Category Archives: UFOs

November 26, 1904: UFO over Los Angeles

Posted on November 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 24, 1906: No, this isn’t a flying saucer on a stick. It’s an early attempt at carbon arc street lighting. Continue reading →

Posted in broadcasting, Front Pages, Politics, Science, UFOs | Leave a comment

October 5, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on October 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 5, 1959: Matt Weinstock on UFOs and the greatest invention of all time. Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Matt Weinstock, UFOs | Comments Off

Flying Saucers Over L.A.!

Posted on August 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 2, 1960: Newspapers are full of stories about flying saucers over Los Angeles! Continue reading →

Posted in JFK, Politics, Richard Nixon, UFOs | Comments Off

I’m moving to LADailyMirror.com Henry Fuhrmann, one of the assistant managing editors at The Times, likes to say: “Always take the high road. The view is nicer up there.” Henry is my friend, as well as my supervisor, and he … Continue reading →

Posted in Countdown to Watts, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, UFOs, World War II | 23 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 7

Posted on March 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

These days, many of The Times photos and negatives are held at UCLA. Here’s one of two negatives that Scott Harrison of our photo department got from the archives. As I said at the beginning, the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, Photography, UFOs | 4 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 6

Posted on March 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

July 8, 1947: The first links between the searchlight photo, the Battle of Los Angeles and flying saucers seem to have emerged in the late 1940s. A Times editorial dismissing UFOs compared them to the mystery … Continue reading →

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Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 5 [Updated]

Posted on March 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

[Update: The Times published this photo with a story about the Battle of Los Angeles, but the photo was actually taken another time and used in error, according to Scott Harrison, who researched it for The Times' Framework … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, Photography, UFOs | 1 Comment

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 4

Posted on March 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

Oct. 29, 1945: The Times publishes the searchlight photo to accompany a story about the Air Force account of the incident. Almost as soon as the shooting stopped, people began arguing over whether the 1942 air … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, UFOs | 1 Comment

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 3

Posted on March 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photographs by Larry Harnisch/Los Angeles Times The original 1942 print of searchlights over Los Angeles. The back of the print, showing editors’ notations and the publication date Feb. 26, 1942. Feb. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, Film, Hollywood, Photography, UFOs | 2 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 2

Posted on March 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

Feb. 24-25, 1942: Two days before the so-called Battle of Los Angeles, a Japanese submarine shelled the Elwood oil fields, 12 miles north of Santa Barbara, according to The Times, which added that the attack … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, Film, Hollywood, Photography, UFOs | 4 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 1

Posted on March 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

Los Angeles Times file photo Searchlights rake the nighttime sky over a blacked-out city on Feb. 25, 1942, in the so-called Battle of Los Angeles. A powerful image, to be sure. But is it … Continue reading →

Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, Film, Hollywood, Photography, UFOs | 1 Comment

Another Good Story Ruined — Saucers Over L.A.!

Posted on March 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

Los Angeles Times file photo I have been working with The Times’ historic photos for years and I know how the newspaper’s art department used to retouch pictures, so the moment I saw this image last … Continue reading →

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Another Good Story Ruined — The Battle of Los Angeles

Posted on February 21, 2011 by lmharnisch

Los Angeles Times file photo I haven’t talked to a movie publicist since Brian De Palma’s ghastly “The Black Dahlia” came out, but I was recently bombarded with pitches to do some sort of story about the rather comical February … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, Film, Hollywood, Photography, UFOs | 11 Comments

Paul Coates and Matt Weinstock, Dec. 3, 1960

Posted on December 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

Dec. 3, 1960: Matt Weinstock says: "People are warming up to our town's pro basketball team, the Lakers. But something will have to be done about that name, which derives from their former home state, Minnesota, with … Continue reading →

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Matt Weinstock, Nov. 28, 1960

Posted on November 28, 2010 by lmharnisch

Nov. 28, 1960: Are American children lagging behind their Soviet counterparts? Matt Weinstock (who admits he was lousy in geometry) doesn’t think it’s so important. “I thought it was a ridiculous waste of time, effort and money … Continue reading →

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Oh, Tin-enbaum!

Posted on November 24, 2010 by lmharnisch

Nov. 24, 1960: Yes, the aluminum Christmas tree is back again, in all its shimmering majesty, at Sears! The 7-foot tree with 153 branches cost $178.73 in 2009 dollars. ALSO Aluminum Christmas trees on the … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jazz, UFOs | Comments Off

Matt Weinstock, Nov. 23, 1960

Posted on November 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

Nov. 23, 1960: Joseph J. Cracchiolo traces a flaming object in the sky and watches it land in the 1200 block of West 120th Street. The space object turned out to be a plastic dry-cleaning bag, "with … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock, UFOs | 2 Comments

Flying Saucers Over L.A.

Posted on August 8, 2010 by lmharnisch

Aug. 2, 1960: Oh they didn’t really do that, did they? Yes, they did. Aug. 1, 1960: Only a portion of a front-page story about UFOs was saved in the microfilmed edition of The Times.

Posted in JFK, Politics, Richard Nixon, UFOs | 1 Comment

Matt Weinstock, Aug. 2, 1960

Posted on August 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

A cargo of stolen Caltechium? Aug. 2, 1960: What do you suppose is in Caltechium? Matt Weinstock looks at one family’s problems in having a swimming pool.

Posted in art and artists, books, Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock, Science, UFOs | 2 Comments

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, June 28, 1960

Posted on June 28, 2010 by lmharnisch

June 28, 1960: Former hotel clerk Otis T. Carr has a plan to send a man to the moon and back – and Paul Coates has the story.

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