Author Archives: lmharnisch

Unknown's avatar

About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Suicide note

Posted on June 9, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 9, 1957 Los Angeles James R. Shepard decided it was better to kill himself than be prosecuted for a crime so shameful that it could not be published in The Times. A few hours after  the 32-year-old insurance … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, #gays and lesbians, Hollywood, LAPD, San Fernando Valley, Suicide | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Suicide note

Paul V. Coates–Confidential File

Posted on June 8, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 8, 1957 Maxwell Spencer knows more drunks, habitual and occasional, than most men know sober people. But he is a man of strong constitution. So far, he hasn’t permitted his associations to drag him down the neck of a … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Paul Coates | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates–Confidential File

John Fante file

Posted on June 8, 2007 by lmharnisch

Aug. 8, 1933 The Los Angeles Examiner scooped The Times on John Fante. Read the story from Aug. 7, 1933. Thanks to Richard Schave.  

Posted in art and artists, books, Columnists, Downtown | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Barbershop bombed

Posted on June 8, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 8, 1957 Los Angeles Someday a sociologist at USC (you know who you are) will make a study of the fad of bombing Los Angeles barbershops, which began about 1952 and ended about 1971 with the advent of … Continue reading →

Posted in San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Barbershop bombed

John Fante file

Posted on June 7, 2007 by lmharnisch

Oct. 25, 1953Los Angeles    

Posted in books, Downtown | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on John Fante file

Go calypso

Posted on June 7, 2007 by lmharnisch

Calypso attire for summer

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Go calypso

Museum picketed

Posted on June 7, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 7, 1957 Los Angeles Max Cossak, an abstract artist, hates the modern art on display at the Los Angeles County Museum. He hates the artworks so much that he is picketing a juried show because he believes "the … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Museum picketed

John Fante update

Posted on June 6, 2007 by lmharnisch

Richard Schave, one of my friends from the 1947project, writes that Councilman Herb Wesson has become involved in the situation regarding the John Fante building at 826 S. Berendo, and is seeking a historical marker for the structure. Stay tuned…. … Continue reading →

Posted in @news, art and artists, books, Downtown | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Reunited

Posted on June 6, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 6, 1957 Los Angeles Just in time for Father’s Day, 16-year-old Barbara Davis Chilton was reunited with her dad, whom she had never seen, thanks to a Paul Coates column. Lester Eugene Davis came to the door of … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Reunited

Cop molests girl

Posted on June 6, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 6, 1957 Los Angeles Former vice squad Detective Sgt. Philip Barnes was convicted of molesting a 13-year-old girl, according to The Times. Barnes, of 3811 W. Avenue 41, presented an unusual challenge to prosecutors. Because he waived his … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Cop molests girl

Matt Weinstock

Posted on June 5, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 5, 1957 Municipal collection of combustible rubbish began Monday in a vast area including Hollywood and, human nature being what it is, the results were slightly startling. Householders seized upon the opportunity to get rid of all sorts of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock

TV hypnotizes dog

Posted on June 5, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 5, 1957 Beverly Hills "OK, 261 S. Maple, Beverly Hills. This is the place. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Bloom?" "That’s us." "We’re from The Times. You the folks with the dog that watches TV?" "Yes. Do you want … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on TV hypnotizes dog

Soldier kills woman

Posted on June 5, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 5, 1957 Tokyo Until the moment he pulled the trigger on that day in January, Spc. 3rd Class William S. Girard of Ottowa, Ill., was a just bored 21-year-old soldier with an IQ of 90 guarding a machine … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Soldier kills woman

Paul V. Coates–Confidential File

Posted on June 4, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 4, 1953 Harold Leader is not a man of few words. Or minced words. He is one of a group of persons who are planning, shortly, to start a house of ex-cons in Los Angeles. And he has every … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates–Confidential File

Plane crash kills 4

Posted on June 4, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 10, 1957 Los Angeles The street is quiet and the house is unremarkable. A neighbor’s small collection of emergency vehicles might be the only unintentional clue that something terrible ever happened on Gullo Avenue. The death toll would … Continue reading →

Posted in San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Dust to dust?

Posted on June 4, 2007 by lmharnisch

Richard Schave, one of my friends from the 1947project, writes that the duplex at 826 S. Berendo, were John Fante wrote "Ask the Dust," is slated for demolition. Read more about it here. And here’s a slide show on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Random shot

Posted on June 4, 2007 by lmharnisch

I passed this car — covered with computer keys — on the Golden State Freeway on my way to the site of a Pacoima plane crash. Photograph by Larry Harnisch Los Angeles Times

Posted in San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Asian gang war

Posted on June 4, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 4, 1957 Los Angeles Meet the city's Japanese American gangs: The Black Juans, the Dominators, the Koshakus, the Ministers, the Algonquins and the Little Gents. Unfortunately, The Times wrote very little about them. One exception was a 1970 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957 | 2 Comments

Paul V. Coates–Confidential File

Posted on June 4, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 3, 1957 SUBJECT’S NAME: Lester Eugene Davis. SUBJECT’S DESCRIPTION: Age 42. Height, 6 feet. Weight, average. Light brown hair. Brown eyes. Any person with information as to subject’s whereabouts is requested to contact his daughter, Barbara Davis Chilton, 11812 … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates–Confidential File

Matt Weinstock

Posted on June 3, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 3, 1957An alumnus of a large social fraternity has received a letter from national headquarters in Indianapolis alerting him to a "major crisis in California." Under this particular fraternity’s laws, Negroes and Orientals are not eligible for membership. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock