1944 on the Radio — ‘Nick Carter, Master Detective,’ January 29, 1944

Posted on January 29, 2026 by lmharnisch

radio_dial_1944

January 29, 1944

It’s Saturday in 1944 and today we have

— “The Unwilling Accomplice” on “Nick Carter, Master Detective.” Courtesy of Archive.org

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January 29, 1947: Thief Steals Box of Rattlers From Snake Expert’s Car

Posted on January 29, 2026 by lmharnisch


Jan. 29, 1947, comics

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project.

Wanted: Thief Who
Took 3 Snakes

SAN GABRIEL, Jan. 28—Chief Frank L. Carpenter sent out a police broadcast tonight for capture of the boldest and most daring thief in San Gabriel’s history.

The suspect is wanted for stealing three rattlesnakes.

The reptiles were taken from the automobile of Joseph Gerle, snake authority of North Hollywood. Gerle was lecturing at the Town House, 900 W. Santa Anita Ave. Continue reading →

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January 29, 1934: Did Ancient Lizard Cult Hide Gold Tablets in Tunnels Under L.A.?

Posted on January 29, 2026 by lmharnisch


Jan. 29, 1934: Gold hidden in network of tunnels under downtown Los Angeles! Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Downtown | 1 Comment

January 28, 1907: Meet Gen. Homer Lea, L.A.’s Gift to China

Posted on January 28, 2026 by lmharnisch


Note: This is an encore post from 2007.
January 28, 1907
Los Angeles

“If my career seems strange to you, it seems stranger and more incredible to me,” Gen. Homer Lea once said. And indeed it was, for Lea’s life was the tale of a poor and badly handicapped boy’s adventures as a leader in an exotic foreign land.

His 1912 obituary in The Times begins: “His great work finished, the pitiful, wasted little body of the American boy who overthrew the tattered old Chinese empire lies silent in his home in Ocean Park. Gen. Homer Lea died yesterday.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1912, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Education, LAPD, Obituaries, Religion, Streetcars | Comments Off on January 28, 1907: Meet Gen. Homer Lea, L.A.’s Gift to China

Shirley Temple’s Tempest — Celebs Tee Off on Golf Course Over Star

Posted on January 27, 2026 by lmharnisch

image
Jan. 27, 1950: It’s difficult to figure out exactly what happened at the Riviera Country Club between actor/golfer Joe Kirkwood Jr. and singer Johnny Johnston. At one time the men and their wives were very chummy, apparently. Then Shirley Temple divorced actor John Agar and there were rumors. Kirkwood and Johnston encountered each other at the Riviera, words were exchanged, etc., etc. Tracked down at a beauty parlor, Temple said she knew nothing about the incident and didn’t care.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1950, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is February 3

Posted on January 27, 2026 by lmharnisch

Boxie and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on the Black Dahlia case Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at 10 a.m. Pacific time, on YouTube.

*Note, I bloopered at one point saying “next Thursday.” It’s “next Tuesday.”

Continue reading →

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January 27, 1928: Voices — Christine Collins

Posted on January 27, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 27, 1928: Christine Collins letter, first page.
From the California State Archives

  Los Angeles, Calif.
Jan. 27, 1928

Mr. Myron Clark,
Assistant Clerk,
Reprisa, Calif.

Dear Sir,

I want to thank you for the nice letter you sent me in answer to the
letter I forwarded Mr. C.S. Neumiller in regard to my husband Walter J.
Collins (#12824).

It pleases me to know that Mr. Collins’ conduct has been so good and
that it is to his credit. You know, Mr. Clark, my husband is not a
criminal but he just made a great big mistake due to financial worries
and the prolonged illness of his dear mother. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1928, Changeling, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Comments Off on January 27, 1928: Voices — Christine Collins

January 27, 1907: L.A. Studies Elevated Trolley Line to Ease Traffic

Posted on January 27, 2026 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007.
Jan. 27, 1907
Los Angeles

One thing you can say about Angelenos: We love to talk about traffic. The only thing we love more is to commission studies and draft plans to deal with the problem, and then ignore them.

