Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Sept. 16, 1947: Stanley Beltz, Colorful Lockheed Test Pilot

Posted on September 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Low flying charges have been filed by the Civil Aeronautics Administration against Stanley Beltz, Lockheed test pilot, who reportedly took a four-engined Constellation down to 200 … Continue reading →

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Sept. 15, 1947: On Rosh Hashana, a Call to Mobilize for Peace

Posted on September 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The ram’s horn, once a trumpet of war but now a symbol of faith, sounded at sundown yesterday in Los Angeles synagogues to mark the dawn … Continue reading →

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Brian De Palma’s ‘The Black Dahlia’

Posted on September 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Further note: Rotten Tomatoes, gives this film 32% on the Tomatometer. “The Black Dahlia,” directed by Brian De Palma, screenplay by Josh Friedman based on the novel by James Ellroy. Starring Josh … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Sept. 14, 1947: How Many HR Violations Can You Spot in One Ad?

Posted on September 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

Sept. 14, 1947: Let’s see. White couples or single women wanted. Age limit 55 years. No, we don’t do this anymore.

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Sept. 13, 1947: The Light Rail That Failed — Transit Plan Calls for Trains on Freeway Medians

Posted on September 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Someday an inquisitive person studying the history of transportation and urban planning will tell the world exactly what became of Los Angeles’ 1947 blueprint for dealing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Freeways, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Sept. 13, 1907: Girl’s Foot Amputated After Being Crushed by Streetcar

Posted on September 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Sept. 13, 1907 Los Angeles The family was too poor to take a streetcar, so Concepcion Parra, 60, and her sister Mrs. J.L. Ghiotto began walking the 12 miles to El Monte … Continue reading →

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Sept. 12, 1947: L.A. Times Columnist Lee Shippey

Posted on September 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Henry R. Wagner of San Marino will be 85 years old Sept. 27 but the Zamorano Club couldn’t wait that long. In order to surprise Dr. … Continue reading →

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On Location in Los Angeles: ‘The Unfaithful’ (1947)

Posted on September 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Here’s the sequence of shots in “The Unfaithful” showing Angels Flight, photographed by Ernest Haller, edited by Alan Crosland Jr. In image No. 1, we have a news vendor and the upper entrance to the funicular.

Posted in 1947, Architecture, Downtown, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Sept. 11, 1947: Al Jarvis Replies to L.A. Sentinel’s Charges of Racism

Posted on September 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

“Boogie-Woogie Blue Plate” is No. 2on this week’s juke box hits. Sept. 11, 1947: KLAC disc jockey Al Jarvis replies to Earl Griffin’s criticisms in last week’s Sentinel. “To knowingly plug a sponsor who discriminates against the Negro race is … Continue reading →

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Sept. 11, 1947: Driver of Beer Wagon Gets Revenge on Streetcars

Posted on September 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. “Big Bill,” driver for Maier & Zobelein, blockaded a procession of cars on Spring Street yesterday afternoon because he was insulted and angry. He had driven … Continue reading →

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Sept. 11, 1907: In Praise of the Corset for the ‘Woman Who Weighs a Ton’

Posted on September 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Sept. 11, 1907 Direct Wire From New York Wow! Now this is the kind of quote one simply doesn’t see every day, at least in the 21st century. The Victorians certainly had … Continue reading →

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

Black Dahlia: EBay Avenger

Posted on September 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. OK, I’ve had my fun with Ellroy’s copies of the “Avenger” books. The hardback stands at $38 and the paperback at $29. Despite my minimum bids, there is always the risk that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: EBay Avenger

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 54th Annual Cinecon Goes to the Movies

Posted on September 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

A fascinating look at what middle America saw at the movies from the 1910s through the 1950s, the 54th Annual Cinecon Classic Film Festival provided an excellent slate of films running the gamut from silents to sound, musicals to westerns, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2018, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on September 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1948/1950 Warner Bros. film “Backfire,” with Viveca Lindfors, Dane Clark, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O’Brien, Gordon MacRae, Ed Begley, Frances Robinson, Richard Robert, Sheila Stephens and David Hoffman. Screenplay by Larry Marcus, Ivan Goff … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 46 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Charlie Ruggles, Dog Lover

Posted on September 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Befuddled and often tongue-tied onscreen, beloved character actor Charlie Ruggles possessed sharp business and organizational skills off screen. He parlayed a love of dogs into a profitable kennel business for several years in the 1930s and 1940s, working to ensure … Continue reading →

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

Sept. 10, 1947: In Love but Unable to Marry First Cousin, 17, Man Shoots Himself

Posted on September 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. There are some obstacles that even love cannot overcome, or so David Everett has discovered. The 30-year-old mechanic is in critical condition at Torrance General Hospital … Continue reading →

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Sept. 10, 1907: Horoscope — ‘A Very Uncertain Day’

Posted on September 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Sept. 10, 1907 Los Angeles A very uncertain day. No evil omens glare anywhere but in all aspects there lies a heavy veil, defying those who would peer into this day. Beware, … Continue reading →

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Sept. 9, 1947: Roundup of the News — Put Salt in Coffee?

Posted on September 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. In New Delhi, unimaginable carnage. “I counted the bodies of at least 30 Moslems, men, women and children, who were chopped up like beef by bearded … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Art & Artists, Fashion, Food and Drink | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sept. 9, 1907: Taft Leads Bryan in Presidential Poll

Posted on September 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Sept. 9, 1907 Los Angeles More than a year before the 1908 presidential election, Republican William Howard Taft is far and away the favorite over Democrat William Jennings Bryan in a straw … Continue reading →

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Sept. 8, 1907: Actor Guilty of ‘Mashing’ Young Woman

Posted on September 8, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Sept. 8, 1907 Los Angeles Jack Foster, a handsome, blond actor who is the toast of the vaudeville circuit, noticed a young lady standing at 3rd Street and Main after a show. … Continue reading →

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