Category Archives: Black Dahlia

A Fatal Can of Beans

Posted on January 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 5, 1907 Los Angeles Charles Edward Abbott, 23, of Artesia had lived his entire life in California without seeing snow except on faraway mountains and suggested that Mabel Carter, 28, and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off

Jan. 4, 1947: Angry Sailor Sets Fire to Skid Row Hotel After Being Rolled

Posted on January 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947Project. Jan. 4, 1947: Suppose, for a moment, that you are a 19-year-old mess cook second class stationed in San Pedro. Suppose further that while you are on leave … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, Fires, LAPD | Tagged #Skid Row, 1947, Edward A. Pavlischak, Fires, Harry Fremont, lapd, quote of the day | 1 Comment

The Mayor Departs From His Prepared Remarks

Posted on January 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 4, 1907 Los Angeles Mayor-elect Arthur C. Harper stood before 200 members of the Municipal League and their friends in a dinner at Levy’s who were eager to hear what he … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off

Some Nice Boring Statistics

Posted on January 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 2, 1907 Los Angeles Some diligent soul at The Times dug through the number of marriage licenses and divorces and put together a small story that traced the city’s growth through … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off

Alive!

Posted on January 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Dec. 7, 1906-Dec. 22, 1906, Bakersfield Jan. 1, 1907 Los Angeles For 15 days, miner Lindsay P. Hicks lay trapped by a cave-in that killed his five companions tunneling in a mountain … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Food and Drink, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars, Theaters | Comments Off

Black Dahlia: A Two-Year Update and a Look Ahead

Posted on December 26, 2017 by lmharnisch

The second anniversary of my retirement from the Los Angeles Times coincided with lots of questions prompted by a Fox News piece on Piu Eatwell’s “Black Dahlia, Red Rose.” Even though I had blogged about the book repeatedly, people still … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1947, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, History | Tagged 1907, 1947, African Americans, black dahlia, Books and Authors | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: 5 Reasons Leslie Dillon Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short

Posted on December 22, 2017 by lmharnisch

Leslie Dillon in an undated photo, probably taken in the late 1940s. My inbox is exploding with alerts about Piu Eatwell “solving” the Black Dahlia case by attributing it to Leslie Duane Dillon. Here are five simple reasons that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2017, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, lapd, Leslie Dillon, Piu Eatwell | 5 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Formosa Cafe and Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on December 20, 2017 by lmharnisch

My inbox exploded this morning with alerts about the Black Dahlia and links leading to an essay in the Los Angeles Times by David Ulin, writing about the Formosa Cafe (which he calls “the Formosa” – a gaffe nobody bothered … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Food and Drink, LAPD | Tagged 1943, 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, black dahlia, Elizabeth Short, Formosa Cafe, lapd, unsolved murders | Comments Off

Black Dahlia: The Biltmore Hotel, Ghost Hunting and Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on October 31, 2017 by lmharnisch

I think we have found one presumably young and aspiring reporter who apparently believes in doing absolutely no research whatsoever.

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged #Pershing Square, 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Biltmore Hotel, black dahlia, cold cases, Daily Trojan | 6 Comments

Black Dahlia: YouTube Makeup Tutorials for Halloween – Seriously?

Posted on October 23, 2017 by lmharnisch

Apparently YouTube tutorials on Black Dahlia makeup are a thing. Please reconsider your choices. We think Harley Quinn or Mad Moxxi are much better Halloween costume options rather than dressing up like the victim of a gruesome murder.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged black dahlia, Halloween, Harley Quinn, Mad Moxxi, makeup | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: ‘Horror at the Cecil Hotel’

Posted on October 17, 2017 by lmharnisch

Just a quick reminder, since Investigation Discovery aired the first episode of “Horror at the Cecil Hotel” last night. There is nothing to show that Elizabeth Short (“the Black Dahlia”) ever set foot in the Cecil Hotel. She was last … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Downtown, LAPD, Main Street, Television | Tagged #Main Street, 1947, black dahlia, Cecil Hotel, Hotel Cecil, lapd, Television | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: Piu Eatwell’s ‘Black Dahlia, Red Rose’ – A Name to Remember

Posted on October 10, 2017 by lmharnisch

Donald Freed in Piu Eatwell’s “Black Dahlia, Red Rose.” There are many names and many claims in Piu Eatwell’s new book, “Black Dahlia, Red Rose,” but the most important for our purposes is that of Donald Freed, a very pleasant … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, Books and Authors, cold cases, lapd, Leslie Dillon, Piu Eatwell | 8 Comments

Black Dahlia: Piu Eatwell’s ‘Black Dahlia, Red Rose’ – A Bad Beginning

Posted on October 4, 2017 by lmharnisch

Given the brevity of human life, I don’t plan to do a line-by-line debunking of Piu Eatwell’s upcoming book “Black Dahlia, Red Rose.” Longtime readers may recall my labors over Donald Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files,” which lasted for months. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, Black Dahlia Red Rose, Books and Authors, cold cases, lapd, Piu Eatwell | 11 Comments

Black Dahlia: Asshats on South Norton Avenue — No. 3

Posted on September 27, 2017 by lmharnisch

And in our continuing coverage of people being asshats at the Black Dahlia crime scene, we have today’s entry. Really, folks, does this seem like a good idea? Also: Black Dahlia: Asshats on South Norton Avenue Black Dahlia: Asshats on … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged 1947, asshats, black dahlia, cold cases, lapd | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: Asshats on South Norton Avenue — No. 2

Posted on September 26, 2017 by lmharnisch

Sprawling on the ground at the Black Dahlia crime scene has apparently become a thing. Here’s another asshat. People like this are one reason I quit giving Black Dahlia tours. Also: Black Dahlia: Asshats on South Norton Avenue.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, lapd, Norton Avenue | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: Asshats on South North Avenue

Posted on September 25, 2017 by lmharnisch

Asshats like this are one reason I quit giving tours of the Black Dahlia crime scene. I don’t know which operator was responsible for this tour, but whoever it was, you need to do a better job riding herd on … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, cold cases, lapd, Norton Avenue | 8 Comments

Black Dahlia: Leslie Dillon, Paul De River and the LAPD – Part 5

Posted on September 19, 2017 by lmharnisch

Dr. J. Paul De River analyzes accused killer R. Bernard Finch based on the left and right sides of his face in the Jan. 27, 1960, Herald-Express. In case you just tuned in, we’re exploring some of the topics dealt … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, Black Dahlia Red Rose, cold cases, Joseph Paul De River, lapd, Leslie Dillon | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: Leslie Dillon, Paul De River and the LAPD – Part 4

Posted on September 16, 2017 by lmharnisch

Feb. 24, 1949: Leslie Dillon files a claim against the city of Los Angeles for the LAPD’s massive screw-up in the Dahlia case. And yes, he collected. Dear [redacted], a Comcast user from Spokane, Wash. I’ll say it again: … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, Black Dahlia Red Rose, cold cases, lapd, Leslie Dillon, Piu Eatwell | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: Leslie Dillon, Paul De River and the LAPD – Part 3

Posted on September 14, 2017 by lmharnisch

The Mirror (that would be the other Mirror) jumps on the Dahlia Murder “Solved!” bandwagon. Nobody “enjoys a good murder” as much as the Brits, so we are seeing a wave of publicity for Piu Eatwell’s new book, “Black Dahlia, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, cold cases, lapd, Leslie Dillon, Piu Eatwell | Comments Off

Black Dahlia: Leslie Dillon, Paul De River and the LAPD – Part 2