Category Archives: Suicide

Body found

Posted on April 8, 2008 by lmharnisch

April 8, 1908 Santa Monica Wouldn’t Sherlock Holmes have fun with this case? I can even imagine him complaining about how anyone could get the name "John Maloney" when the victim’s address book indicates the man’s first name began with … Continue reading →

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April 4, 1958

Posted on April 4, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, MGM is making an expensive gamble on "Ben-Hur." Below, The Times continues its daily news feature on Holy Week … and has a story about the beginning of Passover … Detectives are trying to find out why a family … Continue reading →

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March 23, 1908

Posted on March 23, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, an exhausted mother kills herself … Below,  Bishop Conaty dedicates St. Patrick’s Church at Central Avenue and 34th Street. According to the church’s website, the Long Beach earthquake heavily damaged the building, which was eventually destroyed in the Sylmar … Continue reading →

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March 13, 1908

Posted on March 13, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, furnishings for the smartly decorated office in 1908 (shoutout to my pals at Allsteel!) Below, the postmaster receives a letter from a 60-year-old widow asking his help in finding a man … A modest appearance conceals the heart of … Continue reading →

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Man kills himself

Posted on January 25, 2008 by lmharnisch

Jan. 22-Feb. 22, 1958 Los Angeles Bonnie saw him standing on the sidewalk in a crowd of people across the street from the theater. He was holding a gun. His name was Delmer.  Delmer Dean Dobbs, 23. A month before, … Continue reading →

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Jan. 23, 1958

Posted on January 23, 2008 by lmharnisch

A crowd at 5th Street and Main yells "Jump, Jump, Jump! Jump, you coward–jump!" as an unemployed railroad engineer stands at the edge of a hotel roof (the building isn’t identified, but I’m guessing it’s the Hotel Rosslyn) … And … Continue reading →

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Robber kills self

Posted on January 21, 2008 by lmharnisch

Here’s a headline that says: "Read Me":"Cornered and Bullet-Riddled, Bandit Blows His Brains Out." I stumbled across this while researching the mysterious noise mentioned in Matt Weinstock’s column and it’s too good not to share. This is quite a story … Continue reading →

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Actor stabbed

Posted on January 20, 2008 by lmharnisch

  Jan. 19-21, 1958 Los Angeles Her name was Velda and she had apparently been a model in New York. That’s where she met Burt Lancaster, at right with nurse Genevieve Grigoli. It’s not clear how well she knew the … Continue reading →

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Man kills son

Posted on January 7, 2008 by lmharnisch

  Jan. 7, 1958 Los Angeles "Dear mother," the note from 9-year-old Jimmy began. They weren’t his words, of course. They were dictated by his father, David James Darr, a 34-year-old machinist who was apparently holding a .45 to his … Continue reading →

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Editor kills self

Posted on January 4, 2008 by lmharnisch

Jan. 4, 1958New York   Photographs by Dan McCormack / Los Angeles Times Howard Rushmore on Aug. 12, 1957, during the Confidential magazine trial.   I already touched on Howard Rushmore’s suicide when writing in May about another tragic figure … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Hollywood, Suicide | 1 Comment

Deadly triangle

Posted on December 2, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Dec. 1, 1957 Los Angeles George and Bill had known each other for five years and were best friends. They worked together in an East Los Angeles metal shop and lived next to one another in Rosemead. Bill, 30, … Continue reading →

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Rampages revisited

Posted on November 27, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Photograph by Larry Harnisch / Los Angeles TimesHere’s 307 Tamarac Drive, where Harvey F. Rawlings killed his family and committed suicide.   And this is 555 Avenue 64, where Harold Oilar killed his family in 1954.   And here’s … Continue reading →

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Murder-suicide

Posted on November 27, 2007 by lmharnisch

Nov. 27, 1957 Los Angeles Everybody says the Rawlings family are fine people. They have a big house at 307 Tamarac Drive in San Rafael, one of the finer neighborhoods in Pasadena. Nice house, isn’t it? Four bedrooms, two baths, … Continue reading →

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Murder-suicide

Posted on November 16, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Nov. 15, 1957 Los Angeles Your name is Leonard Jackola. You’re 43 and here on a visit from Chicago, staying with your younger sister, Mary, 30, and her family at 3634 E. 177th St., Torrance. Her husband, Arthur E. … Continue reading →

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Body at Point Mugu

Posted on November 13, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Nov. 13, 1957 Point Mugu Let’s suppose you are the Ventura County coroner. The body of a man in his 20s is found washed up on the beach near Point Mugu, below Mugu Rock, according to news accounts. He’s … Continue reading →

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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

October 16, 1957: Paul V. Coates–Confidential File

Posted on October 16, 2007 by lmharnisch

October 16, 1957 At 3:24 a.m., the ambulance arrived. The victim was rushed to Hollywood Receiving Hospital for emergency treatment. His condition was critical. He was then taken to General Hospital. Nine hours later, he was pronounced dead. That was … Continue reading →

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Madness

Posted on October 4, 2007 by lmharnisch

The Mirror published a copy of the Christmas note Ronald White wrote to his grandmother.

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Madness

Posted on October 4, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Oct. 4, 1957Los Angeles I’ve read any number of horrible stories in the old papers, but this is one of the worst in terms of senseless tragedy. The facts, such as they are, don’t even begin to explain what … Continue reading →

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Requiem

Posted on September 16, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Sept. 16, 1957 Los Angeles Franklyn West Storer, 50, woke up on a Saturday morning to discover that his beloved 16-year-old daughter, Mary Alice, had taken a fatal overdose of sleeping pills. In despair, he also took a fatal … Continue reading →

Posted in classical music, Hollywood, Hollywood Division, LAPD, Music, Suicide | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment