Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Black Dahlia: Trim Your Roses on January 15 to Remember Elizabeth Short

Posted on January 15, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 15: Today is the anniversary of Elizabeth Short’s death. As is the custom, the Daily Mirror will be dark. Trim your roses in her memory. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

January 14, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on January 14, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 14, 1959: A man asks Matt Weinstock to evaluate a theory culminating 15 years of work. It involves the electron, and Weinstock shrugs. Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Education, Matt Weinstock | Leave a comment

January 14, 1959: Paul Coates — Confidential File

Posted on January 14, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 14, 1959: Paul Coates has an update on three boys, the oldest age 10, who killed their father as he slept. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1959, Columnists, Homicide, Paul Coates | Leave a comment

Black Dahlia Book Club – True Detective, 1948

Posted on January 13, 2026 by lmharnisch

Starting next week. the Black Dahlia Book Club, discussing what’s been written about the murder of Elizabeth Short. First up is the October 1948 issue of True Detective. Coming January 20 at YouTube.com/LMHarnisch Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1948, Black Dahlia, Black Dahlia Book Club, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Black Dahlia Book Club–Coming Next Week

Posted on January 13, 2026 by lmharnisch

Three quick reminders: The anniversary of Elizabeth Short’s murder is Thursday — be respectful. The Black Dahlia case is not solved, regardless of what you may hear elsewhere. And the Black Dahlia Book Club begins a week from today at YouTube.com/LMHarnisch Continue reading →

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

January 12-13: Soviet leader visits Los Angeles

Posted on January 12, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 12-13: Soviet leader Anastas Mikoyan spends two days in Los Angeles, where he meets… Jerry Lewis! Continue reading →

Posted in @news, broadcasting, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, LAPD, Politics | Leave a comment

Voices — Christine Collins, January 12, 1933

Posted on January 12, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 12, 1933: A letter informing Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz that the prisoner is dead concludes documents telling the unfortunate saga of Walter and Christine Collins, the inspiration for the Clint Eastwood film ‘Changeling.’ Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1933, Changeling, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Leave a comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + +)

Posted on January 12, 2026 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have a mysterious fellow. His mysterious companion has been cropped out due to insufficient mysteriousness and will appear Friday. For Friday, we add our mysterious leading lady (yes, again). Note: This weekend, as I searched in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

January 10, 1909: Addicted to Gambling

Posted on January 10, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 10, 1909: Wrecked on the rocks of the betting game! Of how many young men of Los Angeles, who but a few months ago held positions of honor or trust, and are now serving time on the chain gang, is this true? Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1909, Downtown, Fashion, LAPD | Leave a comment

Black L.A., January 9, 1947: LAPD Detectives Cleared of Brutality Against Drunk Woman

Posted on January 9, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 9, 1947: Two officers are exonerated in the beating of Edythe Galloway. a story from the Los Angeles Sentinel and Police Commission minutes. Continue reading →

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January 9, 1913: The Day’s News – Pestilence and Starvation

Posted on January 9, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 9, 1908: The Times publishes a map of places in the news, showing “troops arriving at the front,” “ship in distress,” “burning building,” “land battle,” “earthquake,” “execution” and “volcano eruption.” The past was definitely not a “kinder, simpler time.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, A Kinder, Simpler Time, Broadway, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Latinos | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

January 9, 1907: The Floods

Posted on January 9, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 9-10, 1907: The worst storm in 23 years blows across Southern California with the force of a gale, dumping more than an inch of rain in Pasadena, killing an Orange County rancher, washing out railroad tracks and collapsing tunnels, and leaving nearly every small ship in Santa Barbara sunk, driven ashore or pounded to pieces. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Downtown, LAPD, Pasadena, San Fernando Valley, Streetcars, Transportation | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates, UFOs | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in 1947, Art & Artists, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Food and Drink, LAPD, Pasadena, Photography, Streetcars | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Environment, Freeways, Matt Weinstock, Transportation | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Paul Coates | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Religion, Streetcars | Leave a comment