“With the wonderful growth of Los Angeles as a great city has come to it many problems to be solved. The Owens River and the system of storm drains underway are the solutions of two important ones,” The Times says.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Downtown, Freeways, Hollywood, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off on January 27, 1907: L.A. Studies Elevated Trolley Line to Ease Traffic

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Don’t Be a Sucker’ Promotes American Values

Posted on January 26, 2026 by lmharnisch

Aug. 21, 2017, Don't Be a Sucker
“Don’t Be a Sucker” is on YouTube.

Note: This is an encore post from 2017.

Still as relevant today as when it was first produced over 70 years ago, the United States Army Signal Corps’ short “Don’t Be a Sucker” describes the founding principles of the United States’ Declaration of Independence and Constitution, that all people are created equal and should share in the bounties and freedom that they and all parts of our melting pot have created. From its beginnings, our country has welcomed people from around the world, blending voices and lives to create a wonderful smorgasbord of culture. Without all those beautiful grace notes, America would not be the country it is.

The Signal Corps created all types of films for the Army during World War II: training and instructional films, propaganda, rallying, and patriotic pieces, all aimed to get soldiers to devote their all in fighting our enemies to preserve our way of life. Most were never intended to be viewed by the general public, aimed strictly at the boys going overseas, both during the fight and then to prepare them for returning home and demonstrating these honorable values to others.

Hollywood at Play, by Donovan Brandt, Mary Mallory and Stephen X. Sylvester is now on sale.

Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 26, 2026 by lmharnisch

Blurred background with main title in red letters.

This week’s mystery movie was the 1990 Paramount picture The Two Jakes, with Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel, Meg Tilly, Madeleine Stowe, Eli Wallach, Ruben Blades, Frederic Forrest, Joe Mantell, Perry Lopez, David Keith, Tracey Walter, James Hong and Richard Farnsworth. Continue reading →

Posted in 1990, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

January 24, 1959: Paul Coates — Confidential File

Posted on January 24, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 24, 1959: The body of Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer remains in the morgue because of a fight between his ex-wife and his parents.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Paul Coates, Television | Comments Off on January 24, 1959: Paul Coates — Confidential File

January 24, 1947: Electrical Engineer Seeks to Unlock Secret of Mind Reading

Posted on January 24, 2026 by lmharnisch

Jan. 24, 1947, comi

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project.

Savant seeks key to
mental telepathy in
radar, light waves

PORTLAND, Ore, Jan. 24—(U.P.) An electrical engineer said today he thought the answer to mental telepathy might be found in the unexplored frequency band between ultra-short radar waves and the longest waves of light.

Dr. Phillips Thomas, for 35 years a research engineer with the Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co., said he was so thoroughly convinced that the answers would be found that he plans to devote his own time to the research.

Continue reading →

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1944 on the Radio — ‘Casablanca’ on ‘Lux Radio Theater,’ Jan. 24, 1944

Posted on January 24, 2026 by lmharnisch

radio_dial_1944
January 24, 1944

It’s Monday in 1944 and today we have:

—“Information Please,” hosted by Clifton Fadiman, with John Kieran, Franklin P. Adams, Elizabeth Janeway — author of the bestseller “The Walsh Girls” — and music critic Deems Taylor. I invite the Brain Trust to try these questions. They can be tough! Courtesy of Archive.org

—“Casablanca,” starring Alan Ladd as Rick and Hedy Lamarr, on “Lux Radio Theatre.” Courtesy of Archive.org.

—“Stolen Patrol Car” on “Hop Harrigan.” Courtesy of Archive.org.

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January 24, 1907: L.A. Church May Ordain Woman!

Posted on January 24, 2026 by lmharnisch


Note: This is an encore post from 2007.
January 24, 1907
Los Angeles

Meet a tough little lady who gave her life to helping the poor, needy children of Los Angeles. She built a church and school starting with a nickel donated by a newsboy, left it all and began again in a tent when the presiding minister turned out to be a crook, and then regained it all. She spent most of her later years fighting with state authorities to stay in operation. Her name is Belle L. White.

White was preaching as early as 1897 at the Pacific Gospel Union, working with needy children in the neighborhood east of Alameda Street. But in a few years, when the Gospel Union decided to give up working with youngsters, White split off and formed her own school at 6th Street and Mateo.

Continue reading →

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January 23, 1958: Matt Weinstock

Posted on January 23, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 23, 1958

Matt WeinstockConfidential magazine may have purged itself of obscenity but the expose complex it created is not so easily dispelled.

So says an experienced writer of fact articles.

The way he analyzes the present situation, the public’s appetite for gossip and scandal, whetted by Confidential, is now being satisfied by the so-called conservative magazines.

Their editors who a year ago wouldn’t have dreamed of going for the racy stuff are now rejecting assigned articles on celebrities when the subject refuses to tell all. These editors insist their writers get full confessions, regardless of whose privacy is invaded, or no sale. Continue reading →

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January 23, 1958: Paul Coates

Posted on January 23, 2026 by lmharnisch

Jan. 23, 1958

Paul Coates, in coat and tieThere’s an old saying that I frequently call upon which goes:

“Omnia vincit amor.”

It means “Love conquers all”–and I think it’s pretty applicable to what’s going to happen to the U.S. Marines.

I think so because, shortly after dusk last night, I was invaded by some dozen wives of the corps. And I can truthfully say that I think the shores of Tripoli fared better than I did.

The women were, in mild English, disgruntled. In stronger English, angered. Or in corps English, fighting mad.

–Not, fortunately, at me. Continue reading →

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January 23, 1947: Four Held for Trial in ‘Red Hibiscus Murder’

Posted on January 23, 2026 by lmharnisch

Jan. 23, 1947, Comics


Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project.

Murder


Four held for Trial in
‘Hibiscus’ Slaying

After a weeklong preliminary hearing, four of five youths arrested in the Lincoln Park “hibiscus” murder case were today held to answer to Superior Court by Municipal Judge Arthur Guerin.

Freed after the hearing was Ephrem “Baby Face” Olivas, 18, who was named by the four others as the slayer of Naomi Tullis Cook, 52, whose beaten body was found under a clump of hibiscus bushes in the park near the men’s restroom.

Continue reading →

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January 23, 1907: Felix Chavarino — Lemon Fiend

Posted on January 23, 2026 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2007.
January 23, 1907
Los Angeles

Pity, for a moment, Felix Chavarino, caught in the grips, not of opium, morphine or heroin, but of citrus, for he is a “lemon fiend.”

He was arrested after begging for food in a small restaurant. Chavarino didn’t want anything else on the menu, pleading for a “le-mon,” a “le-mon.”

“Gaunt, unkempt and weird looking, he crouched there, disdaining all offers,” The Times says.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Food and Drink, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off on January 23, 1907: Felix Chavarino — Lemon Fiend

January 22, 1959: ‘Our Gang’ Star Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer Dies in Fight Over $50

Posted on January 22, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 22, 1959: Mirror Cover. Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer dies in fight over $50.

Jan. 22, 1959: Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer is shot to death in a fight with Moses Samuel Stiltz. According to police, Switzer borrowed a dog belonging to Stiltz, then lost the dog. Switzer paid $50 for the return of Stiltz’s dog. Switzer decided Stiltz owed him the money and a fight ensued. Somewhere there should be the line: “both had been drinking heavily” and here we have it: “Switzer had three beers and a Martini.” The shooting occurred at the home of Rita Jane Corrigan, former wife of Ray “Crash” Corrigan. Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Baseball, Crime and Courts, Dodgers, Film, Hollywood, Keith Thursby, LAPD, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on January 22, 1959: ‘Our Gang’ Star Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer Dies in Fight Over $50

January 22, 1947: Police Hunt ‘Large Nose Bandit’

Posted on January 22, 2026 by lmharnisch

Jan. 22, 1947, comics

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project.

‘Large Nose’
Seek Bandit in $28,000
L.A. Bank Holdup

“Large Nose,” a bandit who claims “heroes die young,” was sought by police today for the $28,000 robbery of the Bronson-Olympic branch of the Security-First National Bank.

Armed, the robber forced 19-year-old Dolores Huss, safety deposit box attendant, to open the vault and allow him to scoop up handfuls of money held as surplus cash.

The bandit handed the girl a list of instructions:

Continue reading →

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