Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Found on EBay – Batchelder Tile

Posted on May 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

  This Batchelder tile has been listed on EBay. According to the vendor, these tiles are 6 inches square and are stamped Batchelder on the back. Bidding starts at $42 or Buy It Now for $300. As with anything on … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, art and artists, Found on EBay, Real Estate | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Batchelder Tile

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 25, 1941

Posted on May 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

           LONDON, MAY 24 (AP) — The 42,100-ton battle cruiser Hood, largest warship in the world, was blown to bits in the waters between Greenland and Iceland today by the new German battleship Bismarck during a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 25, 1941

Jim Murray, May 25, 1961

Posted on May 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

            May 25, 1961: Baseball fans may be a superstitious lot, but they’re nothing compared to the players and their mystic rites. Jim Murray says: “You can always tell a ball team on a winning … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, art and artists, Baseball, Columnists, Comics, Sports | Comments Off on Jim Murray, May 25, 1961

Found on EBay – Ocean Park Bathhouse

Posted on May 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

   The bathhouse at Ocean Park, as shown in the Los Angeles Herald. This card, postmarked 1907, showing the bathhouse at Ocean  Park has been listed on EBay. The bathhouse was dedicated on the Fourth of July, 1905. The bathhouse, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1905, Architecture, Found on EBay, Photography | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Ocean Park Bathhouse

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 24, 1941

Posted on May 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

        May 24, 1941: HOLLYWOOD AFTER DARK: The Mocambo orchestra hailing Jimmy Stewart home on leave with "Till Reveille" … Maureen O'Hara at the Beverly Tropics, giving the waiter an involved order in French — and escort … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 24, 1941

Vice President Predicts ‘Long, Costly’ Struggle in Southeast Asia

Posted on May 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

May 24, 1961: Radio and TV comedy star Joan Davis dies of a heart attack and gets a Page 1 obituary with a jump. Raymond Chandler got an six-paragraph obituary on Page 4.  Davis was 48 when she died.

Posted in 1961, broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Politics, Raymond Chandler, Television | 1 Comment

Jim Murray, May 24, 1961

Posted on May 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

        May 24, 1961: Donald George Bragg is depressed. In the first place, some young upstart had just broken his listed world record in the pole vault. In the second place, the upstart had done it using … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Sports, Track and Field | Comments Off on Jim Murray, May 24, 1961

Bullet of Mystery – Part 5

Posted on May 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I’m posting a small case study of research I did with Caroline Comport on her grandfather Lionel Comport for her master’s thesis. Researching Los Angeles is a treasure hunt, and every time I dig … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1901, Crime and Courts, Film, From the Stacks, health, Hollywood, Pages of History, Zombie Reading List | 3 Comments

Found on EBay – Duesenberg

Posted on May 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

Perhaps your Duesenberg Model J needs a rebuilt generator. Or perhaps you can’t afford an entire Model J but would like a piece of one. A Delco-Remy generator for a Duesenberg has been listed on EBay for $755. As with … Continue reading →

Posted in Found on EBay, Transportation | 1 Comment

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 23, 1941

Posted on May 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

        May 23, 1941: Why is Luise Rainer, a brilliant artist, permitted to twiddle her thumbs at the Beverly Hills Hotel? (She came here to get her final divorce decree.) Why are incompetents given fine dramatic roles … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 23, 1941

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on May 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update 2: This is Ivan Jandl in "The Search." Jandl received a special Academy Award and a miniature statuette for outstanding juvenile performance, The Times said. According to IMDB, Jandl died … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 25 Comments

Jim Murray, May 23, 1961

Posted on May 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

        May 23, 1961: The Angels, who have a clear track to 10th place at the moment, are even ready for desperate measures. They are encouraging people to come out and root AGAINST them. I tested this … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, Baseball, Columnists, Comics, Sports | Comments Off on Jim Murray, May 23, 1961

Found on EBay – Florentine Gardens

Posted on May 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

This postcard from the Florentine Gardens in Hollywood – rather graphic for the 1940s – has been listed on EBay. These postcards turn up somewhat often, but I have never seen one that was actually mailed. I wonder why! Bidding … Continue reading →

Posted in Found on EBay, Hollywood, Nightclubs, Photography | 1 Comment

Freedom Rider: ‘We Were All Prepared to Die’

Posted on May 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

        May 22, 1961:  Susan Herrmann, 20, an exchange student from Whittier College at Fisk University, Nashville, majoring in psychology, was one of two white girl "freedom riders" mobbed in Montgomery's race riot. Here is her account … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, Countdown to Watts | 5 Comments

Jim Murray, May 22, 1961

Posted on May 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

        May 22, 1961: A horse, left to his own devices, would no more run a race for his daily oats than you would wrestle the butcher two out of three for a pork chop. It's that … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, Baseball, Columnists, Comics, Sports | Comments Off on Jim Murray, May 22, 1961

Bullet of Mystery – Part 4

Posted on May 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I’m posting a small case study of research I did with Caroline Comport on her grandfather Lionel Comport for her master’s thesis. Researching Los Angeles is a treasure hunt, and every time I dig … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1901, Architecture, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Real Estate | Comments Off on Bullet of Mystery – Part 4

Found on EBay – Great White Fleet

Posted on May 21, 2011 by lmharnisch

       A postcard showing a barbecue for sailors during the Great White Fleet’s visit in 1908 has been listed on EBay. This was a huge event in turn of the century Los Angeles, and I had fun exploring … Continue reading →

Posted in 1908, Food and Drink, Found on EBay | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Great White Fleet

Jimmie Fidler, May 21, 1941

Posted on May 21, 2011 by lmharnisch

           May 21, 1941: Nazi Chute Swarm? And I thought “Nazi Sky Fleet” was silly. Tom Treanor, on a press junket to Venezuela, says: Walter Kerr and myself have a nine-room house with an icebox full … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler, May 21, 1941

Jim Murray, May 21, 1961

Posted on May 21, 2011 by lmharnisch

           May 21, 1961: Henry "Chip" Chafetz has put on the market a book titled "Play the Devil" — a history of gambling in this country which sets out to prove that the urge to gamble … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, Columnists, golf | Comments Off on Jim Murray, May 21, 1961

World to End on Jan. 5, 1885!

Posted on May 21, 2011 by lmharnisch

        Dec. 23, 1884: Then again, maybe not.

Posted in 1884, Religion | 1 Comment