Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

December 2, 1958: Model stabbed, dumped off mountain highway

Posted on December 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 2, 1958: Model Charlotte Trosper is found stabbed to death in a clump of bushes off Angeles Crest Highway. Boyfriend Gerald Feasby was convicted in the killing. Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, December 2025

Posted on December 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

This month’s Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case includes a progress report on Heaven Is HERE! and a brief introduction to the Black Dahlia case. Continue reading →

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December 2, 1958: 90 die in Chicago school fire

Posted on December 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 2, 1958: Fire sweeps through Our Lady of the Angels school in Chicago, killing 92 children and three nuns. Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

A Daily Mirror gift suggestion: Mary Mallory’s latest: First Women of Hollywood. Continue reading →

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December 1, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on December 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 1, 1959: Matt Weinstock writes about Los Angeles Times columnist Lee Shippey and discusses Shippey’s blindness. Continue reading →

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December 1, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on December 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 1, 1959: Jerry Lewis is a strange guy, Paul Coates writes, but this time the comedian is going to the aid of actor Jay Robinson, “Hollywood’s forgotten man.: Continue reading →

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December 1, 1938: California prepares to execute two killers at San Quentin

Posted on December 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 1, 1938: California prepares to use the new gas chamber for two executions rather than the previous method of hanging. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1938, @news, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Politics, Religion, Sports | Comments Off on December 1, 1938: California prepares to execute two killers at San Quentin

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2013. True style never goes out of date, after all. We are being bombarded by stories about Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with videos of long lines at stores and the attendant consumer frenzy. … Continue reading →

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Movieland ‘Unsuitable’ Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

In this week’s exploration of “unsuitable” mystery movies, we have an especially “unsuitable” film, with this “unsuitable” mystery guest. Continue reading →

Posted in 1934, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 32 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Altadena’s Lovely Christmas Tree Lane

Posted on December 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

To mark the opening of Christmas Tree lane, we have Mary Mallory’s encore post from 2012. Continue reading →

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December 1, 1907: L.A. Author Writes of Life in the Hollow Earth (No Sign of Lizard People)

Posted on December 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 1, 1907: The Times notes a new serial “The Smoky God,” by Willis Emerson, based on the papers of Olaf Jansen, who claimed to have explored the North Pole and met the inhabitants of the Earth’s interior. “A classic in Hollow Earth Literature!” Continue reading →

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November 30, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on November 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 30, 1959: The mother of a middle school student tells Matt Weinstock: “You would be surprised at the number of students at this school who are being tutored just to make a C.” One girl is taking tranquilizers because she can’t keep up. Continue reading →

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November 30, 1959: Paul Coates – Confidential File

Posted on November 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 30, 1959: An author claims that Charles Dickens and actress Ellen Ternan had an illegitimate child, and Paul Coates has the story. Continue reading →

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November 30, 1958: Former deputy strangles wife, kills himself as police close in

Posted on November 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 30, 1958: A former deputy strangles his wife and kills himself. A pitch-perfect story from 1958. Continue reading →

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November 30, 2006: Architectural Rambling

Posted on November 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

Some “architectural rambling” photos I took in 2006 for a blog post on historic structures. Continue reading →

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November 30, 1907: Witness Against Mexican Revolutionaries Poisoned!

Posted on November 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 30, 1907: A closely guarded witness in the trial of the Mexican revolutionaries goes into convulsions after being allowed to have lunch at a local cafe. Continue reading →

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November 27, 1968: O.J. Simpson wins Heisman

Posted on November 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 27, 1968: O.J. Simpson wins the Heisman Trophy after a remarkable two-year career at USC. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, @news, broadcasting, Current Affairs, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Sports, Television | Comments Off on November 27, 1968: O.J. Simpson wins Heisman

November 27, 1964: Secretary Found Stabbed to Death in the ‘Thanksgiving’ Murder

Posted on November 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 27, 1964: Joyce Walker is found stabbed 50 times on Thanksgiving Day, apparently raped and killed by a man who helped her after her car became disabled on the way home from a party. Two Manhattan police officers offered assistance but Walker and the suspect said everything was fine. Continue reading →

Posted in 1964, Front Pages, Homicide, Jack Smith | Comments Off on November 27, 1964: Secretary Found Stabbed to Death in the ‘Thanksgiving’ Murder

November 27, 1941: Streetcar Companies Ask Council to End Bus Ban in Downtown L.A.

Posted on November 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 27, 1941: The Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railways ask the City Council to repeal a ban against buses operating in downtown Los Angeles. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Streetcars, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. Celebrates a Wartime Thanksgiving, 1943

Posted on November 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

Thanksgiving 1943: A wartime Thanksgiving in Los Angeles, with many service personnel welcomed into people’s homes for a holiday meal. Continue reading →

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