Monthly Archives: March 2016

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Babe Comes Home’ Ushers in Baseball Season

Babe Ruth in “Babe Comes Home,” Motion Picture News. Play ball! This week sees the start of another baseball season in the United States, once the most popular pastime of average Americans and considered as American as motherhood and apple … Continue reading

Posted in 1927, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Sports | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Can You Identify This Mystery Sink? (Updated)

And just for fun, who can identify the location of this extremely unusual mystery sink? Hint: This is a sink that half the population living in the Pasadena area might be able to identify. No, not a hospital. This odd … Continue reading

Posted in Mystery Photo | Tagged , | 8 Comments

The History of Journalism in Southern California, Conference April 16.

  The Los Angeles Times Building No. 3 at First Street and Broadway in the 1920s, courtesy of Water and Power Associates. The Historical Society of Southern California will offer a daylong conference on “Journalism in Southern California,” from the … Continue reading

Posted in Coming Attractions, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How I Almost Killed Garry Shandling

This would be a much funnier story if Garry Shandling were still alive, but if he were, I wouldn’t be telling it. I was partially responsible — in a roundabout way — for nearly killing Garry back in the 1970s. … Continue reading

Posted in Obituaries, Television | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Garry Shandling: A Tour of L.A. Comedy Clubs in 1981

I rarely dig into my old clips, but here is my feature on Garry Shandling, who died today at the age of 66, from the Arizona Daily Star, Nov. 24, 1981. The ending isn’t exactly mine; it was altered  by … Continue reading

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Harry Houdini: An Interview by Marcet Haldeman-Julius, October 1925

Note: In honor of Harry Houdini’s birthday, we are reposting this interview from 1925. We have been collecting issues of Haldeman-Julius Monthly for several years, but one issue was particularly elusive: The October 1925 number featuring an interview with Harry … Continue reading

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + + +)

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1952 Hammer Films picture “Wings of Danger” alias “Dead on Course,” with Zachary Scott, Robert Beatty, Naomi Chance, Kay Kendall, Colin Tapley, Arthur Lane, Harold Lang and Diane Cilento. The screenplay was by … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 29 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: H.N. Zahn Building Pushes L.A.’s Zoning Laws

Ida Lupino promotes Easter in 1934, with the Zahn building in the background. What was intended strictly as a publicity photo promoting young actress Ida Lupino celebrating the Easter season on a large rabbit outside Desmond’s Department Store leads to … Continue reading

Posted in 1934, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

  This week’s mystery movie has been the 1932 Fox picture “Call Her Savage,” directed by John Francis Dillon, with a screenplay by Edwin Burke from the bestselling novel by Tiffany Thayer.  With Clara Bow, Gilbert Roland, Thelma Todd, Monroe … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 34 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 100-Year-Old Grocery Stores Still Serve the Public

Las Palmas Market, 1259 N. Las Palmas Ave., via Google Street View. While architectural styles have changed over the centuries, the use of buildings has remained virtually unchanged, meaning an older bank building can still function as a bank, a … Continue reading

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Movieland Mystery Photos

It was a tough week for the mystery photos and here’s why: All of these mystery movies are unidentified films listed on the Nitrate Film Interest Group page – and if you ever feel like testing your mystery movie skills, … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Preservation | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo

And for Friday, we have a mystery comedy in which a billboard for Ben-Hur Coffee inspires some mystery young people to stage a chariot race. This is the final entry in this week’s mystery movies and there haven’t been any … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo

Several members of the Brain Trust have noted that this week’s photos are unusually tough, which is quite true. The reason for their difficulty will become clear in good time. For Thursday, we have a mystery movie starring a mystery … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo

This week, I am running five mystery movies, one per day with multiple images. And today, we have a mystery samurai movie! Update: This is indeed a toughie. Benito has identified the mystery gent in images No. 4 and 8. … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo

As I noted yesterday, I’m doing the mystery movie posts a bit differently this week. For reasons that will become clear at a future date, I’m posting multiple images from a mystery movie each day, rather than stringing them out … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Little Brown Church in the Valley

Photo: Republic Studios President Herbert Yates marries Vera Hruba Ralston in 1952. Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: The death of former First Lady Nancy Reagan has renewed interest in the Little Brown Church, where she and Ronald Reagan were married … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Religion, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Los Angeles Conservancy Announces Last Remaining Seats for 2016

The Los Angeles Conservancy has announced its lineup for the Last Remaining Seats film series, choosing movies from previous seasons to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The movies are: “Top Gun” (June 4) “To Kill a Mockingbird” (June 8) “Some Like … Continue reading

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At the Follies Burlesque: Blaza Glory and Myrna Dean

An EBay vendor has listed two undated articles on performers at the Follies Burlesque, 337 S. Main St. Blaza Glory (a name I hadn’t encountered before) seems to have been performing in the early 1950s. Myrna Dean (identified as Deane … Continue reading

Posted in Dance, Found on EBay, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated)

I’m going to try something different this week. Instead of posting one image per day and identifying the mystery movie at the end of the week, I am going to post several images per day from the same mystery movie, … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Take Your Girlie to the Movies’ Promotes Film and Romance

   “Take Your Girlie to the Movies,” as recorded by Billy Murray, 1919. Popular songs often speak to issues of the period in which they are written, providing commentary on political, social, and cultural issues. Most of the songs in … Continue reading

Posted in 1919, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment