Black Dahlia Avenger II: Presenting the Follow-Up Investigation and Further Evidence Linking Dr. George Hill Hodel to Los Angeles’s Black Dahlia and other 1940s LONE WOMAN MURDERS

by Hodel, Steve

  Here is what my follow-up research to Jil Anderson’s identification has produced so far:

  Born Ernst Franz Meyer in Netteln, Germany on March 4, 1899.

  Fought as a soldier in WW I, during the Second Reich (Weimar Republic 1919-1933)

  Worked as a “banker” in Chungking, China

  Meyer sailed from Shanghai, China to San Francisco on the vessel Taiyo Maru and entered the US on August 21, 1925

  On November 4, 1931, Von Harringa was arrested by LAPD for “attempted extortion.” The victim was Dr. H. Clifford Loos and his former wife, Mrs. Anita Johnson. The charges alleged that “Von Harringa” demanded $5,000.00 from Dr. Loos and Mrs. Johnson under threats of defaming their character in published articles.” Baron Harringa was found guilty of the charges, but then, the case was later overturned on appeal.

  [Dr. Clifford Loos was the older brother to then popular Hollywood author/screenwriter Anita Loos. Dr. Loos with his partner, Dr. Donald E. Ross, founded the Ross-Loos Medical Group in Los Angeles in 1929.]

  Ernst von Harringa, 1931 Extortion Arrest

  On December 11, 1932, “The Baron” wrote a lengthy article for the LA Times, entitled, “I FOUGHT AMERICANS—But, they healed my hate.”

  His introduction began, “My first contact with them was on the battlefields, and they were such good sports I decided to become an American citizen myself—which I’ve just done.” [His entire article was a blatant attempt to help him gain citizenship, which was denied.]

  On April 2, 1933, “The Baron” wrote a second lengthy article which was also published in the LA Times entitled, “I WAS A BANKER IN CHINA.” The introduction began, “Far in the interior, near the Tibetan border, I ran into strange customs-forty-course banquets, ninety kinds of currency, bandits who robbed one politely…and business methods, which will make you smile.”

  Baron von Harringa Los Angeles Times articles 1932-1933

  He legally changed his name to “Ernst Von Harringa” and on a 1933 “Declaration of Intention” the document lists his physical description as: Male, White, age 34, 5’10”, 175, blonde hair, blue eyes, occupation:“Writer”—Residence, 947 Parkview St., Los Angeles, California. Marital Status: Single.

  In 1935, Los Angeles artist, Robert McIntosh created a portrait of Ernst Von Harringa entitled, “The German Art Dealer.” [At the time I was conducting my background investigation on Baron Harringa, the oil painting was on display at the Trigg Ison Art Gallery in West Hollywood with an asking price of $30,000].

  In 1937, Baron von Harringa opened his art gallery in the posh OVIATT BUILDING and received a write-up and opening announcement in the Los Angeles Times from then art critic, Arthur Millier, who had this to say about Baron Harringa’s gallery:

  Los Angeles Times, May 9, 1939

  NEW GALLERY

  Good clothes and good pictures consort well together. So we have the Oviatt Galleries, just opened by Ernst v. Harringa in the well-known clothier’s establishment downtown.

  Some excellent pictures by older masters are in this first showing, among them two exceptionally fine “Scenes Galeantes” by Pater of eighteenth century France, a very pure “Madonna,” attributed to Luis de Morales, the great sixteenth century Spanish religious painter; a fine anonymous Flemish “Bearing of the Cross,” done about 1820; Joseph Highmore’s, “Portrait of a Gentleman,” better than many an alleged Gainsborough; an exquisite small circular river scene by Herman Saftleven, pupil of Van Goyen, a portrait by Rembrandt’s pupil, Levecque, and canvases by Gillis van Tilborch, Charles Le beran, Berne-Bellecour, Charles Hoguet and an anonymous Spanish painter of “St. Francis.” The choice of works shown inspires confidence in the future of this enterprise.

  The Oviatt Building, 617 South Olive Street, is still standing and is a striking art-deco built in 1928, and remains one of LA’s finest architectural structures. The clothier with its clock-tower restaurant was home to Hollywood’s rich and famous. The building and Baron Harringa’s art gallery was less than one block south of the Biltmore Hotel and just three blocks from Dr. George Hill Hodel’s then private medical practice at Seventh and Flower Street.

  Here is how the Art Deco Society described the OVIATT building for a 2008 lecture and film screening:

  Through lecture and film screening, here is the untold story of downtown Los Angeles’ first Art Deco jewel: the 1928 Oviatt Building and its opulent penthouse. Virtually a second home to Clark Gable, Errol Flynn and other male stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age; the Oviatt Building housed L.A.’s finest haberdashery and catered to filmdom’s titans. For eight decades, its glamorous and controversial history has been shrouded in mystery and clouded by misinformation…until now. Full of long-lost archival images and long-forgotten events, this myth-busting documentary spans more than a century and interviews the men and women who shaped the Oviatt Building’s turbulent history.

  On a 1939 petition for naturalization, Von Harringa provided additional information: a residence address listed as, 946 Arapahoe Street, Los Angeles and occupation as “Art Dealer.”

  He claimed he was married to Alene von Harringa on January 14, 1939 in Calabasas, California, declaring his wife to be a US citizen with a birth date of May 12, 1912. He listed her residence address as, “3747 ½ W. 27th St., Los Angeles.” Additional documents indicated Harringa had previously requested, but was denied, citizenship in 1931.

  In November 1952, Harringa reportedly left the US “For a job building dams in India.”

  Baron Harringa and W.T. Smith—Church of Thelema Connections

  In my further search for information on Baron Harringa, I found very little personal information available but did find some important insights in the book mentioned by Jil Anderson in her email, The Unknown God: W.T. Smith and the Thelemites (Teitan Press, November 2003) written by Martin P. Starr.

  An excerpt from the publisher’s description of the book reads:

  The first documentary study of Aleister Crowley’s contemporary followers in North America, told through the life of their de facto leader, Wilfred Talbot Smith (1885-1957). …To promulgate the Crowleyan teachings, in 1934 Smith incorporated his own “Church of Thelema”—known to Los Angeles newspaper readers as the “Purple Cult.” The following year he initiated OTO activity in Los Angeles which attracted its own cast of occult characters.

  It turns out that Wilfred Talbot Smith and Baron von Harringa, according to author/researcher Martin Starr, were close friends in Los Angeles. Mr. Starr in his book included some brief but quite remarkable insights into Ernst von Harringa and his personality. I quote from the excerpted pages of Starr’s book:

  The Unknown God, page 322-323:

  In the hiatus, Smith had befriended Baron Ernst von Harringa (b.1899), a naturalized German art dealer and importer who worked as the director of the Oviatt Galleries in Los Angeles. Von Harringa had studied in Count Hermann Keyserling’s “School of Wisdom” which had been founded in Darmstadt, Germany in 1920; he also claimed the passing acquaintance of Theodor Reuss. However, he knew nothing of Crowley’s work prior to his friendship with Smith. The Baron was a lover of Chinese art and bestowed many prize objects of virtu on Smith and Helen. Calling on his training as a cabinetmaker, he had Smith construct replicas of Asian furniture for sale in his gallery. Helen cheerfully waited on her two “big boys” as they spent long hours drinking tea and sharing their ideas. Given von Harringa’s level of understanding, Smith considered him the equivalent of an Exempt Adept; Jane, too, was impressed by his person, thinking him a second Crowley, but changed her mind after she read several analyses of the Baron’s horoscope, including one prepared by Phyllis Seckler. Von Harringa was an extreme individualist and he felt that any effort for humanity was a waste, in view of the catastrophe that he believed was just around the corner. …

  Smith felt himself loved and understood by von Harringa, who left California in November 1952 for a job building dams in India and never saw his friend alive again. Helen and Smith kept up a regular correspo
ndence with the Baron, and frequently lamented his absence from their lives. To his intellectual soulmate Smith revealed his thoughts on politics, gender roles and the future of humanity, sometimes all rolled into the same paragraph:

  We are headed for a radical social change; which among other things, will ultimate in the ladies fulfilling the function nature (not man) adapted them to better grace, and less intrusion into spheres of activity they are so unsuited to occupy. Men will find them at hand when they are needed and in the interim enjoy tranquility and peace, or the company of an intellectual, wise, and understanding companion. (Smith to Ernst von Harringa, June 28, 1954, WTS Papers.)

  What was the George Hodel—Ernst von Harringa Connection?

  With the identification of “The Baron,” it seems we have created as many questions as we have found answers, which is frequently the case.

  Did George Hodel and Ernst von Harringa’s friendship in LA trace back to the Baron’s arrival in the mid-twenties? Probably.

  Did Ernst Harringa as a high-profile art-dealer know and possibly even represent George Hodel’s close friend, artist Fred Sexton? Very likely. At the very least, they must have known each other—perhaps much more?

  Was Baron Harringa associated with many or most of the men and women of the LA art world, listed in Mark Nelson and Sarah Hudson Bayliss’s book, Exquisite Corpse: Surrealism and The Black Dahlia Murder with its extensive listings and map: Los Angeles 1935-1950, A Web of Connections.

  We have established that Baron Harringa and George Hodel’s LA offices were within three blocks of each other, and, in their chosen professions as art dealer and physician, both socialized with the rich and famous, as well as city politicians and men in power.

  It is obvious that the two men were kindred spirits. Both had a love of art and enjoyed intellectually stimulating conversation. Both shared a burning desire to travel and had been to many of the same locals in China, including Chungking and Shanghai. Both were extremely eccentric, and, from what we know from the bugging tapes, were politically connected and at the very least were involved in payoffs to law enforcement, as well as being accomplices together in the assault or possible murder of a female victim at the Franklin house. “We’re just a couple of smart boys. Don’t confess ever.”

  What other crimes had the two men committed? It is likely we will never know. But now, thanks to JIL ANDERSON’s efforts, we do know “The Baron’s” identity and have gained some fairly good insights into his background.

  DA Lt. Jemison’s Response

  A TAPE RECORDED MURDER?

  Within days of recording the February 18, 1950 conversation between George Hodel and “The Baron,” Lt. Jemison ordered his men into action.

  While we do not know the full extent of what was done, I did find three separate investigative documents in the DA file that relate directly to the February 18 Hodel-Harringa conversations. And that confirmed that detectives definitely suspected a murder may well have occurred.

  The first document prepared by DA investigator James McGrath and submitted to his direct supervisor, showed that investigative attempts were immediately initiated to determine if potential witnesses could substantiate any signs of digging and or graves in the Franklin house basement.

  As evidenced in the report, apparently a day or two after the February 18 assault, George Hodel called a plumber to the residence to unclog a plugged drain. McGrath located the plumber [Mr. Stokes, an employee of Sonntag Co. 5156 Hollywood Boulevard] and questioned him as to whether he had seen any evidence of fresh digging or anything unusual in the basement.

  The plumber responded that he had been in the basement, unclogged the drain, but really hadn’t looked or paid any attention other than to simply perform his work. While McGrath wrote both of these reports in late March 1950, the investigations obviously occurred in the days following the suspected “foul play.” McGrath’s surveillance log is dated February23.

  [Note: For those thinking “forensics” in 2002, prior to the publication of BDA, during major renovations of the Franklin house, much of the basement area was cemented over and a home office was constructed. It remains highly doubtful that any trace evidence from sixty years past would still be accessible.]

  Detective McGrath’s “Elizabeth Short Murder Report” is reproduced below and is a scan of the original:

  DA investigator James McGrath follow-up report March 24, 1950

  The second DA document informs us that in addition to the ongoing electronic bugging of the Franklin house, just four days after the Hodel/Harringa admissions, Lt. Jemison ordered that a physical surveillance be placed on Dr. George Hodel.

  Detective James McGrath, partnered with Walter Morgan, took up the surveillance. Here is their original two-page typed report of a vehicle surveillance they conducted on George and Dorothy Hodel on February 23, 1950:

  DA Investigators McGrath & Morgan Physical Surveillance Report of Dr. George Hodel 3.27.1950

  Author prepared diagram showing route and stops of February 23, 1950 surveillance by Investigators McGrath & Morgan

  Investigators McGrath and Morgan tail George and Dorothy Hodel to eight separate destinations

  1. 5121 Franklin Avenue, George Hodel’s Franklin house residence

  2. Western and Franklin Avenue

  3. Western and Sixth Street

  4. Third Street and Union

  5. Hollywood Boulevard and Sycamore Avenue

  6. Wilshire and La Cienega Boulevard

  7. Wilshire and Camden Drive

  8. Wilshire and Beverly Glen [terminated vehicle surveillance at 5:40 p.m.]

  The third Hodel-Harringa related document is written in Lt. Jemison’s own hand. They are his personal notes and list his “To Do’s” relating to George Hodel.

  Jemison’s notes are dated March 2, 1950 and relate to the need to interview various friends and acquaintances of George Hodel.

  Number 4 “To Do” on that list is clearly the result of the Hodel-Harringa conversations and confessions.

  Here we see that Lt. Jemison, now obviously convinced that George Hodel killed his personal secretary, Ruth Spaulding, had decided to reopen the original Spaulding death investigation and REINTERVIEW ALL THE WITNESSES.

  Lt. Jemison’s note to himself reads:

  “3/2/50 Interview-

  …

  4. –all witnesses In re: Ruth’s death—Secretary to Hodel.”

  March 2, 1950 handwritten notes of DA Lt. Frank Jemison

  A Personal Meeting with Baron von Harringa

  In mid-January 2010, I personally met and shook hands with Baron von Harringa.

  Baron von Harringa (his given name) is the grandson of Ernst von Harringa. Baron is a handsome young man of just eighteen-years. He too was looking for answers.

  We met at one of my favorite breakfast spots, Art’s Deli, in Studio City. Both of us were there with the same hope—Baron wanting to learn more about his mysterious grandfather and I wanting to discover additional background on my father’s old friend, confidant, and possible accomplice to murder!

  Our talk lasted nearly two hours, but unfortunately provided little new “hard” information for either of us. Here is what I learned from the grandson:

  1. Von Harringa family rumors have it that his grandfather, Ernst von Harringa, aka Ernst Meyer, may have been related to nobility in Germany, but nothing to support the information and no actual names.

  2. Ernst von Harringa apparently returned to the US (possibly from India) in the mid-1950s and supposedly died in Los Angeles circa 1960. [I have yet to find a death certificate or obituary as documentation.]

  3. He [the grandson] met his grandmother, Alene Valla Von Harringa, several times before she died in 2001 and he had heard that her family (Valla) had owned large land parcels in Orange County in the early days, possibly at the turn of the century.

  4. Baron gave me the following photograph of his grandfather, believed taken sometime in the 1940s or possibly early 50s?

  Ba
ron Ernst von Harringa circa 1949

  [Courtesy of grandson, Baron von Harringa]

  Chapter 8

  “Back again at George’s after two weeks away. … It is acutely dangerous for the children to be here. There is a growing threat of no control and physical violence…”

  Excerpt from Letter No. 6 from Dorothy to John, mailed from Franklin house, 1950

  The following highly personal letters were written by my mother, Dorothy Huston Hodel, to her ex-husband, film director John Huston.

  The letters span nearly a decade of time, beginning in 1948 and continuing through 1957.

  All are highly personal and accurately inform us in real time of the tremendous stresses, both psychological and financial, that our mother was under BEFORE and AFTER our father’s arrest for incest.

  The letters shine new light into a very dark period of Dorothy’s life where we learn that she was attempting to be the sole family breadwinner, as well as a full-time mother, raising three young boys aged 6, 7, and 9.

  I am going to let my mother’s own words, written in confidence to John, recreate what can only be described as her personal horrors. Her letters capture the very real fear and terror she was experiencing when her ex-husband, our father, George Hodel, was about to harm both her and us!

  The first letter to John [April 1948] began a little over a year after the Black Dahlia murder and the tension builds up to and through our father’s 1949 LAPD arrest for child molestation and incest, where, according to Mother, he was becoming increasingly unhinged and dangerous. The peak of her personal terror came in the spring and summer of 1950, just after the DA Surveillance of the Franklin house and as George Hodel was preparing to leave the United States.

  The source of my discovery of these letters was pure happenstance. I came across them while browsing through the John Huston Files at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Margaret Herrick Library in Beverly Hills, California. Within those files, I found an index labeled, “Dorothy Huston.” I requested that file and found it contained these original letters written by my mother to John.