Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Reminder: My Next Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia Case Is September 1

Posted on August 25, 2026 by lmharnisch

Reminder, Boxie and I will be doing an Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 10 a.m. Pacific time at https://www.youtube.com/@lmharnisch/streams Continue reading →

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Voices — Christine Collins, August 25, 1932

Posted on August 25, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 25, 1932: Christine Collins, whose experiences inspired the movie ‘Changeling,’ asks the warden about visiting her husband’s grave in the prison cemetery. Continue reading →

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August 25, 1907: Death at the Lummis House Over a Garden Hose

Posted on August 25, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 25, 1907: Death at the Lummis House in a fight that began over a garden hose. Continue reading →

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August 24, 1947: Golfers Play Through as Fire Destroys Clubhouse at Inglewood

Posted on August 24, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 24, 1947: Golfers play through as fire destroys the clubhouse at Inglewood Country Club. Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on August 24, 2026 by lmharnisch

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

Posted in 1943, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 29 Comments

August 23, 1947: Sartre’s ‘No Exit’ Opens in L.A.

Posted on August 23, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 23, 1947: L.A. Times critic Philip K. Scheuer reviews Sartre’s “No Exit.” I imagine this is where Existentialism, the philosophy evolved by Playwright Sartre, comes in. In a world without God, man is answerable to himself for what he is and does. It is as close as I am able to approach the Sartre creed at this moment of deadline. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Comics, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Stage | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on August 23, 1947: Sartre’s ‘No Exit’ Opens in L.A.

Ladies in Black visit tomb of Valentino

Posted on August 23, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 23 — A look at the Ladies in Black who visited the tomb of Rudolph Valentino on the anniversary of his death Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on Ladies in Black visit tomb of Valentino

Aug. 22, 1947: 5 L.A. Women Doctors Honored at Medical Convention

Posted on August 22, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 22, 1947: Girls aspiring to careers should follow women physicians’ example—many have both satisfactory home and professional lives, Dr. E. Mae McCarroll says. Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, Aug. 22, 1944

Posted on August 22, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 22, 1944: “Citizen Tom Paine” will be a story of the Revolution, but won’t go into his religious beliefs nor his tendency toward atheism, Louella Parsons says. Leo: The sort of day on which your talents should shine. Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Heavyweight Fighter George Godfrey, ‘The Black Shadow of Leiperville,’ Dies at 50

Posted on August 21, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 21, 1947: George Godfrey, a fighter known as the Black Shadow of Leiperville, dies in poverty in Los Angeles at the age of 50. Continue reading →

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

Posted on August 19, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 19, 1944: Joyce Reynolds, seen in “Janie,” will play the shrewish daughter in “Mildred Pierce,” Louella Parsons says. Leo: Stars offer fine scope for your talents and ability. Continue reading →

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August 19, 1938: Nuestro Pueblo

Posted on August 19, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 19, 1938: Reporter Joe Seewerker and artist Charles Owens visit an old windmill, mentioning that the Los Angeles Aqueduct made them obsolete. Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia Book Club for August 2026

Posted on August 18, 2026 by lmharnisch

The Black Dahlia Book Club for August 2026, focusing on the Los Angeles City Archives. Continue reading →

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August 18, 1944: Times reporter killed covering war

Posted on August 18, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 18, 1944: L.A. Times reporter Tom Treanor is killed covering World War II. This is his last story. Continue reading →

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Fugitive couple attack LAPD officer, August 17, 1958

Posted on August 17, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 17, 1958: Fugitive couple from Milwaukee attack LAPD detective during attempted arrest at Alexandria Hotel.
Continue reading →

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August 17, 1947: At UCLA’s Gayleyville , Tough Times for Married Veterans

Posted on August 17, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 17, 1947: Married veterans find that it’s impossible to live on their G.I. Bill of Rights, The Times says, visiting UCLA’s Gayleyville housing project. Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on August 17, 2026 by lmharnisch

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

Posted in 1958, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

August 12, 1947: Distinguished UCLA English Instructor Dies in Plunge from S.F. Building; ‘He Was Not Married’

Posted on August 12, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 12, 1947: Stanley Dean Johnson, Phi Beta Kappa with a doctorate from Yale, is a popular English instructor at UCLA, a scholar on John Donne spending the summer doing research at the Huntington Library. Then on an August night, he falls from the 15th floor of San Francisco’s Russ Building. The Times notes: “He was not married.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Suicide | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

August 12-13, 1907: Bucket of Blood Is a Den of Drunken Debauchery

Posted on August 12, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 12, 1907: The L.A. Times describes the Bismark Cafe, known to police as the Bucket of Blood, as “drunken debauchery among girls of tender ages, painted women and men.” It is an “immoral pesthole” where “young girls are enticed nightly do drink and listen to a band concert.” Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia Book Club – Coming August 18, 2026

Posted on August 11, 2026 by lmharnisch

Reminder: The next session of the Black Dahlia book club is next Tuesday, August 18, at 10 a.m. Pacific time at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDPnehmoI4eLqSyfkMxw8FvXBpXHL54I4 I will discuss research resources at the L.A. city archives and elsewhere. Continue reading →

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