Tag Archives: Black Dahlia

Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 2 Not Guilty of Morals Charges

Posted on December 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

Here are six reasons Dr. George Hodel did not kill Elizabeth Short that you will need to know before watching the TNT mini-series “I Am the Night” or listening to the eight-part podcast accompanying the production. Reason No. 2: George … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1949, 1950, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 1 Not a Prime Suspect

Posted on December 19, 2018 by lmharnisch

Here are six reasons Dr. George Hodel did not kill Elizabeth Short that you will need to know before watching the TNT mini-series “I Am the Night” or listening to the eight-part podcast accompanying the production. Reason No. 1: Dr. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1949, 1950, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Part 57 — Lines of History

Posted on March 30, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. I’m blogging in real time as I read Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” Wolfe is using the “Laura” format, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Part 57 — Lines of History

Black Dahlia: 5 Reasons Leslie Dillon Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short

Posted on December 22, 2017 by lmharnisch

Leslie Dillon in an undated photo, probably taken in the late 1940s.   My inbox is exploding with alerts about Piu Eatwell “solving” the Black Dahlia case by attributing it to Leslie Duane Dillon. Here are five simple reasons that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2017, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf: An Unsolved Murder, Part 7

Posted on October 13, 2014 by lmharnisch

  Georgette Bauerdorf found dead, Oct. 13, 1944, Los Angeles Times. Oct. 13, 1944 This account has been assembled from newspaper stories that generally agree, but contradict one another on some details. Newspapers of this era often published long excerpts … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Black Dahlia, Homicide | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf: An Unsolved Murder, Part 5

Posted on October 9, 2014 by lmharnisch

Oct. 3, 1942: Abbott and Costello outside the Hollywood Canteen at the opening ceremony, in a Times photo. Cahuenga Boulevard south of Sunset Boulevard, former location of the Hollywood Canteen, via Google Street View.  One of the important locations in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf: An Unsolved Murder, Part 4

Posted on October 8, 2014 by lmharnisch

Jan. 23, 1947: The Herald-Express publishes an article headlined “Werewolves Leave Trail of Women Murders in L.A.” (The obnoxious watermark is so that people who see this image after it has been swiped by Pinterest, skyscraper.com and all the Black … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf: An Unsolved Murder, Part 1

Posted on September 30, 2014 by lmharnisch

The unrecommended reading list. Not shown: Donald Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files,” Scotty Bowers’ “Full Service,” Howard Blum’s “American Lightning,” Wikipedia, etc. These are curious times to be a diligent researcher in Los Angeles history. There is more of Los … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments

The Black Dahlia and Downtown L.A. at Night, 1946

Posted on March 29, 2012 by lmharnisch

Photo: Man with a slate in footage shot for “Down to Earth.” My friends over at the 1947project have found some process footage that was filmed about April 1946 for the Columbia feature “Down to Earth.” It’s unfortunate that they … Continue reading →

Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Preservation, Theaters | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

‘Lipstick Killer’ William Heirens Dies at 83

Posted on March 7, 2012 by lmharnisch

The Chicago Tribune is reporting the death of William Heirens, 83, who allegedly wrote “For heaven’s sake catch me before I kill more. I cannot control myself” in lipstick on a mirror at a 1945 crime scene. Heirens was convicted … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, 1945, Black Dahlia, Chicago, Crime and Courts, Obituaries | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

The Black Dahlia at 65

Posted on January 15, 2012 by lmharnisch

Photo: Lobby of the Biltmore Hotel, Jan. 9, 2012, 6:30 p.m. Credit: Larry Harnisch/L.A. Daily Mirror. I wandered over to the Biltmore on Monday night to keep my annual appointment. I’m not compulsive about being there, and I don’t bother … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, Downtown, Film, History, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , | 24 Comments

When Hollywood Goes Wrong — ‘The Black Dahlia’

Posted on November 15, 2011 by lmharnisch

There are so many things that Brian De Palma got wrong in “The Black Dahlia” that a list of mistakes would fill a long book. I had forgotten that the movie starts out with what is purportedly the Zoot Suit … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Dahlia, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Found on EBay – ‘For the Life of Me’

Posted on October 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

A copy of Jim Richardson’s flawed autobiography “For the Life of Me” has been listed on EBay. Richardson was the notorious city editor of the Examiner who orchestrated its coverage of the Black Dahlia case. He was legendary for his … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Steve Hodel and James Ellroy

Posted on October 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

Images: James Ellroy’s inscribed copies of “Black Dahlia Avenger” are sold on EBay. Classy, no? Several people have written to me about James Ellroy’s onetime support of Steve Hodel and the whole “Black Dahlia Avenger” nonsense. Here’s the story: I … Continue reading →

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

Voices: Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, 1914 – 2011, Part 3

Posted on August 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

Image: Ed Jokisch retires, Feb. 18, 1972. Retirement cartoons are an LAPD tradition. This is what they looked like in the 1970s. Credit: Ed Jokisch family. This is Part 3 of my interview with the late Ed Jokisch. Note: Toward … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Voices: Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, 1914 – 2011, Part 3

Rave Review on Amazon, Only $5

Posted on August 21, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Edsel Ford III, left, and Edsel Ford II at the wheel of the Model 40. Credit: Edsel and Eleanor Ford House. David Streitfeld of the New York Times reports on how authors, restaurants and hotels can buy a positive … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Coming Attractions, Music, Religion, Transportation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Rave Review on Amazon, Only $5

Voices: Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, 1914 – 2011, Part 2

Posted on August 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Capt. Ed Jokisch. Credit: Jokisch family   This is Part 2 of my interview with the late Ed Jokisch.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Obituaries, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

#architecture, #art, #black dahlia, #history, #religion, 8|9|2011

Posted on August 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: 130 W. 30th, via Google maps’ street view. SPOTLIGHT David W. Dunlap, writing in the New York Times’ City Room, tells the story of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah,  sometimes called the “gay synagogue,” which is moving into a building … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Genealogy, Libraries, Music, New York, Religion, Stage | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Voices: Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, 1914 – 2011

Posted on August 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: LAPD homicide detectives in a gag photo, Christmas 1946. Ed is on the left in the back row. Credit: Ed Jokisch   I received word Saturday that my friend, retired Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, has died at the age … Continue reading →

Posted in 1914, Crime and Courts, Downtown, LAPD, Obituaries, World War II | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Lies and consequences

Posted on March 6, 2008 by lmharnisch

Perhaps other folks were shocked by the revelation that "Love and Consequences" by Margaret B. Jones, a.k.a. Margaret Seltzer, was a complete fake. It was old news to me. Here’s my own experience, from Donald H. Wolfe’s 2005 "The Black … Continue reading →

Posted in books | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment