Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

December 17, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on December 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

We Have Living Dead Living in Red China Historically, war is a cold fact of life. And one of its most terrifying aspects is that some men conscripted by their nations to fight are swallowed up and lost in its … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Front Pages, Homicide, Paul Coates, Richard Nixon | Comments Off on December 17, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on December 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

    Dec. 17, 1954: Otto Preminger would like to team up Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge after “Carmen Jones,” but “Porgy and Bess” is tied up.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Gangster Killed in Ambush

Posted on December 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

  Gov. Brown cites a projected $70-million surplus, says he'll propose no new taxes. Fred Whalen admits hitting Tony Reno, who was sitting with Mickey Cohen at Rondelli's restaurant when Whalen's son, Jack, was killed.   Dean “The Love Bug” … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Homicide, Sports | Comments Off on Gangster Killed in Ambush

A Renaissance in Filmmaking

Posted on December 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

  An ad for "Strictly Confidential" says, “Renaissance of Motion Pictures: Goldwyn has reclaimed the motion picture from the moneymaking mechanics of industry and restored it to its pedestal as one of the greatest arts. Masterful craftsmanship in direction, absolute … Continue reading →

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Man Who Was Declared Dead Returns After 10-Year Absence

Posted on December 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

The Christian Scientist Church in Pasadena, designed by Franklin P. Burnham.    Franklin P. Burnham also designed the Georgia State Capitol and many civic buildings in Southern California.     Dec. 17, 1909: Henry E. Christopher returns to Fresno after … Continue reading →

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Matt Weinstock, Dec. 16, 1959

Posted on December 16, 2009 by lmharnisch

  Thought-Wave Arrest     While making a routine inspection of a Sunset Blvd. tavern, Jack Zumstein and Adolphus Miles, supervising public health sanitarians (yes, that's the correct title), were heckled by a customer who clearly had overindulged.     When they … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Dec. 16, 1959

Posted on December 16, 2009 by lmharnisch

Mother Wants Probe on Case of Missing GI The U.S. government says that Donald Sybrant is dead.  It lists him as one of the 142,000 casualties of the Korean war.It first reported him missing in action on Nov. 30, 1950, … Continue reading →

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A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on December 16, 2009 by lmharnisch

  Dec. 16, 1953: “Sam Fuller has about finished writing a screen story that begins where "Mogambo" leaves off. Some of the African scenes about which he told me were hair-raising. What a character Sammy is! Dynamic, forceful and fearless. … Continue reading →

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Shooting Victim’s Father Accused of Seeking Revenge

Posted on December 16, 2009 by lmharnisch

  Tony Reno says he was attacked by Fred Whalen, the father of shooting victim Jack “the Enforcer” Whalen. Dec. 16, 1959: Vice President Richard Nixon holds a wide margin among Republican voters over all other GOP contenders in the … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Homicide, Mickey Cohen, Richard Nixon | Comments Off on Shooting Victim’s Father Accused of Seeking Revenge

Nuestro Pueblo

Posted on December 16, 2009 by lmharnisch

2215 Long Beach Ave., via Google maps’ street view. Sept. 16, 1938: Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens visit 2215 Long Beach Ave. Note: The original run of Nuestro Pueblo ended in 1939. I’m going back and picking up the ones … Continue reading →

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World’s First Wireless Phone?

Posted on December 16, 2009 by lmharnisch

  Texting is next!  Dec. 16, 1909:  The Times reports that disagreement over education and missionaries has been resolved on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. “The ruling faction at Oraibi is well content to be included in the progress of … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion, Science, Web/Tech | Comments Off on World’s First Wireless Phone?

The healer

Posted on December 15, 2009 by lmharnisch

  Sept. 20. 1957, Los Angeles Tent revivals are nothing new in Los Angeles–they have been going on for a century. But by any standards, Oral Roberts’ crusades were sensational events. The televangelist staged his first Southern California revival from … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Matt Weinstock, Dec. 15, 1959

Posted on December 15, 2009 by lmharnisch

Censorship Reverberations     The action of Principal Walter Larsh of Venice High School in banning "The New Pocket Anthology of American Verse" from an 11th grade English classroom is reverberating among teachers.     The book, available at drugstores and newsstands … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Dec. 15, 1959

Posted on December 15, 2009 by lmharnisch

  That Limp-Brain Gang Is on the Loose Again     Last week, late one afternoon, a ringing phone snapped the quiet of a typical home in this town.     The man of the house, who had just come in from … Continue reading →

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A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on December 15, 2009 by lmharnisch

  Dec. 15, 1952: A clipping from the Indianapolis Star tells of the dispute over Charlie Chaplin that rocked the Art Institute there. Mrs. C.B. LaDine, chairman of Americanism and Civil Defense Committee, took on John E. Brown, curator of … Continue reading →

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Location Sleuth

Posted on December 15, 2009 by lmharnisch

Buster Keaton in “The High Sign.” I’ve been going through a Buster Keaton phase on Netflix and in watching “The High Sign,” I noticed this merry-go-round in the opening of the film. I got to wondering where it was – … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Parks and Recreation | 7 Comments

Matt Weinstock, Dec. 14, 1959

Posted on December 14, 2009 by lmharnisch

Rubbish Crisis A frantic call came into the county sanitation office recently from Redondo Beach.  A resident there, in placing some discarded clothing in a rubbish disposal bin, had included an old shoe containing $5,000.     "Don't let them cover … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Dec. 14, 1959

Posted on December 14, 2009 by lmharnisch

  Hey, it's Christian Brando! Raul Bernal: 'He's a Miracle'     Over a taco, I sat down with Java Joe the other day.      "It used to be," he was saying, "problems like I got now would throw me.  But … Continue reading →

Posted in Caryl Chessman, Columnists, Parks and Recreation, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Dec. 14, 1959

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on December 14, 2009 by lmharnisch

   Dec. 14, 1951: Bob Mitchum says, “I haven’t anything else to hock!”

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Iran Welcomes President Eisenhower

Posted on December 14, 2009 by lmharnisch

  Elizabeth Taylor is out of the hospital … And The Times prepares to announce its Women of the Year.  Teresa "Terry" Kincheloe, 6, is learning "the domestic arts." She likes to dry the dishes, helps her mother in the … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide, Politics, Sports | 1 Comment