Category Archives: LAPD

Church shooting

Posted on November 11, 2007 by lmharnisch

Nov. 11, 1957 Los AngelesThomas J. Tophia and James Wallace were arguing outside a bar when Tophia drew a gun and hit Wallace over the head with it. The gun fired, sending a bullet through the open door of a … Continue reading →

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Death trip

Posted on November 4, 2007 by lmharnisch

Nov. 5, 1957 Los Angeles "I just shot a man, but it was self-defense." Bobby Gene Gray was stopped at a light in South Gate when Harris (Harrison) C. Foster, 26, and his ex-wife Carolyn (Caroline) Foster Alcala, 20, forced … Continue reading →

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October 31, 1957: Trick or Treat murder

Posted on October 31, 2007 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Larry Harnisch / Los Angeles Times The “Trick-or-Treat Murder” house, 13236 Community St., October 27, 2007. October 31, 1957 Los Angeles They had planned the murder for months as the vague wish turned into a solid, horrible truth. … Continue reading →

Posted in #gays and lesbians, Homicide, LAPD, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

With the angels

Posted on October 30, 2007 by lmharnisch

Oct. 30, 1957Los Angeles In the last few hours of his life, the young boy was unable to tell anyone who he was. A newspaper circulation worker found him lying naked in a driveway at 1459 N. Main St., where … Continue reading →

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Elvis live!

Posted on October 29, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Oct. 29, 1957 Los Angeles He came out of nowhere, barely a blip on the nation’s radar in 1955 (according to Proquest, he wasn’t mentioned even once in The Times that year). But by 1957, he was an unstoppable … Continue reading →

Posted in Blues, broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Music, Television | 4 Comments

Beckham update

Posted on October 27, 2007 by lmharnisch

Clinton Erickson, who keeps track of retired and deceased Los Angeles Police Department officers, says that James “J.O.” Worden retired on June 17, 1979, and died Sept. 16, 1999. He has no information on Worden’s partner, K.E. Gourley.

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The Digital Age

Posted on October 26, 2007 by lmharnisch

Clay Haskell sends along an enhanced version of “Lazy Boy” Beckham’s mug shot. Note the hairline mustache. And here’s Officer Christensen.

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Another dose of skepticism

Posted on October 25, 2007 by lmharnisch

Theodore Roosevelt “Lazy Boy” Beckham has been dead for 50 years and is still causing trouble. I was already bothered by the conflicting accounts of his death, but now that I’ve gone into the microfilm at the Los Angeles Public … Continue reading →

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Random shot

Posted on October 25, 2007 by lmharnisch

LAPD headquarters under construction, 2nd and Spring streets, October 2007   Photograph by Larry Harnisch / Los Angeles Times

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Blue movies

Posted on October 25, 2007 by lmharnisch

Oct. 24, 1957Los Angeles The wages of sin was a hilltop mansion in Bel-Air for Donald De Munck, who according to The Times provided his home at 10689 Somma Way as a location to shoot stag films.* The Times account … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, LAPD, San Fernando Valley, Suicide | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Scott trial update

Posted on October 24, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Oct. 24, 1957Los Angeles So many stories and only one Larry Harnisch. Here’s The Times coverage of the L. Ewing Scott case. Note the testimony of Detective Herman Zander:

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October 23, 1957: Matt Weinstock

Posted on October 23, 2007 by lmharnisch

Oct. 23, 1957 The lady, an Ay–Ayer, is sober again, and philosophic. Not long ago, she slipped, as A-Ayers sometimes do. Finding herself well-soused, with no money left for a cab and little sense of direction, she decided the clink … Continue reading →

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A dose of skepticism

Posted on October 23, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Oct. 22, 1957 Los Angeles And here’s where storytelling trumped skepticism. Recall the death of Theodore Roosevelt Beckham, who killed Juvenile Officer Robert R. Christensen at 1524 Ingraham St. during an attempted arrest. The first news accounts said officers … Continue reading →

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Flashback

Posted on October 22, 2007 by lmharnisch

Oct. 15, 1957 Los Angeles I missed this story the first time around, but somehow I don’t think it matters too much. The best ones are timeless.  

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In the teeth of the evidence

Posted on October 18, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Evelyn and L. Ewing Scott during a cruise on the Queen Mary. Oct. 16-18, 1957 Los Angeles In its opening days, the Leonard Ewing Scott murder trial has focused Evelyn Scott’s eyeglasses and dentures, which were found behind the … Continue reading →

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October 17, 1957: Paul V. Coates–Confidential File

Posted on October 17, 2007 by lmharnisch

Oct. 17, 1957 He sat nervously in the chair opposite me. The staccato beat in his speech reflected his anxiety. “Nothing would ever have happened to me,” he said, “except that on her dead body was found my name. “I … Continue reading →

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Karil Rogers Graham and ‘The Badge’

Posted on October 17, 2007 by lmharnisch

“She was such a grand, lovely person. She loved flowers, was crazy about them.” That’s what the landlady, Eleanor Lipson, had to say about murder victim Karil Rogers Graham. Her sister, Mrs. H.L. Manley, called her “a well-settled girl.” According … Continue reading →

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End of watch

Posted on October 14, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Oct. 14, 1957 Los Angeles Theodore Roosevelt Beckham, a 23-year-old suspected sex offender, killed LAPD juvenile Officer Robert R. Christensen, 38, with his own gun during an attempted arrest, the third slaying in a bloody, tragic week for Southern … Continue reading →

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Ramblin’ man

Posted on October 12, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Oct. 11-23, 1957Los Angeles Hey there, men, feeling blue because you can’t get a date? You might try the Clifford Earl Burton method: You don’t have to be tall (he was 5-5), highly educated (he could barely read or … Continue reading →

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A fifth of whiskey

Posted on October 8, 2007 by lmharnisch

Oct. 8, 1957 Los Angeles How can such smart crooks be so dumb? The short answer is: They just were. In the last few months, half a dozen seasoned pros had been involved in systematically burglarizing the homes of wealthy … Continue reading →

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