Category Archives: Countdown to Watts

Dietrich Backs Von Sternberg in ‘Blue Angel’ Lawsuit

Posted on March 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

   March 16, 1960: Marlene Dietrich gives a deposition in Josef von Sternberg’s suit against 20th Century Fox over its remake of “The Blue Angel.” On the jump, a murder suspect kills a hospital attendant after being declared sane … … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, March 11, 1960

Posted on March 11, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Deep South's Constant Sullen Hate, Contempt, Sadism Bared (Second of two articles)     John Howard Griffin became a Negro by choice.     He did it with special pills, ultraviolet ray treatments and vegetable dyes.     And he did it … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Countdown to Watts, Front Pages, Homicide, Paul Coates | 2 Comments

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, March 8, 1960

Posted on March 8, 2010 by lmharnisch

  About Common Folks, Even as Many of Us     For a while yesterday, I felt fine.     I got up on the right side of bed (which in itself is no easy feat for a Monday), showered, talked for … Continue reading →

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Dallas Mob Throws Black Man From Courthouse Window, Drags Body 10 Blocks

Posted on March 4, 2010 by lmharnisch

  March 4, 1910: As a judge watches, a mob seizes accused child molester Allen Brooks, an African American, and throws him from a second-story courtroom, then drags his body 10 blocks before hanging his body from an arch in … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Countdown to Watts | 1 Comment

‘We Don’t Want the Pope Running the Country’

Posted on March 1, 2010 by lmharnisch

“I’d Like to Examine This Young Woman!”   March 1, 1960: Samuel Lubell focuses on Vice President Richard Nixon in his survey of Southern voters and dismisses Democrats' chances, but there's a more complicated portrait of the South buried a … Continue reading →

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Matt Weinstock, Feb. 18, 1960

Posted on February 18, 2010 by lmharnisch

Squaw Valley Squawk       Doubtless it is attributable to crotchety advancing age but the Squaw Valley gymkhana leaves me cold.  So a flock of virile young people are going sliding in the snow.  What does that prove?  Outside of … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Countdown to Watts, Dodgers, Matt Weinstock, Music, Nightclubs | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, Feb. 18, 1960

Illinois Sheriff Battles Lynch Mob

Posted on February 18, 2010 by lmharnisch

Feb. 18, 1910: Drunk driving isn’t illegal – yet! Feb. 18, 1910: Another racial incident erupts in Cairo, Ill., where a mob lynched two men, one African American and the other white, in November 1909. A purse-snatching set off the … Continue reading →

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Defense Nears Close in Finch Case

Posted on February 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times Feb. 16, 1960: Carole Tregoff on the witness stand.   Feb. 17, 1960: Former President Truman predicts that the eventual Democratic nominee will “beat the hell out of Dick Nixon” and African … Continue reading →

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Matt Weinstock, Feb. 16, 1960

Posted on February 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

Father vs. Son     Jimmy, 19, got off to a bad start, no question about that.  His mother took off when he was 7 and there was a divorce.  He started getting in trouble early in his teens.  He was … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 16, 1960

Posted on February 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

Ku Klux Klan Jerks Goofing as Per Usual     This, liberally interpreted, is a progress report.     It concerns the eerie persistence of Hooded Sign Painters Local No. 950, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Charleston, South Carolina.     A … Continue reading →

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Tregoff Sobs on Witness Stand

Posted on February 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

 Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times Attorney Donald Bringgold and Carole Tregoff during a recess in the Finch trial. “Thousands of Dog Teeth!” Unfortunately, the continuation of this story wasn’t microfilmed, so this is all we have. Feb. … Continue reading →

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Nixon Leads Stevenson, Kennedy in Poll

Posted on January 27, 2010 by lmharnisch

Jan. 27, 1960: A letter by the Finch family’s maid to her mother in Sweden recounts a conversation with victim Barbara Jean Finch:  “During the night, Dr. Finch tried to kill Mrs. Finch, who now absolutely wanted to have her … Continue reading →

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Matt Weinstock, Jan. 26, 1960

Posted on January 26, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Patient's Prescription       A doctor who has been overworked treating flu patients came down himself the other day with the old virus.  He was home in bed, sniffing and coughing, when a woman patient phoned through his … Continue reading →

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African Americans Hanged for Assaulting Woman

Posted on January 6, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Jan. 6, 1910: George Reynolds and John Williams of Kansas City are sentenced to hang for assaulting Mrs. W.F. [or W.H.] Jackson, a violinist who was attacked on her way home from performing at a concert. Judge Ralph H. … Continue reading →

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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

December 4, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on December 4, 2009 by lmharnisch

Touhy, Jake Factor, J. Edgar Hoover. Et Al. Roger (The Terrible) Touhy, prohibition era gangland boss who was released from Illinois State Penitentiary last week, is remembered most for his kidnapping of John (Jake the Barber) Factor.  That crime earned … Continue reading →

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Illinois Mob Lynches Two Men

Posted on November 12, 2009 by lmharnisch

   Nov. 12, 1909: A mob in Cairo, Ill., goes on a murderous rampage, lynching a Will “Froggy” James, an African American, and Henry Salzner, who was white. Sheriff Frank Davis tells Illinois Gov. Charles S. Deneen: "The streets are … Continue reading →

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November 9, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on November 9, 2009 by lmharnisch

Those Quizzes Clearly it’s no more possible to control the gags about the quiz show scandal than it is to control the mushrooming scandal itself, and the other day a group of coffee break philosophers of my acquaintance got around … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Countdown to Watts, health, Matt Weinstock | 1 Comment

Deputies Protect Black Suspects From Lynch Mob

Posted on November 4, 2009 by lmharnisch

     Nov. 4, 1909: The daughter of Leonard Dunmore is shot to death while trying to rescue her father from being burned alive. Dunmore was dragged from his home, doused with oil and set on fire over suspicions that … Continue reading →

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Black Soldier Refuses to Pass as White

Posted on October 31, 2009 by lmharnisch

“You don’t have to pass as a Negro in California. If you aren’t black you can pass for anything.” Oct. 31, 1919: A fascinating glimpse of African American life in Los Angeles surfaces in divorce proceedings. A black soldier says … Continue reading →

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