Monthly Archives: February 2010

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 23, 1960

Posted on February 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Democracy Guards Everyone's Rights       A few days before Gov. Brown's reprieve of Caryl Chessman, the Mexico City newspaper Novedades carried the front-page headline:         Puede Salvar La Vida de Chessman     Un Testigo Deseubierta por … Continue reading →

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Charles Lane, the Classic ‘Stinker’

Posted on February 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

     Feb. 23, 1980: The Times profiles character actor Charles Lane (d. 2007). “The great old days, a lot of them, stunk,” he says. Lane also says Frank Capra “is the most talented man we ever had.”

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Obituaries | 1 Comment

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on February 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Feb. 23, 1961: Hedda Hopper says, “Warren Beatty has sex, youth, talent and ambition.” I would think she might have phrased that a bit differently.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Dodgers Begin Spring Training

Posted on February 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Feb. 23, 1960: The champions of the baseball world, the Los Angeles Dodgers, opened spring training and Times sportswriter Frank Finch apparently viewed it as a heavy assignment. Finch spent a lot of space discussing the pounds carried … Continue reading →

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Does L.A. Want the Lakers?

Posted on February 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

   Feb. 23, 1960: Minneapolis Lakers owner Bob Short was ahead of his time. Reading comments made by Short to a group of basketball writers, one could assume he owned a team in 2010 rather than 1960. After all, he … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Lakers, Sports | 2 Comments

Times Calls for Chessman’s Execution

Posted on February 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

  The Times calls the gas chamber “a sanitary disposal mechanism that a civilized society is constrained to set up to shield itself from the contamination of criminal psychopaths.”   Feb. 23, 1960: The Times runs letters in response to … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, art and artists, Caryl Chessman | Comments Off on Times Calls for Chessman’s Execution

Police Urge Ban on Women Drivers

Posted on February 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

“The Saddest Scene,” by Clare Briggs.     Feb. 23, 1920: Los Angeles is the deadliest city in the nation for pedestrians, The Times says. Solution? Ban women drivers because women account for more than 30 percent of the fatalities, says … Continue reading →

Posted in LAPD, Transportation | Comments Off on Police Urge Ban on Women Drivers

Youth Kills Family Friend in Struggle for Gun

Posted on February 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

    S. Levy, the operator of a theater at  414 E. 1st St., says he was fined over a sign he placed on the sidewalk after complaining about the amount of time Officer Gamash was spending with his cashier. … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Homicide | Comments Off on Youth Kills Family Friend in Struggle for Gun

Found on EBay – Streetcar Items

Posted on February 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

The Pacific Electric Railway routes radiated from downtown like the spokes of a wheel, as one early transportation engineer observed. What's this? A subway to Avalon? A recent post referred to the dangers of streetcar crossings. These photos provide a … Continue reading →

Posted in Transportation | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Streetcar Items

Matt Weinstock, Feb. 22, 1960

Posted on February 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

The Chessman Furor     Sometimes it is difficult to understand what motivates people.  Example:  Last week's frenzy over Caryl Chessman.     The case has been blundering around for 12 years, picking up a great deal of legal momentum.  But except … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 22, 1960

Posted on February 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

  William Pelley Still Haunts Us     William Dudley Pelley looks like any other elderly man, but the assumption dissipates itself when he opens his mouth.       His hair is gray; his face, lined; his manner of speech, halting, … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 22, 1960

Women and Power in Hollywood

Posted on February 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Feb. 22, 1980: Is it possible to say “Michael Cimino’s upcoming film, ‘Heaven’s Gate.’ ” and not shudder? Producer Joann Carelli has exactly one credit on imdb after “Heaven’s Gate,” “The Sicilian.”

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A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on February 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Feb. 22, 1959: William Shatner was in “The World of Suzie Wong?” I had no idea.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Angels Borrow a Page From the Dodgers

Posted on February 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Feb. 22, 1970 : The Angels were starting their first full season under the control of several ex-Dodgers and unlike what Mike Scioscia and his former Dodger teammates have done for the franchise, the first try at borrowing from … Continue reading →

Posted in Dodgers, Sports | 2 Comments

Chessman Won’t Escape Gas Chamber, Prosecutor Says

Posted on February 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Feb. 22, 1960: Atty. Gen. Stanley Mosk (d. 2001), a future state Supreme Court justice who personally opposed the death penalty,  predicts that Caryl Chessman will be executed at the end of his 60-day reprieve.

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14 Illegal Immigrants Seized in Railway Car

Posted on February 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

   Feb. 22, 1910: Thomas A. Montez is accused of helping smuggle 14 Chinese men who were found in a boxcar loaded with staves. The cost of being smuggled into the U.S. is about $250 [$5,707.53 USD 2008] each, The … Continue reading →

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Chinatown to Make Way for Union Station

Posted on February 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

     Feb. 22, 1920: Guy W. Finney, the author of “Angel City in Turmoil,” touches on the Chinese massacre of 1871 in exploring the changes ahead for Chinatown, which is being moved to make way for Union Station. Union … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Transportation | 1 Comment

Hearing on the Gas House, Part 2

Posted on February 21, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Sept. 8, 1959: This is the second part of a transcript of testimony by “Holy Barbarians” author Lawrence Lipton before the the Los Angeles Police Commission on the Gas House, the Beat hangout in Venice.  Part 1 is … Continue reading →

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Jim Murray, The Marrying Kind

Posted on February 21, 2010 by lmharnisch

       Feb. 21, 1980: Pro golfers really, really love their old clubs! Ask Lou Graham.

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A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on February 21, 2010 by lmharnisch

   Feb. 21, 1959: Hedda Hopper says, “When the Navy’s Blue Angels took Janet Leigh for a ride in one of their jets she didn’t realize what a special occasion it was.”

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist