Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Paul Coates

Posted on February 27, 2008 by lmharnisch

Feb. 27, 1958 This is a story that never ends. It started two years ago when a man in his early 20s came into my office. He had a problem: Heroin. He’d had it for three or four years. He … Continue reading →

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William F. Buckley, RIP

Posted on February 27, 2008 by lmharnisch

May 6, 1962 Aug. 19, 1963 Dec. 2, 1963   Jan. 1, 1965 June 19, 1967 Jan. 8, 1969   Dec. 12, 1969  

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Feb. 27, 1958

Posted on February 27, 2008 by lmharnisch

A wayward blimp … A "short, swarthy man" and his partner menace a Pasadena matron (and no, The Times never followed up on this story) … Nixon knows what to do if something happens to Ike … Email me

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Raymond bombing

Posted on February 27, 2008 by lmharnisch

Feb. 27, 1938Los Angeles It’s Sunday in Los Angeles, time for the funnies, like "Smokey Stover," one of the most eccentric American comic strips.  Above, Crenshaw Boulevard and Vernon Avenue. Today, we would probably call this area Leimert Park …  … Continue reading →

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Feb. 27, 1908

Posted on February 27, 2008 by lmharnisch

An interesting slice of life in Los Angeles a century ago: If you have ever seen old pictures of downtown you know the significance of the story about removing excess utility poles. The streetscapes in the old days were a … Continue reading →

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Matt Weinstock

Posted on February 26, 2008 by lmharnisch

Feb. 26, 1958 After a hard day at the office, two fellows named Bob and Mike like to drop into a Hill Street dive for a cooling draught, to brood, to contemplate the infinite or merely to read THE evening … Continue reading →

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Paul Coates

Posted on February 26, 2008 by lmharnisch

Feb. 26, 1958 The ghouls never die. Not in L.A., they don’t. They fade away, lay low, sometimes. But always they come back–with new schemes as fantastic as they are sadistic. They dedicate their lives to devising profitable little plots … Continue reading →

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An urge to kill

Posted on February 26, 2008 by lmharnisch

Feb. 26, 1958Stanford Thomas was handsome, clean-cut, 19-year-old sophomore on the tennis team at Stanford, where his father had gone to college and was a prominent alumnus. He lived at 248 Edlee Ave., across the street from Mr. and Mrs. … Continue reading →

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Raymond bombing

Posted on February 26, 2008 by lmharnisch

Feb. 26, 1938Los Angeles Above, now playing at the Mason Opera House. Below, Harry Raymond’s wife identifies Police Capt. Earle Kynette as a prowler she saw near their garage before the bombing that nearly killer her husband … Charges of … Continue reading →

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Japan attacks L.A.?

Posted on February 26, 2008 by lmharnisch

Feb. 26, 1942Los Angeles Above, suspicious Japanese Americans are rounded up after the great battle of Los Angeles. Yes, it was a false alarm that left parts of the city peppered with unexploded ordnance. A special thanks to my colleague … Continue reading →

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Matt Weinstock

Posted on February 25, 2008 by lmharnisch

Feb. 25, 1958 Everyone, it seems, is trying to write television scripts, but Al Blake hadn’t given it a thought until a friend called him one day and said, "Al, I’m in an awful fix. I’ve got a job as … Continue reading →

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Paul Coates

Posted on February 25, 2008 by lmharnisch

Feb. 25, 1958 The biggest hero is often the last heralded. He acts with such quiet, automatic efficiency that he destroys the drama of his own actions. He remains anonymous, unknown and unthanked for his service. Today I have a … Continue reading →

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Voices, Frank Heller

Posted on February 25, 2008 by lmharnisch

Photograph by the Los Angeles Times Frank Heller and Linda Mintz in a photograph published Nov. 11, 1958, in The Times. Frank Heller was a defense attorney for Linda Mintz, the housekeeper charged with beating her employer Thelma Macomber to … Continue reading →

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Mystery photo

Posted on February 25, 2008 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Jack Gaunt / Los Angeles Times OK, who’s the blond with Mickey Cohen? (No, it’s not Walter O’Malley). Candy Barr? (Two people). Nope, Candy Barr looks like this. The Daily Mirror doesn’t do reruns! LaVonne Cohen? Sorry, no. … Continue reading →

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Feb. 25, 1958

Posted on February 25, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, a profile of William Alland, who played the reporter tracking down the life of "Citizen Kane" and in his final years worked for the Los Angeles Times poll. Below, A race car plows into a crowd of spectators at … Continue reading →

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Feb. 26, 1938: ‘Snow White’ Inspires ‘Dopey’ Dance

Posted on February 25, 2008 by lmharnisch

  A dance that apparently didn’t catch on … Below, Police Chief James Davis testifies before the Los Angeles County Grand Jury in the Harry Raymond bombing … And the grand jury considers indictments on charges that a bookmaking syndicate … Continue reading →

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Feb. 25, 1908

Posted on February 25, 2008 by lmharnisch

An "instantaneous heater" explodes while a man is taking a bath and the fire destroys much of the home at 1201 W. 7th. … A fire caused by crossed wires in the attic destroys a home at 2659 Ellendale Place … Continue reading →

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Feb. 24, 1958

Posted on February 24, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, a souvenir of the ETAOIN SHRDLU era. Below, what may be the last time Gisele Mackenzie got an eight-column, Page 1 headline … President Eisenhower goes golfing …  The abduction and shooting of Gerald De La O and George … Continue reading →

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Feb. 24, 1938

Posted on February 24, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, W.C. Fields at the Paramount … Below, life and death … A baby is revived after being found in a fishpond, and two young men are killed in the crash of a small plane … Police Capt. Earle Kynette … Continue reading →

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Feb. 24, 1908

Posted on February 24, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, the first paparazzi … With a headline in dialect, no less … Below, a nighttime intruder doesn’t suspect the woman of the home sleeps with a .32 under her pillow … 19 African Americans are arrested in a raid … Continue reading →

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