Category Archives: Crime and Courts

Millennial Moment: Church Officials Killed

Posted on November 9, 2012 by lmharnisch

Nov. 9, 1982: Patrick James Henneberry and George Peters, leaders of the purported Church of Naturalism, were beaten to death with a blunt instrument and shot at close range on the Laurel Canyon estate on Woodstock Road leased by the … Continue reading →

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Errol Flynn Set for Trial in Sex With Underage Girls

Posted on November 7, 2012 by lmharnisch

Nov. 7, 1942: Pursuing British mobile forces, equipped with big American-made Gen. Sherman tanks, have overtaken some of the remnants of Marshal Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps in the Matruh region of Western Egypt “and are steadily chopping them to pieces,” … Continue reading →

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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

Lon Chaney’s Ghost Haunts Hollywood and Vine!

Posted on October 26, 2012 by lmharnisch

Oct. 26, 1942: Rosetta (D. 1958) and Vivian (D. 1986) Duncan appear in “Topsy and Eva,” a musical version of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” a musical comedy in which they first appeared in San Francisco in the 1920s. The Duncan sisters … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, African Americans, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Feuding Women Sentenced to 90 Days in Same Jail Cell

Posted on October 24, 2012 by lmharnisch

Oct. 24, 1942: Yetta Furst of 2208 Sheridan St. and Anna  Rubenstein of 2214 Sheridan St. had been feuding for 20 years and had been charged with disturbing the peace. Municipal Judge Ida May Adams sentenced them to  90 days … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Crime and Courts, Film, World War II | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Gang Blamed in Riot at Glendale Carnival

Posted on October 19, 2012 by lmharnisch

Oct. 19, 1942: Members of the Van Nuys “Chain Gang” are blamed for a riot that broke out at a carnival in Glendale, leaving one man near death from stab wounds and five others injured. About 30 members of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Religion, World War II | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Millennial Moment: Hit Man Says Car Dealer Belongs to Mafia

Posted on October 18, 2012 by lmharnisch

Oct. 18, 1980: In one of the more unusual revelations in testimony by admitted hit man Jimmy “the Weasel” Fratianno, El Monte Toyota dealer Dominic Longo (d. 1985) is described as a Mafia member. Appearing at the trial of five … Continue reading →

Posted in 1980, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Millennial Moments, Politics, Television | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Victor Segno: Success Wave!

Posted on October 2, 2012 by lmharnisch

Prof. A. Victor Segno and a success wave (artist’s concept). My latest column for The Times deals with my favorite L.A. con man, Prof. A Victor Segno.

Posted in Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, History | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Retired Police Lt. George H. Williams, Badge 1, Dies at 84

Posted on September 13, 2012 by lmharnisch

Sept. 13, 1942: Retired Lt. George H. Williams,who held LAPD retirement Badge 1, dies at the age of 84. He retired in 1912 after serving with the department for 23 years and was in charge of the detail that brought … Continue reading →

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Playwright Clifford Odets Held for DUI

Posted on September 8, 2012 by lmharnisch

Sept. 8, 1942:Playwright Clifford Odets of 8729 Lookout Mountain Ave. is arrested on charges of drunk driving and speeding on Roosevelt Highway (Pacific Coast Highway) at Topanga Canyon.  CHP officers say Odets refused to stop until they forced him off … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Stage, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

30 Firefighters Escape Blaze in Box Canyon

Posted on August 24, 2012 by lmharnisch

Aug. 24, 1942: Sheriff’s deputies break up a planned fight between the Lincoln Heights Square John gang and the Huntington Park Levis gang at Central and Florence avenues, arresting 17 members of the Square John gang (no members of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

LAPD Losing Staff to War Effort

Posted on August 1, 2012 by lmharnisch

Aug. 1, 1942: Chief C.B. Horrall announces that the LAPD has lost 22 men and two women to the armed services. By the end of the war, many more officers and staff will have gone into the military, leaving the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on LAPD Losing Staff to War Effort

Keaton Sons Change Names to Talmadge

Posted on June 30, 2012 by lmharnisch

July 2, 1942: Buster Keaton’s sons Robert, 18, and James, 20, legally change their last names to Talmadge after a petition to the court by Keaton’s ex-wife Natalie Talmadge. Lee Gilcrease, 29, kills his wife, Ethel, and commits suicide in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, San Fernando Valley, Suicide | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Keaton Sons Change Names to Talmadge

Man Held as ‘Orchid Bandit’

Posted on June 27, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 27, 1942: James D. Hannah liked orchids. He liked them so much that he usually gave several of them to his girlfriends to put in their hair, a habit that led to his arrest when robbery victim  Elva Sieburg … Continue reading →

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Drunken Brawl at Errol Flynn’s Birthday Party

Posted on June 26, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 26, 1942: A brawl at Errol Flynn’s  32nd birthday party involves Barbara Hutton’s butler – Eric Gosta Hadler —  and Flynn’s secretary and stand-in, James Fleming. Hadler says: “It all happened so suddenly I can’t remember what happened.” Judging … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | 1 Comment

Church Organist Accused of Killing Parents

Posted on June 20, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 20, 1942: Officials of San Diego’s streetcar system are dismayed that the 20 surplus cars obtained from New York are in worse shape than the ones San Diego scrapped two years earlier. San Diego acquired the cars in an … Continue reading →

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Judge Cites ‘Right of Battle’ in Sentencing Conscientious Objector

Posted on June 16, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 16, 1942:  Robert Lee Allen is sentenced to five years in federal prison for refusing to enlist in the Army. Judge Jeremiah Neter, 80, noted that Allen had not used the available provisions to file for conscientious objector status … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Food and Drink, Music, Religion, Stage, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Gang Member Held in Shooting That Sparked Coliseum Riot

Posted on June 14, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 14, 1942:   Police arrest Oscar Fierro, 18, an alleged member of the East First Street Gang, in the shooting of Frank Torres, a purported member of the Clanton Street Gang, who was wounded in the head while leaving the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Now Hiring: Douglas Aircraft of Santa Monica

Posted on June 12, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 12, 1942: The Douglas plant in Santa Monica is hiring men – and women! Betty Rowland, the Ball of Fire, is at the Follies Theatre. Lionel Atwill refuses to testify before the Los Angeles County Grand Jury about charges … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, 1942, Art & Artists, Aviation, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Theaters, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Wife Stabs Abusive Husband to Death as Children Sleep

Posted on May 16, 2012 by lmharnisch

Tips on how to tell Chinese (allies!) from Japanese (enemies!) by cartoonist Milton Caniff. May 16, 1942:  Earl Blaisure came home drunk at 2:30 a.m., picked up his .22 rifle and pointed at his wife, Molly, the latest in what … Continue reading →

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