Category Archives: books

Hearing on the Gas House, Part 2

Posted on February 21, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Sept. 8, 1959: This is the second part of a transcript of testimony by “Holy Barbarians” author Lawrence Lipton before the the Los Angeles Police Commission on the Gas House, the Beat hangout in Venice.  Part 1 is … Continue reading →

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The White Man’s Burden

Posted on February 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Feb. 16, 1920: The Times says of “The White Man’s Burden,” “It is a pity that this phrase, popularized by Rudyard Kipling twenty years ago and used to enunciate a great truth, should be in danger of deterioration through … Continue reading →

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Hearing on the Gas House, Part 1

Posted on February 14, 2010 by lmharnisch

     Sept. 8, 1959: This is the first part of a transcript of testimony by “Holy Barbarians” author Lawrence Lipton before the the Los Angeles Police Commission on the Gas House, the Beat hangout in Venice. I’ll be posting … Continue reading →

Posted in books, LAPD, Music, Nightclubs | 2 Comments

The Underbelly of California

Posted on February 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

Christina House / For The Times Richard Rayner at the Festival of Books, 2009 If you have a good memory, you may recall a panel at last year’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on “The Underbelly of California,” moderated … Continue reading →

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Nuestro Pueblo

Posted on February 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Sept. 28, 1938: Charles Owens re-creates a scene he discovered in the Arroyo Seco when he arrived in Los Angeles in 1908 – an outdoor kitchen. The original run of Nuestro Pueblo ended in 1939. I’m going back and … Continue reading →

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Found on EBay – A. Victor Segno

Posted on February 1, 2010 by lmharnisch

  A. Victor Segno sends out a success wave. Note the beautiful hair. Isn’t this great? A. Victor Segno, one of my favorite Los Angeles con men who sent out “success waves” for $1 a month, had his book on … Continue reading →

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Joseph Wambaugh on the ‘Onion Field’ [Updated]

Posted on January 27, 2010 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Don Cormier / Los Angeles Times March 11, 1963: Jimmy Lee Smith returns to the crime scene to reenact the “Onion Field” killing. From left, Sgt. Danny Galindo as Officer Karl Hettinger;  Sgt. G.H. Bates as Officer Ian … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | 2 Comments

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on January 26, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Jan. 26, 1964: Hedda Hopper’s profile of Evadne Baker was far more interesting than I expected. A quick check of imdb reveals that she died Jan. 17, 1995 … but wait. She was born Nov. 27, 1897? That would … Continue reading →

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Diana Barrymore Dies at 38

Posted on January 26, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Nice headline – does that make the nun a college girl? And I guess Kennedy isn’t a headline name yet. Jan. 26, 1960: The trial of Dr. R. Bernard Finch and Carole Tregoff in the killing of Barbara Jean … Continue reading →

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The ‘Onion Field’ Remembered [Update]

Posted on January 25, 2010 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Don Cormier / Los Angeles Times March 11, 1963: Jimmy Lee Smith returns to the crime scene to reenact the “Onion Field” killing with Sgt. G.H. Bates, left, as Officer Ian Campbell; Sgt. Danny Galindo, center, as Officer … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1963, books, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Photography | 7 Comments

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on January 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

     Jan. 22, 1960 – Hedda Hopper says: “Jerry Wald's finally got his "Return to Peyton Place" players all set: Joan Crawford plays the mother-in-law who plans the murder of her daughter-in-law, Carol Lynley, who gets wind of the … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Homicide | 1 Comment

‘Onion Field’ Killing Revisited

Posted on January 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

March 13, 1963, Jimmy Lee Smith reenacts the killing of Officer  Ian Campbell. March 12, 1963:  "Ex-convict Jimmy Lee Smith stood in a Kern County onion field Monday and acted out his version of how an unarmed policeman was slain … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, books, Homicide, LAPD | 2 Comments

Huntington and Folger Compete for Rare Books

Posted on January 19, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Jan. 19, 1920: “When it was announced that Mr. Christie Miller had consigned a portion of his collection of early English literature to Sotheby's in London for sale at public vendue, the whole book-collecting fraternity pricked up its ears, … Continue reading →

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South Pasadena Author Dies

Posted on January 18, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Jan. 18, 1910: The Times publishes an obituary on author Margaret Collier Graham of South Pasadena. Editions of her books may be found at bookfinder.com. Scans of her books are also available at archive.org.

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Eisenhower Demurs on Endorsing Nixon

Posted on January 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

On the frontiers of medicine … Above, a news analysis of President Eisenhower’s refusal to make a formal endorsement of Vice President Richard Nixon in the presidential race. Below, Eisenhower’s comments from the Jan. 14, 1960, Times. The Times announces … Continue reading →

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Library May Remove Books on Making Liquor

Posted on January 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

  William C. De Mille’s “The Tree of Knowledge” and Fatty Arbuckle’s “The Garage” are at the Million Dollar Theatre.   Jan. 16, 1920: With the advent of Prohibition, the library board of directors will discuss removing all books that … Continue reading →

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Steve Hodel to Mark Anniversary of Black Dahlia Killing

Posted on January 14, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Steve Hodel, whose father, Dr. George Hodel, has been turned into a serial killer franchise, will be appearing at the Los Angeles Police Historical Society Museum on Jan. 15, the 63rd anniversary of the killing of Elizabeth Short, nicknamed … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Homicide, LAPD | 3 Comments

Suspect Held in Girl’s Abduction, Killing

Posted on January 14, 2010 by lmharnisch

Art Buchwald talks to Gregory Corso on the rise of the Beats. "This is going to be a great age," Corso says. "I can feel it. If we can only get some beatniks in the armies of the world we … Continue reading →

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Teachings of Mazdaznan Cult Exposed

Posted on January 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

“When a Feller Needs a Friend,” by Clare Briggs. Jan. 5, 1920: The Times quotes the writings of Otoman Zar-Adusht Hanish: "To raise one's vibration and interest it is well to speak sentences on one breath, such as inhaling through … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, art and artists, books, Comics, Religion | 1 Comment

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Jan. 2, 1960

Posted on January 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Mash Notes and Comments "Dec. 22, 1959       "to Paul Coats,     "Paul I am enclosing a sixty dollar money order I wrote out to myself which I want you to hold for me.  My old girl friend of … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Columnists, Countdown to Watts, Paul Coates, Politics | 1 Comment