Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 21

Posted on November 11, 2014 by lmharnisch

Henry James Lynch

Henry James Lynch, a plumber who was found in the basement of El Palacio Apartments, explained that he could do a better job than the police in investigating the Georgette Bauerdorf killing, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library.

As the Georgette Bauerdorf investigation unfolded, it attracted the usual kooks, crackpots and nut jobs, including an anonymous note, purportedly from the killer, that was a hoax.

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 |  Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31

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Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

Nov. 15, 2014, Fire Over England
I thought it would be fun to do a British film for a change. This is the 1937 movie “Fire Over England,” with Sir Laurence Olivier, Flora Robson, Leslie Banks, Vivien Leigh, Raymond Massey, Tamara Desni and Morton Selten. Based on the novel by A.E.W. Mason and adapted for the screen by Clemence Dane and Sergei Nolbandov and directed by William K. Howard. Music by Richard Addinsell, photographed by James Wong Howe with costumes by Rene Hubert.

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 70 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Ravenswood Apartments Attract the Stylish

Posted on November 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

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Mae West in her boudoir at the Ravenswood, Life magazine, Feb. 19, 1940.


Built during the early years of the Great Depression, the luxurious Ravenswood Apartment building at 570 N. Rossmore Ave. stands as one of the best examples of upscale apartment living in Los Angeles the 1930s. A gorgeous Zig Zag Streamline Moderne building, the Ravenswood features elegant decorations, adornments, and amenities, attracting many celebrity and discriminating residents.

Financier Maurice Feigenbaum obtained a permit for an eight-story, 240 room apartment building costing $350,000 in early June 1930, per the June 8, 1930 Los Angeles Times. He hired Max Maltzman, one of the few Jewish architects in Los Angeles at the time, to design an upscale structure. Originally from Boston, where he opened a draftsman’s office in 1923, Maltzman arrived on the West Coast in 1927, working as a draftsman for architect Leland A. Bryant. By 1929, Maltzman opened his own shop at 704 S. Spring Street, designing elegant apartment buildings throughout mid-Wilshire and the surrounding area. Feigenbaum, unfortunately, was indicted along with eleven others by a Federal grand jury November 18, 1931 for attempting to defraud more than $5 million through the U. S. mail.

Mary Mallory’s “Hollywoodland: Tales Lost and Found” is available for the Kindle.

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Posted in 1930, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Museum of the San Fernando Valley Grand Opening

Posted on November 8, 2014 by lmharnisch

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Sorry for the short notice, but the Museum of the San Fernando Valley says that it’s having a grand opening today from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 18860 Nordhoff St. in Northridge. More information is available here.

Posted in Museums, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , | Comments Off on Museum of the San Fernando Valley Grand Opening

Black Dahlia: Ronald Reagan and the Dead Milkmen

Posted on November 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

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Wow. Just when I thought I had seen everything — and I mean everything — about the Black Dahlia case.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

On Location in Downtown Los Angeles — 1930

Posted on November 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

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“For the Defense” is one of the old Paramount films now controlled by Universal.

For the Defense

As part of its pre-code marathon, TCM recently aired “For the Defense,” a 1930 Paramount film starring William Powell and Kay Francis.
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Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 20

Posted on November 6, 2014 by lmharnisch

Bauerdorf Light Fixture

An unidentified woman demonstrates how someone disabled the light fixture in the entryway to the Bauerdorf apartment, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library. I wondered whether this was Aggie Underwood because it is a Herald-Express picture and Herald reporters and photographers usually worked in teams. If a photographer wanted to show the height of the fixture, this would be a good way to do it. It’s impossible to be positive, however.   

Several days after Georgette Bauerdorf was killed, investigators focused on the light fixture outside the front door to the Bauerdorf apartment at 8493 Fountain Ave. The fixture had been disabled when someone unscrewed the bulb by several turns so that it no longer made electrical contact, but appeared to be fine. The Times described this fixture as an “automatic night light,” raising the question of whether it might have been on a timer or triggered by an “electric eye.”

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 |  Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31
Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

1944 on the Radio — NBC Symphony Orchestra, November 5, 1944

Posted on November 5, 2014 by lmharnisch

Radio Dial, 1944

November 5, 1944: Arturo Toscanini conducts the NBC Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, followed by Glinka’s “Caprice Brillant Jota Aragonesa.”  Courtesy of otronmp3.com.

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Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 19

Posted on November 5, 2014 by lmharnisch

Oct. 20, 1944, Daily News

Oct. 20, 1944: Capt. Garner Brown examines the fabric used to strangle Georgette Bauerdorf, Daily News.

One of the more unusual aspects of the Georgette Bauerdorf killing was the fabric the killer shoved about four inches down her throat.

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 |  Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31
Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 18

Posted on November 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

 

 

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This Google map shows several possible routes from Georgette Bauerdorf’s apartment to the location where the car was found. Whoever took the car had any number of options on where to dump it. Recall that the car, a 1936 Oldsmobile, was found about 10 miles away, at 728 1/2 E. 25th St., out of gas with the keys in the ignition.

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 |  Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31

Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, Streetcars | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 3, 2014 by lmharnisch

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This week’s mystery movie has been the Twentieth Century-Fox CinemaScope production of “Garden of Evil,” with Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward and Richard Widmark. The 1954 film was written by Frank Fenton, based on a story by Fred Freiberger and William Tunberg. Photographed by Milton Krasner and Jorge Stahl Jr., with music by Bernard Herrmann, produced by Charles Brackett and directed by Henry Hathaway.

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 35 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Sennett Stills Photographers Display Wide Talents

Posted on November 3, 2014 by lmharnisch

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Derelys Perdue, photo by Albert J. Kopec.


