Category Archives: History

‘What Is the Jewish Experience in Los Angeles?’

Posted on May 25, 2013 by

My latest column is in The Times this morning. I visited the Autry National Center’s new exhibit “Jews in the Los Angeles Mosaic” and attended a daylong symposium on some aspects of the Jewish experience in Los Angeles. Books could … Continue reading →

About these ads
Posted in History, Museums | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Answering Michael Rosenblum: What IS a Library?

Posted on May 18, 2013 by

A fellow named Michael Rosenblum, whom I have never encountered before, has written a Huffington Post essay on libraries and meanders about on the idea that Google has made them obsolete. Mind you, this is not a direct point — … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Libraries | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Black Dahlia: What Is the Address of the Crime Scene?

Posted on May 15, 2013 by

I received a query yesterday from someone at Los Angeles magazine wanting to know the address on South Norton Avenue where the body of Elizabeth Short was found. The crime scene is usually given as “39th and Norton,” the nearest … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, History | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Wikipedia: Murder and Myth – Part 5

Posted on April 30, 2013 by

In case you just tuned in, I am using the Wikipedia entry on Wallace Beery – alleging that he was involved in the death of Ted Healy – as a way to explore Wikipedia’s fundamental problems with accuracy and delve … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Film, History, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Wikipedia: Murder and Myth — A Note on Sources

Posted on April 29, 2013 by

In case you just tuned in, I am using the Wikipedia entry on Wallace Beery — alleging that he was involved in the death of Ted Healy — as a way to explore Wikipedia’s fundamental problems with accuracy and delve … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Film, History, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wikipedia Watch: Yuri Gadyukin Hoax

Posted on April 28, 2013 by

An elaborate Wikipedia hoax involves a purported Soviet film director — who never existed. Among his alleged works is “Where the Tractors Roam.”

Posted in Film, History, Wikipedia | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Wikipedia Watch: Novelist Amanda Filipacchi Feels the Sting of ‘Citizen Scholars’

Posted on April 28, 2013 by

A world without Wikipedia? Not such a bad idea. Novelist Amanda Filipacchi, writing in the New York Times, notes that the “citizen scholars” at Wikipedia have been moving women from the category of “American Novelists” to “American Women Novelists.” She … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, History | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Wikipedia: Murder and Myth – Part 4

Posted on April 26, 2013 by

In case you just tuned in, I am using the Wikipedia entry on Wallace Beery – alleging that he was involved in the death of Ted Healy – as a way to explore Wikipedia’s fundamental problems with accuracy and delve … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Film, History, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Wikipedia: Murder and Myth – Part 1

Posted on April 23, 2013 by

As longtime readers know, the L.A. Daily Mirror is usually a Wikipedia-free zone. I consider it a sinkhole of myth, mistakes, rumors and folklore that is created and maintained by “citizen scholars,” crackpots, coding tweakers, factoid zealots and folks in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Film, History, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , | 25 Comments

Wikipedia: Murder and Myth, Coming Next week

Posted on April 19, 2013 by

A world without Wikipedia – not such a bad idea. Regular readers of the L.A. Daily Mirror know that I consider Wikipedia a sinkhole of mistakes and folklore that is created and maintained by “citizen scholars,” coding tweakers, crackpots and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, History, Libraries | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Earl Carroll’s Nightclub

Posted on March 16, 2013 by

Movie stars’ signatures in concrete on the exterior of Earl Carroll’s nightclub. I am occasionally asked what became of the concrete tablets with movie stars’ names that were installed on the old Earl Carroll nightclub. Some of The Times stories … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Found on EBay, History, Hollywood, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Gangster Squad’: Fail – Part 1

Posted on January 13, 2013 by

Uh-oh. Nobody should be surprised — least of all Warner Bros. — that  “Gangster Squad” is a terrible movie. Anyone who saw the trailers or heard the industry gossip knew that it was going to be dreadful. It was a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, Fashion, Fashions, Film, History, Hollywood, LAPD, Mickey Cohen | Tagged , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Los Angeles Editor Was Ahead of His Time

Posted on January 9, 2013 by

My latest column is about Paul Bryan Gray and his new book “A Clamor for Equality,” the biography of Francisco P. Ramirez, the youthful editor of El Clamor Público, the first entirely Spanish-language newspaper published in Los Angeles. The entire … Continue reading →

Posted in 1855, Books and Authors, Downtown, History, Latinos | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Wikipedia Hoax Exposed

Posted on January 3, 2013 by

As longtime readers know, I am not a fan of Wikipedia, which I consider a sinkhole of rumors and errors run by coding tweakers, factoid zealots and folks with tinfoil hats. This week, in fact, a Daily Mirror reader questioned … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged , , | 20 Comments

Coming Attractions: Los Angeles Archives Bazaar

Posted on October 17, 2012 by

The annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar will be held Oct. 27 at USC’s Doheny Memorial Library. The bazaar is an excellent way to become acquainted with the astounding number of libraries and historical societies across the city and their amazingly … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Coming Attractions, History, Libraries | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Found on EBay – 1880 History of Los Angeles County

Posted on October 14, 2012 by

A copy of the 1959 reprint of the 1880 “History of Los Angeles County” has been listed on EBay. The book was compiled over five months from newspapers, books, magazines public records and interviews, producing “three large grain sacks” filled … Continue reading →

Posted in 1880, Books and Authors, Found on EBay, History | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Victor Segno: Success Wave!

Posted on October 2, 2012 by

Prof. A. Victor Segno and a success wave (artist’s concept). My latest column for The Times deals with my favorite L.A. con man, Prof. A Victor Segno.

Posted in Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, History | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Reading Los Angeles: Glen Creason

Posted on September 26, 2012 by

Photo: “Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon” by Eduardo Obregón Pagán. In interviewing Los Angeles Public Library map librarian Glen Creason, I asked about his favorite books on Los Angeles. There wasn’t space to include the list with the story, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, History, Libraries, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Glen Creason: All Over the Maps

Posted on September 20, 2012 by

My latest column for The Times is a chat with LAPL map librarian Glen Creason. Check it out.

Posted in History, Libraries | 1 Comment

Mickey Cohen on the Record – Talking With Author Tere Tereba

Posted on July 26, 2012 by

Photo: Tere Tereba’s “Mickey Cohen: The Life and Crimes of L.A.’s Notorious Mobster.”   Note: I have been talking with author Tere Tereba about her book “Mickey Cohen: The Life and Crimes of L.A.’s Notorious Mobster.” Was he nothing more  … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, History, Hollywood, LAPD, Mickey Cohen | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments