Monthly Archives: June 2018

June 15, 1907: Grieving Widow Cuts Off Hand to ‘Free Husband’s Soul’

Posted on June 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 15, 1907 Los Angeles Helen Hurley paused at the doors of St. Vibiana’s Cathedral. In pain, she shoved her left wrist inside her dress so that it wouldn’t show as she … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: The Sentinel’s Hotel Listings

Posted on June 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

The Golden West Manor Motel, 3700 S. Western, via Google Street View. June 12, 1947: The Western Motel, at 37th Street and South Western Avenue, advertised in the Sentinel that it was “clean, comfortable, modern” with “special accommodations for theatrical … Continue reading →

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June 14, 1907: 3 Berkeley Students Walk Home to L.A. in 27 Days

Posted on June 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 14, 1907 Los Angeles Like many young men, Stuart, Sayre and Maynard decided to walk home from school—but it was a bit farther for these college friends because they were going … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Education, Hollywood, LAPD, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

‘Little Shoes’: An Author’s Journey of Discovery in Unlocking a Family Tragedy From 1930s L.A.

Posted on June 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

A family’s history is tricky even in the best of circumstances; the past may be sanitized and rewritten for consumption by the next generation. When tragedy is involved, family stories become murky or are simply locked away. So it was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black L.A. 1947: Ask Evangeline — In Love With a Married Man

Posted on June 13, 2018 by lmharnisch
Posted in 1947, African Americans | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

June 13, 1947: California Takes First Steps to Reduce Smog

Posted on June 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

A sample card from the Ringelmann Smoke Chart. Note: This is an encore post and originally appeared in 2005 on the 1947project. Shall we talk about noir? Let’s start with the skies over Los Angeles, which are so dirty that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Environment | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: Who Is This Man?

Posted on June 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. I recently obtained an original copy of The Times’ March 28, 1971, story “Farewell, My Black Dahlia,” which includes the account of the “Boy on the Bicycle.” Here’s a color picture of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

June 13, 1907: Now That’s a Headline

Posted on June 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 13, 1907 Los Angeles Voters approved a $23-million bond issue ($472,042,116.32 USD 2005) for the Owens River Aqueduct, 21,923-2,128. The Times helped mount a turnout campaign in which automobile owners volunteered … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: The Case of Godwin ‘Buddy’ Bush, Who Escaped From a Lynch Mob

Posted on June 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

June 12, 1947: Juanita Washington Goodman’s columns were a weekly feature in the Sentinel. In this one, she’s writes about Godwin/Goodwin “Buddy” Bush, who escaped from a mob that had taken him from the Jackson, N.C., jail May 23, 1947. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

June 12, 1907: Woman Dies After Abortion, but Leaves Statement Against Doctor

Posted on June 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 12, 1907 Los Angeles At 19, Florence Grover was old enough to be in love and living with a man, and at 19, she was old enough to become a mother. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Abortion, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Medicine, Streetcars | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1940 Warner Bros. film “The Man Who Talked Too Much,” with George Brent, Virginia Bruce, Brenda Marshall, Richard Barthelmess, William Lundigan, George Tobias and John Litel. The screenplay was by Walter DeLeon and … Continue reading →

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Celebrity Politicians, Hollywood’s Honorary Mayors 2

Posted on June 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Oct. 25, 1954: Betty White becomes honorary mayor of Hollywood. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. During the 1930s and 1940s, neighborhoods and cities surrounding Los Angeles named celebrities as honorary mayors to help gain their areas vital … Continue reading →

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June 11, 1947: Hillary Brooke Tries Out Job as Reporter

Posted on June 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 that originally appeared on the 1947project. Somehow I’d like to think that Brooke wrote the marijuana bust story as she was studying for her role in “I Cover Big Town” (apparently not … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Sandow Returns

Posted on June 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

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1935 Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux

Posted on June 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

One of the joys of living in Southern California is the random opportunity to see gorgeous cars – new and vintage – in the wild. We saw this 1935 Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux a few blocks from the Daily Mirror … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Museums, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

June 10, 1947: Artist John Decker Speaks at His Funeral Via Recording

Posted on June 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. From a transcription he made six weeks before his death, Artist John Decker’s voice came back to intone his philosophy at his funeral yesterday. In his … Continue reading →

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Feb. 2, 1933: James M. Cain Writes Appreciation of Ice Cream Truck Driver Robert D. ‘Red’ Shay

Posted on June 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. “Red” Shay, 26, was riding with his girlfriend, Nancy Reed, in the rumble seat a car driven by his roommate, L.W. Sinclair, when it struck … Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Books and Authors, Obituaries | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

June 9, 1907: Woman’s Bizarre Death Exposes a Family’s Curse

Posted on June 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 9, 1907 Los Angeles Olga Miller was a comely young thing who worked at the Hotel Rosslyn and was considered quite attractive despite the scar on her temple from shooting herself … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on June 8, 2018 by lmharnisch

For Friday, we have our last photo from the Library of Congress. The library says this picture was taken by “Katherine Russell Bleecker, the first female cinematographer in film history,” but there’s no more information. Any ideas?

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

June 9, 1947: Personals

Posted on June 8, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. To a certain party in Beverly Hills: Some Las Vegas casino executives should close those swank drapes when they sit in the living room and read … Continue reading →

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