L
lagan
267; goods (or wreckage) on the sea bed that is attached to a buoy so that it can be recovered, or simply goods or materials found or left on the sea floor.
Lagonda
71; at coroner's office
L'Amour, Louis (1908-1988)
American author. L'Amour's books, primarily Western fiction (though he called his work 'Frontier Stories'), remain popular, and most have gone through multiple printings; 148
Landers, Ann
Pen name created by Chicago Sun-Times advice columnist Ruth Crowley in 1943 and taken over by Eppie Friedman in 1955. For 56 years, the Ask Ann Landers syndicated advice column was a regular feature in many newspapers across North America. Due to this popularity, 'Ann Landers', though fictional, became something of a national institution and cultural icon; 215
Land of the Pygmies
336; Doc asks Kahuna Airlines to this destination
Lark
237; "presentable young lady in a paisley minidress and white plastic boots" at the Kismet in Las Vegas
laterite
104; Soil layer rich in iron oxide, formed in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Wikipedia page
Laurel, Stan (1890-1965)
English comic actor, writer and director, famous as the first half of the comedy double-act Laurel and Hardy, whose career stretched from the silent films of the early 20th century until post-World War II; 246; Wikipedia entry
Lawrence of Arabia (1888-1935)
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence CB, DSO, known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt of 1916–18. His vivid writings, along with the extraordinary breadth and variety of his activities and associations, have made him the object of fascination throughout the world as Lawrence of Arabia, a title popularised by the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia based on his life; 191
Laszlo and Ilsa
Humphrey Bogard, as Rick Blaine, in the 1942 film Casablanca helps Victor Laszlo, a Czech resistance leader, escape from the Nazis and in the process falls in love with Laszlo's wife, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), with whom he'd been involved before she met and married Laszlo. In the end, Ilsa and Laszlo leave Casablanca on a plane, and Rick stays behind; 360
Leej
104; See Sortilege
Leeway, Petunia
13; "a stunner in a starched cap and micro-length medical outfit" who sort of does reception for Doc and Dr. Buddy Tubeside; 145; See: Plants of Inherent Vice
Lefty
44; bassist in Beer
Lemuria,
Hypothetical "lost land" variously located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The concept's 19th century origins lie in attempts to account for discontinuities in biogeography — however, the scientific concept of Lemuria has been rendered obsolete by modern understanding of plate tectonics. Although sunken continents do exist, there is no known geological formation under the Indian or Pacific Oceans that corresponds to the hypothetical Lemuria; "Atlantis of the Pacific" 101; 105; 109; "It isn't just a place" 167; "dark metallic gray promontory" in downtown LA, 315; "risen and redeemed" (in Doc's dream), 341; California as an ark for those escaping Lemuria, 352; See Mount Shasta and the Lemurian Connection
Also, there is a connection between Mt Shasta, Lemuria, and the legend of the 'Wolf Man':
"Before 18,000 BCE, Lemuria was a large continent in the Pacific whose islands were controlled by pirates. An Atlantean named Kull was enslaved by Lemurian pirates and forced to work as a gladiator, where he faced a Wolf Man. Forging an alliance with that Wolf Man, he later slew the wizard Rotath for the Lemurian monarch Asphodel IV."
And, here's s reported sighting of Bigfoot on Mt Shasta:
Bigfoot: Sasquatch Creature seen on Mt. Shasta in California 1976
Is this the right place to mention how significant it is that Mickey Wolfmann reportedly gets upset when people don't spell his surname with a double 'n' at the end?
Leo Carrillo
78; Leo Carrillo State Park Wikipedia near Malibu, named after California native and conservationist Leo Carrillo IMDB, famous character actor who played Pancho on The Cisco Kid.
Lester
66; riding with Bigfoot at Wolfmann residence
Let's Make a Deal (1963-1976)
Television game show which originated in the United States and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The show was based around deals offered to members of the audience by the host. The contestants usually had to weigh the possibility of an offer being for a valuable prize, or an undesirable item, referred to as a "zonk". The show was hosted for many years by Monty Hall; 47, 253
Lewton, Val (1904-1951)
American film producer and screenwriter, who is best known for a sequence of nine brooding horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s; I Walked with a Zombie (1943), 261
Liberace (1919-1987)
Wladziu Valentino Liberace, better known by only his last name Liberace was a famous American entertainer and pianist of Polish and Italian descent. During the 1950s–1970s (when Elvis Presley and The Beatles were at the height of their popularity), he was the highest paid entertainer in the world; his "necktie covered with thousands ... of magenta and green sequins in a piano-keyboard pattern" 220; 344
Lighthouse Cafe, the
297; Coy Harlingen spotted there by Scott Oof
Li'l T-Rex
183; one of Tito Stavrou's creditors
lingonberries
208; Swedish pancakes with; the Vaccinium vitis-idaea &151; often called lingonberry and also called cowberry, foxberry, mountain cranberry, csejka berry, red whortleberry, lowbush cranberry, mountain bilberry, partridgeberry.
Linus's Tavern
354; where Doc meets Sauncho to observe the Golden Fang; 359
Little Anthony & the Imperials
300; Little Anthony & The Imperials is a rhythm and blues/soul/doo-wop vocal group from New York, first active in the 1950s. "Tears on My Pillow" (1958) was their first hit single. Sample lyric:
- If we could start anew, I wouldn't hesitate
- I'd gladly take you back, and tempt the hand of fate
- Tears on my pillow, pain in my heart, caused by you
Liv-a-Snaps
195; a brand of dog food
Locard's Exchange Principle
Locard's principle is applied to crime scenes in which the perpetrator(s) of a crime comes into contact with the scene, so the perpetrator(s) will both bring something into the scene and leave with something from the scene. Every contact leaves a trace; "every contact leaves traces" 213
Long Branch Saloon
254; the saloon where Miss Kitty worked, in the TV series Gunsmoke (1955-1975) was a western which took part in Dodge City, Kansas
Loosemeat, Leonard Jermaine
264; aka El Drano, found dead
Lourdes and Motella
See Rodriguez, Lourdes and Haywood, Motella
Lunchwater case
25; "one more of the squalid matrimonials that were occupying Doc's time"
Lupino, Ida (1918-1995)
59; Anglo-American actress and director, self-described as "the poor man's Bette Davis"; Pynchon trivia: she directed the pilot episode of Gilligan's Island.
Luz
59; "presentable young Chicana" maid at Wolfmann's; contacts Doc, 142;
