.

Note: This is an encore post from 2007.
February 17, 1907
Los Angeles

West 12th Street between Main and Hoover is maddeningly crooked, but how to fix it? One set of residents has agreed to cut the boulevard through front yards because having the street as straight as an engineer’s ruler will raise property values. The other set says that homes will be ruined and that residents will be assessed too much to pay for the work. Continue reading →

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February 16, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on February 16, 2026 by lmharnisch

Mishmash of Muse

Matt WeinstockWhen she appeared at the state employment office for her weekly dole, a lady I know reported she’d sold an article for $15.

The clerk looked at her file and frowned, “You do free-lance writing? It isn’t documented.”

The jobless lady, accustomed to being flayed for not having found a job,
thought the clerk wanted to see the check. She reached into her purse.

“No, I mean your records here,” she said. “There’s nothing about free-lance writing.”

The lady on the dole explained she didn’t think it was necessary as she wrote only in her spare time. This, she said, was the biggest sale she’d made. Continue reading →

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February 16, 1959: Paul Coates — Confidential File

Posted on February 16, 2026 by lmharnisch

CONFIDENTIAL FILE

Those Sick Minds Are Again at Work

Paul Coates, in coat and tieThe sick minds are working overtime again.

They’ve found another “cause.”

And they’re spreading the word.

This morning I received my pamphlet. It came indirectly — through a reader who was startled to find it in his mailbox.

I presume hundreds of others in Southern California got the same message of hate. The ballyhoo boys of bigotry never seem to be lacking in funds to promote wide distribution of their poison.

This time the “cause” is to block Hawaiian statehood.

Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — ‘Walter Winchell on Broadway,’ February 16, 1944

Posted on February 16, 2026 by lmharnisch

Feb. 16, 1944, Walter Winchell

February 16, 1944

Man About Town

Errol Flynn was turned down for the seventh time by the Army and Navy. He is asking the latter for special service and a waiver on physical defects … Quentin Reynolds, the war correspondent, offers this retort by a general — for all the inane arguments as to how long the war will last … On his last trip abroad, Reynolds summoned enough nerve to ask Gen. Montgomery point-blank: “General, when do you think the war will end?” … Montgomery frowned and said: “Young man, only an idiot would ask it, and only an idiot would answer!”

Quite a rumpus at Penn Deppo the other day. Three different couples boarded a Florida bound train to learn all had been peddled the same accommodations — at black market fees, no less … Two ticket sellers were fired and the Pennsy for the first time in its history installed a vice president of the railroad to supervise ticket sales to Florida…. Allan Zoll, a founder of “The American Patriots” (before the war) is back after an enlistment with the Canadian army. One of his first visits was with Gerald L.K. Smith…. The mother of the five Sullivan Navy heroes is the source for the news that their grandfather was Jewish. In Germany that would have kept them out of the Nazi navy.

From the St. Petersburg Times.

Continue reading →

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1944 on the Radio — Bing Crosby on ‘Mail Call,’ February 16, 1944

Posted on February 16, 2026 by lmharnisch

radio_dial_1944

February 16, 1944

It’s Wednesday in 1944 and today we have:

— Bing Crosby in “Mail Call.” And we have the hit song “My Heart Tells Me” plus “Stardust” and “Oh! What a Beautiful Morning,” sung by Connee Boswell. And opera singer Richard Crooks, who gets a chilly introduction from Der Bingle. Courtesy of Archive.org. Continue reading →

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February 12, 1909: Los Angeles Celebrates Lincoln’s Birth

Posted on February 12, 2026 by lmharnisch

February 12, 1909: Cartoon of Lincoln's bust

The Times devoted enormous coverage to the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. Most of it is fairly predictable: Stories of Lincoln’s political career, his days as a lawyer, his boyhood, photographs and some memorial poems that are heartfelt but don’t translate to our era. These pages are perhaps most valuable to demonstrate how Lincoln was viewed a century ago.

And then a surprise. The Times published a special section on Los Angeles’ African American community using the Emancipation Proclamation as a point of departure. The section includes profiles of black professionals, civic and religious leaders, prominent women and an account by former slave living in Los Angeles. I frequently fault the city’s mainstream newspapers for ignoring the black community, but in 1909 The Times came through.

A sample:

Continue reading →

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February 11, 1958: As L.A. Grows, Segregation Takes New Forms, Black Official Says

Posted on February 11, 2026 by lmharnisch

February 11, 1958: Black housing, voting rights studied

Weather makes the front page … Another youngster is stricken with a rare disease (The Times apparently never followed up on this story) … Fighting in the Mideast … And a new weapon in the Cold War against the Soviets … Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — ‘Walter Winchell on Broadway,’ February 11, 1944

Posted on February 11, 2026 by lmharnisch

image

February 11, 1944: Sherman Billingsley, the Stork Club owner, has mike fright. Last year, frixample, he agreed to appear on “Duffy’s Tavern,” but at the last moment ran out, scared stiff. Ed Gardner went dizzy seeking a substitute, and was very irked with Mr. B, who said he’d rather pay plenty than appear on the radio.

The other day Paramount Pictures, which paid him $100,000 (just to use the two words “Stork Club” for a film title), reminded Billingsley that the fee also meant that he agreed not to permit the use of the name Stork Club on the radio — nor must Billingsley make any radio talks for the next seven years. Haw!

The Rankinese: Cong. Rankin, who will go down (away down) in the history books for belittling foreign-sounding names, is reminded of the 100 percent American name of Rep. Jeanette Rankin — the only member of Congress who refused to vote for the war against Japan — the day after Pearl Harbor.

From the St. Petersburg Times.

Continue reading →

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February 11, 1908: The Latest in Men’s Shoes

Posted on February 11, 2026 by lmharnisch

February 11, 1908: The latest in men's shoes

 

Above, the latest in men’s shoes, $87.95-$109-94 USD 2007 … Below, a good example of the drawings The Times used to run in the days before it could easily publish spot news photography …

Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1908, Front Pages | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

February 11, 1907: Woman Fractures Skull Leaping From Streetcar That Passed Her Stop

Posted on February 11, 2026 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007.
February 11, 1907
Los Angeles

 

The Eastside gets a new Baptist Church and 2nd Street and St. Louis.

Like Tom and Huck

A large pond 7 feet deep at Normandie and San Marino left by the runoff of recent rainstorms proved too tempting to the boys of the Forrester tract and so they launched a raft to play.

The raft tipped, The Times says, sending 8-year-old Clarence Rhodes of 1004 S. Jasmine tumbling into the water. Hearing the boys’ cries for help, M. Allen rushed from his home at 922 Normandie, plunged into the water and rescued Clarence.

Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia Book Club – Coming February 17, 2026

Posted on February 10, 2026 by lmharnisch

Here’s a quick reminder that the Black Dahlia Book Club will convene next Tuesday at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube. The Book Club replaces the usual George Hodel and Steve Hodel Ask Me Anything as I got tired of talking about them.

In session No. 2 of the Black Dahlia Book Club, I will discuss the memoirs of four journalists who covered the Black Dahlia case: Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1948, Black Dahlia, Black Dahlia Book Club, books, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mabel Fairbanks, Wonder Girl of the Ice

Posted on February 9, 2026 by lmharnisch

California Eagle, Nov. 8, 1945
Mabel Fairbanks in the California Eagle, Nov. 8, 1945.

Note: This is an encore post from 2022.

Knockout African American ice skater Mabel Fairbanks wowed audiences from the 1940s through the 1960s. A true natural, she exuded joy and happiness twirling and gliding upon the ice. While extremely talented, Fairbanks was never able to develop her talents to the fullest because of prejudices of the period that prevented her from belonging to skating clubs, trying out for the United States Olympics team, or performing in major ice shows.

Fairbanks was born November 14, 1923, (per Social Security Records) in Jacksonville Florida, to a large family that struggled. By the age of eight, she was an orphan, losing her African American father and her Native American mother. Fairbanks endured racism and poverty in Florida before following an older sister to New York City in 1939 and taking a business course.

Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on February 9, 2026 by lmharnisch

Main Title: Lettering over blank background.

This week’s mystery movie was the 1929 MGM film Untamed, with Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, Ernest Torrence, Holmes Herbert, John Miljan, Gwen Lee, Edward Nugent, Don Terry, Gertrude Astor, Milton Farney, Lloyd Ingram (Ingraham), Grace Cunard, Tom O’Brien and Wilson Benge. Continue reading →

Posted in 1929, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

February 8, 1920: Police Arrest Men in Girls’ Garb

Posted on February 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

February 8, 1920: Comic panels of Somebody's Always Taking the Joy out of Life. A man lying in bed thinking of women as his wife nags him about the furnace and whether the pipes are frozen

 

February 1, 1920: Police end stag party, say men in girls' garb

February 1, 1920: The purity squad raids a party at the home of former Mayor Arthur Harper. Continue reading →

Posted in #gays and lesbians, Comics, LAPD | 1 Comment

February 8, 1907: Peace Returns to Buena Vista Street

Posted on February 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore from 2007.
February 8, 1907
Los Angeles

About 1903, Charles E. Donnatin, former Pacific Electric Railway superintendent, apparently said something about the young woman across the street at the Stewart home, Savoy Street and Buena Vista (now 1301 N. Broadway).

The woman’s mother was furious and soon a 5-gallon oil can appeared in the Stewart’s yard saying “C.E.D. has been” with the implication that Donnatin had been “canned” from his job.

Continue reading →

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1944 on the Radio — ‘His Butler’s Sister,’ February 7, 1944

Posted on February 7, 2026 by lmharnisch

radio_dial_1944

February 7, 1944

It’s Monday in 1944 and today we have:

— Hop Harrigan refuses to leave Tank behind in escaping from Berlin with the secret plans in “Hop Harrigan.” Courtesy of Archive.org.

— “His Butler’s Sister”   with Deanna Durbin, Pat O’Brien and Robert Paige on “Lux Radio Theater.” Courtesy of Archive.org.

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February 7, 1907: Cop Killer’s Widow Arrested in Liquor Raid

Posted on February 7, 2026 by lmharnisch


Note: This is an encore post from 2007.

February 7, 1907
Los Angeles

 

A Child’s Testimony

Charles Babbitt is sentenced to 30 days in jail on charges of domestic violence after the testimony of his 6-year-old son. “Papa hit me with a whip and it cut my head,” the boy said. “Then he hit mama.” “The man blinked his eyes and said that he did it because he was drunk” The Times says.

Continue reading →

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February 7, 1863: Smallpox Epidemic – Los Angeles

Posted on February 7, 2026 by lmharnisch

image

Read the entire Feb. 7, 1863, edition of the Los Angeles Star from the Huntington Library, scanned by USC.

Feb. 7 1863: The coroner holds an inquest in the killing of Christian Hutt. George Wright, the father of accused killer Reason Wright, said Hutt began shooting when he was “geeing” the plow oxen to get out of his way. “Gee” is the word used to tell oxen, mules, etc., to turn to the right. “Haw” means to turn to the left.

The newly created Board of Health reports on the smallpox cases in Los Angeles. Inspectors found a total of 128 cases of smallpox, found 170 people who had not been vaccinated and vaccinated 146 people.

Mr. Mott, Allen and Hubbard competed against Mr. Vandenburg, Phillips and Wiley in a pigeon shoot south of town. And yes, they were using real pigeons, not clay targets.

In an editorial, The Star says that the state Legislature is corrupt.

Continue reading →

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