Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

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 →

Posted in 1947 | Tagged | 1 Comment

June 8, 1947: Neighbors Organize to Block Workers for Trackless Trolleys

Posted on June 8, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Perhaps one of most the common and ingrained bits of wisdom about old Los Angeles is the vast conspiracy of bus companies and car dealers … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on June 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

For Thursday, we have a mystery woman, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

June 7, 1947: Kenneth Hahn Sworn in as L.A. Councilman

Posted on June 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Hahn retired from public service in 1992, after being elected 10 times to the county Board of Supervisors, beginning in 1952. Source: Los Angeles Times, June … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, City Hall, Politics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Black L.A. 1947: USC Film Student Refuses ‘Uncle Tom’ Role in Radio Play

Posted on June 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

June 5, 1947: USC film student James C. Johnson, a member of the Delta Kappa Alpha cinema fraternity, said he would not play a role in a student’s radio play because it depicted “the Negro as stereotype,” the Sentinel said. … Continue reading →

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June 7, 1907: Judge Wins Black Eye in Pasadena’s First Dog Show

Posted on June 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 7, 1907 Pasadena After a hard day of judging Boston terriers, English bulldogs and foxhounds, John Bradshaw went to a local restaurant with two exhibitors, William J. Morris and James … Continue reading →

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Shout Out

Posted on June 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. General Motors [ISP Redacted] Windows 2000? Upgrade! The Netherlands [ISP Redacted] E! Entertainment [ISP Redacted] “E! Mysteries and Scandals,” my first TV interview, by the guy who did “Real Chases of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2006, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments Off on Shout Out

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on June 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

For Wednesday, we have another mystery guest from the Library of Congress. The print is stamped Dec. 15, 1936, with the pencil notation “The Bulgarian Phesant” The back of the photo is on the jump.

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