Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

December 23, 1968: N. Korea frees crew of U.S. spy ship Pueblo

Posted on December 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 23, 1968: North Korea releases the crew of the Navy spy ship Pueblo after 11 months of captivity. Continue reading →

Posted in @news, Current Affairs, Front Pages, Politics | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: December 23, 1949 — Jury Finds Dr. George Hodel Not Guilty of Molesting Tamar Hodel

Posted on December 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 23, 1949: A jury of eight women and four men finds Dr. George Hodel not guilty of molesting his daughter Tamar. Continue reading →

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December 23, 1947: Baby Girl Abandoned at Downtown Restaurant With Christmas Card Pinned to Blanket

Posted on December 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 23, 1947: The young mother asked the waitress at the cafe in the Subway Terminal Building to hold her baby for just a moment—and then she was gone. Continue reading →

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December 23, 1907: Shopping Cures Insanity — An Early Test of Retail Therapy

Posted on December 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 23, 1907: Dr. Henry S. Atkins, superintendent of St. Louis’ insane asylum, has found that Christmas is a perfect time to test his theory that shopping cures insanity.
Atkins and two attendants took 60 women from the asylum “into the world of department stores and the activities which all women enjoy,” The Times said. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: A 1940s Christmas Story in ‘Star in the Night’

Posted on December 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory on the 1945 Warner Bros. short Star in the Night, an understated, moving example of an offbeat contemporary take on the traditional Christmas nativity story. Featuring a much larger budget and more experienced cast than normal for shorts, the featurette is an enduring classic. Continue reading →

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December 22, 1938: Jealous husband kills wife with ax

Posted on December 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 22, 1938: Virgilio Spinelli kills his wife, Rose, because she was going to run off with another man. He was convicted and executed in the gas chamber May 17, 1940. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1938, Front Pages, Homicide, LAPD | 2 Comments

Movieland Silent Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

For this week’s silent mystery movie, we have a mysterious couple. Continue reading →

Posted in 1925, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments

December 22, 1907: For I Was Homeless and You Ran Me In — L.A. Prepares for ‘Hobo Season’

Posted on December 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 22, 1907: Los Angeles prepares for ‘Hobo Season’ with posters warning that the city sentenced the homeless to the chain gang. Continue reading →

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December 21, 1947: ‘Tubby the Tuba’ and Music for Children

Posted on December 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 21, 1947: An ad for children’s records, including Victor Jory reading “Tubby the Tuba.” Continue reading →

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December 21, 1930: Voices — Christine Collins

Posted on December 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 21, 1930: Christine Collins, whose experiences inspired the movie “Changeling,” writes to the warden wishing him a Merry Christmas, even though parole was denied for her husband. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Changeling, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Comments Off on December 21, 1930: Voices — Christine Collins

December 21, 1907: Desperate Girl, Alone and Friendless in L.A., Steals $10

Posted on December 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 21, 1907: Lillian Poelk was new to Los Angeles, with no friends and little more than a job as a waitress that didn’t quite cover the rent of her room at 831 S. Hope. “While other girls were getting pretty things and preparing for a pleasant Christmas, she was shut up in a cheerless room,” The Times said. Continue reading →

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December 20, 1947: Pulp Author Rob Eden Dies | Author of ‘Short Skirts: A Story of Modern Youth’

Posted on December 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 20, 1947: Pulp writer Robert F. Burkhardt dies at the age of 55. Writing as Rob Eden, Burkhardt and his wife, Eve, produced dozens of novels and countless short stories. Continue reading →

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George Hodel: Ask Me Anything, December 2025

Posted on December 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 20, 2025: This month’s Ask Me Anything on George Hodel and Steve Hodel, announcing the Black Dahlia Book Club, coming in January, that will take a long look back at the books and articles written about the Black Dahlia case. Continue reading →

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December 20, 1907: Miracle Doctor Fer-Don Cures Man of 90-Foot Tape Worm!

Posted on December 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 20, 1907: Miracle doctor “The Great Fer-Don” comes to Los Angeles, with ads boasting of his amazing cures. Alas, his health tonic was merely colored water and a felony warrant was issued for him and his wife. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, 1909, LAPD, Medicine, Pasadena, Streetcars | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on December 20, 1907: Miracle Doctor Fer-Don Cures Man of 90-Foot Tape Worm!

December 19, 1941: Japanese Spy Ring Smashed, FBI Says

Posted on December 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 19, 1941: The suicide of Dr. Rikita Honda, who slashed his wrists while in custody at Terminal Island, revealed that he was the director of a vast spy ring, the FBI says.  Honda was head of the Imperial Comradeship Society, which allegedly had 4,800 members in Western states, including California and Arizona. Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Suicide, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , | Comments Off on December 19, 1941: Japanese Spy Ring Smashed, FBI Says

December 19, 1947: Going Down – City Hall Bans Clever Nicknames for Its Floors

Posted on December 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 19, 1947: The elevator operators at City Hall are having too much fun. The call the floor with the entrance to LAPD headquarters “Flatfoot Alley” and the city attorney’s criminal division “Ball and Chain.” The floor for the divorce courts is “The War Department” and “Alimony Alley.” Continue reading →

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December 19, 1907: No, None of It Was His Fault

Posted on December 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 19, 1907: George White isn’t to blame for robbing the Hot Rivet Saloon. He just fell in with the wrong man. And beating up the Army lieutenant, that wasn’t his fault, either. Continue reading →

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December 18, 1947: Jacobowicz Brothers, Orphaned in Holocaust, Arrive in L.A. (Also Turkey Stuffing With Fritos)

Posted on December 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 18, 1947: Orphaned in the Holocaust, the Jacobowicz brothers—Karl, 16, Joseph, 13, and Rudolph, 10—arrive in Los Angeles on the final leg of their journey from Vienna. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Food and Drink, Frightening Food From the 1940s, Immigration, Religion, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on December 18, 1947: Jacobowicz Brothers, Orphaned in Holocaust, Arrive in L.A. (Also Turkey Stuffing With Fritos)

December 18, 1941: Academy Awards Banquet Canceled; Oscars Postponed Due to War

Posted on December 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 18, 1941: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences cancels its annual banquet, due to the war. The awards will be given out later in some informal gathering, Edwin Schallert writes. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, World War II | Tagged , , | Comments Off on December 18, 1941: Academy Awards Banquet Canceled; Oscars Postponed Due to War

December 18, 1907: County Coroner Dead Drunk at Bordello

Posted on December 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 18, 1907: Los Angeles County Coroner Roy S. Lanterman was arrested on charges of being drunk and disorderly at the Navajo, a bordello run by Ida Hastings, 309 Ord St. Hastings called police, who arrested Lanterman. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, 1909, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Photography | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on December 18, 1907: County Coroner Dead Drunk at Bordello