Monthly Archives: May 2011

‘Citizen Kane’ Opens in L.A.!

Posted on May 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

            May 9, 1941: “Citizen Kane” opens at the El Capitan and the RKO Hillstreet. “Orson Welles strikes out in a dozen new directions with his technique of ‘Citizen Kane.’ Yet what he does can … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Ronald Reagan, Tom Treanor | 1 Comment

Jim Murray, May 9, 1961

Posted on May 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

            May 9, 1961: Unfortunately for the ladies — and probably Alejandro Lavorante too — this Latin lover will be doing his tango with the No. 3 heavyweight of the world, Zora Folley, Thursday night … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, art and artists, Baseball, boxing, Columnists, Comics | Comments Off on Jim Murray, May 9, 1961

Another Good Story Ruined — The Black Dahlia

Posted on May 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

    The Black Dahlia has become so thoroughly transformed into a myth about what happens to nice, small-town girls in big, bad Hollywood  (“achieving in death the fame that eluded her in life”) that it’s almost impossible to write … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, books, Crime and Courts | 4 Comments

Grill ’em All

Posted on May 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Photograph by Larry Harnisch / Los Angeles Times   X-treme dining on Tuesday at Grill 'em All in Highland Park. I took a break from blogging the other evening, and on the spur of the moment thought … Continue reading →

Posted in Food and Drink | 5 Comments

Found on EBay – L.A. Times Thermometer

Posted on May 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

       Here’s how The Times advertized itself in 1907, using a giant thermometer stuck in the sand at Long Beach. This postcard has been listed on EBay for $7.

Posted in 1907, Photography | Comments Off on Found on EBay – L.A. Times Thermometer

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 8, 1941

Posted on May 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

        May 8, 1941: John J. McNamara, one of the key figures in the 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times and the bombing of the Llewellyn Iron Works , dies in Montana. His brother James had … Continue reading →

Posted in 1910 L.A. Times bombing, 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | 2 Comments

Jim Murray, May 8, 1961

Posted on May 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

        May 8, 1961: I was rooting hard for old John  Longden on Saturday. You knew it was his last long ride around Churchill Downs. John has won races under all kinds of conditions, including three at … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, art and artists, Baseball, Columnists, Comics, Sports | Comments Off on Jim Murray, May 8, 1961

Whatever Happened to the Black Film?

Posted on May 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

           May 8, 1981 –  Dale Pollock writes: Whatever happened to the black film? It seems to reside these days in the person of Richard Pryor, the comedian-turned-film star, who is one of the few black … Continue reading →

Posted in 1981, Comics, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Found on EBay – Lemuel S. Ellis

Posted on May 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

This picture of a century plant by early Los Angeles photographer Lemuel S. Ellis (d. 1902) has been listed on EBay. Ellis was working for C.C. Pierce & Co. at the time of his death, having come to Los Angeles … Continue reading →

Posted in Photography | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Lemuel S. Ellis

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 7, 1941

Posted on May 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

           May 7, 1941: Mayor Fletcher Bowron is reelected and another Times endorsement goes down in flames. Still recovering from surgery, Lee Shippey files  a column from the hospital, this time on nurses. Tom Treanor, who … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Politics, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 7, 1941

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on May 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update 2: Lawrence Dobkin portrays an unsuspecting heavy in the "Prairie Elephant" episode of "Rawhide" in a photo published Nov. 12, 1961.]  [Update: Please congratulate RJ for identifying our mystery guest! … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 46 Comments

Found on EBay — Mystery Postcard [Updated]

Posted on May 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

         [Update: What’s wrong with this postcard?  Notice City Hall way down the block? Please congratulate Cat Murray for recognizing this as Broadway, not Spring Street. ] This postcard of downtown Los Angeles has been listed on … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Mystery Photo, Photography, Transportation | 4 Comments

Jim Murray, May 7, 1961

Posted on May 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

             May 7, 1961: Arnold Palmer is unique in golf in that his fellow pros, whose pockets he picks every time he pulls off one of his patented finishes, like him anyway. Golfers find it … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, Columnists, golf | 1 Comment

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 6, 1941

Posted on May 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

           May 6, 1941: Westbrook Pegler wins a Pulitzer Prize for "articles on scandals in the ranks of organized labor, which led to the expulsion and conviction of George Scalise" of the Building Service Employees International. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 6, 1941

Coming Attractions — ‘Hollywoodland’

Posted on May 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

    Readers will recognize Mary Mallory as a leading member of the Daily Mirror’s “brain trust.” She’s a photo librarian at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and in her spare time, she has been writing a … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, books, Film, Hollywood, Real Estate | 4 Comments

From the Stacks — ‘The Long Season’

Posted on May 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

    I haven’t read a baseball book since my mother gave away my trading cards of the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Braves. No, I’m not quite that old. I got them from a neighbor lady who was surreptitiously … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1960, Baseball, books, broadcasting, Dodgers, Sports, Zombie Reading List | Comments Off on From the Stacks — ‘The Long Season’

U.S. Launches Astronaut Alan Shepard: ‘Boy What a Ride!’

Posted on May 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

           May 6, 1961: Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. was rocketed 115 miles above the Earth in a flawless suborbital flight and recovered safely 302 miles down the Atlantic Missile Range to become America's first man … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, art and artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Mickey Cohen, Obituaries, Religion | 2 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 5, 1941

Posted on May 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

        May 5, 1941: Lee Shippey writes about some of his hospital experiences – and the cost of healthcare. HEADLINES (and what they mean): From a trade journal: "Hays Office Bans 'The Outlaw' Because of 'Breast Shots' … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 5, 1941

Jim Murray, May 5, 1961

Posted on May 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

        May 5, 1961: The strange story of Gene Littler illustrates the elusiveness of golf. Seven years ago, this calm, compact young man was almost everybody's best bet to corner the game of golf altogether….  The top … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, art and artists, Baseball, Columnists, Comics, golf, Sports | Comments Off on Jim Murray, May 5, 1961

Found on EBay — John Barrymore’s Town Car

Posted on May 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

       A photograph of John Barrymore’s 1930 Cord L-29, with a body by Murphy Coach Builders of Pasadena, has been listed on EBay. According to an 1989 article in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, this car is in the Auburn, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930, Film, Hollywood, Transportation | Comments Off on Found on EBay — John Barrymore’s Town Car