Monthly Archives: May 2018

May 31, 1947: Los Angeles Marks First Memorial Day Without a Civil War Veteran at Ceremony

Posted on May 31, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Memorial Day, 1947, was a spectacle marked with a parade from Westwood to the veterans cemetery, services for Spanish-American veterans in Pershing Square and even a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Civil War | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

May 10, 1943: Heartbreaking Story of ‘Punky,’ 14, Who Succeeded in Killing Herself on 7th Try

Posted on May 31, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 that originally appeared on the 1947project. You can’t help but notice in going through old newspapers that suicides and divorces (especially in the days before no-fault divorces) were treated as daily “brites,” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Obituaries, Suicide | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Black L.A. 1947: DAR Reaffirms Ban on Black Performers at Constitution Hall

Posted on May 31, 2018 by lmharnisch

May 29, 1947:  The Daughters of the American Revolution, holding its annual convention in Washington, affirms its ban on African American performers at Constitution Hall. A story by the Associated Negro Press notes that Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the DAR … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

May 31, 1907: Memorial Day

Posted on May 31, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. May 31, 1907 Los Angeles In one Memorial Day observance, Col. James H. Davidson of Pasadena addresses the crowd at Memorial Hall. He says, in part: “Another decade or two and taps … Continue reading →

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May 30, 1907: Hop Chung, Chinese Laundryman, Presses Zoning Case in Court

Posted on May 31, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. May 30, 1907 Los Angeles Hop Chung is in trouble again. Chung, it seems, is no stranger to the legal system, with a police record going back to 1883. Ten years later, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Streetcars | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black L.A. 1947: NAACP to Protest Not-Guilty Verdicts in South Carolina Lynching

Posted on May 30, 2018 by lmharnisch

May 29, 1947: You may recall that the Los Angeles Times devoted two paragraphs on Page 6 to the acquittal of 28 men in the lynching of Willie Earle. In contrast to the disinterest of The Times, the Sentinel published … Continue reading →

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May 29, 1947: Richard Nixon to Summon Movie Figures to Testify on Communist Influences in Hollywood

Posted on May 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. WASHINGTON—A full-dress investigation to learn the extent of Communist infiltration of the Hollywood film industry and whether Federal officials or agencies encouraged production of motion pictures … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1932 RKO picture “The Age of Consent,” with Dorothy Wilson, Arline Judge, Richard Cromwell, Eric Linden, John Halliday, Aileen Pringle and Reginald Barlow. The screenplay was by Sarah Y. Mason and Francis Cockrell … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 40 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mary Pickford Dances Into Screen Adulthood in ‘Rosita’

Posted on May 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Above, a clip of “Restoring a Lost Silent Film: How to See “Rosita” by Dave Kehr from the Museum of Modern Art. In 1922, legendary German film director Ernst Lubitsch and “America’s Sweetheart” Mary Pickford searched for new challenges … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

May 28, 1947: Billie Holiday Sentenced to Prison on Drug Charge

Posted on May 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. On June 17, while Holiday was in prison, the film “New Orleans” opened in Los Angeles at the four Music Hall theaters: 8th and Broadway downtown; … Continue reading →

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Shorthand

Posted on May 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

Posted in Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars | Leave a comment

Black Dahlia: A Concert Program Inscribed to ‘Betty Short’ … From 1959. Wut?

Posted on May 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Here’s an opportunity to buy a program from a David Rubinoff performance that was inscribed to “Eva and Betty Short” … for $150 …

Posted in 1947, 1959, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Found on EBay | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

May 27, 1947: More Uses for Tomato Soup!

Posted on May 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Here’s a little curio from the pre-Trader Joe’s era: More Uses Found for Good Old Tomato Soup BY MARIAN MANNERS Condensed cream of tomato soup has … Continue reading →

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May 27, 1907: Prospector Rescued in Desert Tells Motorist: ‘This Is the Kind of a Horse’

Posted on May 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. May 27, 1907 Death Valley, Calif. George Freeman and his wife of Pasadena, accompanied by Charles Fuller Gates of Los Angeles, were motoring out to Death Valley in a Pierce-Arrow along the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars | 1 Comment

May 26, 1947: Otto Parzyjegla and the Killing of Alfred Haij

Posted on May 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. As tragic as it is, the Otto Parzyjegla case is wonderful example of the distinct contrasts between the murder of Alfred Haij and Elizabeth Short, and … Continue reading →

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May 26, 1907: Inventor of Miracle ‘Hot Air Engine’ Lives Lavishly, Then Vanishes

Posted on May 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Only a few months before, William R. Leroy of Pennsylvania was a struggling inventor, moonlighting as a stevedore in Santa Monica and in the Fullerton oilfields. Walking to work because even the lowly streetcar fare was a luxury, Leroy labored … Continue reading →

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May 25, 1947: ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ and ‘Human Destiny’ Lead L.A. Bestsellers

Posted on May 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. .

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May 25, 1907: From the Recording Horn

Posted on May 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. May 25, 1907 Los Angeles Sold on the installment plan, $1 a week with the purchase of six records at 60 cents each, the Victor Talking Machines offered performances by Caruso, Melba … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: ‘Dark Baby’ Scare Untrue

Posted on May 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

  May 22, 1947: The London Daily Mail reported that “5,000 Negro-fathered babies were to be sent” to the U.S., according to the Pittsburgh Courier. The Daily Mail also reported that a ship was being provided to bring the children. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, World War II | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

May 24, 1947: Where Is the Overell House?

Posted on May 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Of course, all through this period is the sensational case of Bud Gollum and Louise Overell, who were accused of killing her wealthy parents by blowing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Architecture, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment