Monthly Archives: December 2025

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: A Brief History of the Tom and Jerry

Posted on December 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

Retro Drinking Guide: A brief history of the Tom and Jerry, and no, the drink came before the cartoon characters. Continue reading →

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December 26, 1947: No Sympathy for Alcoholics!

Posted on December 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 26, 1947: A Los Angeles Times editorial shows no sympathy for alcoholism or alcoholics. Continue reading →

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December 26, 1907: Minister Rejects New ‘Godless’ U.S. Coins

Posted on December 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 26, 1907: The Rev. W.A. Jones of Knoxville Presbyterian Church refuses the congregation’s gift of $100 because it consists of newly redesigned $20 gold pieces that do not bear the motto “In God We Trust.” Continue reading →

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December 25, 1947: The Times Christmas Poem

Posted on December 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 25, 1947: The Los Angeles Times publishes a front-page poem for Christmas by James Warnack, who called himself “a theoretical Christian but a practical pagan.” Continue reading →

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Los Angeles Celebrates Christmas, 1913

Posted on December 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 13, 1913: Celebrating Christmas in Los Angeles by having dinnor at the Cafe Bristol or taking an invigorating bath at Melrose and Gower, location of the Radium Sulphur Springs, which advertises: Drink the most radioactive natural curative mineral water. Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia and Zodiac … ‘Solved’?

Posted on December 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

A quick reaction to claims that the Black Dahlia and Zodiac cases have been solved using AI/machine learning/LLMs. I’ll have more to say in next month’s Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia. Jan. 6, at 10 a.m. at YouTube.com/LMHarnisch Continue reading →

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Al Martinez, a Dying Boy and Some Peaches — A (Non) Christmas Story

Posted on December 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

The history of a Al Martinez’s (non) Christmas story about a dying boy who wanted some peaches. Continue reading →

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December 23, 1968: N. Korea frees crew of U.S. spy ship Pueblo

Posted on December 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 23, 1968: North Korea releases the crew of the Navy spy ship Pueblo after 11 months of captivity. Continue reading →

Posted in @news, Current Affairs, Front Pages, Politics | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: December 23, 1949 — Jury Finds Dr. George Hodel Not Guilty of Molesting Tamar Hodel

Posted on December 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 23, 1949: A jury of eight women and four men finds Dr. George Hodel not guilty of molesting his daughter Tamar. Continue reading →

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December 23, 1947: Baby Girl Abandoned at Downtown Restaurant With Christmas Card Pinned to Blanket

Posted on December 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 23, 1947: The young mother asked the waitress at the cafe in the Subway Terminal Building to hold her baby for just a moment—and then she was gone. Continue reading →

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December 23, 1907: Shopping Cures Insanity — An Early Test of Retail Therapy

Posted on December 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 23, 1907: Dr. Henry S. Atkins, superintendent of St. Louis’ insane asylum, has found that Christmas is a perfect time to test his theory that shopping cures insanity.
Atkins and two attendants took 60 women from the asylum “into the world of department stores and the activities which all women enjoy,” The Times said. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: A 1940s Christmas Story in ‘Star in the Night’

Posted on December 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory on the 1945 Warner Bros. short Star in the Night, an understated, moving example of an offbeat contemporary take on the traditional Christmas nativity story. Featuring a much larger budget and more experienced cast than normal for shorts, the featurette is an enduring classic. Continue reading →

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December 22, 1938: Jealous husband kills wife with ax

Posted on December 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 22, 1938: Virgilio Spinelli kills his wife, Rose, because she was going to run off with another man. He was convicted and executed in the gas chamber May 17, 1940. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1938, Front Pages, Homicide, LAPD | 2 Comments

Movieland Silent Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

For this week’s silent mystery movie, we have a mysterious couple. Continue reading →

Posted in 1925, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments

December 22, 1907: For I Was Homeless and You Ran Me In — L.A. Prepares for ‘Hobo Season’

Posted on December 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 22, 1907: Los Angeles prepares for ‘Hobo Season’ with posters warning that the city sentenced the homeless to the chain gang. Continue reading →

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December 21, 1947: ‘Tubby the Tuba’ and Music for Children

Posted on December 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 21, 1947: An ad for children’s records, including Victor Jory reading “Tubby the Tuba.” Continue reading →

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December 21, 1930: Voices — Christine Collins

Posted on December 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 21, 1930: Christine Collins, whose experiences inspired the movie “Changeling,” writes to the warden wishing him a Merry Christmas, even though parole was denied for her husband. Continue reading →

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December 21, 1907: Desperate Girl, Alone and Friendless in L.A., Steals $10

Posted on December 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 21, 1907: Lillian Poelk was new to Los Angeles, with no friends and little more than a job as a waitress that didn’t quite cover the rent of her room at 831 S. Hope. “While other girls were getting pretty things and preparing for a pleasant Christmas, she was shut up in a cheerless room,” The Times said. Continue reading →

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December 20, 1947: Pulp Author Rob Eden Dies | Author of ‘Short Skirts: A Story of Modern Youth’

Posted on December 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 20, 1947: Pulp writer Robert F. Burkhardt dies at the age of 55. Writing as Rob Eden, Burkhardt and his wife, Eve, produced dozens of novels and countless short stories. Continue reading →

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George Hodel: Ask Me Anything, December 2025

Posted on December 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 20, 2025: This month’s Ask Me Anything on George Hodel and Steve Hodel, announcing the Black Dahlia Book Club, coming in January, that will take a long look back at the books and articles written about the Black Dahlia case. Continue reading →

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