Monthly Archives: November 2012

Buck Jones Among Hundreds Killed in Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire

Nov. 30, 1942: Saying “My hands are trembling all over this typewriter keyboard,” Associated Press writer Harry C. Glasheen writes of his experiences covering Boston’s Cocoanut Grove fire, which had a final death toll of 492 people, including Western movie … Continue reading

Posted in 1942, Comics, Film, Fires, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Millennial Moment – Nick Stewart’s Ebony Showcase Theater

Nov. 28, 1982: Times staff writer John L. Mitchell profiles Horace “Nick” Stewart, who opened the Ebony Showcase Theater with his wife, Edna, in 1950. Stewart used the money from playing Lightnin’ in the 1950s TV series “The Amos n’ … Continue reading

Posted in 1982, African Americans, Film, Millennial Moments, Stage, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Eve Golden / Queen of the Dead – Charlotte Greenwood

  Charlotte Greenwood Usually I regale you with harrowing stories about people who die early, grisly deaths, but today we are going to put on our happy faces and talk about Charlotte Greenwood. You probably know her from the film … Continue reading

Posted in Eve Golden, Film, Queen of the Dead, Stage | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated ++++)

Here’s our mystery for Monday: Who’s the guest and what’s the movie?

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 26 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Campo de Cahuenga, California’s Birthplace

A luminaria festival will be held at Campo de Cahuenga Dec. 2 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is free. Driving south down Lankershim Boulevard from Toluca Lake into Universal City, it’s hard to miss the skyscrapers, soundstages, and … Continue reading

Posted in 1847, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Eve Golden / Queen of the Dead – Lyle Talbot

A photo of Lyle Talbot has been listed on EBay with bids starting at $25.   Lyle Talbot I have a thing for those Big Boxy Guys from the 1930s and ’40s. You know, the ones who look like they’re … Continue reading

Posted in Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated ++)

Here’s a mystery chap from a mystery movie. Please congratulate Dewey Webb for being first to identify our mystery fellow and the film. Please congratulate Don Danard, Jenny M, Mike Hawks, La Peregrina, Patrick, Bob Hansen and Rick Scott for … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 30 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Nelson Evans, Hollywood’s Early Forgotten Portrait Photographer

Photo: Nelson Evans Unlike the theatrical world, the early motion picture industry was slow in recognizing the importance of photographs to help publicize and sell its films. While Broadway producers hired great New York portrait studios like Sarony, White, Lumiere, … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Found on EBay – Another Good Story Ruined

A vendor on EBay has listed this AP photo from New York as showing Ralph von Hiltz, the “murderer of Black Dahlia.” (Price: $25.44). This is just another crackpot confession. The Times reported in 1956 that then-Chief of Detectives Thad … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, 1956, Black Dahlia, Found on EBay, LAPD | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated ++)

And this location and this movie would be? Identifying the movie:LC, Dewey Webb, Mary Mallory, Nathan and Greg Clancey. Identifying the location: Cal and Lulu, William (note: “The Artist” is in black and white), Lee Rivas and Santos L. Halper.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 26 Comments

Found on EBay – Editorial Cartoonist Edmund Waller ‘Ted’ Gale

An original drawing by Edmund Waller “Ted” Gale has been listed on EBay. Waller was a longtime cartoonist who was an institution at The Times, but he quit in 1934 in a disagreement over its editorial policies and went to … Continue reading

Posted in 1936, Art & Artists, Found on EBay | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo

Here’s another photo from the amazing collection of Steven Bibb!

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

Eve Golden / Queen of the Dead – James Reese Europe

A piece of sheet music featuring James Reese “Jim” Europe has been listed on EBay with bids starting at $3,999.99. James Reese Europe   I think my favorite period is 1900-15. Not that I’d want to live back then, I’m … Continue reading

Posted in African Americans, Dance, Eve Golden, Film, Found on EBay, Music, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Found on EBay – A 1947 Visit to the Biltmore

A lot of items from the Biltmore Hotel, including a bill for two days in August 1947, seven months after the Black Dahlia killing, has been listed on EBay. This map appears with a booklet titled “Guide to Biltmore Services.” … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Downtown | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – The Cahuenga Building

From its days as an elegant bank building to its abandoned and forgotten existence in the 1980s and 1990s, the former Security Trust and Savings Bank at Hollywood Boulevard and Cahuenga Boulevard has served as both a local institution and … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated)

Here’s another mystery photo from the amazing collection of Steven Bibb!

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

Found on EBay – C.C. Pierce

Here’s 323 5th St. via Google’s Street View. Seven photos by C.C. Pierce showing Fire Department equipment have been listed on EBay. Pierce was a prolific photographer who chronicled the early days of Los Angeles. Many of his photographs are … Continue reading

Posted in 1913, Downtown, Photography | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Found on EBay – Follies Burlesque

This photo of an unidentified dancer at the Follies Burlesque Theatre in Los Angeles has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $18.95.

Posted in Found on EBay, Stage | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo

Here’s yet another photo from the amazing collection of Steven Bibb!

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Millennial Moment: Church Officials Killed

Nov. 9, 1982: Patrick James Henneberry and George Peters, leaders of the purported Church of Naturalism, were beaten to death with a blunt instrument and shot at close range on the Laurel Canyon estate on Woodstock Road leased by the … Continue reading

Posted in 1982, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Millennial Moments, Religion | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment