Category Archives: health

November 9, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on November 9, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 9, 1959: Clearly it’s no more possible to control the gags about the quiz show scandal than it is to control the mushrooming scandal itself, and the other day a group of coffee break philosophers of my acquaintance got around to the subject, Matt Weinstock says. Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Countdown to Watts, health, Matt Weinstock | 1 Comment

A. Victor Segno — “How to Live 100 Years”

Posted on November 9, 2025 by lmharnisch

How to Live 100 Years, by A. Victor Segno, Los Angeles, 1903: Heavy skirts and long trains worn on the streets are especially unhealthful. Continue reading →

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September 30, 1959: Paul V. Coates — Confidential File

Posted on September 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 30, 1959: Paul Coates follows up on the tale of a young man pulling a magazine subscription scam, and on the troubles of Barbara Burns. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Marion Davies, an Actress With a Heart to Help Children

Posted on January 16, 2023 by lmharnisch

Hollywood Heritage will celebrate Marion Davies’ birthday with a celebration Sunday, Jan. 22., at 2 p.m.  featuring Lara Gabrielle, author of Marion Davies: Captain of Her Soul, and a showing of Zander the Great. Tickets are $10 for members, $20 … Continue reading →

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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

Architectural Rambling

Posted on May 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

        I found this postcard of Dr. Alfred G. Schloesser’s Castle Sans Souci in Hollywood (the Times used the addresses 1831 and 1901 Argyle Ave.) and dug into the clips for a little more information.  The castle … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Found on EBay, health, Hollywood, Photography | 1 Comment

San Francisco Clinic Cures ‘Bad Girls’

Posted on April 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

    April 10, 1949: A San Francisco "promiscuity clinic" is working to treat "bad girls." No, really! After citing some terrifying statistics (68% of U.S. brides are not virgins!) Howard Whitman profiles the Psychiatric Service of the San Francisco … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, health | 1 Comment

Paul Coates, March 7, 1961

Posted on March 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

       March 7, 1961: Paul Coates looks at the problem of a family caring (or not caring) for an ailing parent who is on welfare and a veteran's pension. He writes: How any society but a degenerating one … Continue reading →

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Found on EBay — ‘They Call Them Camisoles’

Posted on January 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

A rather battered but interesting copy of “They Call Them Camisoles” has been listed on EBay. “Camisoles” was written by Wilma Carnes under the pen name Wilma Wilson and is a graphic first-person account of her time at Camarillo (“Camisoles” … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Film, Food and Drink, health, Hollywood | Comments Off on Found on EBay — ‘They Call Them Camisoles’

Jack LaLanne, 1914 – 2011 [Updated]

Posted on January 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

    Oct. 4, 1974: Jack LaLanne celebrates his 60th birthday by swimming from Alcatraz to Fisherman's Wharf  in San Francisco — with his hands and feet tied and pulling a 1,000-pound boat. In addition to his usual training program … Continue reading →

Posted in broadcasting, health, Obituaries, Television | 5 Comments

A Victim of ‘Retrocephalitis’

Posted on November 15, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Nov. 15-17, 1910: Benjamin Sheppard was a large, powerful garbage worker, a victim of “retrocephalitis” that turned him into a “animal-man.” At least that’s what The Times reported. And yes, he was African American. "That Sheppard is a … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, health | 2 Comments

Woman’s Mutilated Body Buried in Backyard, 1910

Posted on November 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

              Eva Swan in the San Francisco Call   Sept. 24-Nov. 5, 1910: Newspapers of the era are full of stories about a particularly grotesque case involving San Francisco stenographer Eva Swan, who lingered … Continue reading →

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Found on EBay: Foo and Wing Herb Co.

Posted on August 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

This c. 1907 postcard for Foo and Wing Herb Co., 903 S. Olive St., has been listed on EBay. At right, an advertisement for Foo and Wing from 1913. Bidding starts at $6.  

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Florence Nightingale Dies

Posted on August 15, 2010 by lmharnisch

Aug. 15, 1910:  Florence Nightingale dies in London at the age of 90.

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Car Hits Newsboy, 9

Posted on July 19, 2010 by lmharnisch

July 19, 1910: A news story straight in the Herald and in dialect in The Times. Evidently neither paper reported on whether he recovered.

Posted in Downtown, health, Transportation | 1 Comment

Burglar Hangs Himself in Jail Cell

Posted on June 14, 2010 by lmharnisch

  What if it rained eyeglasses? June 14, 1910: Martin T. Smith is found hanging from the door of his cell after being arrested in Santa Monica for burglary. Smith, who had been drinking heavily, leaves no family, The Times … Continue reading →

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On the Frontiers of Medicine, June 13, 1960

Posted on June 13, 2010 by lmharnisch

June 13, 1960: The gist of Bruce Russell’s cartoon seems to be that speeding is bad. Either that or driving through a huge skull is dangerous. On the jump, bone marrow injections offer hope for cancer patients, and TV viewers … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, broadcasting, Film, health, Hollywood, Television | Comments Off on On the Frontiers of Medicine, June 13, 1960

LAPD Captain Accused of Corruption

Posted on June 10, 2010 by lmharnisch

  June 10, 1910: An AMA convention in St. Louis finds out what a Nautsch dancer is. On the jump, the complicated case of Police Capt. Charles E. Dixon and Hampshire Hotel operator William D. Gage. Dixon, the head of … Continue reading →

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On the Frontiers of Medicine, 1910

Posted on June 6, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Anne Blanche in “Freckles” at the Los Angeles Theater.  June 6, 1910: Exhibit 1 in the argument that the past was not a kinder, simpler time is Abraham Flexner’s book “Medical Education in the United States and Canada.” The Times … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, health, Stage | Comments Off on On the Frontiers of Medicine, 1910

Cupid’s Sorrowful Tale

Posted on May 13, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Happy foot! May 13, 1910: Mrs. Mallory gets 90 days in jail for running a disorderly house on Spring Street and a $50 fine for violating liquor laws … and the sorrowful story of a young woman who met … Continue reading →

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