In case you just tuned in, I’m doing a little fact-checking as I go through Scotty Bowers’ “Full Service.” This will be fairly tedious except to a research drudge. Good grief, Harnisch, eight posts and you’re still on Page 1? … Continue reading
Photo: Monument to Eliza A. Otis, 1833 – 1904, wife of Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Credit: Larry Harnisch/LADailyMirror.com Karie Bible has agreed to give the Daily Mirror’s Brain Trust a tour of Hollywood Forever Cemetery on a … Continue reading
This Witzel photo has been posted on EBay. Judging by the stamp on the back, it’s some celebrity, but the woman isn’t identified. OK, brain trust, what do you think? Bidding starts at $24.99.
Photo: Mike Hawks and Mary Mallory. Credit: John Hillman Everyone needs a little adventure, so friends Mike Hawks, John Hillman, and I decided to walk all 15.7 miles of Wilshire Boulevard on Sunday, July 24. Our response to those who … Continue reading
Photo: Child in sailor suit by Hartsook studios, for sale on EBay. Bidding starts at $74.95. Patience is a prerequisite for being a stills photographer, and it is also important for those who dairy farm. Both require long waiting periods … Continue reading
Photo: 1948 Buick Roadmaster hearse for sale on EBay. Bidding starts at $9,102. Queen of the Dead—dateline August 1, 2011 • Elliott Handler, cofounder of Mattel, died on July 21, age 95. He and Harold Matson (thus the name: … Continue reading
This is Part 2 of James Curtis’ 1975 interview with Dick Lane. In this segment, Lane discusses his start in films in Los Angeles, making “Union Pacific” with Cecil B. De Mille, Howard Hughes’ takeover of RKO and making “Boom … Continue reading
Like Blanche Dubois, Peter depended upon the kindness of strangers to augment his spare existence working odd jobs and living in a shack in the Hollywood hills. He wore simple white shirts and pants and sandals, resembling an Old Testament … Continue reading
Photo: 1940 Ford Siebert hearse converted to a delivery sedan, $49,000 on Hemmings.com Queen of the Dead—dateline July 25, 2011 • July 22 saw the death of the first Bond Girl, Linda Christian, 87. Her career was pretty … Continue reading
Photo: Dick Lane and Helen Wallace in “Sioux City Sue,” 1946. Coming up Wednesday: Biographer James Curtis shares his interviews in L.A. Voices, beginning with Part 1 of a 1975 Q&A with actor Dick Lane.
Photo: June 23, 1919, “Auction of Souls.” Credit: Los Angeles Times Los Angeles has long been a haven for refugees and artists, particularly those fleeing political and militaristic struggles. As early as 1915, Armenians began arriving in Southern California after … Continue reading
Photo: New, horse-drawn hearse for sale on EBay, $9,500. Credit: Justin Carriage Works Queen of the Dead—dateline July 18, 2011 • All the silent movie stars are long-gone, now we are down to memorializing their children. Rex Bell, Jr., … Continue reading
In Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory takes a look at the 1919 film “Auction of Souls,” about the experiences of Aurora Mardiganian in the Armenian genocide. And in Queen of the Dead, Eve Golden will take a look at the notable … Continue reading
June 8, 1915: Times cartoonist Edmund Waller “Ted” Gale lampoons Charlie Chaplin at Essanay. Now a small section of Fremont, California, Niles, California was once the western home of the Essanay Silent Film company. Founded in Chicago by George K. … Continue reading
Queen of the Dead—dateline July 11, 2011 • Archduke Otto of Austria, pretender to the throne of the late Austria-Hungary, died on the Fourth of July, at 98. I must admit to a schoolgirl crush on his . . … Continue reading
I have received an unusual request regarding a film now in production. The folks are looking for the famous/notorious TV interview that Mike Wallace did with Mickey Cohen in 1957. Clips from the interview are on the DVD with Wallace’s … Continue reading
June 5, 1943: A nude (well almost) woman climbs onto a neon sign at 6th and Broadway. Beatrice Tucker was clearly ahead of her time.
[Update: We had a nice gathering of folks on Saturday. Several of us walked around the Biltmore for a discussion of the Black Dahlia, Jack Webb and "Pete Kelly's Blues," then headed over to Clifton's. We're planning on another lunch … Continue reading
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Most people today probably haven’t heard of motion picture musical conductor Constantin Bakaleinikoff, but he was instrumental in setting up theatre orchestras around Los Angeles in the 1920s, before he became music director at several film studios. Born in Moscow, … Continue reading
Photographs by Larry Harnisch / LADailyMirror.com Mural in the Los Angeles Times Globe Lobby, dated July 19, 1934, by Hugo Ballin Hugo Ballin is one of the greatest muralists in Los Angeles history, creating monumental murals in the 1920s and … Continue reading
