Category Archives: Black Dahlia

Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 5

Feb. 22, 1950: Back for more, eh? Well you won’t be disappointed, because today the Evil Genius bops the maid, but only after she begs him for a little. Yes, really! Who does he think he is, Arnold Schwarzenegger? The … Continue reading

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Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 4

Snoring resumes!!!! And here is, for your continuing boredom, the Non-Smoking Gun, for Feb. 21, 1950. Had enough? The George Hodel files Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3  

Posted in 1947, 1950, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 3

Here’s the third installment of the Non-Smoking Gun for Feb. 20, 1950. Are you bored with this yet? Phone rang 12 times —  No answer! Ellen enters –- turns on radio – Mexican program!!!!! The George Hodel files Part 1 … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, 1950, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, LAPD | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 2

And here is the second installment of the Non-Smoking Gun for Feb. 19, 1950. Can you stand the tedium? The George Hodel files Part 1  

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Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 1

OK, I’m fed up with all sorts of claims about what is in the transcript of the bugs placed at Dr. George Hodel’s house, so I’m going to start posting them, a bit every day. Here’s the first installment, from … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, 1950, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Black Dahlia: Wondering About Buster the Wonder Dog

Then there are the sites that throw out any pretense of skepticism and flatly state that “Buster the Wonder Dog” is solving the Black Dahlia case. Like this one by Debbie Emery for Radaronline.com George ‘Evil Genius’ Hodel on the … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, 1950, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: Publicity Hounds Wag the Dog Over Purported Death Scene

It’s been interesting to watch the news media’s reaction to Buster the cadaver dog’s cavorting at the Sowden House.  Most of the coverage is single-source or two-source reporting with no counterbalance. I haven’t seen any reaction from  the LAPD or … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files

Much has been written about the transcripts of the law enforcement bugging of Dr. George “Evil Genius” Hodel’s house, but the material is actually pretty dull. Here are some sample pages, chosen at random, published in their entirety. There’s more. … Continue reading

Posted in 1950, Black Dahlia, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: Can’t Anybody Get This Story Right?

Writers who are unfamiliar with the Black Dahlia case have a terrible time keeping the facts straight, as shown in the latest coverage by Christine Pelisek in the Daily Beast. There are the common mistakes and one can almost track … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia – Another Good Story Ruined (Updated)

Let me say this again. This photo is a fake. The actual Daily News front page for Jan. 15, 1947,  looks like this.

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

George ‘Evil Genius’ Hodel and the Black Dahlia – Another Good Story Ruined

Look who fell for the fake Daily News front page. Yes, it’s a fake. There are about a thousand things I would prefer to do besides shoot holes in the latest installment of the Dr. George “Evil Genius” Hodel franchise. … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

It’s Jan. 15. Trim your roses

Yes it’s Jan. 15. I remember it very quietly by trimming my roses.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Pray for Me, I’m Going to See ‘Gangster Squad’

I am heading  off to see “Gangster Squad” this morning, not because I expect it to be good, but because I expect it to be very, very bad, as already reflected by the first reviews and the trailers. I have … Continue reading

Posted in African Americans, Black Dahlia, City Hall, Downtown, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Black Dahlia: Another Good Story Ruined

Black Dahlia: 5 Songs for a Famous Murder Victim by “Jef With One F.” The anniversary of Elizabeth Short’s 1947 disappearance from the Biltmore has provoked the usual outpouring of mistakes and nonsense, much of it swiped from Wikipedia (see: … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | 6 Comments

Found on EBay – The Florentine Gardens

A Sept. 16, 1944, photo from the Florentine Gardens – with souvenir lipstick prints – has been listed on EBay at Buy It Now for $25. The lot includes souvenir photos from Ace Cain’s, 1369 N. Western Ave., and the … Continue reading

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Found on EBay – The Florentine Gardens

A photo of a group of happy people at the Florentine Gardens on Sept. 18, 1943, has been listed on EBay. It’s listed as Buy It Now for $8.99. The Florentine Gardens has a connection to the Black Dahlia case … Continue reading

Posted in 1943, Black Dahlia, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Nightclubs, World War II | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Found on EBay – Another Good Story Ruined

A vendor on EBay has listed this AP photo from New York as showing Ralph von Hiltz, the “murderer of Black Dahlia.” (Price: $25.44). This is just another crackpot confession. The Times reported in 1956 that then-Chief of Detectives Thad … Continue reading

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Found on EBay – A 1947 Visit to the Biltmore

A lot of items from the Biltmore Hotel, including a bill for two days in August 1947, seven months after the Black Dahlia killing, has been listed on EBay. This map appears with a booklet titled “Guide to Biltmore Services.” … Continue reading

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Black Dahlia – Another Good Story Ruined

Curbed L.A. has posted a list of some “haunted” locations in L.A., including the Biltmore, where Elizabeth Short was left by Red Manley in January 1947, never to be seen again. The photo, alas, shows the current lobby, which didn’t … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined: The Black Dahlia

Photo: <<Le Dahlia Noir>>  Once again, Elizabeth Short’s bogus middle name appears in a story about the Black Dahlia – proof that mistakes take on a life of their own. In reality, she had no middle name. She was erroneously … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments