Category Archives: Cold Cases

The Black Dahlia: Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on January 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

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

Black Dahlia – Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on October 30, 2012 by lmharnisch

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

Posted on September 27, 2012 by lmharnisch

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

Remembering Elizabeth Short on Her Birthday

Posted on July 29, 2012 by lmharnisch

July 29 is the birthday of Elizabeth Short. She would have been 88. I prefer to honor this day rather than the date she was found, Jan. 15, 1947.

Posted in 1924, 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia Exhibit – Leslie Dillon

Posted on May 1, 2012 by lmharnisch

This is one of the 1949 photos of Leslie Dillon displayed in the Black Dahlia exhibit at the Los Angeles Police Historical Society. In case you don’t recall, Dillon is the fellow who contacted LAPD psychiatrist J. Paul DeRiver after … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD, Museums | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Body of Kidnapped Girl Found in Riverbed

Posted on February 4, 2012 by lmharnisch

Feb. 4, 1942: “As Coroner R.E. Williams and his aides bore the pitiful little body, still clad in her gay blue and white striped red school dress, toward town for an autopsy to determine the cause of death, the hundreds … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, A Kinder, Simpler Time, Art & Artists, Cold Cases, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Jimmie Fidler, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

William Desmond Taylor Shot!

Posted on February 1, 2012 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory points out that this is the 90th anniversary of William Desmond Taylor’s death. I did several posts when the Daily Mirror was at The Times: William Desmond Taylor, Mystery Guest | Crime scene photos

Posted in 1922, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged | 7 Comments

Molestation Suspect Questioned in Killing of Girl, 9

Posted on January 25, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 25, 1942: Detectives Harry Fremont and Jack Dwight are questioning Leo M. King, accused of molesting a 5-year-old girl, in the death of Dorothy Lee Gordon. The case of Dorothy Gordon, an African American child who was kidnapped and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Architecture, Art & Artists, Cold Cases, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Nuestro Pueblo, World War II | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on January 16, 2012 by lmharnisch

Photo: 1937 Oldsmobile customized hearse listed on EBay at $7,550. Queen of the Dead – dateline January 16, 2012 •  Singer and actress Betty Jane Rhodes, 90, died on December 26. A radio and recording success as a child, she … Continue reading →

Posted in Cold Cases, Eve Golden, Film, Food and Drink, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Music, Queen of the Dead | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The Black Dahlia at 65

Posted on January 15, 2012 by lmharnisch

Photo: Lobby of the Biltmore Hotel, Jan. 9, 2012, 6:30 p.m. Credit: Larry Harnisch/L.A. Daily Mirror. I wandered over to the Biltmore on Monday night to keep my annual appointment. I’m not compulsive about being there, and I don’t bother … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, Downtown, Film, History, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , | 24 Comments

The Black Dahlia: Biltmore Hotel

Posted on January 11, 2012 by lmharnisch

Photo 1: Biltmore Hotel, Jan. 9, 2012, 6:30 p.m. Credit: Larry Harnisch Photo 2: Biltmore Hotel, 1940s The top photo shows the old lobby of the Biltmore on Monday as it was on the anniversary of the night Elizabeth Short … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Interior Design, LAPD | Tagged , | 19 Comments

Occvpy Mvsevms? (How’s that for a non-SEO hed?)

Posted on October 21, 2011 by lmharnisch

Maura Judkis of the Washington Post writes about a new trend in the Occupy movement: Occupy Museums. Protesters had planned demonstrations Thursday at the Museum of Modern Art, the Frick Collection and New Museum. Philip Boroff and Katya Kazakina of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cold Cases, Museums | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Occvpy Mvsevms? (How’s that for a non-SEO hed?)

Black Dahlia Scavenger

Posted on October 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

“Black Dahlia Avenger” CSI forensics edition! I was in Vroman’s in Pasadena, my favorite independent bookstore, and when I wandered by the “true” crime section, I noticed that Steve Hodel’s “Black Dahlia Avenger” was – rather quaintly, I thought — … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , | 5 Comments

‘Art Along the Hyphen’ Opens at the Autry

Posted on October 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

Image: Latinas in the New World, a new online exhibit.   Dahleen Glanton, writing in the Chicago Tribune, uses the death of the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth to examine the idea that teaching about the American civil rights movement has been … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Art & Artists, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Latinos, Museums | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

This Week on the L.A. Daily Mirror

Posted on September 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: The Hollywoodland Sign. Credit:Hope Anderson @www.underthehollywoodsign.com  On Monday, we have Eve Golden’s roundup of unusual obituaries in Queen of the Dead and Mary Mallory looks at the history of the Hollywood Sign in Hollywood Heights. On Tuesday, join author … Continue reading →

Posted in 1927, 1941, 1943, Cold Cases, Coming Attractions, Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, LAPD, Queen of the Dead | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Silver Lake Hammer Murder – Part 3

Posted on September 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 19, 1941: Valverda Booth visits her husband, Ernest Booth, while he is in custody in the Silver Lake Hammer Murder of heiress Florence Stricker. Is there anything more delightful to the heart of a research drudge than a notice … Continue reading →

Posted in 1927, 1929, 1941, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Libraries | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Silver Lake Hammer Murder – Part 2

Posted on September 16, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 16, 1941: The Silver Lake Hammer Murder turned out to be far more complicated than I expected. This segment looks at the lives of victim Florence Stricker and her husband, Dr. George H. Stricker, up to the time of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Heiress Beaten to Death in Silver Lake

Posted on September 15, 2011 by lmharnisch

2153 Moreno Drive, via Google’s street view. Sept. 15, 1941: The murder house is on one of those narrow, curving streets above Silver Lake Reservoir, 2153 Moreno Drive. Her husband came home from work and found her beaten to death … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Cold Cases, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, World War II | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Voices: Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, 1914 – 2011, Part 3

Posted on August 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

Image: Ed Jokisch retires, Feb. 18, 1972. Retirement cartoons are an LAPD tradition. This is what they looked like in the 1970s. Credit: Ed Jokisch family. This is Part 3 of my interview with the late Ed Jokisch. Note: Toward … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Voices: Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, 1914 – 2011, Part 3

Voices: Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, 1914 – 2011, Part 2

Posted on August 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Capt. Ed Jokisch. Credit: Jokisch family   This is Part 2 of my interview with the late Ed Jokisch.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Obituaries, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments