Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

November 1947: Women Charged Under 1872 Law for Same-Sex Marriage

Posted on November 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.. They were a quiet young couple in their 20s, so quiet that their neighbors in Valley of the Moon, near Santa Rosa, rarely saw them. David … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Nov. 29, 1946: Meet Margaret Dixon, Only Woman Managing Editor of a U.S. Daily Newspaper

Posted on November 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

One of the Daily Mirror’s themes is to highlight women’s history – not an easy task because women’s achievements were often poorly documented, and women who attained any sort of prominence were presented as curiosities. Like the Samuel Johnson quip … Continue reading →

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Nov. 29, 1907: Baker’s New Recipe Touches Off a Matzo Brawl

Posted on November 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Nov. 29, 1907 Los Angeles Oh Those Shriners: Recall, if you will, the grisly train wreck that killed a large number of Shriners returning from their convention in Los Angeles. It seems … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Food and Drink, LAPD, Religion, Streetcars | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Nov. 29, 1907: Baker’s New Recipe Touches Off a Matzo Brawl

Black L.A. 1947: This Week’s Jukebox Hits

Posted on November 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Nov. 27, 1947: This week, we have two holiday songs: “Merry Christmas, Baby,” by Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers, and “How I Hate to See Xmas Come Around,” by Jimmy Witherspoon.

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November 1947: Woman Commits Suicide in Mortuary

Posted on November 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

OK, even for Ernie Bushmiller and “Nancy,” this Thanksgiving panel is bizarre.. Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Nothing further was written about this unfortunate woman, who killed herself the day before … Continue reading →

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Nov. 28, 1907: Drunk Civil War Veterans Spur Liquor Ban; Noisy Rooster Starts War on Olive Street

Posted on November 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Nov. 28, 1907 Los Angeles Ocean Park banned serving alcohol to soldiers in uniform because drunk Civil War veterans from the soldiers home in Sawtelle “were seen reeling about the saloons.” A … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Animals, Downtown, LAPD, Olive, Streetcars | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Hollywood 1948: Stars Pick Their Biggest Movie Turkeys; Lizabeth Scott Calls ‘Dead Reckoning’ Her Worst Film

Posted on November 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Aug. 25, 1948: Lizabeth Scott tells veteran Hollywood columnist Bob Thomas of the Associated Press: “I never did understand the character. Bogie was a baby. He was the only thing that made it possible to get through the picture.” Also, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1948, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: ‘I Am the Night’ – My Head Is Already Exploding

Posted on November 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Uh-oh. You have GOT to be kidding.  Is THIS supposed to be Dr. George Hodel??? This is ridiculous – and has nothing to do with the Black Dahlia case. Nada.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

November 1947: ‘Ridiculous!’ Judge Throws Out Case of 3 Men Arrested for Playing Pinochle in Park

Posted on November 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. A 91-year-old former actor named Noah Simon tried to kill himself three years later by cutting his wrists and temple with a razor, saying that “I … Continue reading →

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November 27, 1907: Mexican Revolutionaries Accused of Gigantic Conspiracy

Posted on November 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. November 27, 1907 Los Angeles A shadowy, global conspiracy of anarchists is being described in the trial of revolutionaries Ricardo Flores Magon, Antonio Villareal and Librado Rivera in federal court. The fourth … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1910, 1914, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

How to Drive on Streetcar Tracks

Posted on November 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Here’s a short clip I did in 2006.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1955 Warner Bros. picture “I Died a Thousand Times,” with Jack Palance, Shelley Winters, Lori Nelson, Lee Marvin, Gonzalez Gonzalez, Lon Chaney, Earl Holliman, Perry Lopez, Richard Davalos, Howard St. John, Olive Carey, Ralph … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 52 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Actor Jack Donovan Designs Bungalow Courts for Hollywood Artistes

Posted on November 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Jack Donovan on the porch of his home, “Picture-Play Magazine,” April 1923.. From its beginnings, the Hollywood film industry has constructed elaborate sets and facades before demolishing them to build something else, such as David O. Selznick burning down old … Continue reading →

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Nov. 25, 1947: House Indicts the ‘Hollywood 10’ for Contempt

Posted on November 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. One Republican, Claude I. Bakewell of Missouri; Vito Marcantonio of the American Labor Party; and 15 Democrats voted against this measure: John Blatnik of Minnesota; Sol … Continue reading →

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Nov. 24, 1907: Roving to Monrovia

Posted on November 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Nov. 24, 1907 Monrovia The Times real estate section takes a look at what was then the distant suburb of Monrovia, 22 miles from downtown Los Angeles. The writer notes the increasing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, 1911, Architecture, Downtown, Education, Film, Freeways, Hollywood, Real Estate | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Nov. 24, 1947: Airline Passenger Dies En Route to L.A.; Shabby Drug Runner Carried a Fortune in Heroin

Posted on November 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. He was a shabby little man of 44 when he died with $111 in his pockets and a suitcase full of mystery and drugs. Although some … Continue reading →

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Nov. 23, 1947: ‘Lonesome’ Woman Sought Threesomes and Husband, Ex-Wife Says

Posted on November 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Kitty Higgins in all its uproarious humor. Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. This was rather a racy edition of The Times, especially for a Sunday paper. Next to the Kertz’s saga, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Chicago, Comics, Crime and Courts, Food and Drink | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Nov. 23, 1907: Baby Murdered With Ax, Half-Eaten by Pigs in Garbage Heap

Posted on November 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Nov. 23, 1907 South Pasadena Warning: This is a grotesque, tragic story with graphic details. Pasadena Detective Wallace H. Copping is investigating the murder of a young baby boy, whose half-eaten body … Continue reading →

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L.A. Celebrates a Wartime Thanksgiving, 1943

Posted on November 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. A wartime Thanksgiving in Los Angeles, with many service personnel welcomed into people’s homes for a holiday meal. The Times published cooking tips for war workers, advising cooks who were otherwise engaged … Continue reading →

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An 1890s Thanksgiving in the Kitchen

Posted on November 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. Here’s a traditional roast turkey recipe from the “Every-Day Cook-Book and Family Compendium,” written about 1890 by Miss E. Neill. Be sure your fire is bright and clear and watch out for … Continue reading →

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