Category Archives: Hollywood

Hollywood madam

Posted on May 15, 2007 by lmharnisch

May 15, 1957 Los Angeles The papers called her an actress, but she was never in anything but trouble and her only talent was for raising hell. Even the gossip magazines quit working with her because they didn’t trust her. … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Hollywood, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Forgotten actress burns to death

Posted on May 14, 2007 by lmharnisch

  May 14, 1957 Los Angeles Forlorn and alone, cast off by the industry that gave her fame, 74-year-old Dorothy Dale, forgotten star of the silent era, died when a gas heater set an old sofa on fire in her … Continue reading →

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Matt Weinstock

Posted on May 10, 2007 by lmharnisch

May 10, 1957 At the rate landmarks are disappearing, a person could easily make a career of chasing down outmoded civic scenery under some such title as "What Happened to (Insert Name Here)?" I don’t know what happened to Insert … Continue reading →

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Drug raid

Posted on May 6, 2007 by lmharnisch

May 6, 1957 Los Angeles Saundra died Jan. 11, 1978, 40 years after she dazzled concert-goers as a child prodigy on the violin, like her mother, Frances. In her lifetime, she performed at the Hollywood Bowl with Leopold Stokowski and … Continue reading →

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Inca-redible

Posted on April 24, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 24, 1957 Los Angeles Note: Bylined stories were rare in the 1940s and 1950s. Here’s the handiwork of Jack Smith, doing rewrite on a celebrity brawl involving Yma Sumac and Fred Otash, former police officer, private detective and one … Continue reading →

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“Not Too Good”

Posted on April 22, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 22, 1957Las Vegas Nils   T. Granlund, 1950s TV personality and master of ceremonies at Hollywood’s Florentine Gardens through most of the 1940s, was killed in a car accident on   the Las Vegas Strip, ending a flamboyant career … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood, Nightclubs | 1 Comment

Confidential tells the facts and names the names

Posted on April 19, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 19, 1957 Los Angeles Jerry Giesler, one of the most prominent attorneys in Los Angeles, was chosen to lead the war against Confidential magazine during a meeting of the Beverly Hills Bar Assn. at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Giesler, … Continue reading →

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“My Father, My Son”

Posted on April 18, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 18, 1957 Los Angeles Someone at The Times had a sense of humor to place a story about a drunk driving case next to an ad for Southern Comfort. There really wasn’t much news to it, just the son … Continue reading →

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Blogging the Wolfe Book, Our Story So Far

Posted on February 8, 2007 by lmharnisch

Larry Harnisch (described by James Ellroy as a Dahlia scholar/Dahlia freak, take your pick) is blogging in real time as he reads Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, Film, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Why Doesn’t L.A. Do Something About Traffic?

Posted on January 27, 2007 by lmharnisch

Jan. 27, 1907Los Angeles One thing you can say about Angelenos: We love to talk about traffic. The only thing we love more is to commission studies and draft plans to deal with the problem, and then ignore them. “With … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Downtown, Freeways, Hollywood, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off on Why Doesn’t L.A. Do Something About Traffic?

Whats in That Embalming Fluid?

Posted on December 18, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 18, 1907Los AngelesLos Angeles County Coroner Roy S. Lanterman was arrested on charges of being drunk and disorderly at the Navajo, a bordello run by Ida Hastings, 309 Ord St. Hastings called police, who arrested Lanterman.A Mills Seminary graduate … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, 1909, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Film, Freeways, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Photography, Streetcars | Comments Off on Whats in That Embalming Fluid?

Adios Judy!

Posted on December 16, 2006 by lmharnisch

Judith Regan, the publisher of Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files,” has found a way to make Page 1 of The Times: Get fired by HarperCollins. (The New York Times story is here.) I’m trying not to gloat. But … 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 Adios Judy!

L.A. Rising

Posted on December 15, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 15, 1905Los AngelesAnybody who sets out to study the development of the city’s neighborhoods can expect to do lots of driving. My recent travels have taken me to an obscure area of South Los Angeles to look for 1907-era … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Education, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars | Comments Off on L.A. Rising

Nathan and I

Posted on November 30, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 30, 2006Los AngelesI don’t think anyone who knows both of us will ever confuse me with Nathan Marask; certainly not when it comes to architectural photography. In fact, I don’t really do architectural photography. I take snapshots of buildings—and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Freeways, Hollywood, LAPD, Pasadena, Photography, Streetcars | Comments Off on Nathan and I

Roving to Monrovia

Posted on November 25, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 24, 1907Monrovia The Times real estate section takes a look at what was then the distant suburb of Monrovia, 22 miles from downtown Los Angeles. The writer notes the increasing use of concrete and stone, explaining that the cost … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, 1911, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Downtown, Education, Film, Freeways, Hollywood, LAPD, Real Estate, Streetcars | Comments Off on Roving to Monrovia

Religious Recycling

Posted on November 18, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 18, 1907South PasadenaCalvary Presbyterian Church at Center (now El Centro) and Fremont was dedicated in a service featuring prominent local religious leaders, including Dr. John Willis Baer, president of Occidental College.The Times notes that the original church building was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars | Tagged , | Comments Off on Religious Recycling

1423 S. Van Ness

Posted on November 16, 2006 by lmharnisch

As promised, here are views of the home of Mrs. E.N. Eskey, featured in The Times in 1907. Note the damaged chimney, presumably the victim of seismic Darwinism. And as a bonus, here’s the home of Igor Stravinsky, which I … Continue reading →

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Curb Appeal

Posted on November 3, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 3, 1907Los AngelesMrs. E.N. Eskey is building this 10-room house in Pico Heights, on Van Ness just south of Pico.According to The Times, the two-story house (with basement) has a first floor divided into a reception hall with an … Continue reading →

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Not a Pretty Moment

Posted on September 21, 2006 by lmharnisch

Sept. 21, 1907 Los Angeles It is one thing to know in the abstract about racial intolerance at the turn of the 20th century and quite another to have to read it in the daily paper. I will spare you … 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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