Category Archives: Cold Cases

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 8

Posted on October 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

The Herald-Examiner published a photo of Georgette Bauerdorf with a question mark, one of its visual cliches of the 1940s, Oct. 13, 1944. The investigation revealed that the young woman found face-down in the bathtub at 8493 Fountain Ave., was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf: An Unsolved Murder, Part 6

Posted on October 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

El Palacio Apartments, 8491 Fountain Ave., in a photo from the Los Angeles Herald-Express, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library. El Palacio in 2008, as shown by Google Street View. Los Angeles Times, May 10, 1931: El Palacio is … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf: An Unsolved Murder, Part 5

Posted on October 9, 2014 by lmharnisch

Oct. 3, 1942: Abbott and Costello outside the Hollywood Canteen at the opening ceremony, in a Times photo. Cahuenga Boulevard south of Sunset Boulevard, former location of the Hollywood Canteen, via Google Street View.  One of the important locations in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf: An Unsolved Murder, Part 4

Posted on October 8, 2014 by lmharnisch

Jan. 23, 1947: The Herald-Express publishes an article headlined “Werewolves Leave Trail of Women Murders in L.A.” (The obnoxious watermark is so that people who see this image after it has been swiped by Pinterest, skyscraper.com and all the Black … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf: An Unsolved Murder, Part 3

Posted on October 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

Dec. 31, 1944: Major crimes increased in the city of Los Angeles, except for auto theft. Homicides are up 29.5% over 1943. There are many ways to portray 1944 in Los Angeles, when Georgette Bauerdorf was killed. We might talk … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf: An Unsolved Murder, Part 2

Posted on October 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

The crime scene, 8493 Fountain Ave., via The Times Mapping L.A. Project. Surveys have shown that most L.A. Daily Mirror readers live in Los Angeles or at least in Southern California, so the majority will already know this. I’m including … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Homicide | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf: An Unsolved Murder, Part 1

Posted on September 30, 2014 by lmharnisch

The unrecommended reading list. Not shown: Donald Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files,” Scotty Bowers’ “Full Service,” Howard Blum’s “American Lightning,” Wikipedia, etc. These are curious times to be a diligent researcher in Los Angeles history. There is more of Los … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments

Daily Mirror Reader Survey — Georgette Bauerdorf (Updated)

Posted on September 27, 2014 by lmharnisch

Georgette Bauerdorf, from the New York Sun, Oct. 13, 1944, via Fultonhistory.com. In the readers’ choice between “Laura” and Georgette Bauerdorf, the response has been almost universal in favor of looking into the Bauerdorf killing of October 1944. As longtime … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: True Detective, October 1948

Posted on July 11, 2014 by lmharnisch

A copy of the October 1948 issue of True Detective with a cover story on “The Black Dahlia Murders” has been listed on EBay. This is the magazine that got poor old Leslie Dillon in trouble. The article by George … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Donald Wolfe, ‘The Black Dahlia Files’ and a Faked Document (Revisited)

Posted on June 19, 2014 by lmharnisch

Page 198 of Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files.” Someone asked about the fake a document in Donald Wolfe’s “The Black Dalia Files.” Here’s a post I wrote about it on April 14, 2006. Eight years later, I’m still … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: Gloria Swanson Photo Inscribed to Mark Hansen on EBay

Posted on June 13, 2014 by lmharnisch

Here’s another item that is tangentially related to the Black Dahlia case: A photograph of Gloria Swanson inscribed to Florentine Gardens business manager Mark Hansen. Hansen was a small-time operator of movie theaters and news accounts of the Black Dahlia … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: Joseph G. Fickling Memorabilia on EBay

Posted on June 13, 2014 by lmharnisch

An EBay vendor has listed the pilot wings that belonged to Joseph G. Fickling, Elizabeth Short’s onetime boyfriend. Apparently these items were in a storage unit. The vendor has posted a photo of Fickling’s dog tags (not included in the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Found on EBay, LAPD, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: Joseph G. Fickling Memorabilia on EBay

Black Dahlia: My Photos of Elizabeth Short Get Around

Posted on June 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

Some folks on the Internet are quite casual about where they get images. I always watermark mine so that even if someone swipes it, the url is still visible — unless someone crops it out. Here’s a case in point.

Posted in Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Photography | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Black Dahlia: Dr. George Hodel and Soil Test Results … ‘Definitely Not Elizabeth Short’

Posted on June 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

KNBC-TV Channel 4 has finally updated its story on Buster the Wonder Dog finding … something … at the purported Murder HQ of Dr. George Hodel. Let’s review the timeline: On Nov. 9, 2012, the makers of the TV show … Continue reading →

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

Out of the Past: An LAPD Cold Case From 1948

Posted on May 20, 2014 by lmharnisch

The northwest corner of Central and Manchester avenues, as shown on Google Earth. Notice the alley behind the stores. In nine years of blogging about Los Angeles, I have learned that families often launder the past and, understandably, murder is … Continue reading →

Posted in 1948, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Zodiac: Most Dangerous Animal — Oh Not Again!

Posted on May 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

A “true” crime book that was “written in secret” evokes “Black Dahlia Avenger” and it’s intriguing that “The Most Dangerous Animal of All” treads the same territory as Steve Hodel’s “Most Evil.” In case you don’t recall, retired LAPD Det. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

LAPD Parker Center Cop Shop Files: Jane Doe, Sept. 5, 1973

Posted on May 13, 2014 by lmharnisch

Note: Last year I was given a box of news releases, photographs and random pieces of paper from the old press room at Parker Center. I’m gradually posting the material. These are the earrings and the label from a pair … Continue reading →

Posted in 1973, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Black Dahlia: Not for Young Readers

Posted on April 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

Imagine my surprise to find this little gem floating around on the Internet, and I see that I’m a couple of years late. According to Amazon, it’s a 2011 account of the Black Dahlia case for middle school students, although … Continue reading →

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

1944 in Print — Walter Winchell on Broadway, March 8, 1944

Posted on March 8, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 8, 1944 Man About Town Adelaide Norris is crowding Cholly McCarthy off Edgar Bergen’s spacious lap … Those 31 persons rounded up Saturday by the G-Men (for allegedly peddling illegal railway reservations in Florida) tittered at the warning here … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: The Black Dahlia Files and Donald Wolfe

Posted on February 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

While we are on the subject of nonsense in the Black Dahlia case, the Sky Valley Chronicle posted a story yesterday based on Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files.” As many of you may know, this book is so … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Donald Wolfe, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments