The FBI file perpetuates the error that Elizabeth Short’s middle name was “Ann.” She had no middle name.
Note: This item was originally posted on lmharnisch.com in 2005.
Here’s a quick guide to the most frequent errors made in writing about the murder of Elizabeth Short:
Myth: Her name was Elizabeth Ann Short.
Fact: Her mother testified at the inquest that she had no middle name.
Origin: A Los Angeles Times story in the 1970s erroneously added a middle name, which now appears in seemingly reputable sources on Los Angeles history. To add the semblance of authenticity, the middle name has even made its way into her FBI file. Whenever you hear someone call her Elizabeth Ann (like “Black Dahlia Avenger”) you can be sure they don’t know what they are talking about. A headline with the same story erroneously said there were hundreds of confessors. As the story says, there were hundreds of suspects.
Myth: The newspapers nicknamed the case.
Fact: Elizabeth Short got the “Black Dahlia” nickname in a Long Beach drugstore. The Los Angeles Herald-Express tried to nickname the case the “Werewolf Murder,” but dropped it after several days.
Some earnest men in the advertising business are concerned about the derogatory image of their profession that has been created in the public mind and quietly are running it up on the flagpole to see who salutes.
Fidel Castro, the bearded boy wonder of Cuba, has been sassing his kindly, benevolent, slightly wealthy Uncle Sam lately.
ladailymirror.com 
