Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

April 21, 1908: Dispute Over Black and White Children Playing Together Turns Deadly

Posted on April 21, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 21, 1908: In Memphis, a quarrel between women over Black and white children playing together leads to a fight and then a shooting. And a crackdown on sending birth control information through the mail. Continue reading →

Posted in 1908, Abortion, African Americans, Countdown to Watts, Front Pages, health, Homicide, Politics | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on April 21, 1908: Dispute Over Black and White Children Playing Together Turns Deadly

April 20, 2008: Club Mecca Firebombing Victims Remembered

Posted on April 20, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 20, 2008: Remembering the victims of the Club Mecca Firebombing. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1957, Homicide, LAPD | Comments Off on April 20, 2008: Club Mecca Firebombing Victims Remembered

April 20, 1959: It’s a Woman’s World — Auto Mechanic

Posted on April 20, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 20, 1959: Meet Mrs. Roy Harper, a trained auto mechanic who helps run her husband’s auto garage, where she is apparently a service writer and specializes in carburetors. But the Los Angeles Times assures readers that she’s still ladylike and prefers “high heels and chic clothes” to dirty coveralls and tools in the hip pockets. Continue reading →

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April 20, 1908: Great White Fleet Draws Huge Crowds, Overwhelming Capacity

Posted on April 20, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 20, 1908: The Great White Fleet draws huge crowds, overwhelming rail service to Long Beach, San Pedro, Redondo Beach and Venice. If there were a Militant Angeleno in 1908, he would have been there! Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 20, 2026 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have a mysterious surgical team. Continue reading →

Posted in 1973, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

1944 in Print — Hollywood by Sidney Skolsky, April 15, 1944

Posted on April 15, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 15, 1944: Theater owners gripe about films they are showing. Sample: “My patrons like corn, green, ripe, in muffins, cans or jugs, and I simply have got to give it to them and that’s what they are going to get from now on. This picture business is getting me, or has it got me?” Continue reading →

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April 15, 1908: Accused Wife Killer Says ‘Everything Went Black’

Posted on April 15, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 15,1908: Quong Wai, who is fighting a deportation order, says he is an American born in San Francisco. He says immigration officers arrested him at a streetcar station without reason. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1908, Front Pages, Homicide, Music | Tagged | Comments Off on April 15, 1908: Accused Wife Killer Says ‘Everything Went Black’

Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, April 2026

Posted on April 14, 2026 by lmharnisch

In this session of the Black Dahlia Ask Me Anything, I address some of the claims in Michael Connelly’s 10-part podcast “Killer in the Code,” claiming a solution in the Black Dahlia and Zodiac cases. Continue reading →

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April 11, 1958: Johnny Stompanato inquest

Posted on April 13, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 11, 1958: The Mirror publishes excerpts from the inquest of Johnny Stompanato. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1958, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on April 11, 1958: Johnny Stompanato inquest

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 13, 2026 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have a mysterious woman who does not approve of such goings-on. Continue reading →

Posted in 1950, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 24 Comments

April 13, 1908: Dr. Hoffman’s Nerve Syrup Cures ‘Fits’

Posted on April 13, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 13, 1908: Dr. Hoffman’s “Nerve Syrup” has a pleasant taste and cures epilepsy, St. Vitus Dance and nervous trouble. What exactly is in it? The ad isn’t saying. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood’s Salute to Atmosphere – The Afton Arms

Posted on April 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory writes about the Afton Arms Apartments in an encore post from 2019. Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

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

Posted in 1964, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , | 32 Comments

Johnny Stompanato, RIP

Posted on April 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 5, 1958: Cheryl Crane fatally stabs Johnny Stompanato at the home of Lana Turner, 730 N. Bedford Drive, Beverly Hills. Continue reading →

Posted in 1958, Front Pages, Homicide, Mickey Cohen | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

April 2, 1908: Great White Fleet Out of Tunes, Seeks Songs in the Key of Sea

Posted on April 2, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 2, 1908: Sailors of the Great White Fleet are tired of the same old songs and want something new to sing, maybe “I’m Afraid to Go Home in the Dark.” Continue reading →

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April 1, 1938: Herbert Hoover on the Rise of Fascism in Europe

Posted on April 1, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 1, 1938: Herbert Hoover on the the status of Europe: “The Fascist form of government is today a raging power. Its acts are being rationalized into a philosophy. It has now embraced a sort of mysticism based on theories of racialism and nationalism. It is becoming a militant ideology. It does not hold within its original boundaries.” Continue reading →

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Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is April 14

Posted on March 31, 2026 by lmharnisch

Reminder: The Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case is a week later than usual, April 14, 2026, at YouTube.com/LMHarnisch at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Black Dahlia Book Club, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is April 14

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywoodland Opens March 31, 1923

Posted on March 31, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 31, 1923: Hollywoodland opens in the Hollywood Hills, a Mary Mallory encore from 2022. Continue reading →

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March 31, 1908: Traveling Blacksmith Shoes Fire Department Horses

Posted on March 31, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 31, 1908: A traveling blacksmith shoes the Fire Department’s horses, rather than taking the horses to the farrier. The last fire horse, Blackie, retired in 1923 and spent the rest of his life at Griffith Park, where he died in 1939. Continue reading →

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March 30, 1958: Nancy Joins the Baseball Team?

Posted on March 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 30,1958: Ernie Bushmiller, a feminist? Continue reading →

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