Category Archives: Crime and Courts

Bullet of Mystery – Part 5

Posted on May 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I’m posting a small case study of research I did with Caroline Comport on her grandfather Lionel Comport for her master’s thesis. Researching Los Angeles is a treasure hunt, and every time I dig … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1901, Crime and Courts, Film, From the Stacks, health, Hollywood, Pages of History, Zombie Reading List | 3 Comments

Bullet of Mystery – Part 4

Posted on May 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

Posted in #courts, 1901, Architecture, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Real Estate | Comments Off

Bullet of Mystery — Part 3

Posted on May 21, 2011 by lmharnisch

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Bullet of Mystery – Part 2

Posted on May 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

Posted in #courts, 1901, Crime and Courts, Pages of History | Comments Off

Bullet of Mystery – Part 1

Posted on May 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

Los Angeles history in the 1900s is an acquired taste. Most people limit themselves to the Raymond Chandler era, the 1930s through the 1950s, as if Philip Marlowe moonlighted as a historian. Perhaps they find the city’s horse-and-buggy … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1901, Animals, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Raymond Chandler | 1 Comment

Lugosi to Appear as Weird Scientist

Posted on May 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

Feb. 17, 1953: This is how I got here. I started researching the Lionel Atwill sex scandal of 1941 and discovered that before his career was derailed, Atwill planned to produce a film of the novel … Continue reading →

Posted in #gays and lesbians, 1953, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Libel Suit in L.A. Mayor’s Race!

Posted on May 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

May 12, 1961: Mayor Norris Poulson accused challenger Sam Yorty of being “backed by the underworld” and Yorty responded with a libel suit. The basis of Poulson's charge was that as an Assemblyman, Yorty supported a … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1961, art and artists, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Politics | Comments Off

Another Good Story Ruined — The Black Dahlia

Posted on May 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

The Black Dahlia has become so thoroughly transformed into a myth about what happens to nice, small-town girls in big, bad Hollywood (“achieving in death the fame that eluded her in life”) that it’s almost impossible to write … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, books, Crime and Courts | 4 Comments

U.S. Launches Astronaut Alan Shepard: ‘Boy What a Ride!’

Posted on May 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

May 6, 1961: Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. was rocketed 115 miles above the Earth in a flawless suborbital flight and recovered safely 302 miles down the Atlantic Missile Range to become America's first man … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, art and artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Mickey Cohen, Obituaries, Religion | 2 Comments

Yorty Seeks to Limit L.A. Mayors to Two Terms

Posted on May 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

May 3, 1961: The Times editorial page backs Mayor Norris Poulson, who lost to challenger Sam Yorty. Although Yorty advocated a two-term limit for mayors, he served three terms and was seeking a fourth when he … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1961, art and artists, Caryl Chessman, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide | Comments Off

Garden Grove Teenagers Find Severed Head

Posted on May 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

Lampson Avenue and Knott Street via Google street view. April 30-May 18, 1961: Three Garden Grove teenagers riding their bikes along Lampson Avenue near Knott Street, an area of tomato fields, find … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, art and artists, Crime and Courts, Homicide | 1 Comment

From the Stacks – ‘Portraits of Crime’ (1977)

Posted on April 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

Two years after writing about LAPD Det. Ector Garcia, I finally located a copy of his book, “Portraits of Crime,” which arrived in the mail from the U.K. while I was on vacation. No one will ever mistake … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1977, books, Crime and Courts, Downtown, From the Stacks, Hollywood, Hollywood Division, Homicide, LAPD, Pages of History, San Fernando Valley, Venice Division, West Hollywood, Zombie Reading List | 1 Comment

‘The Chinese Murder,’ April 29, 1891

Posted on April 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

April 29, 1891: The Times reports the death of a Chinese woman named Ah Gue/Goot Gue, who was shot in the abdomen by her husband, Wong Ark/Gam Duck, outside a brothel on Apablasa Street. … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1891, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Comments Off

UC May Have to Charge Tuition – Someday

Posted on April 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

April 27, 1961: The Senate Education Committee turns down a proposed tuition fee for University of California students but says one may have to be imposed — eventually.

Posted in #courts, 1961, Adolf Eichmann, art and artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Education | Comments Off

Last Showing of ‘Heaven Is Here!’

Posted on April 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-382479120564900203&hl=en&fs=true Google has announced that it will be removing its uploaded videos on April 29. I made this little movie about the Black Dahlia case four years ago and at 21 minutes, it's too long to upload anywhere … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1947, Crime and Courts, Film, LAPD | 3 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 18, 1941

Posted on April 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

April 18, 1941: Lee Shippey is hospitalized after what The Times vaguely referred to as “major surgery.” His column continued to appear with guest writers filling in. On the jump: Benjamin “Bugsie” Siegel is … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Comments Off

‘The Apartment’ Wins Oscars for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Director

Posted on April 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

April 18, 1961: In a ceremony held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented awards to Elizabeth Taylor for “Butterfield 8,” Burt Lancaster for “Elmer Gantry” and … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1961, Adolf Eichmann, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off

Paul Coates, April 13, 1961

Posted on April 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

April 13, 1961: An Anaheim man found some gold-colored flecks in the backyard and tested them for gold by putting them in a half-teaspoon of mercury that he heated over the stove, poisoning his family, Paul Coates says. “Spade … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1961, Columnists, Crime and Courts, Front Pages, Homicide, Paul Coates | Comments Off

Matt Weinstock, April 12, 1961

Posted on April 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

DEAR ABBY: I boiled when I read the letter from the woman who signed herself “Fed Up.” She was annoyed because her clergyman (Protestant) visited her in the hospital after her seventh child was born and asked her if she had ever heard of birth control.
Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1961, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

Paul Coates, April 12, 1961