Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Black L.A. 1947: NAACP to Sue Inglewood for Barring Blacks From Swimming Pool

Posted on July 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

The 1938 exploitation film “The Wages of Sin” is being shown at the Flo-Mills Theater. July 17, 1947: The NAACP charges that the city of Inglewood bars African Americans from the pool at Centinela Park. At an employee picnic sponsored … Continue reading →

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July 18, 1947: The Timeless, Subtle Wit of Ernie Bushmiller’s ‘Nancy’

Posted on July 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. NANCY BY ERNIE BUSHMILLER Panel 1: Exterior, Day. A city sidewalk. Nancy and Sluggo are carrying heavy packages on their shoulders. NANCY: Wow… These packages are … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Art & Artists, Film | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

July 18, 1907: Santa Monica, Ocean Park Must Abate Sewage Discharge Into Ocean

Posted on July 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 18, 1907 Santa Monica Officials of Santa Monica and Ocean Park are fighting a lawsuit that seeks to block the discharge of raw sewage into the ocean. According to testimony, the … Continue reading →

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

Hollywood on Wheels: Gary Cooper’s 1935 Duesenberg SSJ Heading for Auction

Posted on July 17, 2018 by lmharnisch

Gary Cooper’s 1935 Duesenberg SSJ is heading for auction by Gooding and Company, Aug. 24-25 at Pebble Beach. The car was on display at the Briggs Cunningham Automotive Museum in Costa Mesa and later acquired by the Miles Collier Collections.

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Black L.A. 1947: Bandleader Jimmie Lunceford Collapses in Record Store, Dies at 45

Posted on July 17, 2018 by lmharnisch

Suzette Johnson appears in “The Foxes of Harrow.” July 17, 1947: The Los Angeles Sentinel has a news story on the death of bandleader Jimmie Lunceford, who collapsed in a record store in Seaside, Ore., and a mention in Earl … Continue reading →

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July 17, 1947: Arnold Schoenberg Gets Commission for ‘Survivor From Warsaw’

Posted on July 17, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. By mid-July, Arnold Schoenberg was hard at work on a composition he had conceived several months earlier, when choreographer Corinne Chochem sent him details on a … Continue reading →

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1939: B-Girls Busy on Skid Row Despite Ban

Posted on July 17, 2018 by lmharnisch

B-GIRLS BUSY ON SKID ROW DESPITE BAN Equalization Board’s Orders, City Police and Exposes Fail to Curb Honky-Tonks Note: This is a post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Yesterday, Examiner reporters again visited the liquor establishments to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1939, Crime and Courts, Food and Drink | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

July 17, 1907: Hollywood Organizes to Catch Serial Arsonist

Posted on July 17, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 17, 1907 Los Angeles A serial arsonist has been at work in Hollywood, setting six fires in the last three weeks. The community’s small volunteer fire department has been overwhelmed by … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1958 British production “Fiend Without a Face” or the “The Flying Brains Movie,” made by Amalgamated and released by MGM. With Marshall Thompson, Kynaston Reeves, Kim Parker, Stanley Maxted, Terence Kilburn, James Dyrenforth, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 20 Comments

July 16, 1947: L.A. County Tired of Paying Welfare, Pays Brink Family to Go Back to Oklahoma

Posted on July 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Sojourn Over—James Brink and his wife and their nine children as they prepared to depart yesterday for their Oklahoma ranch after spending two and a half … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: The Enchanted Hill – Hollywood’s Ultimate Mansion

Posted on July 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

Fred Thomson in an undated image. In the early days of the Hollywood film industry, moguls and movie stars lived simply, residing in comfortable but elegant homes. As the business evolved from small companies into large-scale moviemaking factories in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

July 16, 1907: New Restrictions on Boxing

Posted on July 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 16, 1907 Los Angeles Under continued lobbying from the Church Federation, the city attorney is preparing new restrictions on prizefighting that local promoters say will kill the sport. “The new ordinance … Continue reading →

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July 15, 1947: Orson Welles Films ‘Macbeth’ on Tight Deadline

Posted on July 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Over at Republic Studios, master showman Orson Welles is engaged in an enormous stunt: He has promised to film “Macbeth” in 24 days (later cut to … Continue reading →

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

Historic L.A. in ‘Illegal’ | Part 6

Posted on July 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

In the last post on historic Los Angeles in “Illegal,” here are a few nighttime shots of Main Street. At the far right you can see the sign for the Hotel Cecil. The 500 block of South Main Street via … Continue reading →

Posted in 1955, Architecture, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

July 14, 1907: L.A. Prepares to Celebrate 126th Anniversary

Posted on July 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 14, 1907 Los Angeles Led by the Rev. Juan Caballeria (or Cabelleria), the city is preparing to celebrate its 126th anniversary Aug. 2 with concerts, Mass in the Plaza church and … Continue reading →

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Historic L.A. in ‘Illegal’ | Part 5

Posted on July 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

In this portion of “Illegal,” we have a long chase sequence. I’m not able to identify all the locations so any help would be appreciated.

Posted in 1955, Architecture, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Architecture, Preservation and Noir

Posted on July 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Architecture, murder and hardboiled writing. Do you suppose McCoy had the 1947 Project in mind when he knocked off this forgotten little tale? (Note the first-person … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947 ‘I Didn’t Think I Had a Friend in the World,’ Dora Jones Testifies in Slavery Case

Posted on July 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

July 10, 1947: The Sentinel devotes a significant part of its front page to the San Diego slavery trial with a story by Clinton M. Arnold. The Sentinel said it was the only black weekly in the U.S. devoting so … Continue reading →

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Historic L.A. in ‘Illegal’ | Part 4

Posted on July 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

I suppose you prop guys at Warner Bros. think this is very funny.

Posted in 1955, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The @NYTIMES Can’t Get L.A. Right

Posted on July 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

“California Today,” by Tim Arango and Charles McDermid, presents a strange bit of nonsense: The Mirror (the sister paper of the Los Angeles Times published in the afternoon) folded “partly because the old streetcars went away as the city embraced … Continue reading →

Posted in 1962, 2018, Another Good Story Ruined, Architecture, New York | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments