Category Archives: Mickey Cohen

December 9, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on December 9, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 9, 1959: A man calling himself Tony tells Paul Coates that he killed Jack “The Enforcer” Whalen, but Coates is skeptical. Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Mickey Cohen, Paul Coates | Leave a comment

December 4, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on December 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 4, 1959: Paul Coates has the story of Roger “The Terrible” Touhy, Prohibition gangland boss who was finally released from prison. Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Countdown to Watts, Mickey Cohen, Paul Coates | Leave a comment

December 4, 1959: Mickey Cohen Arrested

Posted on December 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 4, 1959: Mickey Cohen is arrested in the cafe slaying of Jack “The Enforcer” Whalen. Cohen is a “perfect gentleman,” says companion Sandy Hashagen, 18. Continue reading →

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November 20, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on November 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 20, 1959: Housewives lead more interesting lives than career girls, Paul Coates says, citing the example of a woman with the magazine subscription that Would Not Die. Continue reading →

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November 18, 1958: Mickey Cohen pal back from the dead

Posted on November 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 18, 1959: Mickey Cohen pal is back from the dead! Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1958, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Mickey Cohen | Comments Off on November 18, 1958: Mickey Cohen pal back from the dead

October 2, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on October 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 2, 1959: “Thelonious Monk, who’ll be among those present at the Hollywood Bowl jazz festival tonight, is the composer of “Round About Midnight, in my opinion one of the finest mood pieces of recent years.” Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Matt Weinstock, Mickey Cohen | 1 Comment

October 1, Paul V. Coates — Confidential File

Posted on October 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 1, 1959: Paul Coates writes about Caryl Chessman and his scheduled execution. And Mickey Cohen plans to marry Beverly (Jean) Hills. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Mickey Cohen, Paul Coates | Comments Off on October 1, Paul V. Coates — Confidential File

Feb. 14, 1959: Paul Coates Gets Some Reader Feedback

Posted on February 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 14, 1959: It’s Saturday in 1959, and Paul Coates ends the week with some letters, a typical ploy in the days when columnists published six times a week, a punishing schedule. And there is a Parkey Sharkey alert! Also … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Mickey Cohen, Paul Coates, Television | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

RIP: Dave Pell, Jazz Musician 1925 – 2017

Posted on May 8, 2017 by lmharnisch

Veteran jazz musician and record producer Dave Pell has died at the age of 92, according to his Facebook page. Here are excerpts of an interview I did in 2007. (The full interview is at latimes.com.) Dave Pell on Lenny … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, 2017, Mickey Cohen, Music, Nightclubs, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

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

‘Gangster Squad’: Fail – Part 1

Posted on January 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

Uh-oh. Nobody should be surprised — least of all Warner Bros. — that  “Gangster Squad” is a terrible movie. Anyone who saw the trailers or heard the industry gossip knew that it was going to be dreadful. It was a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, Fashion, Fashions, Film, History, Hollywood, LAPD, Mickey Cohen | Tagged , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Mickey Cohen on the Record – Talking With Author Tere Tereba

Posted on July 26, 2012 by lmharnisch

Photo: Tere Tereba’s “Mickey Cohen: The Life and Crimes of L.A.’s Notorious Mobster.”   Note: I have been talking with author Tere Tereba about her book “Mickey Cohen: The Life and Crimes of L.A.’s Notorious Mobster.” Was he nothing more  … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, History, Hollywood, LAPD, Mickey Cohen | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Attorney Storms Office, Seizes D.A.’s Bugging Equipment

Posted on July 15, 2011 by lmharnisch

July 15, 1941: Defense attorney Samuel Rummel (shot to death Dec. 11, 1950) breaks a door and seizes a dictograph wired to a microphone in his office in the William Fox Building, 608 S. Hill. Rummel was defending Deputy Charles … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Cold Cases, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Jimmie Fidler, Lee Shippey, Mickey Cohen, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Attorney Storms Office, Seizes D.A.’s Bugging Equipment

Wanted: Mickey Cohen on Tape

Posted on July 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

I have received an unusual request regarding a film now in production. The folks are looking for the famous/notorious TV interview that Mike Wallace did with Mickey Cohen in 1957. Clips from the interview are on the DVD with Wallace’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Brain Trust, Film, From the Reference Desk, Mickey Cohen, Television | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

U.S. Launches Astronaut Alan Shepard: ‘Boy What a Ride!’

Posted on May 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

           May 6, 1961: Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. was rocketed 115 miles above the Earth in a flawless suborbital flight and recovered safely 302 miles down the Atlantic Missile Range to become America's first man … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, art and artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Mickey Cohen, Obituaries, Religion | 2 Comments

Liz Renay Sentenced to Prison

Posted on April 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

            April 11, 1961: Liz Renay (d. 2007) is sentenced to prison for violating the terms of her probation for perjury in Mickey Cohen’s tax evasion case. She later said: "I have paid a dear … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1961, Comics, Crime and Courts, Mickey Cohen | 2 Comments

Found on EBay — ‘Headline Happy’

Posted on April 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

  Los Angeles Times file photo   A somewhat distressed copy of “Headline Happy” by Florabel Muir  has been listed on EBay. You may recall that Muir, above, has a terrific description of the Busgy Siegel crime scene and, yes, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950, books, Crime and Courts, Mickey Cohen, Zombie Reading List | Comments Off on Found on EBay — ‘Headline Happy’

Segregated Businesses May Be Legal, Eisenhower Says

Posted on March 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

  March 17, 1960: On the jump, more about Cheryl Crane’s transfer to El Retiro School for Girls in the San Fernando Valley … President Eisenhower says it may be legal for private businesses to bar African Americans or any … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, art and artists, Comics, Countdown to Watts, Education, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Homicide, Mickey Cohen, Religion | Comments Off on Segregated Businesses May Be Legal, Eisenhower Says

Dietrich Backs Von Sternberg in ‘Blue Angel’ Lawsuit

Posted on March 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

   March 16, 1960: Marlene Dietrich gives a deposition in Josef von Sternberg’s suit against 20th Century Fox over its remake of “The Blue Angel.” On the jump, a murder suspect kills a hospital attendant after being declared sane … … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Countdown to Watts, Dodgers, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Mickey Cohen, Sports | Comments Off on Dietrich Backs Von Sternberg in ‘Blue Angel’ Lawsuit