Category Archives: Uncategorized

At right, one of the formative publications of my youth, which was included with the purchase of the World Book Encyclopedia. The Lookies had a wonderful motto: “We don’t guess, we look it up.”Page 22I really don’t want to get … Continue reading →

Wednesday was the 61st anniversary of the kidnapping of 6-year-old Rochelle Gluskoter from the frontyard of a home around the corner from where her parents, Abe and Miriam, were preparing to open their market at 8464 S. Central Ave. Rochelle’s … Continue reading →

I was all set, or so I thought, for today’s entry. And then something fell in my lap that I simply couldn’t ignore. Let’s suppose you are an established author with a well-known book on a particular subject. Let us … Continue reading →

You might ask yourself what bright, well-educated people with an arts background (art history for Nathan Marsak and Kim Cooper, musicology for yours truly) discuss when they get together. Of course, the subject is the prevailing market value of Jabberjaw … Continue reading →

Several years ago, I was interviewed by a writer for the German magazine Stern about the Black Dahlia case. In explaining what was wrong with the various Dahlia books, I said: “They lack Teutonic thoroughness.” Of course, it was to … Continue reading →

I always cut my roses on Jan. 15 as a memorial to Elizabeth Short, because I remember that on the night before the body was found a neighbor had a strange encounter at the crime scene when he went there … Continue reading →

Page 16 In the Black Dahlia books, all roads lead to William Randolph Fowler and it would be interesting to see how a sociologist would make a graph of the incestuous literary kinship system. Will talks to Mary Pacios, who … Continue reading →

Page 14 “Hansen studied the body and the ‘sacred setting’ for some time before he stood up and said to Finis, ‘We won’t know what we’re really dealing with here until we get a post mortem.’ He requested that the … Continue reading →

Look what I found while watching the opening of “Some Like It Hot.” Why it’s signage for a 1950s Standard gas station. Hey isn’t that going to be in the shot? Naw, don’t worry about it.

Pages 12-15 Here’s a riddle: Let’s suppose for a moment that you are writing a historical piece; nothing terribly esoteric for a scholarly journal but something for the average reader. You have a choice between a schlocky, sensational paperback and … Continue reading →

Today is the anniversary of the Feb. 10, 1947, Jeanne French murder. Frequently linked to the Black Dahlia in the popular imagination and absurdly claimed as one of the umpteen victims of Dr. George “Evil Genius” Hodel in “Black Dahlia … Continue reading →

I was at a signing at Book Soup last night for Kim Cooper’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” (important note: there’s parking behind the store, otherwise you have to contend with West Hollywood’s insane parking situation. Those people aren’t … Continue reading →

Page 8 In those days Leimert Park was a nice, middle-class neighborhood on the fringe of the more fashionable Adams District west of downtown Los Angeles. Here, in a few words, “Mogul” demonstrates its lack of familiarity with two historic … Continue reading →

Page 7 What’s this? Another day on Page 7? Theological scholars don’t scrutinize the Bible this carefully and this is a book you could read in a few hours waiting for a plane at LAX. Don’t give up, we’re closing … Continue reading →

Page 7 (Continued) If the temperature dropped below 35 degrees F in the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys, the ranchers had to go out and light their smudge pots to ward off the frost that could damage the citrus … Continue reading →

And how are we doing? Some glaring omissions, a few mangled facts and some major errors. In all, the book isn’t doing well and we’re only on Page 6. If this were a restaurant, the health department would give it … Continue reading →

P. 5 Extra! Extra! I was raised on the wrong side of the tracks in Beverly Hills. This is the most marvelously amusing statement. I suppose there are people—somewhere—who might find this believable. But for anybody local, especially a homebuyer, … Continue reading →

Page 3 There wasn’t much nightlife in Los Angeles back in the 1940s. Most people went to bed early. Even in Hollywood the streets were empty and the town was pretty dead by 10 p.m. My goodness, I had to … Continue reading →

People keep asking me: “Have you read the Wolfe book?” meaning Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” My answer is always the same: I bought a copy but … Continue reading →