Monthly Archives: December 2017

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — Pisco Punch

Posted on December 30, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Just in time for New Year’s, we’ll take a look at a “lost drink,” making a brief inquiry into San Francisco’s Pisco Punch, made famous by Bank Exchange saloon owner Duncan Nicol … Continue reading →

Posted in 1915, 1934, 1939, Food and Drink, San Francisco | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide – The Queens Cocktail

Posted on December 29, 2017 by lmharnisch

Joe Vogel asks if there was a Queens Cocktail. The answer is yes. According to the Jamaica Long Island Daily Press, Jan. 24, 1935, the Queens Cocktail debuted at the Hotel Commodore in a toast to President Roosevelt. Via Fultonhistory.com. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, 1937, Food and Drink | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — The Bronx Cocktail

Posted on December 29, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Dec. 20, 1934: In case you doubted me (but you wouldn’t, would you?), here’s a recipe for the Bronx Cocktail, from the Amsterdam Evening Recorder, courtesy of FultonHistory.com. In case you plan … Continue reading →

Posted in 1934, Food and Drink, Suicide | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Black L.A. 1947: Cross Burnings and Jim Crow Trains in Los Angeles – The Biggest Stories of 1946

Posted on December 29, 2017 by lmharnisch

In its Jan. 2, 1947, issue, the Los Angeles Sentinel looked back at the major stories of 1946, a good introduction to the year ahead: Job discrimination, Jim Crow laws, segregated housing, police beatings and racial violence. We will be … Continue reading →

Posted in 1946, 1947, African Americans, History, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — The Brooklyn Cocktail

Posted on December 28, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Yes, the Manhattan cocktail once had competition from drinks named for the other boroughs. Here’s a recipe for the Brooklyn Cocktail, from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 7, 1937. The Brooklyn Cocktail … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Food and Drink | Tagged , | Leave a comment

New York City’s Homicide Rate – And a Lesson in Using FBI Uniform Crime Reports

Posted on December 28, 2017 by lmharnisch

Actually, no. Ashley Southall of the New York Times has it wrong in saying that the current homicide rate of 286 is “the lowest since reliable records have been kept.” We can say this because the FBI Uniform Crime Reports … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940, Another Good Story Ruined, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Another Good Story Ruined: Vintage Los Angeles and a Woolworth’s Lunch Counter

Posted on December 28, 2017 by lmharnisch

No. This is not a picture of the longest lunch counter in the world at the Woolworth’s in downtown Los Angeles. This is a file photo published by the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot in 2010 on the 50th anniversary of lunch counter … Continue reading →

Posted in 1960, Another Good Story Ruined, Philadelphia, Photography | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: The Harvey Wallbanger

Posted on December 27, 2017 by lmharnisch

A vintage 1972 iron-on transfer of Harvey Wallbanger himself, on EBay for $12. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. We have been looking at some historic drinks for this holiday season. To the millennials in the audience: This … Continue reading →

Posted in 1971, Food and Drink, Music | Tagged , | 2 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: A Brief History of the Tom and Jerry

Posted on December 26, 2017 by lmharnisch

A recipe for the Tom and Jerry from the San Francisco Call, June 30, 1912. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Over on Facebook, Christopher McPherson asked whether the Tom and Jerry was named for the MGM cartoon … Continue reading →

Posted in 1862, Books and Authors, Food and Drink | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Black Dahlia: A Two-Year Update and a Look Ahead

Posted on December 26, 2017 by lmharnisch

The second anniversary of my retirement from the Los Angeles Times coincided with lots of questions prompted by a Fox News piece on Piu Eatwell’s “Black Dahlia, Red Rose.” Even though I had blogged about the book repeatedly, people still … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1947, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, History | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Al Martinez, a Dying Boy and Some Peaches — A (Non) Christmas Story

Posted on December 25, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2015. Jim Romenesko, for those who aren’t in the news business, runs an essential blog that serves as a clearing house for information, gossip, bad headlines and assorted gaffes. A Jan. 6 post … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, 1958, Books and Authors, Columnists | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 25, 2017 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been Warner Bros. 1946 heartwarming holiday classic “The Beast With Five Fingers,” with Robert Alda, Andrea King, Peter Lorre, Victor Francen, J. Carrol Naish, Charles Dingle, John Alvin, David Hoffman, Barbara Brown, Patricia White and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 36 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Posted on December 25, 2017 by lmharnisch

Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale in “Holiday Inn.” Note: This is an encore post from 2015. Recognized today as one of the top selling singles and pieces of sheet music of all time, Irving Berlin’s “White … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Christmas Past: A Cincinnati Family Celebrates the Holidays 100 Years Ago

Posted on December 24, 2017 by lmharnisch

I picked up these photos in a Pasadena thrift store years ago. There is no information on them except the stamp on the back: Moser & Son, Cin’ti, O. Aside from the tree (seen below) and what seem to be … Continue reading →

Posted in 1916, Photography | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Christmas 1966: No Bad News at the Tucson Citizen

Posted on December 24, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2016. I finally tracked down the front page from the Tucson Citizen for Dec. 24, 1966, in which it followed the tradition of no bad news on Page 1. And a sample of … Continue reading →

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In Memoriam — Johnny Fox | Sword Swallower (1953 — 2017)

Posted on December 23, 2017 by lmharnisch

We were saddened to read an obituary in the New York Times this week about sword swallower Johnny Fox, who died of cancer in Maryland at the age of 64. We snapped this picture of Fox, about to swallow a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, 2017, Obituaries, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Black Dahlia: 5 Reasons Leslie Dillon Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short

Posted on December 22, 2017 by lmharnisch

Leslie Dillon in an undated photo, probably taken in the late 1940s.   My inbox is exploding with alerts about Piu Eatwell “solving” the Black Dahlia case by attributing it to Leslie Duane Dillon. Here are five simple reasons that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2017, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 21, 2017 by lmharnisch

Paul Bryan Gray was recently mentioned in the Los Angeles Times as the author of “A Clamor for Equality,” the biography of Francisco Ramirez, who published Los Angeles’ first entirely Spanish-language newspaper, “El Clamor Publico.” Gray also wrote “Forster vs. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Black Dahlia: The Formosa Cafe and Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on December 20, 2017 by lmharnisch

My inbox exploded this morning with alerts about the Black Dahlia and links leading to an essay in the Los Angeles Times by David Ulin, writing about the Formosa Cafe (which he calls “the Formosa” – a gaffe nobody bothered … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Food and Drink, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 20, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. I picked up “The Big Picture,” Melba Levick and Stanley Young’s 1988 book about Los Angeles murals, not realizing what a terribly sad book it would be. As Young notes: “Most artists … Continue reading →

Posted in 1988, Architecture, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Downtown, From the Stacks, Hollywood, Latinos, Photography, Preservation, San Fernando Valley, Sports, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment