Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Council Studies Parking Bans

  Mr. Thorkildsen answers the telephone in the nude.    Jan. 22, 1920: Ninety years ago, the City Council was studying a proposal for no parking zones to ease bad traffic that was impeding streetcar service in downtown Los Angeles.  … Continue reading

Posted in Freeways, Transportation | 1 Comment

Officials Honor Louis Paulhan

   After a boat trip to Santa Catalina Island, Louis Paulhan says he hopes to fly there the next time.   Jan. 22, 1910: Child molester Edward Powelson thanks the judge for sentencing him to 180 days for vagrancy. "Judge, … Continue reading

Posted in #courts, Transportation, travel | Comments Off on Officials Honor Louis Paulhan

Matt Weinstock, Jan. 21, 1960

  Dead: One Subscription               About a year ago Don Hoster, the quixotic photographer, joined a record club.  He was a good kid about it.  He bought the required number of albums and paid for them.     But about … Continue reading

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Jan. 21, 1960

A Little Story with a Big Schnozzola     Some newspaper reporters are frantic.  They run around chasing the big story all the time.     But I’m too old for that.  What I do, I run around chasing little stories.  They’re … Continue reading

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A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

  Jan. 21, 1959 – I think this is the most vitriolic Hedda Hopper column I’ve found so far: “It took some scratching and digging on my part, but I finally learned why Charlie Chaplin settled tax problem — so … Continue reading

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Trial Takes Its Toll

    Jan. 21, 1960: The Mirror's Lee Belser, at right with Otto the clown in a 1958 photo, takes a savage look at how Carole Tregoff’s appearance has changed since she was arrested in the Finch murder case. She said: … Continue reading

Posted in #courts, Homicide | 1 Comment

Finch Defense Attacks Murder for Hire Plot

  Sen. Everett Dirksen (R-Ill.) praises President Eisenhower on the anniversary of his first inauguration, saying that Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon had brought to the country a "deeply inspired" administration "that had reversed the course of government intrusion … Continue reading

Posted in #courts, Homicide | Comments Off on Finch Defense Attacks Murder for Hire Plot

Wife Sues ‘Lounge Lizard’

  “Papa’s Return,” by Clare Briggs.    Jan. 21, 1920: Stanley Carr was “just an ordinary lounge lizard,” Dora Monte testifies in a hearing to have his marriage annulled. “He had absolutely no ambition except to have a good time. … Continue reading

Posted in #courts, Comics | Comments Off on Wife Sues ‘Lounge Lizard’

Final Cheers for Aviators

  On the final day of the Aviation Meet, promoters staged a tableau of transportation that included an airplane and Ezra Meeker’s wagon, drawn by oxen.   In the twilight of the last day, balloonists set an altitude record of … Continue reading

Posted in Hollywood, Transportation | Comments Off on Final Cheers for Aviators

Matt Weinstock, Jan. 20, 1960

  Nobody's Home     A lady I know received two warning calls in quick succession the other day from neighbors.  Their breathlessness message: "Don't answer the door — the tax assessor's on the way to your house!"  The second neighbor … Continue reading

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Homicide, Matt Weinstock, Religion | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, Jan. 20, 1960

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Jan. 20, 1960

[Note: You may remember reading about Glynn Wolfe in regard to the Black Dahlia case—lrh] Dames Cheaper in Dozen Lots?     He was a farm-boy, and she was a farm-girl, and they were 18.  And it was that time of … Continue reading

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A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

  Jan. 20, 1958: Hedda Hopper says John Wayne’s next movie will be a western called “Warlock.” Well, not quite. It actually stars Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda and Anthony Quinn.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Man Says Woman Paid Him to Kill Lover’s Wife

The killer was supposed to say: “Tell her this is from Bernie!” The witness said he was “drinking heavily that day.” Jan. 20, 1960: “A suave and smooth-talking convict testified yesterday that Carole Tregoff hired him to kill Mrs. Barbara … Continue reading

Posted in #courts, Homicide | Comments Off on Man Says Woman Paid Him to Kill Lover’s Wife

Nuestro Pueblo

    Sept. 19, 1938: Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens visit 211 W. 2nd St., close to home! Note: The original run of Nuestro Pueblo concluded in 1939. I’m picking up entries that I missed the first time around.

Posted in Architecture, art and artists, Downtown, Food and Drink, LAPD, Nuestro Pueblo | Comments Off on Nuestro Pueblo

35,000 Gallons of Wine Dumped in Sewer

“Somebody Is Always Taking the Joy Out of Life,” by Clare Briggs. Jan. 20, 1920:  U.S. revenue officers pour 35,000 gallons of wine – the entire stock of the North Cucamonga Winery — into the sewer to enforce new Prohibition … Continue reading

Posted in #courts, Comics, Food and Drink | Comments Off on 35,000 Gallons of Wine Dumped in Sewer

The God of War Takes to the Air

Men on horseback watch Glenn Curtiss take off. A deputy on horseback acts as a judge on the race course, making sure that fliers go around one of the pylons. Aviation Week inspired several topical ads, including one for pianos, … Continue reading

Posted in Transportation | Comments Off on The God of War Takes to the Air

Found on EBay – Santa Fe Station

This postcard showing the Santa Fe railroad station, which was superseded by the opening of Union Station in 1939, has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $4.95.

Posted in Architecture, Transportation, travel | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Santa Fe Station

Matt Weinstock, Jan. 19, 1960

  Mass Hysteria     No one knows how it started but one day last week the rumor swept through an L.A. junior high school that the Russians were going to drop an atom bomb on the city at noon.        … Continue reading

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Jan. 19, 1960

  Son's Not Quite Like Dad, but He's a Todd     Hollywood, U.S.A. — The shadow of a showman slipped into town this week.     His name was Mike Todd, with a Jr. tacked on the end, and he came … Continue reading

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Homicide, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Jan. 19, 1960

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

  Jan. 19, 1957: Hedda Hopper writes that Elvis Presley has "taken the entire top floor of the Knickerbocker Hotel to house himself and his pals he brought with him from Tennessee. I asked if there were any girls along. … Continue reading

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist