Monthly Archives: February 2014

1944 in Print — ‘Walter Winchell on Broadway,’ Feb. 9, 1944

Feb. 9, 1944: Al Jolson is Jinx Falkenberg’s most constant visitor at her St. Luke’s Hospital bedside…. New Yorkers suspect that Wayne (wife-killer) Lonergan’s sudden coin (to hire a lawyer) came from men named in her diary … Betty Hutton … Continue reading

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1944 on the Radio — ‘Fibber McGee and Molly,’ Feb. 8, 1944

Feb. 8, 1944 It’s Tuesday in 1944 and today we have: — “Fibber Makes Ice Cream” on “Fibber McGee and Molly.” (Notice the gag about loansharking and recall that New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia was calling for a crackdown on … Continue reading

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Black Dahlia: ‘I Killed the Black Dahlia’

Just when I thought I had seen every sort of lunacy that’s possible about the Black Dahlia case, I found this in my local paper yesterday. Did someone finally confess to the “grusome” murder? Look! It’s a saga of “explotation!” … Continue reading

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1944 in Print — Life Magazine, Feb. 7, 1944

Feb. 7, 1944: Karsh photographs George Bernard Shaw, 87, for the cover, with more Karsh portraits inside. Features include American prisoners who escaped from the Japanese in the Philippines, the radio show “Inner Sanctum” and the movie “Gung Ho.” Courtesy … Continue reading

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1944 on the Radio — ‘His Butler’s Sister,’ Feb. 7, 1944

Feb. 7, 1944 It’s Monday in 1944 and today we have: — Hop Harrigan refuses to leave Tank behind in escaping from Berlin with the secret plans in “Hop Harrigan.” Courtesy of Archive.org. — “His Butler’s Sister” with Deanna Durbin, … Continue reading

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1944 in Print — Walter Winchell on Broadway, March 7, 1944

March 7, 1944 Notes of an Innocent Bystander The Magic Lantern: Danny Kaye, who knocked off B’way in his first start, put Hollywood in his pocket the same way. His starter, “Up in Arms,” makes him a Milquetoast in khaki … Continue reading

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1944 in Print — ‘Walter Winchell on Broadway,’ Feb. 7, 1944

Feb. 7, 1944: For many years Rachel Field worked in Paramount’s New York office as a script reader, examining the merit of all submitted material … She once remarked: “Hmf, I can do better than some of this stuff. Some … Continue reading

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1944 on the Radio — ‘The Jack Benny Show,’ Feb. 6, 1944

Feb. 6, 1944 It’s Sunday in 1944 and today we have — From Roosevelt Base on Terminal Island, it’s “The Jack Benny Show.” Note the gags about fish canneries on Terminal Island. Courtesy of Archive.org.

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1944 on the Radio — Glenn Miller, Feb. 5, 1944

Feb. 5, 1944 It’s Saturday in 1944 and today we have: — The Band of the Training Command of the Army Air Forces under the direction of Capt. Glenn Miller with Cpl. Ray McKinley. The opening “In the Mood” sounds … Continue reading

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World War II on the Radio — The NBC News, Feb. 5, 1944

Feb. 5, 1944: American troops encounter tough fighting against the Nazis as they get closer to Rome. An NBC broadcast, courtesy of Archive.org.

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1944 in Print — ‘Walter Winchell on Broadway,’ Feb. 5, 1944

Feb. 5, 1944: Grace Moore, who uses the Stork Club’s back door — which is what most celebs wish they could do — to avoid the starers, oglers and other celebrity-worshipers … Jean Arthur, the lovely lady in the red … Continue reading

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Rediscovering Los Angeles — The Hotel Bella Union/St. Charles Hotel

March 16, 1936: Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit the St. Charles Hotel at 314 N. Main, which was formerly the Bella Union Hotel. “This was one of the two best hotels in Los Angeles not so … Continue reading

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1944 on the Radio — ‘Amos ‘N’ Andy,’ Feb. 4, 1944

Feb. 4, 1944 Today we have: — “Missing People’s Bureau” on “Amos ‘N’ Andy.” Courtesy of Archive.org.

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1944 in Print — ‘Walter Winchell on Broadway,’ Feb. 4, 1944

Feb. 4, 1944: “Dear Walter,” writes Maurice Rocco, “It must be an oldie but it still gets the biggest laugh wherever gamblers gather. About the wife who (going through her groom’s pockets) found a slip of paper on which was … Continue reading

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + +)

For Monday, we have a mystery woman. And look at those shoulders.

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No Carole Lombard Death Photos Here or Anywhere Else!

No Google search drives more traffic to the L.A. Daily Mirror than some permutation of “Carole Lombard Death Scene” or “Carole Lombard’s Head” or “Carole Lombard Decapitated” or “Did They Ever Find Carole Lombard’s Wedding Ring?” And as I have … Continue reading

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1944 on the Radio — ‘Kraft Music Hall,’ Feb. 3, 1944

Feb. 3, 1944 It’s Thursday in 1944 and today we have: — Donald O’Connor and Marilyn Maxwell are Bing Crosby’s guests on the “Kraft Music Hall.” Courtesy of Archive.org

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — AMPAS Awards Stills Photographers

“A close second as the Best Production Still Out-of-Doors, is this beautifully composed and lighted scene from “Song of Bernadette,” 20th-Century-Fox production, by Stax Graves,” Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Over its 87-year-old history, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and … Continue reading

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1944 in Print — ‘Walter Winchell on Broadway,’ Feb. 3, 1944

Feb. 3, 1944: Walter Winchell devotes his entire column to an organization called Peace Now.  He did not approve. From the St. Petersburg Times.

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1944 on the Radio — ‘Hop Harrigan’ and ‘Orson Welles’ Radio Almanac,’ Feb. 2, 1944

Feb. 2, 1944 Today we have: — Hop Harrigan in Berlin on “Hop Harrigan.” Courtesy of Archive.org. — Lionel Barrymore is the guest on “Orson Welles’ Radio Almanac.” (Yet another joke about the housing shortage). Courtesy of Archive.org.

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