Category Archives: San Fernando Valley

Oliver Hardy dies

Posted on August 7, 2007 by lmharnisch

The world mourns one of film’s greatest comedians, Oliver Hardy, who died in North Hollywood on Aug. 7, 1957. He was 65. Part 1 Part 2 The Mirror, Page 1 (Note the price of gas, 23.9 cents a gallon, is … Continue reading →

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Women attacked

Posted on July 31, 2007 by lmharnisch

July 31, 1957Los Angeles In the continuing assaults across the city, a North Hollywood housewife fought off an intruder while a 60-year-old Hollywood woman was saved from strangling by the staff of her Hollywood apartment building after she was grabbed … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood, Hollywood Division, Homicide, LAPD, San Fernando Valley | 1 Comment

Liberace’s mother beaten

Posted on July 19, 2007 by lmharnisch

July 19, 1957Los Angeles Hours after Liberace gave a deposition in his $25-million libel suit against Confidential magazine, two masked intruders attacked his mother in the garage of Liberace’s home, 15405 Valley Vista Blvd., Sherman Oaks. Frances Liberace Casadonte, (68, … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, LAPD, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

You, the jury, Part II

Posted on July 19, 2007 by lmharnisch

July 19, 1957 Los Angeles The jury convicted Wallace LeRoy Schiers of second-degree murder on July 18, 1957. But Schiers continued to insist that he did not kill his wife. He said: “I have nothing on my conscience. Somewhere along … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Homicide, LAPD, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Random shot

Posted on July 19, 2007 by lmharnisch

Native Angelenos will, of course, recognize that this photo was taken at the end of Reseda Boulevard about 1947. The man with the model airplane is W. Gilbert Clark, now UCLA professor emeritus of physics. Thanks for sharing!

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Meltdown

Posted on July 16, 2007 by lmharnisch

  July 16, 1957 Los Angeles At a field lab in the Santa Susana Mountains, an experimental nuclear reactor has begun generating electricity for San Fernando Valley housewives, thanks to our friend, Mr. Atom, the Mirror says. Housewives "wouldn’t know … Continue reading →

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You, the jury, Part I

Posted on July 16, 2007 by lmharnisch

  July 16, 1957 Los Angeles Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you have heard the witnesses and seen the evidence. Now you must decide whether to find Wallace LeRoy Schiers, 34, guilty of second-degree murder in the killing his … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1957, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

We get queries

Posted on July 11, 2007 by lmharnisch

Someone keeps landing on the blog because they’re trying to find out when the palm trees were planted on Sherman Way. Luckily, I have Proquest at hand, so let’s see. Hm. Someone apparently didn’t like the palms because they were … Continue reading →

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Bar brawl

Posted on July 11, 2007 by lmharnisch

  July 10-11, 1957Los Angeles There isn’t much in doubt about what happened that night in NorthHollywood; the only mystery comes much later. That night, Frank “Puggy”Sica, 40, and Salvatore Di Giovanni, 39, were having a few drinks withRonnie Kopp … Continue reading →

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Valley blaze

Posted on July 5, 2007 by lmharnisch

The west San Fernando Valley’s tinderbox goes up in flames–again. Page 1 Page 2

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The Daily Mirror commuting challenge

Posted on July 3, 2007 by lmharnisch

  July 3, 1957 Los Angeles We complain about traffic all the time. But how much worse is driving in L.A. than it was in 1957? We can find out. Best of all, you can help! You might be surprised … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Downtown, Freeways, San Fernando Valley, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Valley blaze

Posted on June 25, 2007 by lmharnisch

    June 25, 1957 Los Angeles A 50-foot tower of flames fed by 7,000 gallons of pressurized liquid propane being transferred from a truck to a storage tank was snuffed by a 28-year-old man who said it was no … Continue reading →

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Melchior robbers caught

Posted on June 22, 2007 by lmharnisch

June 22, 1957 Los Angeles  Wayne Burke, Richard McFall and Alfred J. Pope fled into the night in what they thought was a clean getaway. McFall said: “Burke and I got in my car and J. [Pope] took furs and … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1957, LAPD, Robberies, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

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 →

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Future shock

Posted on June 14, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 14, 1957Los Angeles Sometimes predictions for the future are simply painful to read. The people living in 1957 were prolific in sketching out hopeful plans. Some of them were foolish (I think we can safely eliminate the atomic-powered … Continue reading →

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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 →

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1957 Chevy

Posted on June 11, 2007 by lmharnisch

In February 1957, after adding 300,000 square feet, the General Motors' Van Nuys plant (note: it's really in Panorama City) began making station wagons and convertibles.  A spokesman says the plant is producing 150 cars a day in five different … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Barbershop bombed

Posted on June 8, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 8, 1957 Los Angeles Someday a sociologist at USC (you know who you are) will make a study of the fad of bombing Los Angeles barbershops, which began about 1952 and ended about 1971 with the advent of … Continue reading →

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Plane crash kills 4

Posted on June 4, 2007 by lmharnisch

  June 10, 1957 Los Angeles The street is quiet and the house is unremarkable. A neighbor’s small collection of emergency vehicles might be the only unintentional clue that something terrible ever happened on Gullo Avenue. The death toll would … Continue reading →

Posted in San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments