Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

November 22, 1907: Son Beats Father With Baseball Bat to Protect Mother; Bleeding and Shot in the Head, She Vows Eternal Love

Posted on November 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 22, 1907: Though beaten and shot in the head by her drunk husband, Ellen Larkin vowed her eternal love and said he could come home as soon as he recovered from being beaten with a baseball bat by their son to protect his mother. Continue reading →

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November 21, 2009 — Artist’s Notebook: Gustavo Dudamel

Posted on November 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 21, 2009: Collaborating with the L.A. Daily Mirror, artist Marion Eisenmann did some sketches of Gustavo Dudamel conducting rehearsals of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, art and artists, classical music, Marion Eisenmann, Nuestro Pueblo | Comments Off on November 21, 2009 — Artist’s Notebook: Gustavo Dudamel

November 21, 1959: Matt Weinstock, Nov. 21, 1959

Posted on November 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 21, 1959: Matt Weinstock has the story of a man who keeps getting tickets for not having a front plate on his French Panhard. The problem is there’s no place for a license plate. Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Nov. 21, 1959

Posted on November 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 21, 1959: A secretary writes to Paul Coates to tell him how she gets even with her practical-joker boss. Continue reading →

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November 21, 1947: Judge Tells Joel Thorne to Quit ‘Fooling Around’ With Racecars, Nightclubs

Posted on November 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 21, 1947: A judge admonishes Joel Thorne, who sneaked out of Cedars of Lebanon Hospital after being injured in a motorcycle crash to avoid paying alimony to his ex-wife. In 1955, Thorne was killed when his Beachcraft Bonanza plunged into an apartment building, killing eight others. Continue reading →

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November 21, 1919: Wife Divorces ‘Girlish’ Army Officer

Posted on November 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 21, 1919: Woman divorces Army officer who wears a girdle. “I always wanted a form like yours,” he wrote. “You will have quite a girl for your hubby.” Continue reading →

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November 21, 1907: Mother, 17, Throws Baby From Train to Hide ‘Shame’ From Family

Posted on November 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 21, 1907: Louise Williams is arrested on charges of throwing her baby from an inbound train. “She was suddenly overwhelmed with the shame of meeting her mother and sisters at Los Angeles, who had not learned of her ruin,” her attorney said. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, African Americans, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on November 21, 1907: Mother, 17, Throws Baby From Train to Hide ‘Shame’ From Family

November 20, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on November 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 20, 1959: Matt Weinstock looks over L.A. football, college and pro, and says: It could be that the Dodgers did L.A. a disservice in their magnificent drive for the pennant and their World Series victory.  Every team here is now expected to be not only victorious but also spectacular.  Continue reading →

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November 20, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on November 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 20, 1959: Housewives lead more interesting lives than career girls, Paul Coates says, citing the example of a woman with the magazine subscription that Would Not Die. Continue reading →

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November 20, 1958: Valley man killed with hammer

Posted on November 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 20, 1958: Ernest Hargis, a city ambulance driver, is found beaten to death with a hammer and shoved under an abandoned car in Pacoima. Continue reading →

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November 20, 1947: Contralto Carol Brice to Perform in L.A.

Posted on November 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 20, 1947: Carol Brice, contralto, is performing at Philharmonic Auditorium on December 7. Continue reading →

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November 20, 1947: Bobby-Soxer Kills Girl, 5

Posted on November 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 13, 1947: Joyce, 13, forces Myretta Jones, 5, to undress, then smashes her with a rock and a shovel until she’s dead. Why? Joyce said she didn’t know. Continue reading →

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November 20, 1941: California Prepares to Execute Juanita ‘The Duchess’ Spinelli

Posted on November 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 20, 1941: Juanita ‘The Duchess’ Spinelli is about to become the first woman legally executed in California. She was an ex-wrestler and knife-thrower who could pin a poker chip at 15 paces. Continue reading →

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November 20, 1907: Police Capture Streetcar Bandits

Posted on November 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 20, 1907: Police arrest two men who staged daring holdups on the Ascot Park and Eastlake streetcars, robbing the motormen and conductors as the cars reached the ends of their routes. Continue reading →

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November 19, 1960: Gene Autry a Contender in American League Expansion Team

Posted on November 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 19, 1960: Gene Autry is a potential bidder for an American League baseball team hoping to start in Los Angeles in 1961. Continue reading →

Posted in Dodgers, Downtown, Sports | Comments Off on November 19, 1960: Gene Autry a Contender in American League Expansion Team

November 19, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on November 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 19, 1959: Matt Weinstock writes about a “Pyramidologist” who says his study of the Great Pyramid shows that the day will bring something ominous — and that the Earth will end Jan. 28, 2001. Continue reading →

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November 19, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on November 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 19, 1959: A convicted robber who escaped from jail talks to Paul Coates about why he did it and whether to surrender to police. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1959, Columnists, Front Pages, Paul Coates, Transportation | Comments Off on November 19, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

November 19, 1941: Hollywood Model Dies of Botched Abortion

Posted on November 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 19, 1941: Angelka Rose Gogich was 18 when she died at Glendale Emergency Hospital after undergoing an abortion. She had be working as a model, hat check girl and dancer under the name Rose Ann Rae. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Abortion, Art & Artists, Black Dahlia, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Medicine, Obituaries | Tagged | 1 Comment

November 19, 1907: Crime Wave Sweeps L.A.

Posted on November 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 19, 1907: An influx of crooks, petty hoodlums and vagrants drawn by good weather and horse racing at Santa Anita are blamed for a siege of crime throughout the city. Continue reading →

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November 18, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on November 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 18, 1959: Retired math professor Robert Bruce tells a friend “you’re entitled to call me Robert.” But physics instructor Julius Miller replies: “I couldn’t do that. You’ve been Professor Bruce to me for more than 30 years,” Matt Weinstock says. Continue reading →

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