Category Archives: Crime and Courts

EBay Avenger

Posted on September 10, 2006 by lmharnisch

OK, I’ve had my fun with Ellroy’s copies of the “Avenger” books. The hardback stands at $38 and the paperback at $29. Despite my minimum bids, there is always the risk that I might end up with these turkeys! Good … Continue reading →

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A Flirtation Goes Awry

Posted on September 8, 2006 by lmharnisch

Sept. 8, 1907Los Angeles Jack Foster, a handsome, blond actor who is the toast of the vaudeville circuit, noticed a young lady standing at 3rd Street and Main after a show. Seeing that she was alone, Foster said: “Rather late … Continue reading →

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Interring the Short-Handled Log Implement

Posted on September 7, 2006 by lmharnisch

An incredibly curious thing happened yesterday. I’ve been taping segments for an “America’s Most Wanted” episode on the Black Dahlia and the producer called to see if they could get some shots of me in the Biltmore bar talking to … Continue reading →

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Outbid!

Posted on September 6, 2006 by lmharnisch

Gosh, I upped my bid on James Ellroy’s copies of “Black Dahlia Avenger” (the hardback and paperback) but was outbid. Darn. I’m going to do my best to get them over $25, though. Don’t you think primo Dahlia material is … Continue reading →

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The Little Devil

Posted on September 5, 2006 by lmharnisch

Sept. 5, 1907Los AngelesPoor old Mrs. Moore was ill, so instead of paying the grocer his monthly bill, she put a $10 gold piece in an envelope and told her 9-year-old son, Cecil, to take it to him. But Cecil, … Continue reading →

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Nooooo!!!

Posted on September 5, 2006 by lmharnisch

I couldn’t stand the thought of James Ellroy’s copies of “Black Dahlia Avenger” going for so little on EBay. After all, don’t people know the book has been optioned by New Line Cinema? Surely books that are inscribed to the … Continue reading →

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So Rude!

Posted on September 4, 2006 by lmharnisch

My goodness, one never knows what will turn up on Ebay. This morning I found a copy of “Black Dahlia Avenger” inscribed by Steve Hodel to James Ellroy, who wrote the introduction to the paperback, praising Hodel’s work and endorsing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Rich Owens Saga

Posted on August 22, 2006 by lmharnisch

Oklahoma City Feb. 27, 1948 Ray Parr’s story about Rich Owens, the longtime executioner at McAlester State Penitentiary, has been knocking around my home office for ages, passed along by a former co-worker many years ago. Writing for the Daily … Continue reading →

Posted in 1948, Crime and Courts | 3 Comments

The Bucket of Blood

Posted on August 13, 2006 by lmharnisch

Aug. 12-13, 1907Los AngelesDespite the name Bismarck Cafe, police call the saloon at Main and Winston Streets the Bucket of Blood because it’s a continual source of crime and violence.It is a place, The Times says, “of drunken debauchery among … Continue reading →

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Fanning the Flames of Suspicion

Posted on July 17, 2006 by lmharnisch

July 17, 1907Los AngelesA serial arsonist has been at work in Hollywood, setting six fires in the last three weeks. The community’s small volunteer fire department has been overwhelmed by the crimes.“The entire neighborhood rushed to the scene,” The Times … Continue reading →

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Soothing Music

Posted on June 19, 2006 by lmharnisch

June 19, 1907Los AngelesWhat shall we do with the insane? Don’t give them drugs… give them music! (Well, some music).Dr. E.C. Dent of the hospital for women on Ward’s Island in New York says: “I firmly believe in the curative … Continue reading →

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Who Is This Man?

Posted on June 13, 2006 by lmharnisch

  I recently obtained an original copy of The Times’ March 28, 1971, story “Farewell, My Black Dahlia,” which includes the account of the “Boy on the Bicycle.” Here’s a color picture of the purported “Bobby Jones.” Here’s a better … Continue reading →

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A Dying Girls Last Words

Posted on June 12, 2006 by lmharnisch

June 12, 1907Los AngelesAt 19, Florence Grover was old enough to be in love and living with a man, and at 19, she was old enough to become a mother. Her boyfriend, L.C. Lutzen of the National Messenger Service, with … Continue reading →

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Shout Out

Posted on June 7, 2006 by lmharnisch

General Motors (198.208.251.24) Windows 2000? Upgrade! The Netherlands (212.127.246.72) E! Entertainment (12.46.6.69) “E! Mysteries and Scandals,” my first TV interview, by the guy who did “Real Chases of the Highway Patrol.” Department of Veterans Affairs (152.130.6.194) My pal in Kerkira, … Continue reading →

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Fleenor Talks

Posted on May 21, 2006 by lmharnisch

In a jailhouse interview before he was taken to San Quentin, James G. Fleenor, the barefoot burglar, set the record straight on his escapes, his relationship with a white woman and how he began a life of crime.It had been … Continue reading →

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Paul Schrader’s 1971 Notes on Film Noir

Posted on May 11, 2006 by lmharnisch

Paul Schrader’s 1971 essay “Notes on Film Noir” in all its sappy, naive glory, with typos by me. In 1946, French critics, seeing the American films they had missed during the war, noticed the new mood of cynicism, pessimism and … Continue reading →

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Blogging the Wolfe Book, The Two-Minute Executive Summary

Posted on May 1, 2006 by lmharnisch

From Feb. 3, 2006, to April 28, 2006, I devoted a daily blog to Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” In dealing with the 1947 murder of Elizabeth … Continue reading →

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Blogging the Wolfe Book, Request Line XXII

Posted on April 28, 2006 by lmharnisch

I have ceased blogging in real time as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” Wolfe uses the “Laura” format, in which the anonymous, butchered body is … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Blogging the Wolfe Book, Request Line XXI

Posted on April 27, 2006 by lmharnisch

I have ceased blogging in real time as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” Wolfe uses the “Laura” format, in which the anonymous, butchered body is … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Blogging the Wolfe Book, Request Line XXI

Blogging the Wolfe Book, Request Line XX

Posted on April 26, 2006 by lmharnisch

I have ceased blogging in real time as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” Wolfe uses the “Laura” format, in which the anonymous, butchered body is … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments