Category Archives: Books and Authors

Black Dahlia: Photos From Black Dahlia’s Scrapbook Sell on EBay for $7,611 in 2003

Posted on January 18, 2019 by lmharnisch

Back in 2003, a few photos from Elizabeth Short’s scrapbook were sold on EBay for $7,611.11 Perhaps they look familiar. I archived the page (it has vanished from EBay, of course) to keep anybody from claiming that they found them … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2003, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Found on EBay, Homicide | Tagged #EBay, 1947, 2003, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, crime and courts, George Hodel, Steve Hodel | Comments Off

A. Victor Segno: How to Live 100 Years – Olive Oil and Distilled Water

Posted on January 18, 2019 by lmharnisch

More wisdom from A. Victor Segno, my favorite L.A. charlatan. Via Archive.org..

Posted in 1903, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts | Tagged 1903, A. Victor Segno, crime and courts, How to Live 100 Years | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: New ‘Evidence’ in George ‘Evil Genius’ Hodel Franchise

Posted on January 16, 2019 by lmharnisch

Black Dahlia breakthrough! Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Let us suppose that there was a mathematician. A retired mathematician who once taught at a major university, who published and received tenure, and retired as a well-regarded member … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, Books and Authors, cold cases, George 'Evil Genius' Hodel, hollywood, lapd | Comments Off

Black Dahlia: Dr. George Hodel, Janice Knowlton and the Black Dahlia Case

Posted on January 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

Aug. 8, 1998: A post on the old usenet alt.news-media by Janice Knowton was the first to publicly link Dr. George Hodel and the Black Dahlia case. At this point, George Hodel was alive but would die in a bit … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1998, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged 1947, 1998, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, George Hodel, Janice Knowlton, Steve Hodel | Comments Off

Jan. 14, 1939: Thousands at St. Vibiana’s Hold Vigil for World Peace

Posted on January 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 13, 1939: About 4,000 worshipers attend a Perpetual Novena for Our Sorrowful Mother at St. Vibiana’s Cathedral. People knelt in the aisles, in the doorways and outside praying for peace and for relief of the poor, The Times says.. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1939, Books and Authors, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Religion, Sports, World War II | Tagged #Carole Lombard, #Claudette Colbert, 1939, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, St. Vibiana's, World War II | Comments Off

Black Dahlia: ‘Definitely Not Betty’ Elizabeth Short’s Family Refutes Hodel Photos of ‘Black Dahlia’

Posted on January 13, 2019 by lmharnisch

The Short family rarely speaks on the record, but in 2003, they were so incensed by Steve Hodel’s “Black Dahlia Avenger” and his bogus claims of photos purportedly showing Elizabeth Short that they issued a public statement through me. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, George Hodel, homicide, lapd, Steve Hodel | Comments Off

Black Dahlia: Are There Any Good Black Dahlia Sites on the Internet? Part 2

Posted on January 12, 2019 by lmharnisch

John Gilmore’s “Severed” was once the most popular book on the Black Dahlia case, although it was eclipsed by Steve Hodel’s seemingly endless series of “Black Dahlia Avenger” books. You may Google “Black Dahlia” while you’re watching “I Am the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD, Wikipedia | Tagged #Severed, #Wikipedia, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, homicide, John Douglas, John Gilmore, lapd, Steve Hodel | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: Here’s Some More Bad Books on the Black Dahlia Case

Posted on January 10, 2019 by lmharnisch

In compiling my list of bad books about the Black Dahlia case, I neglected to mention William T. Rasmussen’s fringe publication “Corroborating Evidence,” which I had forgotten, mainly because it’s so nutty that I won’t even let it in the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Corroborating Evidence, crime and cops, Edward Wayne Edwards, It's Me, John A. Cameron, William T. Rasmussen | Comments Off

Black Dahlia: Are There Any Good Books on the Black Dahlia Case? Oh Dear!

Posted on January 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

“Severed” by pathological liar John Gilmore (d. 2016) was once the go-to book on the Black Dahlia case, but it’s 25% mistakes and 50% fiction. Are there any good books on the Black Dahlia case? No. But there are a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Hollywood | Tagged 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Donald H. Wolfe, George Hodel, hollywood, Janice Knowlton, John Gilmore, Kenneth Anger, Piu Eatwell, Steve Hodel | 7 Comments

Jan. 9, 1945: The Making of ‘The Blue Dahlia’; Paramount Signs Raymond Chandler for Original Film

Posted on January 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 9, 1945: The New York Times reports that Paramount signed Raymond Chandler to write a script. Contrast this with John Houseman’s account of making the film in “Lost Fortnight,” originally published in Harper’s magazine, August 1965, and reprinted with … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, Blue Dahlia, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Raymond Chandler | Tagged 1945, Blue Dahlia, film, hollywood, John Houseman, Paramount Studios, Raymond Chandler | Comments Off

Video: David Blight on ‘Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom’

Posted on January 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

I’m late to the party on this book, but I was pleased to run across a Q and A with historian David Blight of Yale on his new biography, “Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom.” The session, with Princeton professor Eddie … Continue reading →

Posted in 2018, African Americans, Books and Authors, History | Tagged #history, 2018, Books and Authors, David Blight, Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Frederick Douglass | 2 Comments

Victor Segno: ‘How to Live 100 Years’

Posted on January 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

A. Victor Segno is my favorite Los Angeles charlatan. I wrote a feature about him for The Times in 2012.. The entire Daily Mirror post appears on Archive.org.

Posted in 1903, 2009, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts | Tagged A. Victor Segno, beautiful hair, Books and Authors, crime and courts, success wave | Comments Off

Jan. 1, 1945: The Making of ‘The Blue Dahlia’

Posted on January 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 1, 1945: Raymond Chandler writes to Charles Morton, mentioning his original idea for a film. “The Blue Dahlia” would become Chandler’s first original screenplay. To be continued.

Posted in 1945, Blue Dahlia, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged 1945, film, film noir, hollywood, Paramount, Raymond Chandler, the Blue Dahlia | 2 Comments

Jan. 2, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘Reader’s Choice’

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

The old-school newspaper columnists were tough, writing six pieces a week. Six-day-a-week columnists like Matt Weinstock and Paul Coates took it easy by making their Saturday columns a roundup of readers’ letters. In those days, apparently, newspaper columnists received interesting … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Books and Authors, Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Tagged 1959, columnists, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: A Brief History of the Tom and Jerry

Posted on December 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

A recipe for the Tom and Jerry from the San Francisco Call, June 30, 1912. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Over on Facebook, Christopher McPherson asked whether the Tom and Jerry was named for the MGM cartoon … Continue reading →

Posted in 1862, Books and Authors, Food and Drink | Tagged 1862, Books and Authors, food and drink | Comments Off

Dec. 25, 1947: The Times Christmas Poem

Posted on December 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The Times’ front-page Christmas and Easter poems are as forgotten today as their author, James M. Warnack. I’ll leave it to my theological betters to parse … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Obituaries, Religion | Tagged #Christmas, 1947, Easter, film, hollywood, John Warnack, poetry, religion | 2 Comments

Dec. 24, 1947: LAPD Seeks 700 Officers and L. Ron Hubbard Answers the Call

Posted on December 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Dec. 24, 1947 One of the applicants appears to have been future Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Records show that he was fingerprinted Dec. 31, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, LAPD, Religion | Tagged 1947, Books and Authors, L. Ron Hubbard, lapd, religion, Scientology | Comments Off

Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 6 No Connection

Posted on December 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Elizabeth Short contrasted with the unidentified woman found in George Hodel’s photo album. Not at all the same. Here are six reasons Dr. George Hodel did not kill Elizabeth Short that you will need to know before watching the TNT … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Television | Tagged 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, crime and courts, Dr. George Hodel, I Am the Night, lapd, Steve Hodel, Television | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 5 Not a Practicing Surgeon