Category Archives: Front Pages

December 17, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on December 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 17, 1959: Paul Coates looks at the estimated 3,000 members of the U.S. Armed Forces who are missing in the Korean War. Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Front Pages, Homicide, Paul Coates, Richard Nixon | Leave a comment

December 14, 1908: Mahler’s farewell concert with the New York Philharmonic

Posted on December 14, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 14, 1908: Gustav Mahler conducts his final concert with the New York Philharmonic with music by Wagner and Beethoven. Mahler was much applauded and his reading was “masculine” and “even rude!” But there was “untunefulness” in the wood winds and “overemphasis of the brass.” Continue reading →

Posted in @news, classical music, Front Pages, Music | Leave a comment

December 13, 1953: Father charged with leaving son, 4, in car parked on skid row

Posted on December 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 13, 1953: Police find Kenny Ross, 4, sleeping in a car parked on skid row. He’s taken to Juvenile Hall and his father is charged with child endangerment. Kenny wants to be a writer and asks for a typewriter for Christmas. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1953, Front Pages, LAPD | Leave a comment

December 11, 1938: Breakfast of death; voodoo cult killings

Posted on December 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 11, 1938: A family’s ‘Breakfast of Death’; Voodoo Killer Suspect Seized; Man Dressed as Woman Found Hanging From Tree Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1938, Food and Drink, Front Pages, Homicide, LAPD | Leave a comment

December 4, 1959: Mickey Cohen Arrested

Posted on December 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 4, 1959: Mickey Cohen is arrested in the cafe slaying of Jack “The Enforcer” Whalen. Cohen is a “perfect gentleman,” says companion Sandy Hashagen, 18. Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Front Pages, Mickey Cohen | Comments Off on December 4, 1959: Mickey Cohen Arrested

December 2, 1958: Model stabbed, dumped off mountain highway

Posted on December 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 2, 1958: Model Charlotte Trosper is found stabbed to death in a clump of bushes off Angeles Crest Highway. Boyfriend Gerald Feasby was convicted in the killing. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1958, Courts, Crime and Courts, Front Pages, Homicide | Comments Off on December 2, 1958: Model stabbed, dumped off mountain highway

December 2, 1958: 90 die in Chicago school fire

Posted on December 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 2, 1958: Fire sweeps through Our Lady of the Angels school in Chicago, killing 92 children and three nuns. Continue reading →

Posted in 1958, @news, Front Pages | Comments Off on December 2, 1958: 90 die in Chicago school fire

December 1, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on December 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 1, 1959: Jerry Lewis is a strange guy, Paul Coates writes, but this time the comedian is going to the aid of actor Jay Robinson, “Hollywood’s forgotten man.: Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, broadcasting, Columnists, Front Pages, Paul Coates, Television | Comments Off on December 1, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

December 1, 1938: California prepares to execute two killers at San Quentin

Posted on December 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 1, 1938: California prepares to use the new gas chamber for two executions rather than the previous method of hanging. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1938, @news, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Politics, Religion, Sports | Comments Off on December 1, 1938: California prepares to execute two killers at San Quentin

November 30, 1958: Former deputy strangles wife, kills himself as police close in

Posted on November 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 30, 1958: A former deputy strangles his wife and kills himself. A pitch-perfect story from 1958. Continue reading →

Posted in 1958, Front Pages, Homicide, Suicide | Comments Off on November 30, 1958: Former deputy strangles wife, kills himself as police close in

November 27, 1968: O.J. Simpson wins Heisman

Posted on November 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 27, 1968: O.J. Simpson wins the Heisman Trophy after a remarkable two-year career at USC. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, @news, broadcasting, Current Affairs, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Sports, Television | Comments Off on November 27, 1968: O.J. Simpson wins Heisman

November 27, 1964: Secretary Found Stabbed to Death in the ‘Thanksgiving’ Murder

Posted on November 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 27, 1964: Joyce Walker is found stabbed 50 times on Thanksgiving Day, apparently raped and killed by a man who helped her after her car became disabled on the way home from a party. Two Manhattan police officers offered assistance but Walker and the suspect said everything was fine. Continue reading →

Posted in 1964, Front Pages, Homicide, Jack Smith | Comments Off on November 27, 1964: Secretary Found Stabbed to Death in the ‘Thanksgiving’ Murder

November 26, 1958: LAPD honors dead officer’s heroism

Posted on November 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 26, 1958: The LAPD posthumously honors Sgt. Gene Nash with a Medal of Valor after he died following a shootout with robbery suspects. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, @news, Cemeteries, Front Pages, Homicide, LAPD, Television | Comments Off on November 26, 1958: LAPD honors dead officer’s heroism

November 26, 1904: UFO over Los Angeles

Posted on November 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 24, 1906: No, this isn’t a flying saucer on a stick. It’s an early attempt at carbon arc street lighting. Continue reading →

Posted in broadcasting, Front Pages, Politics, Science, UFOs | Comments Off on November 26, 1904: UFO over Los Angeles

November 22, 1958: Estranged wife kills jealous husband

Posted on November 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 22, 1958: Roy Wesley Raines was born in Alabama in 1906 and died on a Burbank street in 1958, killed by his estranged wife, Mary Katherine, with a .22 rifle after he ignored a warning shot. Verdict: Justifiable homicide. Continue reading →

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November 22, 1958: Hall of Famer dies after crash

Posted on November 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 22, 1958: Hall of Famer Mel Ott, one of the great power hitters of all time, dies after surgery for a kidney injured from a car accident. Continue reading →

Posted in Front Pages, Sports | 3 Comments

November 20, 1958: Valley man killed with hammer

Posted on November 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 20, 1958: Ernest Hargis, a city ambulance driver, is found beaten to death with a hammer and shoved under an abandoned car in Pacoima. Continue reading →

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November 19, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on November 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 19, 1959: A convicted robber who escaped from jail talks to Paul Coates about why he did it and whether to surrender to police. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1959, Columnists, Front Pages, Paul Coates, Transportation | Comments Off on November 19, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

November 18, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on November 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 18, 1959: Sen. Everett Dirksen (R-Ill) responds to taxpayers’ fury over a resolution to take all 100 senators to Hawaii for its statehood ceremonies, Paul Coates writes. Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Downtown, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Parks and Recreation, Paul Coates | Comments Off on November 18, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

November 18, 1958: Mickey Cohen pal back from the dead

Posted on November 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 18, 1959: Mickey Cohen pal is back from the dead! Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1958, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Mickey Cohen | Comments Off on November 18, 1958: Mickey Cohen pal back from the dead