Category Archives: LAPD

William Parker, Part 3

Posted on June 19, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 19, 1957 Los Angeles This will be fascinating reading to anyone interested in the LAPD in the 1930s and ’40s, but never forget that it is told from the viewpoint of one man: William H. Parker. I wish I … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Downtown, LAPD | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Mulholland robbery

Posted on June 18, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 19, 1957 Los Angeles Meet Louis Spivak, a hard-luck guy if there ever was one. The whole thing started and ended with him. Spivak, the brother of musician Charlie Spivak, had been in the joint at Folsom and transferred … Continue reading →

Posted in LAPD, Robberies, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Mulholland robbery

William Parker, Part 2

Posted on June 18, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 18, 1957 Los Angeles Part 2 of Paul Weeks’ series on William H. Parker. Page 1 Page 2 Daniel Webster’s speech is here (search for Captain Joseph White). The Bible passage is a little more problematic. It echoes Psalms … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Downtown, LAPD | Tagged , , | Comments Off on William Parker, Part 2

Matt Weinstock

Posted on June 17, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 17, 1957 Sometimes it is very difficult to know whom to believe. Take the case of a young sailor named Mike. Mike, 19, on leave from his base in San Diego, went to a wedding and reception a few … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Countdown to Watts, LAPD, Matt Weinstock | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock

William Parker, Part 1

Posted on June 17, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 17, 1957 Los Angeles I’m extremely pleased to be able to present Paul Weeks’ series on Los Angeles Police Chief William H. Parker.  Weeks did a first-rate job with a subject who wasn’t especially cooperative. Although Parker realized … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Downtown, LAPD | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Policewomen graduate

Posted on June 15, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 15, 1957 Los Angeles Chief William H. Parker welcomed 12 new policewomen in commencement exercises at the Police Academy. The Times reports that most of the new officers will be assigned to the juvenile detail or work as … Continue reading →

Posted in LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Kill crazy

Posted on June 13, 2007 by lmharnisch

    June 14, 1957 Los Angeles Charles Hilbert Dodd was eager to kill someone. If he couldn’t find his estranged wife, Dolores, then he’d shoot whomever he could get. Armed with a 16-gauge shotgun, Dodd, 47, of 6415 Balcom … Continue reading →

Posted in Homicide, LAPD, San Fernando Valley, Suicide | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Kill crazy

Hollywood’s peeping Toms

Posted on June 12, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 12, 1957 Los Angeles

Posted in Hollywood, Hollywood Division, LAPD | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Hollywood’s peeping Toms

Sex slaying suspect

Posted on June 12, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 12, 1957 Los Angeles An illegal U-turn at Sunset Boulevard and Virgil Avenue at 1 a.m. led to the arrest of Charles Lawrence Dahlquist, a 6-foot-5, 211-pound fugitive from Chicago wanted for questioning in the sex slayings of three … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Sex slaying suspect

Strangler attacks

Posted on June 11, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 11, 1957 Los Angeles We’re parked outside a two-story apartment house at 3737 Los Feliz Blvd. It’s late, after 1 a.m. I’ll warn you before we go in: I hate this case. I can’t say I like any … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood, Hollywood Division, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Suicide on Crenshaw

Posted on June 10, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 10, 1957 Los Angeles Elsa Klumbis O’Neil saw no hope. The 37-year-old woman wanted a divorce from her husband, Mark, who was due back in a few days from a voyage with the merchant marine. But since she … Continue reading →

Posted in LAPD, Suicide | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Suicide on Crenshaw

Suicide note

Posted on June 9, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 9, 1957 Los Angeles James R. Shepard decided it was better to kill himself than be prosecuted for a crime so shameful that it could not be published in The Times. A few hours after  the 32-year-old insurance … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, #gays and lesbians, Hollywood, LAPD, San Fernando Valley, Suicide | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Suicide note

Twice Burned

Posted on April 5, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 5, 1957Los Angeles By Larry Harnisch They were a six-pack of juiceheads, daddy-o. Human-torched by lowlifes that wildfired the imagination of young, L.A. bike-roaming James Ellroy, demon dogging the pulp novel city in type-O scarlet and memory napalm.   … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , | 18 Comments

Postcards From the Past

Posted on March 16, 2007 by lmharnisch

The Hotel Green, Pasadena

Posted in Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars | Comments Off on Postcards From the Past

The Bridge

Posted on March 15, 2007 by lmharnisch

March 15, 2007South Pasadena Here’s the Gold Line, its passengers mercifully unaware that they are zipping along to Pasadena in the “Gorge of Eternal Peril” beneath “The Bridge of Death.” Here’s a close-up of a patch made to fix one … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars | Tagged | Comments Off on The Bridge

In Which a Ghostly Visitor Returns

Posted on March 15, 2007 by lmharnisch

March 15, 2007Los Angeles “Well, dear boy, I suppose you thought you were through.” “Yes, I did.” “And?” “Good grief! Do you see this bridge over the Gold Line? It looks like it’s held up with hairpins and spit!” “Saliva, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Comics, Education, Immigration, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters, Transportation | Tagged | Comments Off on In Which a Ghostly Visitor Returns

The Celebrity Inteview

Posted on March 14, 2007 by lmharnisch

March 14, 1907Los Angeles Harry C. Carr, future author of “Los Angeles: City of Dreams,” visits Fely Dereyne, who is starring in the San Carlo Opera Company’s touring production of “Carmen.” Accompanied by Times artist Harold R. Coffman, who sketched … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Columnists, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Celebrity Inteview

Farewell, Faithful Companion

Posted on March 12, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 12, 1907Whittier Don had rushed up San Juan Hill with the Rough Riders, fearless in the face of enemy fire. But he could not survive a speeding driver on the otherwise placid streets of Whittier. A present from Teddy … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars | Tagged | Comments Off on Farewell, Faithful Companion

Los Angeles Has No History

Posted on March 11, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 24, 1907Los Angeles Google Earth, 2007 lmharnisch.comlmharnisch.blogspot.comE-mail: lmharnisch (AT) gmail.com

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars | Tagged | Comments Off on Los Angeles Has No History

A Tumultuous Season

Posted on March 10, 2007 by lmharnisch

March 10, 1907Los Angeles Someone who opened the Los Angeles Times on this Sunday might be forgiven for wondering what had become of the world, for Page 1 was full of news about the demise of two religious leaders. The … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Religion, Streetcars | Tagged | Comments Off on A Tumultuous Season