Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 15, 2026 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have two mysterious guests. Continue reading →

Posted in 1951, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

June 10, 1947: Artist John Decker Speaks at His Funeral Via Recording

Posted on June 10, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 10, 1947: Artist John Decker leaves a recording to be played for mourners at his funeral. He recited a speech from Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia Book Club – Coming June 16, 2026

Posted on June 9, 2026 by lmharnisch

Reminder: The next session of the Black Dahlia Book Club is June 16 at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube.com/LMHarnisch This time I will discuss the FBI files on the Black Dahlia case. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Nation’s First Legally Permitted Gay Pride Parade

Posted on June 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory looks at the nation’s first legally permitted Gay Pride parade, June 28, 1970. Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Nation’s First Legally Permitted Gay Pride Parade

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have some very mysterious guests! Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

June 19, 1958: Scientist disappears

Posted on June 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 9, 1958: Albert Clark Reed is found after disappearing for six years. Continue reading →

Posted in 1952, 1958, Science, Sports | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on June 19, 1958: Scientist disappears

ALLIES INVADE FRANCE! JUNE 6, 1944; Complete Radio Coverage

Posted on June 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

Complete radio coverage of the D-Day invasion. Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Radio, World War II | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on ALLIES INVADE FRANCE! JUNE 6, 1944; Complete Radio Coverage

Black L.A. 1947: USC Film Student Refuses ‘Uncle Tom’ Role in Radio Play

Posted on June 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 5, 1947: USC film student James C. Johnson, a member of the Delta Kappa Alpha cinema fraternity, said he would not play a role in a student’s radio play because it depicted “the Negro as stereotype,” the Sentinel said. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Education, Film, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Black L.A. 1947: USC Film Student Refuses ‘Uncle Tom’ Role in Radio Play

June 4, 1947: Television Comes to Los Angeles

Posted on June 4, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 4, 1947: Television comes to Los Angeles on T-Day (March 10, 1947) with KTLA and W6XAO. By June 4, the stations aired baseball, test patterns and Queen for a Day. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Film, Television | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on June 4, 1947: Television Comes to Los Angeles

June 4, 1941: Burbank Man Invents Death Ray!

Posted on June 4, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 4, 1941: A Burbank man claims to have invented a death ray that will kill rabbits at 100 yards. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1941, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Death Rays, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on June 4, 1941: Burbank Man Invents Death Ray!

June 3, 1947: Soldiers Fight Army’s Ban on Japanese Brides

Posted on June 3, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 3, 1947: In a letter to Pacific Stars and Stripes, enlisted men assigned to Japan urge the Army to lift its ban on marrying Japanese women. Congress eventually granted a one-month period in which veterans could marry Japanese women, resulting in 823 unions. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Immigration, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on June 3, 1947: Soldiers Fight Army’s Ban on Japanese Brides

June 3, 1907: Runaway Couple, Aided by Minister, Leave Parents at the Altar

Posted on June 3, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 3,1907: Dr. Harris Garcelon and Genevieve Smith dreaded the large, formal wedding her mother planned for them. After the rehearsal, the Rev. Baker P. Lee performed a small ceremony and the couple ran off to Salt Lake City, leaving Lee to inform Mrs. Smith of the couple’s flight. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Medicine, Obituaries, Religion | Tagged , , | Comments Off on June 3, 1907: Runaway Couple, Aided by Minister, Leave Parents at the Altar

Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, June 2026

Posted on June 2, 2026 by lmharnisch

In the Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case for June 2026, I took questions and highlighted David Oranchak’s final installment in his three-part video series on the false claims of Black Dahlia/Zodiac sleuth Alex Baber. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Black Dahlia Book Club, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, June 2026

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 1, 2026 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have a mysterious girl. Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

May 30,1958: ‘Crisis in Morals’

Posted on May 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 30, 1958: The Times publishes a 12-part series titled “Crisis in Morals” by Howard Whitman. This installment reflects 1950s attitudes on gays, at least in the pages of the Los Angeles Times. Continue reading →

Posted in #gays and lesbians, 1958, Front Pages | Tagged , , | Comments Off on May 30,1958: ‘Crisis in Morals’

May 30, 1908: Snake Stops Traffic

Posted on May 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 30, 1908: A large gopher snake causes a disturbance in downtown Los Angeles. Continue reading →

Posted in 1908, Animals, Downtown | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

May 30, 1907: Hop Chung, Chinese Laundryman, Presses Zoning Case in Court

Posted on May 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 30, 1907: Hop Chung is arrested for opening a laundry in an area designated residential, but because he isn’t a U.S. citizen, he takes the case to federal court claiming there is no such thing as what we now know as zoning. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Streetcars | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on May 30, 1907: Hop Chung, Chinese Laundryman, Presses Zoning Case in Court

May 29, 1908: Concert Pianist Put on Chain Gang in Crackdown on Gays

Posted on May 29, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 28, 1908: Concert pianist Peje Storck is put on chain gang after being arrested in a room full of men, pleading guilty to a reduced charge of “vagrancy.” Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, #gays and lesbians, 1908, classical music, LAPD, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on May 29, 1908: Concert Pianist Put on Chain Gang in Crackdown on Gays

When a ‘Marilyn Monroe Letter’ Sells on EBay for $879.99

Posted on May 28, 2026 by lmharnisch

A letter supposedly regarding young Marilyn Monroe has sold on EBay for $879.99. But there are numerous red flags about its authenticity. Continue reading →

Posted in Found on EBay, Hollywood | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia – Elizabeth Short Letter Listed on EBay — Authentic or Not?

Posted on May 27, 2026 by lmharnisch

An EBay vendor has listed an undated letter, claiming that it is signed by Elizabeth Short. But is it authentic? Probably not. Continue reading →

Posted in Black Dahlia, Found on EBay | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia – Elizabeth Short Letter Listed on EBay — Authentic or Not?