I don't think I've ever heard of the Zodiac Killer, but I came at this all bass ackwards. But assuming more people have heard of him/her, it's separate for me, since it's about the killer and not the killed.

I think.

Jack the Ripper is notorious--I bet many people who've heard of him couldn't tell you how many people he killed, or what the profession was.

People would know Jack the Ripper killed someone but not know it was a bunch of prostitutes? That would surprise me.

OK, here's a question: In the ads for the Black Dahlia movie, they keep qualifying everything with "in California history." What more notorious unsolved murder is there elsewhere in the country?

My own choice has Hollywood ties--Bob Crane's murder. More sex, less noir.

There was a goofy book a few years ago that claimed that Orson Welles was the Black Dahlia killer. He apparently was acquainted with the victim, and he had this fascination with stage magic; hence the sawing in half .

My own choice has Hollywood ties--Bob Crane's murder. More sex, less noir.

I was thinking about that while catching up with the thread, Cashmere.

There was a goofy book a few years ago that claimed that Orson Welles was the Black Dahlia killer. He apparently was acquainted with the victim, and he had this fascination with stage magic; hence the sawing in half.

The Black Dahlia is a sled?

More notorious unsolved killing in California history? Surely Nicole Simpson and that really unlucky waiter qualifies... at least on technical grounds. (Totally discounting the civil trial result, which should only get an asterisk in the record book at best.)

I'd still rate Zodiac above the Short case, what with the number of victims, length of activity, geographic spread. What the Black Dahlia case has going for it is that the victim was a starlet, and in Hollywood's backyard.

What more notorious unsolved murder is there elsewhere in the country?

As another with a twisted interest in true crime, I'll vote for Jack the Ripper.

Another argument for both Black Dahlia and JtR -- they're still able to generate this discussion all these years (60 in one case, almost 120 in the other) years later. And, unlike Lizzie Borden, Nicole Simpson, et al., they're genuinely unsolved as opposed to "the one we're sure is the real killer got off."

Bob Crane gets points for sensationalism but isn't remembered as well.

That would surprise me.

I have given up on a lot of surprise.

What more notorious unsolved murder is there elsewhere in the country?

As another with a twisted interest in true crime, I'll vote for Jack the Ripper.

See? Fred even thinks Jack the Ripper happened in the US.

Kidding!

The Miami Herald apparently didn't like Katie's news debut. [link]

A couple of my favorite comments:

There were lots of sunny I'm-your-coffee-klatsch-pal-and-not-the-voice-of-God smiles. There was a not-quite-live interview by Couric of New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman for reasons that were not quite apparent. There was lots of use of the name ''Katie'' by everybody who came on camera.

and

Oh, what we didn't see: Mexico's electoral tribunal ruled Tuesday that conservative candidate Felipe Calderón won July's presidential elections, setting the stage for a potentially violent confrontation with supporters of leftist candidate Andrés Manuél Lopez Obrador. Unfortunately, neither Tom Cruise nor Katie Holmes is a member of the tribunal, so it didn't make the cut.

I didn't watch, but I haven't watched network news in many years. I used to watch Walter.

Why was there no House whitefont last night? I wasn't home, but I am alone in my office, and I have headphones. I may whitefont soon.

Kidding!

Fair point. Though London (and everywhere else outside the U.S.) is outside CA, pretty much by definition.