Category Archives: Mickey Cohen

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 , , | Leave a comment

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 | Leave a comment

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 | Leave a comment

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 | Leave a comment

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 29, 1960

Posted on March 1, 2010 by lmharnisch

Bringing Up Beverly; by Mother Aadland     While the rest of you were idly accomplishing a variety of things over the week end, I was interviewing Mrs. Florence Aadland.     Mrs Aadland, mother of Beverly, protege of the late Errol … Continue reading →

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

Closing Arguments in Finch Trial; Chessman’s Fate Up to Legislature

Posted on February 27, 2010 by lmharnisch

Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times July 22, 1959: Carole Tregoff waits to be questioned by investigators. Los Angeles Times file photo Feb. 19, 1960: Students on Market Street in San Francisco protest the upcoming execution of Caryl … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Homicide, Mickey Cohen, Photography | Leave a comment

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Dec. 29, 1959

Posted on December 29, 2009 by lmharnisch

Incredibly, Old Con Game Still Works           The name of the game is “pigeon drop.”           And, like pinochle, it generally requires three players.           Unlike pinochle, however, two of them must be equipped with glib tongues.  The third player … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Front Pages, LAPD, Mickey Cohen | Leave a comment

Matt Weinstock, Dec. 23, 1959

Posted on December 23, 2009 by lmharnisch

  Erring Blacklisters Sorry     A week after it was disclosed, the strange case of Louis Pollock is still the big talk among Hollywood writers.     Pollock has written a dozen screenplays and 30 television plays in the past five … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Comics, LAPD, Matt Weinstock, Mickey Cohen | Leave a comment

Shooting Victim’s Father Accused of Seeking Revenge

Posted on December 16, 2009 by lmharnisch

  Tony Reno says he was attacked by Fred Whalen, the father of shooting victim Jack “the Enforcer” Whalen. Dec. 16, 1959: Vice President Richard Nixon holds a wide margin among Republican voters over all other GOP contenders in the … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Homicide, Mickey Cohen, Richard Nixon | Leave a comment

LoCigno Arraigned in Whalen Killing

Posted on December 12, 2009 by lmharnisch

Darryl Kemp’s prints are found in Marjorie Hipperson’s apartment. “Yes, I’ll Leave Now!”   Dmitri Shostakovich gives some lumps to Louis Armstrong and Leonard Bernstein. Now you know what a Shamash is. A robe is $55 at Oviatt’s – that’s … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, art and artists, Comics, Mickey Cohen, Religion, Sports | 1 Comment

Texas a Gateway for Drugs From Mexico, Officials Say

Posted on December 11, 2009 by lmharnisch

Walter W. Williams, 117, the last living Civil War veteran, is in critical condition.   “Dear Jesus, I am writing to you instead of Santa because you are what Christmas is. I would like to say before we all forget … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Mickey Cohen, Sports, Transportation | Leave a comment