Category Archives: 1959

Feb. 6, 1959: Matt Weinstock – Looking for the Real ‘77 Sunset Strip’

Posted on February 7, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 6, 1959: The wildly popular Warner Bros. TV show “77 Sunset Strip” has people visiting the location at 8532 Sunset Blvd., next to Dino’s, and writing letters. Lots of letters. Kookie, man. Weinstock’s column was originally published in the … Continue reading →

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Feb. 6, 1959: Paul Coates — Butch Harris Joins Cub Scouts at Last

Posted on February 7, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 6, 1959: Paul Coates writes a happy ending to the Lewis “Butch” Harris saga. This comes after the Sentinel reported a different outcome. Coates’ column originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and was republished on latimes.com in … Continue reading →

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Feb. 4, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘A Taxpayer Votes No!’

Posted on February 5, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 4, 1959: Anecdotes, a poem and some amusing stories. Another light column to finish the day at the L.A. Mirror, courtesy of Matt Weinstock. The column originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and was published on latimes.com … Continue reading →

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Feb. 4, 1959: Paul Coates Visits Americans Jailed in Raid on Mexican Casino

Posted on February 5, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 4, 1959: Paul Coates does more reporting on the case of Americans being held in Tijuana after a raid on a gambling casino in Rosarito Beach. The story originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and was republished … Continue reading →

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Feb. 3, 1959: Matt Weinstock on Pool Sharks, Young and Old

Posted on February 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 3, 1959: Matt Weinstock on difference between looking good on a dinky bar-sized pool table and a regulation table. This post originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and was republished on latimes.com in 2009. It is available … Continue reading →

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Feb. 3, 1959: Paul Coates on Americans Held in Raid on Mexican Casino

Posted on February 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 3, 1959: Paul Coates could dig into real reporting and in this column he is looking at the case of 20 Americans seized in a raid on a casino and held in an unheated city jail in Tijuana  — … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Crime and Courts, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Feb. 3, 1959: The Day the Music Died

Posted on February 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

I’m a day late but trying to catch up. Here’s the Mirror’s front page from 1959. This post originally ran on latimes.com and is available via Archive.org.

Posted in 1959, Aviation, Music | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Feb. 1, 1959: Art Aragon Suspected of Fixing Fight

Posted on February 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 1, 1959: Art Aragon was suspected of winning a fight too easily, and Keith Thursby has the story.. This post originally appeared on latimes.com in 2009 and is available via Archive.org.

Posted in 1959, Keith Thursby, Sports | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

February 1959: Television Recorder! TV Set as Flat as a Picture! Amazing Predictions for the Future!

Posted on February 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This post originally appeared on latimes.com in 2009 and is available via Archive.org. February 1959: Speaking of the future, RCA’s David Sarnoff describes an astounding “television recorder!” “Westinghouse’s Gwilym Price expects [recorded] tapes to reproduce shows in three dimensions … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Education, Futurism, Television | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

February 1959: Burbank Installs Time Capsule

Posted on February 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This post originally appeared on latimes.com in 2009 and is available via Archive.org. Feb. 1, 1959: Burbank installs a time capsule in the “new” Magnolia Boulevard Bridge. It was scheduled to be opened Feb. 5, 2009. This is one … Continue reading →

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Jan. 25, 1959: Boys Admit Burning Baby to Death on Stove

Posted on January 25, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 25, 1959: Do remind me that the past was “a kinder, simpler time.” I think not. Absolutely horrific.. The entire post originally appeared on latimes.com and is available via Archive.org.

Posted in 1959, Homicide | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Jan. 24, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘The Business of Sex’

Posted on January 24, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 24, 1959: Matt Weinstock has an item on an Edward R. Murrow broadcast “The Business of Sex.” Murrow said that “For Los Angeles, even though the arrest figure was 212 for the year 1957, the estimates varied from 3,000 … Continue reading →

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Jan. 24, 1959: Law Delays ‘Alfalfa’ Burial

Posted on January 24, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 24, 1959: One of the best parts of doing the blog at latimes.com was having UCLA and Cal State Northridge interns who, among other tasks, transcribed the Paul Coates and Matt Weinstock columns. Sometimes I transcribed them myself (this … Continue reading →

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Jan. 23, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘Money Well Spent’

Posted on January 23, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 23, 1959: Matt Weinstock covers a speech by Newsweek Washington Bureau Chief Ernest K. Lindley. “Foreign aid is the best money we spend to hold off communism,” Lindley said. The best way to get from Westwood to Burbank by … Continue reading →

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Jan. 23, 1959: Paul Coates — A Plethora of Ceremonial Plaques

Posted on January 23, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 23, 1959: Paul Coates is all (or mostly) in favor of ceremonial honors. On the jump, Bobbie Long is found strangled with a nylon stocking a few feet off a dirt road that runs off Don Julian Road between … Continue reading →

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January 1959: The LAPD’s Pandora Files

Posted on January 23, 2019 by lmharnisch

This was a fun post on Pandora’s (later Pandora’s Box), 8118 Sunset Blvd., that I completely forgot. The material is in the agenda packets of the Police Commission. The club was under the jurisdiction of the LAPD’s Hollywood Division Vice … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Food and Drink, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Jan. 22, 1959: Paul Coates on Another Claim to ‘The Brave One’

Posted on January 22, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 22, 1959: Dalton Trumo (blacklisted and using the name Robert Rich) wrote the script for “The Brave One,” but there was a claim by the widow of Juan Duval. The previous entry is here. Coates’ column was published in … Continue reading →

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Jan. 22, 1969: Musial and Campanella Elected to Hall of Fame

Posted on January 22, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 22, 1969: Stan Musial and Roy Campanella are voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame. Campanella became only the second black player in the Hall of Fame, after Jackie Robinson. This post originally appeared on latimes.com in 2009 and is … Continue reading →

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Jan. 22, 1959: Rams Draft Rafer Johnson

Posted on January 22, 2019 by lmharnisch

Keith Thursby writes: The Rams picked a real winner in the NFL annual draft. Rafer Johnson would become world famous in 1960 by winning the gold medal in the decathlon at the Rome Olympics. He already held the world record … Continue reading →

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Jan. 22, 1959: ‘Our Gang’ Star Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer Dies in Fight Over $50

Posted on January 22, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 22, 1959: Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer is shot to death in a fight with Moses Samuel Stiltz. According to police, Switzer borrowed a dog belonging to Stiltz, then lost the dog. Switzer paid $50 for the return of Stiltz’s dog. … Continue reading →

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