Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

September 20, 1947: Marie ‘The Body’ McDonald Marries Karl the Shoe Man

Posted on September 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 20, 1947: The clip file of Marie “The Body” McDonald is like a Russian novel of nightclub brawls, Reno divorces, Las Vegas elopements, car crashes, run-ins with the police for drinking and drugs, lawsuits over broken contracts, suicide attempts, unexplained hospitalizations and every once in a while, a movie. And then there’s the kidnapping. Continue reading →

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September 20, 1907: Suicide Note — ‘Everything Is Boiling’

Posted on September 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 20, 1907: For weeks, Colorado mining investor John Geisel, 57, had confided in his diary as he felt his mind and his life coming unraveled “Good God,” he wrote, “for the first time today I began to fear that I could not control my thoughts.” Continue reading →

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September 19, 1957: Paul V. Coates–Confidential File

Posted on September 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 19, 1957: Paul Coates has the story of an eccentric old woman pulling a grift, then discovers she cases homes for a burglary gang. And meet Robert Wyatt, who pulled a gun on someone who said he shouldn’t keep his five children on leashes. Continue reading →

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September 19, 1947: L.A. OKs Right Turn on Red Light!

Posted on September 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 19, 1947: A deep dive to Californians’ ability to make a right turn on a red light, taken for granted now, but controversial once upon a time. Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, September 19, 1944

Posted on September 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 19, 1944: Jennifer Jones makes her next movie for Hal Wallis. David Selznick read the script by Ayn Rand, liked it, and told Hal that Jennifer was free to start any time. So apparently the trouble with 20th is all settled…. Wonder what happened to “Fountainhead” if it is to be filmed? Louella Parsons says. Continue reading →

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September 19, 1944: Allies 310 Miles From Berlin!

Posted on September 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 19, 1944: Times reporter and columnist Gene Sherman files a first-person report from Palau and describes fierce fighting against the Japanese. Continue reading →

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September 19, 1907: Deadlier Than Male

Posted on September 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 19, 1907: “Hidden somewhere in Los Angeles is a daredevil Spanish woman who should be standing with the Mexican revolutionaries when they are arraigned here in the United States Court,” The Times says of Maria Talivera. Continue reading →

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September 18, 1947: Navajo Teenagers Arrive at Sherman Institute

Posted on September 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 18, 1947: A contingent of 369 Navajo Indian boys and girls from New Mexico and Arizona has arrived at Riverside’s famed Sherman Institute. Continue reading →

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September 18, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on September 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 18, 1959: Everyone seems to be trying to settle on what Mr. K. (Nikita Khrushchev) “should really see” when he gets to L.A. — ranging from beatnik joints to supermarkets to the interchange and freeway traffic, Matt Weinstock says. Continue reading →

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September 18, 1959: Paul V. Coates — Confidential File

Posted on September 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 18, 1959: Paul Coates writes about hazing pranks that end in death, including the case of USC dental student Richard Swanson. Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — Life Magazine, Sept. 18, 1944

Posted on September 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 18, 1944: Republican presidential nominee Thomas E. Dewey drives to New York to confer with campaign advisors, then begins a campaign trip by railroad across the country. Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, September 18, 1944

Posted on September 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 18,1944: Walter Winchell and Danton Walker refer to the Aug. 5 fight between Jon Hall and Tommy Dorsey in the so-called Battle of the Balcony at Dorsey’s apartment on the Sunset Strip. Continue reading →

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September 18, 1933: Bandit Killed, LAPD Officers Wounded in Burlesque Theater Shootout

Posted on September 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 18, 1933: Jack Keating, 30, and John Melvin Early, 35, had a plan to rob the Girlesque Theater at 510 S. Main St., but when the shooting was over, Keating was dead and Early and two men who helped plan the robbery were in jail. Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Art & Artists, Comics, Downtown, Hollywood, LAPD, Main Street, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on September 18, 1933: Bandit Killed, LAPD Officers Wounded in Burlesque Theater Shootout

September 17, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on September 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 17, 1959: A man with a moving and storage company has thoughts about the ratio of families who are moving into Los Angeles with those who are moving out. The city has reached the saturation point, he tells Matt Weinstock. Continue reading →

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September 17, 1959: Paul V. Coates — Confidential File

Posted on September 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 17, 1959: Paul Coates looks at the case of Caryl Chessman, scheduled to be executed in the gas chamber. A letter writer asks Dear Abby if it’s appropriate to ask restaurants for leftovers in a doggy bag. Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, September 17, 1944

Posted on September 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 17, 1944: All her life Vivian Blaine will be grateful to Victoria Elizabeth James and Phyllis Faye Harris for starring parts, for if these young ladies hadn’t elected to be born Vivian would still be just one of the bevy of pretty girls on the 20th lot, Louella Parsons says. Continue reading →

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September 17:1907: L.A. Celebrates Mexican Independence Day

Posted on September 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 17, 1907: Los Angeles celebrates Mexican Independence Day with speeches, music and dancing. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Olvera Street, Salute to Los Angeles’ Spanish Past

Posted on September 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory looks at the history of the Avila Adobe and Olvera Street in an encore post from 2019. Continue reading →

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George Hodel: Ask Me Anything, September 2025

Posted on September 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

This month’s Ask Me Anything on George Hodel and Steve Hodel in the Black Dahlia case. Continue reading →

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September 16, 1947: Stanley Beltz, Colorful Lockheed Test Pilot

Posted on September 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 16, 1947: Colorful Lockheed test pilot Stanley Beltz is in trouble again. Beltz died in 1955 testing a F-94B Starfire and his despondent fiancee killed herself less than two weeks later. Continue reading →

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