Monthly Archives: January 2026

January 8, 1958: Matt Weinstock

Posted on January 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 8, 1958: Los Angeles experiences a “once in a green moon” and Matt Weinstock has the story. Continue reading →

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January 8, 1958: Paul Coates

Posted on January 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 8, 1958: A little girl with a severe illness had one wish: to meet Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. The first attempt was a fiasco (Rogers never knew about it) but Roy and Dale called the girl and sent her a box for Christmas, Paul Coates writes. Continue reading →

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January 8, 1947: Judge Denies ‘Hollywood’ Divorce for Actress Virginia Engels ‘The Orchid Queen’

Posted on January 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 8, 1947: A judge rejects a divorce for Virginia Engels, nicknamed “Miss Streamline,” “Miss Los Angeles 1940” and “the Orchid Queen.” Engels was later found not guilty of killing her second husband. A bit player in ‘Caged,’ she died forgotten and alone in her apartment in late 1956. Continue reading →

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January 8, 1907: A Cold Dose of Reality

Posted on January 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 8, 1907: Los Angeles is dealing with a severe coal shortage. Coal was rationed to five sacks per customer and the buyers had pick them up at the coal yard. “The only place that hasn’t complained for the lack of coal is hell.” Continue reading →

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January 7, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on January 7, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 7, 1959: A group of grimly playful fellows at USC have changed their names from Asthmatics Anonymous to Asthmatics Militant, bringing a report from Detroit about the new Flatulente Four Fifty auto, Matt Weinstock says. Continue reading →

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January 7, 1959: Paul Coates — Confidential File

Posted on January 7, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 7, 1959: Tiger Small steals toupees, but it’s only a sideline Paul Coates writes. Small stole his first toupee as a favor for a chorus girl and it took off from there. Continue reading →

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January 7, 1947: Man Uses Same Coffee Cup for 27 Years

Posted on January 7, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 7, 1947: Truman B. Carl of Whittier has used the same coffee cup for 27 years. That’s it. That’s the story. Really. Continue reading →

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January 7, 1907: TLC

Posted on January 7, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 7, 1907: Elizabeth Mahler is one of the bright spots at Long Beach Hospital. Though she was engaged, she was courted by a patient’s business partner. The engagement was broken and wedding bells chimed…. Nine years later, divorce court. Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia and … Zodiac?? Ask Me Anything, January 2026

Posted on January 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

This month’s Ask Me Anything was devoted to debunking alleged claims (by an “amateur code breaker”) that the Black Dahlia and Zodiac murders were by the same killer. Continue reading →

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January 5, 1962: Examiner, Mirror Fold; L.A. Becomes Two-Newspaper Town

Posted on January 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 5, 1962: A dark day in the world of Los Angeles journalism. Overnight, the city loses two of its daily papers, Hearst’s morning Examiner and the Times evening Mirror. Continue reading →

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January 5, 1959: LAPD Suspends Officer for – Uh-Oh

Posted on January 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 5, 1959: The LAPD suspends Officer Charles Wolf for 15 days for — no, he didn’t! (Yes, he did). Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – 1938 Floods Wreak Havoc on Los Angeles Area

Posted on January 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory has the story of the 1938 Los Angeles flood, when record rains caused heavy damage and left more than 90 dead, leading the Army Corps of Engineers to cover much of the river channel in concrete. Continue reading →

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January 5, 1947: Two Black 15-Year-Olds Set for Electric Chair After Losing Plea

Posted on January 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 5, 1947: In Mississippi, two Black 15-year-olds lose their appeal for clemency despite the efforts of Blanche Meiers of Oakland, who pleaded for their lives. The teens are set to be electrocuted January 17 in the killing of a white man. Continue reading →

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January 5, 1907: A Fatal Can of Beans

Posted on January 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 5, 1907: Food poisoning from aged cans of pork and beans kills three people staying at a mountain cabin. Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

For Monday’s mystery photo, we have a mysterious fellow. Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 20 Comments

January 4, 1947: Angry Sailor Sets Fire to Skid Row Hotel After Being Rolled

Posted on January 4, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 4, 1947: 19-year-old mess cook second class Edward Pavlischak is so angry at being rolled for $30 while drunk in a hotel room that he sets fire to the place, killing 1 and injuring 5. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, Fires, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

January 4, 1928: Voices — Christine Collins

Posted on January 4, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 4, 1928: Christine Collins, whose life inspired the Clint Eastwood film ‘Changeling,’ writes to the warden urging parole for her husband, Walter. Continue reading →

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January 4, 1907: The Mayor Departs From His Prepared Remarks

Posted on January 4, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 4, 1907: Mayor-elect Arthur C. Harper lays aside his prepared speech and tells an audience that he would look at every department in city government and that he had complete faith in the Owens River project. Continue reading →

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January 1, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on January 1, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 1, 1959: Matt Weinstock looks at the origins of the “little old lady from Pasadena.” Continue reading →

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January 1, 1959: Paul Coates — Confidential File

Posted on January 1, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 1, 1959: Paul Coates looks back at some of his major stories of 1958, including new evidence that won a reprieve from the gas chamber for Remmel Wayne Brice. Continue reading →

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