Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

July 4, 1947: Man Convicted of Dog Atrocity

Posted on July 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post that originally appeared on the 1947project, but in June rather than July. Oops.

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1944 on the Radio — The Fourth of July, 1944

Posted on July 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2014. July 4, 1944 ”The Make-Believe Sheriff” is the title of today’s episode of “The Green Hornet.” Otrrlibrary.org via Archive.org ”Lum and Abner” are building a health resort on grandpappy’s farm. Otrrlibrary.org via … Continue reading →

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A Wartime Fourth of July: Los Angeles, 1942

Posted on July 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post from 2015. Years ago, in researching Camp Cooke, I bought the diary of a soldier named Harry A. Rankin, who was stationed there in 1942 and early 1943 (and no, he doesn’t mention Elizabeth Short). … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Black Dahlia, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Can This Be the Fourth of July?

Posted on July 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 4, 1907 Los Angeles And how does Los Angeles celebrate Independence Day? With cricket matches and bagpipe contests.

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Fashions, LAPD, Music, Parks, Streetcars | Comments Off on Can This Be the Fourth of July?

July 4, 1863: Los Angeles Celebrates the Fourth of July With Pic-Nics and Fire-Works

Posted on July 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

The complete July 4, 1863, issue of the Los Angeles Star is available from USC, which scanned  a copy at the Huntington. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. July 4, 1863: Los Angeles plans to celebrate the Fourth … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Sugar Chile Robinson and a Review of ‘Crossfire’

Posted on July 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Sugar Chile Robinson performs at the Lincoln. I should do an entire post on him, but so many stories and only one Larry Harnisch. July 3, 1947: One of the regular complaints in my Twitter feed is about the lack … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Film, Hollywood, Music | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

July 3, 1947: Flying Saucers Over Beverly Hills!

Posted on July 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. This is where the 1947 Project intersects with other 1947 Project. Mysterious flying discs were reported June 28 over New Mexico, prompting sarcastic letters to The … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Aviation | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

July 3, 1907: Head of Anti-Fakers League Says Gunfire Was Real

Posted on July 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 3, 1907 Los Angeles Robert T. Hall, head of the Los Angeles Anti-Fakers League (or Anti-Fakers Society), says shots were fired at him as he returned from an outing to a … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1955 Warner Bros. film “Illegal,” and yes, it is the studio’s second remake of “The Mouthpiece.” With Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe, Jayne Mansfield, Albert Dekker, Howard St. John, Ellen Corby, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 43 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Emma Lazarus’ ‘The New Colossus’ Calls to All Immigrants

Posted on July 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

Construction of the Statue of Liberty, artwork by John Durkin, Harper’s Weekly, Jan. 19, 1884. Written in 1883 to help raise money for building the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty would stand, Emma Lazarus’ 14-line poem “The New … Continue reading →

Posted in 1884, Hollywood Heights, Immigration, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

July 2, 1947: Man Held in Strangling of Mary Tate

Posted on July 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. This is, of course, a murder frequently tossed into the Black Dahlia file by crime books such as “The Cases That Haunt Us” and “Black Dahlia … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

July 1, 1947: ‘Mom and Dad’ — Elliot Forbes and Sexploitation in the 1940s

Posted on July 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Well, we know where this story is going. Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. I had never heard of this particular cinematic triumph, but it was apparently a fixture of sexploitation … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

July 1, 1907: What Was the Gas Mileage of the Horseless Carriage?

Posted on July 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 1, 1907 Los Angeles If you ever wondered if the Locomobile or Pope-Hartford got great gas mileage, the answer is no, as shown in the results of the 185-mile Lakeside Endurance … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

June 30, 1947: Albert Goldberg Becomes L.A. Times Music Critic

Posted on June 30, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Thus began a career that endured past his retirement in 1965—making way for Martin Bernheimer—until shortly before his death in 1990 at the age of 91. … Continue reading →

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Slander, My Sweet: Raymond Chandler, John Houseman and ‘The Blue Dahlia’

Posted on June 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in “The Blue Dahlia.” Here are the opening paragraphs of the piece I’ve been working on for the last few months as I waited for the clamor to die down about Piu Eatwell’s “Black Dahlia, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, 1946, Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

June 29, 1947: ‘Palestine Extremists Kill Two More Britons’

Posted on June 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

Posted in 1947 | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

June 29, 1907: Horribly Beaten, Wife Begs Police Not to Charge Husband, Refuses to Testify

Posted on June 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 29, 1907 Los Angeles Through the jail cell’s bars, the officer asked, “Where did you get that blood on your shirt?” E.H. Phelan, a barber at the Hotel Alexandria, said: “No, … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Jury Selection Begins in San Diego Slavery Case

Posted on June 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Above, Cab Calloway is at the Million Dollar Theater with “Ding Dong Williams.”  June 26, 1947: Jury selection begins in San Diego in the case of Alfred and Elizabeth Ingalls, who are accused of holding Dora L. Jones as a … Continue reading →

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June 28, 1947: College Makes Women Unfit for Marriage, L.A. ‘Expert’ Says

Posted on June 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Meet Paul Popenoe, who appears in hundreds of stories in The Times (including 11 in 1947), often as the elder statesman of family counseling in Los … Continue reading →

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June 28, 1907: 62 Cars Enter Endurance Race From Los Angeles to Lakeside

Posted on June 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 28, 1907 Los Angeles Give cars to a bunch of wealthy Los Angeles residents and what do they do? Race them, of course. Not on a track this time, but in … Continue reading →

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