Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

An Essay on Peace From 1970

Posted on October 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

I recently received a shipment of several issues of Haldeman-Julius Monthly wrapped in some pages torn from an old Look magazine. (Young persons: Look was a competitor with Life and was one of those big weekly magazines we had around … Continue reading →

Posted in 1970, Art & Artists, Vietnam | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated +]

Posted on October 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

[Update 2: This is Charles Dingle (d. 1956). He appeared in the 1941 stage and film versions of Lillian Hellman’s “The Little Foxes.”] Here’s another photo, courtesy of Steven Bibb.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

L.A.’s Traffic Nightmare Threatens Downtown’s Future! Oct. 28, 1941

Posted on October 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

Oct. 28, 1941: Lee Shippey writes about Los Angeles’ congested streets (no, traffic is not a new problem – it’s a very old one that we are still trying to solve). Notice that Shippey says streetcars and automobiles do not … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Freeways, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Obituaries, Streetcars, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on October 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

Here’s another mystery photo, courtesy of Steven Bibb. [Update: After fifteen years, Esther Ralston, former Paramount star, stages a reunion with Adolph Zukor, chairman of the board of directors of Paramount Productions, the man who discovered her and put her … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

The Chinese Massacre: Oct. 24, 1871 — Part 4

Posted on October 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

The New York Daily Tribune of Nov. 11, 1871, also carried an account of the massacre. Chinese Massacre Part 1 | Part 2| Part 3   Wong Chin, a merchant, was the first victim of the hanging. He was led … Continue reading →

Posted in 1871, Chinese Massacre, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Found on EBay – Herald Examiner

Posted on October 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

This 1969 news rack card from the  Los Angeles Herald Examiner (d. 1989) has been listed on EBay. These cards were placed on vending machines to improve street sales. This card is a bit of a surprise, because the Herald’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1969, Found on EBay | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on October 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

[Update: This is Lina Basquette] Here’s a mystery gal with a mystery companion, courtesy of Steven Bibb.

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

The Case of the Writer’s Suitcase

Posted on October 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

A suitcase from J.W. Robinson’s has been listed on EBay and the vendor says it belonged to popular mystery writer Erle Stanley Gardner (note the E.S.G. monogram). Bidding starts at $55.

Posted in Books and Authors, Found on EBay | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Chinese Massacre: Oct. 24, 1871 — Part 3

Posted on October 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

The San Francisco Bulletin’s Oct. 26, 1871, account of the lynching was published in the New York Times. Los Angeles, although boasting of being the City of the Queen of the Angels, is cursed with such another hotbed of crime … Continue reading →

Posted in 1871, Chinese Massacre, Crime and Courts | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Chinese Massacre: Oct. 24, 1871 — Part 3

Found on EBay – Louis Adamic on Los Angeles

Posted on October 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

A copy of Little Blue Book No. 752 has been listed on EBay. The Haldeman-Julius publication “Facts You Should Know About California” contains Louis Adamic’s “The Bright Side of Los Angeles” and “Paganism in Los Angeles,” plus Walter Watrous’ “Behind … Continue reading →

Posted in Found on EBay, Louis Adamic | Tagged , | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Louis Adamic on Los Angeles

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on October 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

[Update: I’m tempted to give half credit to Cold in Phoenix, who guessed that this is Lupe Velez. It’s actually her sister Reina.] Here’s today’s mystery lady, courtesy of Steven Bibb.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

The Shrinking U.S. Newspaper: 1964 – 2011

Posted on October 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

Most people know that newspapers have reduced the size of their pages (or what we used to mean when we talked about “the web”) to save newsprint, but unless you have a lot of old papers lying around the house … Continue reading →

Posted in Front Pages, History | Tagged , | 14 Comments

The Chinese Massacre: Oct. 24, 1871 – Part 2

Posted on October 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

Here’s the San Francisco Bulletin’s Oct. 25, 1871, coverage of the massacre, as republished in the Carroll (Iowa) Herald on Nov. 22, 1871. [This link works now but it may be broken eventually as Google tinkers with its newspaper archives]. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1871, Chinese Massacre, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Chinese Massacre: Oct. 24, 1871 – Part 2

Found on EBay – ‘For the Life of Me’

Posted on October 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

A copy of Jim Richardson’s flawed autobiography “For the Life of Me” has been listed on EBay. Richardson was the notorious city editor of the Examiner who orchestrated its coverage of the Black Dahlia case. He was legendary for his … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Searching for Baseball History – and USC’s Bovard Field

Posted on October 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo:  Tom Phelps scores for USC in a 1946 game against UCLA at Bovard Field. Credit: El Rodeo, 1946 Jane Leavy of the New York Times examines the search for historic baseball diamonds, including USC’s Bovard Field, where Mickey Mantle … Continue reading →

Posted in 1951, Baseball, Preservation | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on October 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

[Update: This is George Barbier (d. 1945). Please congratulate Eve Golden, Mary Mallory,  Mike Hawks, Don Danard, “Maltese Falcon” fan Floyd Thursby, and Megan Lee and Thom for identifying him. Here’s another mystery photo, courtesy of Steven Bibb.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on October 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

Horse-drawn hearse for sale on EBay – listed as Buy It Now for $8,000. Queen of the Dead—dateline October 24, 2011 •  A 68-year-old literary scholar and media theorist died on Oct. 18, which is very sad, of course, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

The Chinese Massacre: Oct. 24, 1871 — Part 1

Posted on October 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

I hadn’t planned to get into the Chinese Massacre until I wrapped up the Zoot Suit Riots, but Google’s recent changes in its news archives pressed me to get the material online before the newspapers disappear. For decades, the average … Continue reading →

Posted in 1871, Chinese Massacre, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Pasadena’s ‘Fork in the Road’ Returns

Posted on October 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

Pasadena’s famous “Fork in the Road” has returned!

Posted in Art & Artists, Pasadena, Transportation | Tagged | Comments Off on Pasadena’s ‘Fork in the Road’ Returns

Suspect in After-Hours Sex at Museum: ‘I Get Around’

Posted on October 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

Image: The Charleston Museum, where Michael L. Miller was arrested on charge of having sex at 3 a.m. Neale Gulley of Reuters reports that the Buffalo Transportation Pierce Arrow Museum in Buffalo, N.Y., is building Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1927 design … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Food and Drink, Museums, Music, Native Americans, Preservation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Suspect in After-Hours Sex at Museum: ‘I Get Around’