Monthly Archives: July 2011

CARMAGEDDON on the 405

Posted on July 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

OK, as long as we’re satirizing Carmageddon with a Hitler rant, here’s my favorite humorous video set on the 405. It’s by Bruce Branit and Jeremy Hunt.

Posted in Film, Transportation | Tagged | 3 Comments

Broadway Revisited

Posted on July 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

I got this postcard on EBay because the details are sharp and it shows The Times Building before it was blown up in 1910. The picture was most likely taken from the beautiful old courthouse farther north on Broadway that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1910, Downtown, Photography | Tagged , | 3 Comments

7|13|2011 #history, #museum

Posted on July 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Pierre Loti’s house. Credit: Discover Poitou Charentes RECOMMENDEDElaine Sciolino’s new travel column Lumiere in the New York Times takes a look at the house museum of Pierre Loti. Sciolino says: “On an unremarkable street in the unremarkable town, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, History, Hollywood, Museums, Religion, World War II | Tagged , , | Comments Off on 7|13|2011 #history, #museum

Coming Attractions: Genealogy Research at the L.A. Public Library

Posted on July 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

The Los Angeles Public Library will present a program on getting started in genealogical research. The free presentation will be from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 16, 2011. Folks should gather at the reference desk in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming Attractions, Immigration, Libraries | Comments Off on Coming Attractions: Genealogy Research at the L.A. Public Library

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated +]

Posted on July 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

Here’s our mystery tennis player! Thanks to Steven Bibb for sharing this photo. [Update: This is Lida Baarova. Please congratulate Jenny M, Don Danard and Rick for identifying her and her mystery companion Joseph Goebbels.] There’s a new photo on … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

From the Stacks: ‘Just One More!’

Posted on July 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

I picked up the 1961 edition of “Just One More!” by the Los Angeles Press Photographers Assn. and I’ve been enjoying it more than I expected. It’s a time capsule of press photography as it was 50 years ago, so … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, Books and Authors, From the Stacks, Photography | Tagged , , | 19 Comments

7|12|2011 #history #museum #cold cases [Updated]

Posted on July 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 19, 1890: Edison’s talking doll in the Sydney Journal. RECOMMENDEDRon Cowen in the Washington Post has a great story about scientists using optical scanning to recover a primitive recording made by Thomas Edison about 1889 for a talking doll. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cold Cases, History, Homicide, Museums | Tagged , , | Comments Off on 7|12|2011 #history #museum #cold cases [Updated]

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on July 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

Here’s our mystery desperado! [Update: This is  John Anderson (d. 1992), who played used car dealer California Charlie in “Psycho,” in addition to many other roles in film and on stage.  Please congratulate Michael Ryerson, David Franklin, Dewey Webb, Herb … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments

7|11|2011 #history, #museum

Posted on July 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

Nov. 26, 1936: Ambrose Schindler in The Times as USC and UCLA prepare to play for the first time in six years. My colleague Jerry Crowe at The Timeshas a nice profile of Ambrose Schindler, former USC quarterback, stuntman on … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Fashion, History, Museums | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on July 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

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 →

Posted in Books and Authors, Brain Trust, Eve Golden, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

On the Frontiers of Journalism

Posted on July 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

While the folks who think big thoughts are busy debating the future of newspapers, I thought I would experiment with something called paper.li. Paper.li, in case you have never heard of it (I hadn’t) allows a user to create a … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged , | Comments Off on On the Frontiers of Journalism

7|10|2011 #museum, #history

Posted on July 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

Portions of fabric clipped from the U.S. flag before it was planted on the moon by Neil Armstrong in the Apollo 11 mission are being offered Sunday by Ira and Larry Goldberg auctioneers, 11400 W. Olympic Blvd, Suite 800. Lot … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball, Chicago, History, Museums | Tagged , , | Comments Off on 7|10|2011 #museum, #history

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated+]

Posted on July 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

[Update 2: Margaret Campbell and Gertrude Olmstead in “Monte Carlo,” 1926. ] [Update: Please congratulate Mike Hawks for identifying the mystery gal on the left right!] Here’s another mystery photo, courtesy of Steven Bibb. Thanks! June 29, 1939: Campbell’s son, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Michael Jackson – Art Collector

Posted on July 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

Is Michael Jackson’s art collection with $900 million? Well, maybe not. Dylan Howard of Star magazine writes: Michael Jackson secretly left behind an almost billion-dollar secret art fortune that is now at the center of an international tug of war, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Crime and Courts, Music | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Gen. Custer — ‘Living History’

Posted on July 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

Steve Alexander is giving his “living history” portrayal of Gen. George Armstrong Custer on Saturday at the Michigan Historical Center in Lansing as part of its “Plowshares into Swords” exhibit marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. The museum … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Museums | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Gen. Custer — ‘Living History’

Maria Ridulph: McCullough Denies Kidnapping, Killing Girl

Posted on July 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

Ted Gregory and Isolde Raftery of the Chicago Tribune, reporting from Seattle, have a jailhouse interview with Jack Daniel McCullough, suspected in the 1957 killing of Maria Ridulph. “You gotta have evidence. They have nothing,” McCullough tells Trib.

Posted in 1957, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Seattle | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined – Mulholland and the Valley ‘Conspiracy’

Posted on July 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

My L.A. Times colleague Elaine Woo has a first-rate obituary on Catherine Mulholland, author of “William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles.” One reason Mulholland took on the biography was to provide what she viewed as a more balanced … Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, History, Hollywood, Obituaries, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Another Good Story Ruined – Mulholland and the Valley ‘Conspiracy’

7|9|2011, #history, #museum

Posted on July 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

NEWSLauren Viera, writing in the Chicago Tribune, says that the Art Institute of Chicago is quietly conducting a search for a director to replace  James Cuno, who has become president and chief executive of the J. Paul Getty Trust.Sidebar: Help … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Architecture, Chicago, History, Museums, New York, Philadelphia, Washington | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Wanted: Mickey Cohen on Tape

Posted on July 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

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 →

Posted in 1957, Brain Trust, Film, From the Reference Desk, Mickey Cohen, Television | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Day in Hollywood: July 8, 1941

Posted on July 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

July 8, 1941: I thought it would be fun to check in with our old pals, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor and Jimmie Fidler. Lee writes about visiting researchers spending their summers at the Huntington. That’s my idea of a vacation! … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment