Category Archives: LAPD

Restaurant Manager Turns Tables on Robbers

Posted on October 25, 2013 by lmharnisch

Oct. 25, 1943: Three bandits who hit a handful of businesses met their match at a cafe at 1306 S. Main St. when they tried to hold up assistant manager Joe D. Poindexter. Two of them came into the cafe … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Main Street, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ — Part 8

Posted on October 24, 2013 by lmharnisch

David Bacon, seven years before he was killed, in a publicity photo for the Hasty Pudding show at Harvard. In case you just tuned in, we are looking at the unsolved Sept. 12, 1943, killing of actor David G.G. Bacon. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Cold Cases, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ – Part 7

Posted on October 22, 2013 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, we are looking at the unsolved Sept. 12, 1943, killing of “Masked Marvel” actor David G.G. Bacon. And we have regular L.A. Daily Mirror reader Steven Bibb to thank for this puzzle. Steven provided … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Cold Cases, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. Traffic, 1915 Edition

Posted on October 21, 2013 by lmharnisch

My Los Angeles Times colleague Scott Harrison does wonderful work going through The Times photo archives. Here’s his latest post on a “new”method of directing traffic in which police stopped using whistles. This is Officer F.M. Wilson at Broadway and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1915, Downtown, LAPD, Photography, Transportation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on L.A. Traffic, 1915 Edition

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ — Part 6

Posted on October 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, we are looking at the unsolved Sept, 12, 1943, killing of actor David G.G. Bacon, who appeared in Republic’s “Masked Marvel” serial. In Part 1, witnesses described Bacon driving erratically on Washington Boulevard, then … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ — Part 5

Posted on October 16, 2013 by lmharnisch

David Bacon’s secret getaway, from the Sept. 18, 1943, Los Angeles Herald-Express, courtesy of Steven Bibb. In case you just tuned in, we are looking at the unsolved Sept, 12, 1943, killing of actor David G.G. Bacon, who appeared in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Cold Cases, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ — Part 4

Posted on October 10, 2013 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, we are looking at the unsolved September 1943 killing of actor David G.G. Bacon, who appeared in Republic’s “Masked Marvel” serial. In Part 1, witnesses described Bacon driving erratically on Washington Boulevard, then crashing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ – Part 3

Posted on October 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, we’re looking at the unsolved September 1943 killing of movie actor David G.G. Bacon, who appeared in the Republic serial “The Masked Marvel.” In Part 1, witnesses described Bacon driving erratically on Washington Boulevard, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ – Part 2

Posted on October 3, 2013 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, we’re looking at the strange, unsolved killing of movie actor David G.G. Bacon in September 1943.  Because he appeared in Republic’s “Masked Marvel” serial, shown above, I’m calling it the “Masked Marvel Murder.” In … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

LAPD Photo on EBay From 1884 – To Collect and to Serve

Posted on October 2, 2013 by lmharnisch

An EBay vendor has listed this collection of cabinet cards dated 1884 showing LAPD officers. The vendor is also offering other clippings and ephemera linked to William  Ernst Stoermer. Stoermer, who died in 1932, was also a firefighter and a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1884, Found on EBay, History, LAPD, Obituaries, Photography, Preservation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on LAPD Photo on EBay From 1884 – To Collect and to Serve

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ – Part 1

Posted on October 2, 2013 by lmharnisch

David Bacon in “The Masked Marvel.” David G.G. Bacon died on the afternoon of Sept. 12, 1943, at the age of 29 with many secrets: A secret diary kept in code, coded annotations in his address book and most of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | 9 Comments

Why Can’t Anybody Get L.A. History Right?

Posted on September 27, 2013 by lmharnisch

The Times magazine magically transports San Francisco’s St. Francis Hotel  to Los Angeles! Ignorance about Los Angeles history is, alas, all around us. But imagine my dismay to discover this gaffe by The Times magazine –a separate publication by the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1921, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, LAPD, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Woman in Stolen Car Shoots Gun at LAPD Officers

Posted on September 25, 2013 by lmharnisch

Sept. 25, 1933: How did the Los Angeles Public Library fare in the Great Depression? Here are some answers. The library was forced to make painful cutbacks due to a 24% drop in tax revenue, including shorter hours, layoffs, reductions … Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, LAPD, Pasadena, Suicide, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Bandit Killed, LAPD Officers Wounded in Burlesque Theater Shootout

Posted on September 18, 2013 by lmharnisch

Sept. 18, 1933: Jack Keating, 30, and John Melvin Early, 35, had a plan to rob the Girlesque Theater at 510 S. Main St., but when the shooting was over, Keating was dead and Early and two men who helped … Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Art & Artists, Comics, Downtown, Hollywood, LAPD, Main Street, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Bandit Killed, LAPD Officers Wounded in Burlesque Theater Shootout

Woman’s Body Found Behind Wall in Highland Park Home

Posted on September 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

Joseph and Anna Lewis, 2630 Johnston St., Highland Park, had been married for 42 when she disappeared. Not that Joseph, 72, a carpenter, was particularly concerned about her absence. Police were not informed of the disappearance until her daughter Shirley … Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Suicide | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia and ‘Double Indemnity’ – KCET Gets It Way Wrong

Posted on September 7, 2013 by lmharnisch

Is it really possible to write about the film “Double Indemnity” without mentioning Raymond Chandler, who collaborated on the screenplay, or James M. Cain, who wrote the book that was the basis for the film? Sadly, Ryan Reft (identified as … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, 1947, Black Dahlia, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Man Kills Wife and Daughter, Commits Suicide Over Pink Bedroom

Posted on September 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

Sept. 4, 1933: A streetcar broadsides an auto at the crossing on Olympic Boulevard between Broadway and Figueroa, killing two people and leaving two others near death, The Times said. A man fatally stabs his estranged wife and daughter, then … Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Art & Artists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Homicide, LAPD, Main Street, Nightclubs, San Fernando Valley, Streetcars, Suicide, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Black Dahlia: New ‘Evidence’ in George ‘Evil Genius’ Hodel Franchise

Posted on August 25, 2013 by lmharnisch

Black Dahlia breakthrough! Let us suppose that there was a mathematician. A retired mathematician who once taught at a major university, who published and received tenure, and retired as a well-regarded member of the faculty. Let us further suppose that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

LAPD Women Join Marines

Posted on August 21, 2013 by lmharnisch

Aug. 21, 1943: Two women from the LAPD are joining the Marines: Lucy White, 26, who works in the fingerprinting department, and Margaret Davis, 22, of the record bureau. Judge Benjamin J. Scheinman is leaving the municipal bench to join … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Nightclubs, Stage, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

LAPD Spied on Mayor, Attorney General, Detective Says

Posted on August 16, 2013 by lmharnisch

Aug. 16, 1983: Former Times reporter Joel Sappell reports on allegations by Detective Michael J. Rothmiller that the LAPD’s Organized Crime Intelligence Division spied on Mayor Tom Bradley, then-Atty.Gen. John Van de Kamp, and other U.S., state, county and local … Continue reading →

Posted in 1983, City Hall, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Music, Stage, Television | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments