Monthly Archives: January 2019

Jan. 2, 1945: The Making of ‘The Blue Dahlia’

Posted on January 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 2, 1945: Paramount promotes “Two Years Before the Mast,” with Alan Ladd, Howard Da Silva and William Bendix, all appearing in “The Blue Dahlia.”  “Two Years Before the Mast” was finished in 1944, but not released until November 1946, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, Blue Dahlia, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Jan. 1, 1945: The Making of ‘The Blue Dahlia’

Posted on January 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 1, 1945: Raymond Chandler writes to Charles Morton, mentioning his original idea for a film. “The Blue Dahlia” would become Chandler’s first original screenplay. To be continued.

Posted in 1945, Blue Dahlia, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jan. 3, 1959: Russia Winning Space Race! Bulla Leads L.A. Open!

Posted on January 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

The Soviets are winning the space race! Moral Re-Armament stages “Turning of the Tide” and “The New American!” French Foreign Legion rifles, only $9.88!  Johnny Bulla leads the L.A. Open! The entire post from the 2009 Daily Mirror via Archive.org.

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Jan. 3, 1949: Tom Harmon on the Future of Televised Sports

Posted on January 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

Here’s a nice piece from Keith Thursby, now of ESPN. The complete post from the Daily Mirror, Jan. 3, 2009, is at Archive.org.. Story, Part 1 | Story, Part 2

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Jan. 2, 1959: Paul Coates ‘Repeal the Mann Act?’

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 2, 1959: Long before Nate Silver launched 538, Paul Coates was skeptical of polls and to prove his point formed his own polling concern: the Los Angeles Survey Institute. His question: “Do you think the Mann Act deters or … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, 2009, Columnists, Paul Coates | 3 Comments

Jan. 2, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘Reader’s Choice’

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

The old-school newspaper columnists were tough, writing six pieces a week. Six-day-a-week columnists like Matt Weinstock and Paul Coates took it easy by making their Saturday columns a roundup of readers’ letters. In those days, apparently, newspaper columnists received interesting … Continue reading →

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Jan. 2, 1969: College Student Home on Vacation Killed, Dumped Off Mulholland

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

This is another story that I don’t remember at all. The original post is here at Archive.org. The killing of Marina Elizabeth Habe remains unsolved (I see that I garbled her name in the original post). See also Keith Thursby’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1969, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Keith Thursby | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Another Fine Mess? Stan Laurel Accused of Planning to Bury Wife in Backyard

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

I have written more than 10,000 posts about L.A. history over the years and I don’t remember many of them. Like this one, which was turned into a “Then and Now” a feature that continued briefly after Cecilia Rasmussen left … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: My Annual Donation in Memory of Elizabeth Short

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

As longtime readers know, I always begin a new year with an annual donation in memory of Elizabeth Short to Heading Home, which works with the homeless in the Boston area. Partly because of my research on Elizabeth Short, I … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Jan. 2, 1958: Photographer Edward Weston Dies

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

Here’s a blog post I wrote for the Daily Mirror blog in 2008, when it was hosted by the Los Angeles Times. Edward Weston, one of the great photographers of the 20th century, received a one-paragraph obituary in the Los … Continue reading →

Posted in 1958, Obituaries, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

LAPD Crime Statistics for 1957 | Looking Back at ‘Our Lawless City’

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

If you are a longtime reader, you may remember when the Daily Mirror was hosted by the Los Angeles Times. The Times holds the copyright on these items, even though the blog was killed in 2011 (thank you, Jimmy Orr), … Continue reading →

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Jan. 1, 1959: Matt Weinstock, ‘Unsung Heroines’

Posted on January 1, 2019 by lmharnisch

The other joy of doing the Daily Mirror was reintroducing readers to the columns of Matt Weinstock, taken from the Mirror (d. 1962). Weinstock is remembered today for the 1947 book “My L.A.” (I have enough copies, thank you), which … Continue reading →

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Jan. 1, 1959: Paul Coates, Confidential File ‘Looking Back at ‘58; Looking Ahead to ‘59’

Posted on January 1, 2019 by lmharnisch

One of my particular joys in doing the Daily Mirror at the Los Angeles Times was rerunning Paul Coates’ columns, which originally appeared in the Mirror (d. 1962). I was particularly fortunate to have several excellent interns who transcribed them. … Continue reading →

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