Category Archives: #courts

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 2, 1941

Posted on May 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

  May 2, 1941: “I've yet to see Adolphe Menjou in evening attire sans a boutonniere,” Jimmie Fidler says.

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

CHESSMAN DIES

Posted on May 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

  May 2, 1960: Don Dwiggins of the Mirror News writes: “At exactly 10:03:25, an unidentified guard tripped a lever that sent cyanide pellets dropping into an acid bucket beneath Chessman's seat. “Chessman seemed to tense noticeably, held his breath, … Continue reading →

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Chessman Execution Today!

Posted on May 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Los Angeles Times file photo From left, UC history professor Richard Drinnon; actors Marlon Brando, Steve Allen and Shirley MacLaine; and UC professor Eugene Burdick enter the governor's mansion in Sacramento to urge Gov. Pat Brown to spare the … Continue reading →

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Court Rejects Chessman’s Appeal for Clemency

Posted on April 30, 2010 by lmharnisch

   Trout season opens – and The Times’ Saturday sports cover features a cartoon by Alex Perez.  April 30, 1960: Caryl Chessman’s long fight to avoid the gas chamber is just about over. On the jump: Dick Clark tells a … Continue reading →

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Cannibals Eat Presbyterian Missionaries

Posted on April 30, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 30, 1910: I’ve seen lots of peculiar stories in the old papers, but this is the first account I have ever read of cannibals eating missionaries, in this case the Rev. Horatio Hopkins and the Rev. Hector Laurie … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Religion | 1 Comment

Youth Attacks Girl With Ax

Posted on April 29, 2010 by lmharnisch

  East 45th Street, via Google maps’ street view. April 29, 1910: A mother finds her teenage daughter unconscious and bleeding after being struck in the head, and police question Frank Allen, a “boy of peculiar habits,” who lives next … Continue reading →

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Husband Begs to Be Executed After Killing Wife

Posted on April 27, 2010 by lmharnisch

April 27, 1910: Ernest Wirth begs to be executed for killing his wife, Hattie, by stomping her head to a pulp. He later told jailers: "I have nothing more to live for. They say there is a world after this. … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts | 2 Comments

Beverly Hills Confidential

Posted on April 25, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 25, 1960: Beverly Hills Police Chief Clinton H. Anderson describes the Johnny Stompanato killing in “Beverly Hills Is My Beat.” The book, which also covers the Bugsy Siegel murder,  is readily available via Bookfinder. On the jump, hundreds … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Dodgers, Homicide, Nightclubs, Sports | 1 Comment

The Mysterious Death of Morgan Shiveley

Posted on April 21, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 21, 1910: The Times publishes an update in the curious death of Morgan Shiveley (or Shively),  in which an examination of bloody fingerprints merely deepens the mystery.Charges against the Stones were eventually dismissed and the case was abandoned.

Posted in #courts, Homicide | 3 Comments

Mark Twain Near Death

Posted on April 20, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 20, 1910: Samuel Clemens "has been perfectly conscious and in possession of all his faculties throughout his illness and, weak though he is, frequent flashes of the characteristic wit that made him a unique figure when in health, … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 18, 1960

Posted on April 18, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Southern Lawyer Still Fights for Son     Charles Lee Guy Jr. is a man who takes disappointment with a minimum of emotion.       I learned that 2 1/2 years ago, when I met him for the first time. … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Homicide, Paul Coates | 1 Comment

Sunday Drunks

Posted on April 18, 2010 by lmharnisch

  The Reduso corset reduces measurements of hips and abdomen from one to five inches. April 18, 1910: Police round up 23 drunks on Sunday and the ones who are too intoxicated to give their names have a number stamped … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Fashion, Food and Drink, LAPD | 1 Comment

Voices: Daryl Gates, 1926 – 2010

Posted on April 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

 March 29, 1978: Daryl F. Gates becomes police chief. ( George Holliday / Courtesy of KTLA via Associated Press ) Four Los Angeles Police Department officers charged in the videotaped beating of Rodney G. King on March 3, 1991, were … Continue reading →

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Headstrong Girl Runs Off With Motorcycle Racer

Posted on April 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Pearl Clark, young runaway …  … who climbed out her bedroom window … … and into the arms of Jake De Rosier, French motorcycle racer. Doctors examine the girl after her brief adventure and confirm certain parts of her … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, LAPD | 1 Comment

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 15, 1960

Posted on April 15, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Even Mother Thinks Bev's Been Around     If there was ever any humor in the frenzied escapades of Beverly Aadland and her mother, it's long gone now.     It's buried with the body of William Stanciu, blurred by grim … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Film, Paul Coates | 1 Comment

A Mysterious Prisoner in Jail

Posted on April 15, 2010 by lmharnisch

April 15, 1910: The Times publishes a curious story about a man whom jailers have nicknamed Charlie Cash, inspired in part by one of the incomprehensible phrases he says: “Kush, kush.” He’s an industrious fellow and whenever he’s put on … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 14, 1960

Posted on April 14, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Tijuana Has Tourist Bureau That Works     On Sept. 29 of last year, a flimsy, unimpressive booth was erected at 390 Avenida Revolucion, downtown Tijuana's busiest thoroughfare.  On it was tacked the sign, "Tijuana Tourist Bureau."     It was … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Paul Coates | 1 Comment

Death at the Bimini Baths

Posted on April 14, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 14, 1910: The story is old and the details are fragmentary. Victor Lamar, 15, and Father E.V. Reynolds, a Catholic priest from Oklahoma, met somehow in Los Angeles. Reynolds might have paid Lamar $3 or $4 [$68-$90 USD … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 13, 1960

Posted on April 13, 2010 by lmharnisch

  In a photo taken by guest Bob Profeta during a party at their Hollywood apartment, Florence Aadland, left, scuffles with her 17-year-old daughter, Beverly, during an argument over whether the television was too loud. You may recall that Beverly … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Paul Coates, Photography | 1 Comment

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 12, 1960

Posted on April 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

Barbara Stanwyck’s Son Thinks It Over Hollywood kids have a habit of making headlines the hard way. Some — like Barbara Burns, Eddie Robinson Jr. and Cheryl Crane — started precociously in their teens. Others — Dennis Crosby and Diana … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Front Pages, Paul Coates | 3 Comments