Category Archives: 1959

Mack Ray Edwards’ Legacy of Grief

Posted on June 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

Note: The Times is reporting that Mack Ray Edwards is a suspect in the 1961 disappearance of 7-year-old Ramona Price outside Santa Barbara. Here’s a 1959 column that Paul Coates wrote about one of Edwards’ victims. Today marks an anniversary that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, 1959, Columnists, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Paul Coates | 1 Comment

From the Stacks – ‘In the Wrong Rain’ (1959)

Posted on June 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

Hope died in the opening lines of “In the Wrong Rain,” and optimism succumbed a few pages later. Duty ground stubbornly ahead for a chapter or two before collapsing as well. Curiosity thumbed randomly through the book and then tossed … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, books, Columnists, From the Stacks | 1 Comment

From the Vaults — ‘Fires on the Plain’ (1959)

Posted on April 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

So far in my ramble through old foreign films, I have done the Holocaust (“Yiddle With His Fiddle”) and incest (“La Mujer del Puerto,”) so imagine my surprise when this week’s entry, “Fires on the Plain,” turned to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Film, From the Vaults, Hollywood | Comments Off

Rock Stars Die in Plane Crash, Feb. 3, 1959

Posted on February 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

[Note: Here's a repost of an item from two years ago… lrh] Ritchie Valens' Roots Los Angeles Times, July 19, 1987 Los Angeles Times file photo Ritchie Valens, 1941 – 1959 By GREGG BARRIOS WATSONVILLE, Calif. — "I still remember … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959 | 1 Comment

Matt Weinstock, Dec. 31, 1959

Posted on December 31, 2009 by lmharnisch

Modern Shepherd It is an era of compulsions. Apparently everyone has had them all along but now it’s considered not only proper but fashionable to express them, no matter in what murky paths they lead. Publicist Doris Hellman, for instance, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

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

December 11, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on December 11, 2009 by lmharnisch

L.A. Justice As Ida Gutierrez, 44, a restaurant cashier, stepped from a 4 bus at Melrose and La Brea last Aug. 26 a woman who got off at the same time grabbed at a half-open package and excitedly accused her … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Food and Drink, LAPD, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

December 11, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on December 11, 2009 by lmharnisch

Youth Bought Death for Nickel a Game I have never met a man who dropped $4,000 pitching pennies, but I guess it’s possible. Because last week I talked to one who estimates that he has lost, in the past … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Paul Coates, Suicide | Comments Off

December 9, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on December 9, 2009 by lmharnisch

Dialing Chessman Francois de Montfort, correspondent for Ici Paris, is in Hollywood having a look at the movie making. As he arrived on the set of “Strangers When We Meet” to interview Kim Novak the other day, he told publicist … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1959, art and artists, broadcasting, Caryl Chessman, Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock, Television | Comments Off

December 4, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on December 4, 2009 by lmharnisch

Half a century hasn’t dulled the tragedy of these Christmas stories. Start With People and Where Are You? Top public relations executives took a long, searching look at themselves and what they referred to as “continuing attacks” on their work … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

December 4, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on December 4, 2009 by lmharnisch

Touhy, Jake Factor, J. Edgar Hoover. Et Al. Roger (The Terrible) Touhy, prohibition era gangland boss who was released from Illinois State Penitentiary last week, is remembered most for his kidnapping of John (Jake the Barber) Factor. That crime earned … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Countdown to Watts, Mickey Cohen, Paul Coates | Comments Off

December 1, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on December 1, 2009 by lmharnisch

A Lucky Man Lee Shippey sat smiling at a table in the Broadway Department Store yesterday, chatting with friends and autographing copies of his new book, his 11th, “The Luckiest Man Alive.” Lee, a glowing, healthy 76, means himself. The … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

December 1, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on December 1, 2009 by lmharnisch

Arab League bans Elizabeth Taylor’s movies! Jerry Lewis at Bat for Actor Robinson Strange guy, Jerry Lewis. I’ve known him for years. I knew him when he was a kid on Broadway, when he had a partner named Martin, and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, broadcasting, Columnists, Front Pages, Paul Coates, Television | 1 Comment

November 30, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on November 30, 2009 by lmharnisch

The Education Race Ever since the Russians launched their first Sputnik there has been a furor in American education. It has been charged that students graduate from high school without a knowledge of fundamentals necessary in today’s society. It has … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Education, Matt Weinstock, Sports | Comments Off

November 30, 1959: Paul Coates – Confidential File

Posted on November 30, 2009 by lmharnisch

Nothing, but Nothing Is Sacred Any More It’s every reporter’s dream to lay aside his battered old felt hat, shred his press card into confetti, turn his World War II surplus trench coat over to the Salvation Army, take his … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Animals, books, Caryl Chessman, Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Nov. 28, 1959

Posted on November 28, 2009 by lmharnisch

Mash Notes and Comment "Dear Paul, "You might remember me. I'm Memphis Weed's singer friend from Hollywood. "Memphis wrote to you once about me and the songs I recorded. You printed his letter and then you … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off

November 27, 1959: Hollywood’s Forgotten Genius

Posted on November 27, 2009 by lmharnisch

Jay Robinson sits in his Bel-Air mansion on Stone Canyon Road. November 27, 1959: Hollywood’s forgotten man sat on the bare floor of his empty mansion. Jay Robinson was alone with the posters of his past. Not long ago filmland … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Film, Hollywood, Sports | Comments Off

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Nov. 21, 1959

Posted on November 21, 2009 by lmharnisch

Mash Notes and Comment "Mr. Paul Coates, dear friend: "About 2 1/2 months ago you called me at 12 a.m. and asked me if I could tell you who was President in 1875. "I didn't … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off

November 20, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on November 20, 2009 by lmharnisch

Drama in Housewife’s Life Is Fraught With I’ve come to the labored conclusion that housewives lead more interesting lives than career girls. This, I’ve done without benefit of polls or surveys. In fact, I’ve even ignored those subtle inferences in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Mickey Cohen, Paul Coates | Comments Off

November 19, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on November 19, 2009 by lmharnisch

Saga of a Guy Who Flipped From Poky “I walk alone,” the voice on the phone told me, more as an apology than as a boast. “With me, it’s habit. I guess I never learned any other way.” The voice … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1959, Columnists, Front Pages, Paul Coates, Transportation | Comments Off