Monthly Archives: August 2025

August 27, 1907: Undertaker Sent Home as Minister Survives Suicide Attempt

Posted on August 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 27, 1907: An undertaker makes two trips to pick up a retired Episcopal minister — but he wasn’t dead. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1911, Black Dahlia, Suicide | Tagged , | 1 Comment

August 27, 1903: 6,000 Union Army Veterans Gather to Recall the Campfires of Old

Posted on August 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 27, 2003: 6,000 Union Army veterans gather at Eastlake (Lincoln) Park in Los Angeles. And a minister endorses the lynching of Blacks. Continue reading →

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August 26, 1959: Paul V. Coates — Confidential File

Posted on August 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 26, 1959: The Miss Universe Contest is becoming increasingly scandalous and tawdry, Paul Coates says. Dear Abby has advice for a woman who sees nothing wrong with having an affair “as long as nobody is hurt.” Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, August 26, 1944

Posted on August 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 26, 1944: William Bendix repays a loan from his father-in-law by setting up a hardware store for him, Louella Parsons says. Virgo: Put today in your happy medium column. Continue reading →

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Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is September 2

Posted on August 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

Reminder: I will be doing a live Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case on YouTube next Tuesday, September 2, at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Have questions? Leave them in the comments. Continue reading →

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August 26, 1938: LAPD officer accused in bizarre plot to kill neighbors

Posted on August 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 26, 1938: A suspended LAPD officer hires a couple of men to tunnel to his neighbors’ house, to plant bugging equipment … or explosives. A judge finds The Times guilty of contempt for editorials on pending court cases. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Front Pages, LAPD, Sports | 4 Comments

August 26, 1907: Save Those Redwoods

Posted on August 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 26, 1907: A large rally calls for saving the 800-acre Armstrong Grove of redwoods. In 2025, it is a State Natural Reserve. Continue reading →

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August 25, 1959: Paul V. Coates — Confidential File

Posted on August 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 25, 1959: Paul Coates takes a look at women who leave their fortunes to their cats. Dear Abby has advice for the tired grandma who doesn’t want to take seven grandchildren for the summer. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Open Secret’ a Timely Tale of Tolerance

Posted on August 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

In an encore post from 2019, Mary Mallory looks at “Open Secret,” (1948), promoting religious and racial tolerance to a country fighting to accept the very principles upon which it was created. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

August 25, 1947: Police Investigate Death of Doctor’s Wife

Posted on August 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 25, 1947: Susanne Castillo is found dead in a bathtub and her husband, Dr. Manuel de J. Castillo, is suspected. Continue reading →

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August 25, 1958: Jealous husband rams movie star’s car, Reds win over Dodgers

Posted on August 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 25, 1958: A jealous husband rams a car he thinks is carrying his wife (it’s not). The crash hits a car carrying Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Dean Martin and his wife. Leigh gets checked at a hospital because she’s pregnant with Jamie Leigh Curtis! Continue reading →

Posted in Dodgers, Film, Freeways, Front Pages, Hollywood, Transportation | Comments Off on August 25, 1958: Jealous husband rams movie star’s car, Reds win over Dodgers

August 25, 1907: Death at the Lummis House Over a Garden Hose

Posted on August 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 25, 1907: Death at the Lummis House in a fight that began over a garden hose. Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on August 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1962 film Hands of a Stranger, with Paul Lukather, Joan Harvey, James Stapleton (Noah), Ted Otis, Michael Rye, Larry Haddon, Elaine Martone, George Sawaya, Michael duPont, Sally Kellerman,  David Kramer and Irish McCalla. Introducing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1962, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 24 Comments

August 24, 1959: Paul V. Coates — Confidential File

Posted on August 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 24, 1959: A profile of “The Great Imposter,” Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr., by Paul Coates. Continue reading →

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August 24, 1957: Paul V. Coates–Confidential File

Posted on August 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 24, 1957: Struggling young starlets (or their struggling young press agents) begin lining the hallway in front of my office door every morning at dawn — each with some fantastic personal experience which happened to them, personally, which is really true and which they made up on the way over from Schwab’s, Paul Coates says. Continue reading →

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August 24, 1958: Los Angeles Coliseum is dangerous, Rams coach says

Posted on August 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 24, 1958: The Rams’ Ron Waller suffers a separated shoulder from a tackle on the “concrete hard” baseball infield at the Coliseum, where the Dodgers were playing after their move from Brooklyn; from 2008 by Keith Thursby. Continue reading →

Posted in Dodgers, Front Pages, Sports | Comments Off on August 24, 1958: Los Angeles Coliseum is dangerous, Rams coach says

August 24, 1947: Golfers Play Through as Fire Destroys Clubhouse at Inglewood

Posted on August 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 24, 1947: Golfers play through as fire destroys the clubhouse at Inglewood Country Club. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Fires, Sports | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Samuel Steward and Rudolph Valentino: Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on August 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

Debunking Samuel Steward’s claim that he trysted with Rudolph Valentino in Columbus, Ohio. Valentino was in New York at the time and I have a picture to prove it! (Shades of Scotty Bowers!!) Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Valentino Statue Aspires to Greatness

Posted on August 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

On the anniversary of Rudolph Valentino’s death, Mary Mallory looks at the statue erected in his memory at De Longpre Park. The statue prompted a lawsuit, vandalism, and appears in a Three Stooges movie! Continue reading →

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Couple found dead in pool, August 23, 1958

Posted on August 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 23, 1958: The puzzling deaths of a man and a woman who drowned in a home’s swimming pool. Continue reading →

Posted in @news, Suicide | 1 Comment