Monthly Archives: June 2018

June 30, 1947: Albert Goldberg Becomes L.A. Times Music Critic

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Thus began a career that endured past his retirement in 1965—making way for Martin Bernheimer—until shortly before his death in 1990 at the age of 91. … Continue reading

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Slander, My Sweet: Raymond Chandler, John Houseman and ‘The Blue Dahlia’

Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in “The Blue Dahlia.” Here are the opening paragraphs of the piece I’ve been working on for the last few months as I waited for the clamor to die down about Piu Eatwell’s “Black Dahlia, … Continue reading

Posted in 1945, 1946, Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

June 29, 1947: ‘Palestine Extremists Kill Two More Britons’

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

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June 29, 1907: Horribly Beaten, Wife Begs Police Not to Charge Husband, Refuses to Testify

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 29, 1907 Los Angeles Through the jail cell’s bars, the officer asked, “Where did you get that blood on your shirt?” E.H. Phelan, a barber at the Hotel Alexandria, said: “No, … Continue reading

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Black L.A. 1947: Jury Selection Begins in San Diego Slavery Case

Above, Cab Calloway is at the Million Dollar Theater with “Ding Dong Williams.”  June 26, 1947: Jury selection begins in San Diego in the case of Alfred and Elizabeth Ingalls, who are accused of holding Dora L. Jones as a … Continue reading

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June 28, 1947: College Makes Women Unfit for Marriage, L.A. ‘Expert’ Says

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Meet Paul Popenoe, who appears in hundreds of stories in The Times (including 11 in 1947), often as the elder statesman of family counseling in Los … Continue reading

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June 28, 1907: 62 Cars Enter Endurance Race From Los Angeles to Lakeside

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 28, 1907 Los Angeles Give cars to a bunch of wealthy Los Angeles residents and what do they do? Race them, of course. Not on a track this time, but in … Continue reading

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June 27, 1947: Ray the Newspaper Boy Publishes First Book, ‘Dark Carnival’

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. I’ll be putting that little landmark on my tour of the Black Dahlia crime scene, which is about three miles away. Bradbury’s first book got a … Continue reading

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June 27, 1907: New to America, Wife Mistakes Gasoline for Coffee in Making Husband’s Breakfast

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 27, 1907 Los Angeles Louise arrived in Los Angeles three months ago from Norway with her four young children. She met a man who worked in San Pedro (we only know … Continue reading

Posted in 1907, A Kinder, Simpler Time, Fires, LAPD, Streetcars | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

June 26, 1947: ‘White’ or ‘Negro?’ LAPD Holds Sentinel Columnist for Having Two Driver’s Licenses

June 26, 1947: Los Angeles Sentinel columnist Edward Robinson takes a trip to the University Station after LAPD officers discover that he is carrying two driver’s licenses. One identifies him as “white” and the other identifies him as “Negro.” With … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Columnists | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

June 26, 1947: Helicopter Hovers Over Clipper Ship

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. An unknown press photographer in Long Beach captured them in a small fraction of a second, the old three-masted square-rigger and the brand-new helicopter: old and … Continue reading

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June 26, 1907: A Case of Elder Abuse?

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 26, 1907 Los Angeles Fred D. Samuels is a monster and nothing less, according to his aunt, Sister Kostka, assistant mother superior of the Ursuline Convent in Frontenac, Wis. As her … Continue reading

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Religion | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1929 MGM picture “Hallelujah,” with Daniel L. Haynes, Nina Mae McKinney, William Fountaine, Harry Gray, Fanny Belle DeKnight, Everett McGarrity, Victoria Spivey, Milton Dickerson, Robert Couch, Walter Tait and the Dixie Jubilee Singers. … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 48 Comments

June 25, 1947: L.A. Times Praises Gangland Slaying of Bugsy Siegel

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Gov. Warren is justified in his concern over the growth of gangsterism in California, dramatized by the effective and efficient taking-off of the charming but unlamented … Continue reading

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Virgil Apger, MGM’S Classic Portrait Photographer

  Virgil Apger, photo courtesy of Mary Mallory Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios excelled in most areas of film production, including that of still portrait photography. Several of its head portrait photographers, like Ruth Harriet … Continue reading

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June 24, 1947: Death in the Ring — Sugar Ray Robinson and Jimmy Doyle

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. For the rest of his life, Sugar Ray Robinson was haunted by that eighth round in Cleveland. Haunted by the hard left to the jaw of … Continue reading

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June 23, 1947: Jim Tully, Hobo Novelist and Prizefighter, Dies at 56

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. For me, stumbling across Jim Tully is one of those wonderful accidental discoveries that are a byproduct of research. He’s as obscure and forgotten today as … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

June 23, 1907: Auto Club Begins Posting Road Signs Along Future Route 66

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 23, 1907 Los Angeles The Auto Club of Southern California has begun posting white enamel signs with blue lettering along Foothill Boulevard between Los Angeles and Riverside. Spending about half a … Continue reading

Posted in 1907, Pasadena, Transportation | 1 Comment

June 22, 1947: 21,000 Sign Petition for Federal Anti-Lynching Law

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The son of slaves and a World War I veteran, Edgar G. Brown was a frequent visitor to Los Angeles gathering support for various issues, such … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

June 22, 1907: She Wanted Sweetheart’s Picture — So He Gave Her a Wanted Poster

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 22, 1907 Los Angeles Let’s suppose for a moment that you are a handsome former Army sergeant who has served in the Philippines. Let’s further suppose that you get into a … Continue reading

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