Category Archives: LAPD

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files — Slaughter at Bob’s Big Boy

Posted on December 26, 2013 by lmharnisch

  Suspect 1, DR-80-585-895 Suspect 2, DR-80-585-895 Dec. 14, 1980: The takeover robbery of Bob’s Big Boy at 1845 S. La Cienega Blvd. was part of a rising tide of violence in the 1980s. As The Times noted, “the latest … Continue reading →

Posted in 1980, Art & Artists, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | 2 Comments

Christmas on the Radio — Dragnet ‘.22 Rifle for Christmas’

Posted on December 21, 2013 by lmharnisch

From the radio version of “Dragnet,” Joe Friday (Jack Webb) and Ben Romero (Barton Yarborough) on the case of a missing 9-year-old boy in “.22 Rifle for Christmas.” From 1949 | From 1950 | From 1951 | From 1952 (with … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955, LAPD, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

‘I Took the Gun and Shot Him Once in the Leg, Just for Fun’

Posted on December 20, 2013 by lmharnisch

Maybe it was murder. Maybe it never happened at all. Was she telling the truth or was it all a lie? Early on the morning of Nov. 20, 1953, acting on a tip, LAPD Detectives John Olsen and P.R. Brooks … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Homicide, LAPD, Main Street | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files — Mystery Guest No. 1

Posted on December 18, 2013 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I was given a box of material cleaned out of the press room at Parker Center that was crammed with photos, artist sketches, press releases and some tattered maps. I have organized the material … Continue reading →

Posted in LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files, Photography | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photographer Tells of Fighting on Tarawa

Posted on December 12, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 12, 1943: Times columnist Tom Treanor, who will be killed in August 1944 covering the liberation of France, files a story about fighting between U.S. and Nazi troops around Filignano, Italy, about 100 miles southeast of Rome.   Crawling in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Animals, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Photography, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files

Posted on December 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

In going through the jumbled mass of pictures, press releases, artist sketches and tattered maps of the LAPD Parker Center Cop Shop Files, I found this photograph. And then a few more. And a few more. Was she a city … Continue reading →

Posted in 1980, Film, Homicide, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files, Television | 10 Comments

Before You Watch ‘Mob City’ — Bugsy Siegel, Mickey Cohen and Chief Parker

Posted on December 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

Before you watch TNT’s “Mob City” tonight, read these items from The Times about what Police Capt. William H. Parker was actually doing in the 1940s. Parker served in the Army during World War II and was discharged in November … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, Hollywood, LAPD, Mickey Cohen, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files

Posted on December 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

I was given a box of material that was cleaned out of the old press room at the LAPD’s Parker Center headquarters, sometimes called “the cop shop.” The box was a jumble of press releases, photographs, artists’ sketches and other … Continue reading →

Posted in 1965, 1973, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Take the L.A. Daily Mirror Reader Survey — Responses Closed

Posted on November 30, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jack Webb and William Conrad phone in their answers to the L.A. Daily Mirror Reader Survey. Update 2: Today’s the last day to express your thoughts in the Daily Mirror Reader Survey. And stay tuned for the results. Update: More … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, History, Hollywood, LAPD, Mystery Photo, Theaters | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Take the L.A. Daily Mirror Reader Survey — Responses Closed

Matzo Brawl!

Posted on November 29, 2013 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project and I’m reposting it for newer readers. Nov. 29, 1907 Oh Those Shriners: Recall, if you will, the grisly train wreck that killed a large number of Shriners … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Food and Drink, LAPD, Religion, Streetcars | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files — ‘Little Cowboy’

Posted on November 27, 2013 by lmharnisch

Police sketches of “Little Cowboy” by LAPD artist F.G. Ponce. I call her “Little Cowboy” because her shirt said “I’m a Little Cowboy.”  She was Jane Doe No. 62, coroner’s No. 77-8735, DR 77 596-048 In case you just tuned … Continue reading →

Posted in 1977, Cold Cases, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined: William Parker vs. Bugsy Siegel

Posted on November 24, 2013 by lmharnisch

By Yvonne Villarreal in The Times. Let’s get this straight: There was never a “long and often bloody struggle between LAPD Police Chief William Parker and gangster kingpin Ben ‘Bugsy’ Siegel” for the simple reason that Siegel was shot to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, History, LAPD, Mickey Cohen, Television | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files

Posted on November 20, 2013 by lmharnisch

June 23, 1976: William C. Harber and Constance Thorn are found beaten to death in an apartment at 3416 Manning Ave. The case has never been solved. Several weeks ago, I was given a box of material that was cleaned … Continue reading →

Posted in 1976, 1977, Cold Cases, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Black Dahlia: George Hodel — Soil Samples at the Sowden House: FAIL

Posted on November 14, 2013 by lmharnisch

Saturday was, in case you had forgotten, the one-year anniversary of Buster the Wonder Dog’s frolic at the Sowden House in a search for evidence to link Dr. George “Evil Genius” Hodel to the Black Dahlia killing. You may recall … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Hollywood, LAPD, Television | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files

Posted on November 14, 2013 by lmharnisch

Several weeks ago, I was given a box of material that was cleaned out of the old press room at the LAPD’s Parker Center headquarters, sometimes called “the cop shop.” The box was a jumble of press releases, photographs, artists’ … Continue reading →

Posted in 1974, Cold Cases, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Blogging the Wolfe Book — Seven Years Later

Posted on November 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

Note: In 2006, I devoted a daily blog to  fact-checking Donald Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files” on a molecular level. The project was so time-consuming – and “Dahlia Files” is such junk – that I stopped about Page 96 and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2006, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files — Mysterious PC Numbers

Posted on November 10, 2013 by lmharnisch

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. This anonymous fellow was captured by a bank security camera and the photo is marked PC 45080. Often in these cases, the PC number will be rendered PC 450 (80), in which … Continue reading →

Posted in 1976, 1980, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files — A Research Question on LAPD Case Numbering

Posted on November 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

While I’m on the subject of the LAPD Cop Shop Files, let me see if there’s anyone among the Daily Mirror Brain Trust who is familiar with LAPD case numbers. It seems that after many years of following the protocol … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files – Starting Next Week

Posted on November 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

The “Remorseful Rapist” from 1965, one of the items from the Cop Shop Files. Several weeks ago, I was given a box of material that was cleaned out of the old press room at the LAPD’s Parker Center headquarters, sometimes … Continue reading →

Posted in 1965, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ – Part 12

Posted on November 7, 2013 by lmharnisch

The 1942 marriage of Greta Keller and David G.G. Bacon, Albany Times-Union, Sept. 14, 1943, courtesy of Steven Bibb.  I have spent far more time than I intended on the “Masked Marvel Murder” and not just because it’s an intriguing, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments