Category Archives: Comics

September 13, 1963: Woman’s Body Found Behind Wall in Highland Park Home

Posted on September 13, 2026 by lmharnisch

September 13, 1963: Joseph Lewis of Highland Park wasn’t terribly concerned when his wife, Anna, disappeared. It was only when her daughter returned from vacation that police were notified. Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Suicide | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

September 12, 1947: L.A. Times Columnist Lee Shippey

Posted on September 12, 2026 by lmharnisch

September 12, 1947: Times columnist Lee Shippey writes about four women (gasp) who invaded the sanctum of the Zamorano Club! And a mini biography of Shippey (I failed to mention that he was blind, though he rarely talked about it). Continue reading →

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September 12, 1944: Wife Stabs Venice Man to Death

Posted on September 12, 2026 by lmharnisch

September 12, 1944: September 12, 1944: Charles Holdren, 45, lived at 1515 Trolleyway, Venice, with his wife, Ellen, and daughters from a previous marriage. He worked as a fish cutter and after Charles and Ellen had spent Sunday drinking heavily, he decided to go to bed. Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

September 10, 1947: In Love but Unable to Marry First Cousin, 17, Man Shoots Himself

Posted on September 10, 2026 by lmharnisch

September 10, 1947: David Everett, a 30-year-old mechanic, is in critical condition at Torrance General Hospital after shooting himself in the head and neck in despondency over his frustrated love for his 17-year-old first cousin Janet. And yes, she lives in a trailer park. Continue reading →

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August 30, 1953: Barbara Graham Defense Wins Delay After Prosecution Bombshell

Posted on August 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 30, 1953: Judge Charles Fricke grants a delay to attorneys for Barbara Graham after the prosecution discloses a recorded conversation between Graham and an undercover police officer. Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on August 30, 1953: Barbara Graham Defense Wins Delay After Prosecution Bombshell

1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, August 26, 1944

Posted on August 26, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 26, 1944: William Bendix repays a loan from his father-in-law by setting up a hardware store for him, Louella Parsons says. Virgo: Put today in your happy medium column. Continue reading →

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August 23, 1947: Sartre’s ‘No Exit’ Opens in L.A.

Posted on August 23, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 23, 1947: L.A. Times critic Philip K. Scheuer reviews Sartre’s “No Exit.” I imagine this is where Existentialism, the philosophy evolved by Playwright Sartre, comes in. In a world without God, man is answerable to himself for what he is and does. It is as close as I am able to approach the Sartre creed at this moment of deadline. Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, Aug. 22, 1944

Posted on August 22, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 22, 1944: “Citizen Tom Paine” will be a story of the Revolution, but won’t go into his religious beliefs nor his tendency toward atheism, Louella Parsons says. Leo: The sort of day on which your talents should shine. Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, July 25, 1944

Posted on July 25, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 25, 1944: Loretta Young and Col. Tom Lewis have not bought “Bugsey” Siegel’s mansion. Too expensive, they decided, and the baby, due in a month, will have its first nursery in the house where they now live, Louella Parsons says. Continue reading →

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June 4, 1941: Burbank Man Invents Death Ray!

Posted on June 4, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 4, 1941: A Burbank man claims to have invented a death ray that will kill rabbits at 100 yards. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1941, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Death Rays, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on June 4, 1941: Burbank Man Invents Death Ray!

May 19, 1939: Soldier Killed, Hundreds Hurt in Holy Land Riots

Posted on May 19, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 19, 1939: A British soldier is killed and at least 200 are injured by rioting in the Holy Land as Jews protest Britain’s plan for Palestine. Also a talking pelican with a machine gun. Continue reading →

Posted in 1939, Comics, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Sports, Stage | Comments Off on May 19, 1939: Soldier Killed, Hundreds Hurt in Holy Land Riots

1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, May 13, 1944

Posted on May 13, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 13, 1944: Louella Parsons says that D.W. Griffith is so impressed with Preston Sturges’ “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek,” that Griffith sent Sturges a treatment of Louis Bromfield’s “Up Ferguson Way,” at the insistence of Lillian Gish. Continue reading →

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April 30, 1939: Los Angeles Prepares for Opening of Union Station

Posted on April 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 30, 1939: Los Angeles prepares for the opening of Union Station. Continue reading →

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March 30, 1958: Nancy Joins the Baseball Team?

Posted on March 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 30,1958: Ernie Bushmiller, a feminist? Continue reading →

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February 29, 1932: Body Found in Closet of Vacant Home

Posted on March 1, 2026 by lmharnisch

February 29, 1932: Nailed up in the closet of an unoccupied house at 2318 Pontius Ave.., West Los Angeles, the body of Tomas Moreno (or Towas Morino), 43-year-old Japanese, was discovered yesterday by friends. Continue reading →

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February 8, 1920: Police Arrest Men in Girls’ Garb

Posted on February 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

February 1 and continuing: Police arrest 20 men in women’s clothing during a party at the home of former Mayor Arthur Harper. Continue reading →

Posted in #gays and lesbians, Comics, LAPD | 1 Comment

January 29, 1947: Thief Steals Box of Rattlers From Snake Expert’s Car

Posted on January 29, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 29, 1947: A thief breaks into a car and steals a box containing … three rattlesnakes. Continue reading →

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January 24, 1947: Electrical Engineer Seeks to Unlock Secret of Mind Reading

Posted on January 24, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 24, 1947: An electrical engineer says the answer to mental telepathy might be found in the unexplored frequency band between ultra-short radar waves and the longest waves of light. Continue reading →

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January 23, 1947: Four Held for Trial in ‘Red Hibiscus Murder’

Posted on January 23, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 23, 1947: Four youths are held in the ‘Red Hibuscus Murder” of Naomi Tullis Cook, who was found in a clump of hibiscus bushes next to the men’s restroom in Lincoln Park. Continue reading →

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January 22, 1947: Police Hunt ‘Large Nose Bandit’

Posted on January 22, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 22, 1947: Police hunt “Large Nose Bandit” in bank holdup. Continue reading →

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