While some motion picture stills photographers are renowned for their work, such as George Hurrell, Clarence Sinclair Bull, Ernest Bachrach, and Ruth Harriet Louise, others are largely forgotten today, seeming to disappear into the mists of time decades ago. Such is the case with Albert J. Kopec and George Cannons, two of Mack Sennett’s stills photographers. Neither as famous or perhaps as talented as Nelson Evans or James Abbé in their day, the two immigrants created some beautiful work and displayed a wide range of photographic skill throughout their careers, revealing strong compositional eyes.

Forgotten Man Kopec worked for over six decades as a photographer, but seldom appears in any book or article on stills photographers. Working as a second unit man for comedy producer Mack Sennett meant little opportunity for shooting full out glamour shots, the images widely shared by magazines and newspapers.

Mary Mallory’s “Hollywoodland: Tales Lost and Found” is available for the Kindle.

Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Shadowing Marlowe: Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on November 2, 2014 by lmharnisch

Shadowing Marlowe

Someone asked me what I thought of this article in our hometown paper and when I got done laughing I pulled out Frank MacShane’s “Selected Letters of Raymond Chandler” and “The Life of Raymond Chandler.”

You guessed it.

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Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors | Tagged , , , | 29 Comments

Time to Turn the Clocks Back!

Posted on November 2, 2014 by lmharnisch

Pier Angelia

On behalf of the L.A. Daily Mirror, Pier Angeli and little friend remind you that Daylight Saving Time is o-ver. Or as William Safire used to say: “Fall is the time of year that conservatives like best because they get to turn the clock back.”

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Photography | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Cecil Hotel and Halloween — Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on October 31, 2014 by lmharnisch

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LAist is the latest to jump on the “who cares if it’s true, it’s Halloween!” bandwagon. Not with the “Black Dahlia Murder House” legend, but by reviving the old chestnut about Elizabeth Short and the Cecil Hotel. Note the “allegedly,” so useful in repeating something the writer wishes were true. Followed by this gem: “IT IS SAID that so many people jumped off the roof in suicide attempts that the adjacent parking lot sued the hotel.” Said by whom? Ridiculous!

Previously: The Black Dahlia and the Cecil Hotel – Another Good Story Ruined

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Downtown | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

An (In)complete List of TCM Tributes (Updated)

Posted on October 31, 2014 by lmharnisch

Here’s an updated list of TCM tributes.
(Nov. 1, 2014: Adds John Cleese on W.C. Fields, Jamie Leigh Curtis on Janet Leigh, Naked and Famous rock video of Joan Crawford; adds writer/editor and production company credits for Guillotine Post)
(Nov. 2, 2014: Adds Dennis Hopper on Nicholas Ray)
(Dec. 3, 2014: Adds Woody Allen on Ingmar Bergman — not online)
Please let me know if I have missed one.

Prince Albert of Monaco on Grace Kelly
Woody Allen on Ingmar Bergman (not online)

Anonymous on June Allyson
Anonymous on Mary Astor
Anonymous on Robert Benchley
Anonymous on Audie Murphy
Anonymous on Kim Novak

Claire Bloom on Charlie Chaplin
Ann Blyth on Joan Crawford
Ernest Borgnine on Robert Ryan
Carol Burnett on Lucille Ball

Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 17

Posted on October 30, 2014 by lmharnisch

728 1/2 E. 25th St., Census

The Herald-Express described the neighborhood where the killer abandoned the Bauerdorf car as “a Negro residential district.” (Oct. 13, 1944.)

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 |  Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31

Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Black Dahlia: Sorry, Houston Chronicle, Nobody Killed in the Sowden House

Posted on October 29, 2014 by lmharnisch

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The Houston Chronicle is the latest to fall for the “Black Dahlia Murder House” nonsense.

The Chronicle at least attempts to be skeptical, but oh well, it is Halloween and websites desperately need click bait.

This 5,600 square-foot home has dark ties, with a previous owner rumored to be a part of the “Black Dahlia” murders. You can own this architectural masterpiece for a cool $4.875 million.

That’s right. There were multiple “Black Dahlia” murders, at least according to the non-researched post by Maribel Molina.

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 16

Posted on October 29, 2014 by lmharnisch

Oct. 14, 1944, Los Angeles Examiner
Deputies Garner Brown, left, and John Schilling examine the Bauerdorf car for fingerprints, Los Angeles Examiner, Oct. 13, 1944.

When Georgette Bauerdorf’s body was discovered, investigators were unable to locate her car, a 1936 Oldsmobile coupe belonging to her sister.

The Oldsmobile was found Thursday, Oct. 12, 1944, in front of 728 1/2 E. 25th St. and had been parked there since early that morning. The keys were in the ignition and the gas tank was empty. (Daily News, Oct. 14, 1944).  The vehicle was reported by Mrs. Marion Mound (Mounday according to the 1940 census), who said the car had been parked there since 7:30 a.m. (Herald-Express, Oct. 13, 1944). The Herald described the neighborhood as “a Negro residential district.” (Oct. 13, 1944.) (More about the neighborhood later).

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 |  Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31

Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 15

Posted on October 28, 2014 by lmharnisch

Bauerdorf Car

Sheriff’s investigators examine Connie Bauerdorf’s 1936 Oldsmobile, which was being used by Georgette Bauerdorf and disappeared after the killing, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library.

One of the mysteries confronting investigators in the Georgette Bauerdorf case was what became of the car, a green 1936 Oldsmobile, California license 59-B-875 that belonged to her sister Connie and which Georgette was using while the family was out of town. (Daily News, Oct. 13, 1944).

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 |  Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31

Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments