Jan. 11, 1959: ‘Who Shot Duke Snider?’

Posted on January 11, 2019 by lmharnisch

Duke Snider
Jan. 11, 1959: Keith Thursby looks at the fledgling acting career of Duke Snider. If it worked for Chuck Connors….

The entire piece appeared on latimes.com in 2009 and is available at Archive.org..

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Victor Segno: How to Live 100 Years – Don’t Boil Water!

Posted on January 11, 2019 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 2009

For a while, I thought it would be amusing to run advice of A. Victor Segno, my favorite Los Angeles charlatan. Like this item on not boiling water. Look out for the decaying carcasses of dead germs!

This item originally appeared on latimes.com and is available via Archive.org.

Posted in 1903, Medicine | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Jan. 10, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘Chinese Puzzle’

Posted on January 10, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 10, 1959, Matt Weinstock


Jan. 10, 1959: And we close the day with a lighthearted column from Matt Weinstock. A bit of poetry, an amusing story. Maybe one sentimental yarn. That’s what afternoon papers were all about. Features, news updates, late stock market reports and race results. Weinstock frequently wrote about bookies..

The column originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and was republished on latimes.com in 2009. It’s available at Archive.org.

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Jan. 10, 1959: Paul Coates Confidential File – Mash Notes and Comments

Posted on January 10, 2019 by lmharnisch

L.A. Mirror, 1959

Jan. 10, 1959: Paul Coates runs a letters column – and has an interesting item about Herman Hover’s efforts to reopen Ciro’s (Coates covered L.A. nightlife and restaurants before he became a columnist)..

The entire column appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and was republished on latimes.com in 2009. It’s available via Archive.org.

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Black Dahlia: Here’s Some More Bad Books on the Black Dahlia Case

Posted on January 10, 2019 by lmharnisch

corroborating_evidence In compiling my list of bad books about the Black Dahlia case, I neglected to mention William T. Rasmussen’s fringe publication “Corroborating Evidence,” which I had forgotten, mainly because it’s so nutty that I won’t even let it in the house.

Executive summary: The Black Dahlia case is utterly unrelated to any other killing. Not the Cleveland Torso killings. Not the Georgette Bauerdorf case. Not the Suzanne Degnan killing. And not the Jeanne French murder.

In “Corroborating Evidence,” Rasmussen tries to tie them  together. Apparently there is a “Corroborating Evidence” franchise with “new evidence.” Funny thing about crackpot books: There is always “new evidence” to support some bogus claim, while never addressing the fundamental weakness of the theory.

its_me_cover There’s also “It’s Me,” by John A. Cameron. Cameron claims that Elizabeth Short and Suzanne Degnan were killed by Edward Wayne Edwards, who would have been 13 when he killed Elizabeth Short and 12 when he killed Suzanne Degnan. Edwards also supposedly killed another victim when he was 12 and still another at the age of 11, and my head is going to explode if I don’t stop.

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Jan. 10, 1959: Dodgers Move Outfield Fence

Posted on January 10, 2019 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 2009

Jan. 10, 1959: The Dodgers are playing in the Coliseum and decide to cut the distance to the outfield fence. It was a victory for Duke Snider, Keith Thursby writes.

The post originally appeared on latimes.com in 2009 and is available via Archive.org..

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Jan. 10, 1959: Nixon Was Born … in a Hospital?

Posted on January 10, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 10, 1959

Jan. 10, 1959: This was a fun, strange story. Art Ryon claimed that Richard Nixon’s mother said he was born in a hospital, not at home. Later this was strongly denied and Bela Kornitzer, in “The Real Nixon,”  went out of his well to disprove the story..

Also, a grieving father commits suicide on the grave of his 4-year-old son, who was killed in a traffic accident.

The complete post originally appeared on latimes.com in 2009 and is available via Archive.org.

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Jan. 9, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘Rugged Fisherman’

Posted on January 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 9, 1959, Matt Weinstock

Jan. 9, 1959: Boats in Santa Monica harbor break from their moorings under high winds and Weinstock has a story. Also poems. Weinstock loved to run little poems. And Sports Illustrated holds a dinner to honor UCLA’s Rafer Johnson..

One fun item:

NEW YEARS 33 years ago — Jan. 1, 1929 — a young ensign named Edward V. Dockweiler drew the midwatch (midnight to 4 a.m.) aboard the USS Idaho, anchored off San Pedro. This was before the present nine-mile breakwater was completed.

An unwritten rule required that midwatch entries in the log be in rhyme and Dockweiler wrote, “We are anchored in Pedro Harbor, though there isn’t much of a fee, and why they call it a harbor, is something I never could see.”

The column originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and was republished on latimes.com in 2009. The entire column is available at Archive.org.

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Jan. 9, 1959: Confidential File ‘Madame Guillotine,’ Alias Pierre Coates

Posted on January 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 9, 1959, Paul Coates

Jan. 9, 1959: Paul Coates helps his daughter with her homework. Make that “help.”.

This column originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and was republished on latimes.com in 2009. It’s available via Archive.org.

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Black Dahlia: Are There Any Good Books on the Black Dahlia Case? Oh Dear!

Posted on January 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

severed_02
“Severed”  by pathological liar John Gilmore (d. 2016) was once the go-to book on the Black Dahlia case, but it’s 25% mistakes and 50% fiction.

Are there any good books on the Black Dahlia case? No. But there are a lot of really, really bad ones and you should avoid them all or you will just have to unlearn everything. And your head may explode from all the nonsense.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Black Dahlia: George Hodel – ‘One of the Evilest Men in History?’ Says Who??

Posted on January 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

MEAWW, 2019

MEAWW, 2019

One thing you know about evil sociopaths is that they like to treat impoverished people of color. Yep. That’s what evil sociopaths do, fer sure.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Jan. 9, 1945: The Making of ‘The Blue Dahlia’; Paramount Signs Raymond Chandler for Original Film

Posted on January 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

New York Times, 194

New York Times, 1945
Jan. 9, 1945: The New York Times reports that Paramount signed Raymond Chandler to write a script. Contrast this with John Houseman’s account of making the film in “Lost Fortnight,” originally published in Harper’s magazine, August 1965, and reprinted with the published screenplay in 1976.

(Raymond Chandler wrote “The Big Fleet?” Oh dear, oh dear.)

Continue reading →

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Jan. 9, 1969: ‘Hair’ Cast Kicked Out of Mexico

Posted on January 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 2009

Jan. 9, 1969: A Martin Bernheimer byline on a story about the misfortunes of a Mexican production of “Hair.” “Upbraided?” Now there’s a clever headline.

Keith Thursby writes: The ABA and LA should have been a good fit. The game was wide open, with lots of dunks and three-pointers. The team even had a perfect name for the town–the Stars. Definitely a better match than the previous season when the franchise was called the Anaheim Amigos.

The entire post originally appeared on latimes.com and is available at Archive.org.

Posted in 1969, Music | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Jan. 8, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘Dogs, Diapers, Taxes’

Posted on January 8, 2019 by lmharnisch

matt_weinstock Comes now that hiatus between cries, when the feverish race begins to clear away Christmas bets in time to pay for auto license renewals by Feb. 4 and then face up to income taxes in April.

“Any changes in the rules?” I asked a tax consultant.

“No important ones,” he said, “but you might remind people that they may not claim deductions for dog licenses, traffic fines, baby-sitters, campaign contributions, diaper service, dues for social clubs or life insurance.”

He went on, “Best rule of thumb to follow is that almost anything has to do with creating income is a legitimate business expense. If you go to San Francisco on business it’s deductible, but if you go there to see the bridges it isn’t. Not even Alcatraz.”

Weinstock also checks in with Bob Crane, then at KNX-AM.

Note: This column originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and was republished on latimes.com in 2009..

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Matt Weinstock, Radio | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jan. 8, 1959: Paul Coates Confidential File – Wife Tells of Mate Who Died, and Lived

Posted on January 8, 2019 by lmharnisch

Paul Coates, Confidential File

Note: This column originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and was republished on latimes.com in 2009.  Also at Archive.org..

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Black Dahlia: How Do People Get the Story So Wrong?

Posted on January 8, 2019 by lmharnisch

Haunted History Podcast

This popped into my inbox this morning and golly it’s amazing just how many mistakes some crime buffs can pack into one blog post. Then again, the Internet.

Ready? Let’s find five obvious errors.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jan. 8, 1939: ‘Little Buttercup’ — Baby Abandoned at Hospital

Posted on January 8, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 8, 1939, L.A. Times

Jan. 8, 1939: The Times’ Edwin Schallert makes his Oscar predictions, seconding a “Warner landslide” published in The Times two weeks earlier with James Cagney (“Angel With Dirty Faces”) as best actor, Bette Davis (“Jezebel”) as best actress, Michael Curtiz (“Four Daughters”) as best director and “Adventures of Robin Hood” as best film..

Also, a look at the items that Sierra Club members use to mark their mountain climbs.

The column previously appeared on latimes.com in 2009 and is available via Archive.org.

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Jan. 7, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘News From Detroit’

Posted on January 7, 2019 by lmharnisch

matt_weinstock A group of grimly playful fellows at SC who call themselves Asthmatics Anonymous advise that at a raw-lunged meeting in the basement which serves as headquarters they have regrouped as Asthmatics Militant.

First move was to change the association’s motto from “As I live and breathe” to “You should live so long.” (“Here’s crud in your eye” was considered but deemed inappropriate.)

Second action was to wire their Detroit operative, a talented wheezer, inquiring what goes on back there. His reply has just come zinging through.

Matt Weinstock takes a light look at new cars. And has an item about a practical joker who snatched the purse of a temp employee wrapping gifts at a department store and got it wrapped. He assumed it would be returned to the store. But it wasn’t.

The column originally appeared in 1959 in the L.A. Mirror and was republished on latimes.com in 2009. The entire post is here via Archive.org..

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Jan. 7, 1959: Paul Coates — Stolen Toupees, a New Kind of Hair Loss

Posted on January 7, 2019 by lmharnisch

paul_coates I don’t know what you do for kicks, but my friend Tiger Small snatches toupees.

Not just anybody’s toupees, understand. The Tiger’s selective. He’s been working the Catskill-Manhattan-Miami circuit for years, dealing only with the best people. The cream of the show business crowd. Doctors. Professional men.

When he came to Hollywood last month he brought quite a reputation with him.

“But in this town,” he was telling me yesterday, “they bloat everything way out of proportions.”

The Tiger — an animated conversationalist — explained that it was just a sideline with him. That he lifted his first toupee strictly as a favor for a chorus girl friend and then sort of fell into the habit.

Paul Coates knew some interesting characters, like Tiger Small, who stole toupees.

This column originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and was republished on latimes.com in 2009. The entire post is here, via Archive.org..

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: ‘Black Dahlia Avenger’ Was Just a Prankster’s Joke

Posted on January 7, 2019 by lmharnisch

image

A practical joke from 1947 is the source of the “Black Dahlia Avenger” franchise.

During the investigation of the Black Dahlia case, the killer mailed a small envelope of Elizabeth Short’s belongings to the newspapers. After that, crackpots and pranksters flooded the police and the newspapers with joke messages. One prankster using the name “Black Dahlia Avenger” sent a string of postcards and messages to the Los Angeles Herald-Express, often spelling the name “Hearld.”

Police and the newspapers attached no significance whatsoever to these prank messages. it wasn’t until Steve Hodel came along in 2003 that “Black Dahlia Avenger” was anything but a joke.

Continue reading →

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