Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Carter Describes Failed Hostage Rescue Mission

Posted on April 26, 2010 by lmharnisch

   April 26, 1980: “With the failure of its bid to rescue the American hostages, the Carter administration returned Friday to its long-struggling program of political and economic sanctions against Iran in an atmosphere of deepening pessimism that any solution … Continue reading →

Posted in Front Pages, Politics | Comments Off on Carter Describes Failed Hostage Rescue Mission

From the Vaults: ‘Dr. Cyclops’ (1940)

Posted on April 26, 2010 by lmharnisch

Well, this was just nowhere near as bad as I expected! Of course, it's difficult to be bored when the movie is only 77 minutes long. Larry discovered an ad for "Dr. Cyclops" in the Daily Mirror files and gave … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, From the Vaults, Hollywood | 2 Comments

Russia Expels Thousands of Jews From Kiev

Posted on April 26, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 26, 1910:  “Heartless cruelty marked the ejection of the Jews. Young and old, well and ill, the strong and the weak, mothers with babes only a few days old, were driven out at the word of command. Many … Continue reading →

Posted in @news, Immigration, Religion | Comments Off on Russia Expels Thousands of Jews From Kiev

Matt Weinstock, April 25, 1960

Posted on April 25, 2010 by lmharnisch

  One of the most famous phrases from “Peanuts” was said by Lucy, of all characters.   Idea for Chessman     There was a brief but stirring encounter the other day between two long-time friends, J. Farrington Barrington Arrington, who … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, April 25, 1960

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 25, 1960

Posted on April 25, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Heartsick Mother's Problem One Which Has No Solution       Steve's mother knows she did wrong.  But she wonders, under the circumstances, what would have been right.       "I don't know," she told me from behind her handkerchief, … Continue reading →

Posted in Caryl Chessman, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Music, Obituaries, Paul Coates | 3 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 25, 1940

Posted on April 25, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 25, 1940: “It's a three-day rest-cure for Tuffy, dog hero of 'Four Sons.' Vets say he's suffering from nervous breakdown,” Jimmie Fidler says.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 25, 1940

GOP Lawmaker Calls Reagan ‘Dangerous,’ Will Run as Independent

Posted on April 25, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Eight crewmen are killed when a mission to rescue U.S. hostages in Iran is aborted. April 25, 1980: Rep. John B. Anderson (R-Ill.) announces that he will enter the presidential race as an independent, saying, "The time has come … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Politics | Comments Off on GOP Lawmaker Calls Reagan ‘Dangerous,’ Will Run as Independent

Beverly Hills Confidential

Posted on April 25, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 25, 1960: Beverly Hills Police Chief Clinton H. Anderson describes the Johnny Stompanato killing in “Beverly Hills Is My Beat.” The book, which also covers the Bugsy Siegel murder,  is readily available via Bookfinder. On the jump, hundreds … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Dodgers, Homicide, Nightclubs, Sports | 1 Comment

Street Evangelist Starts Riot

Posted on April 25, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 25, 1910: Timothy Callahan, who runs a small mission  near San Pedro and 3rd streets, is mobbed when he sets up a pulpit on Los Angeles Street and offers money to the needy. “The man who a few … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Religion | Comments Off on Street Evangelist Starts Riot

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 24, 1940

Posted on April 24, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 24, 1940: “K. Hepburn and H. Hughes will resume hand-holding when she moves west,” Jimmie Fidler says.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Sydney Ford’s Trip Around the World, 1910

Posted on April 24, 2010 by lmharnisch

   April 10, 24, 1910: Times writer Sydney Ford (Henrietta B. Freeman) embarks on a journey around the world. In Parts 1 and 2 of Ford’s chatty travelogue, she writes about the voyage to Hawaii and sightseeing on Honolulu. I'm … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Transportation, travel | Comments Off on Sydney Ford’s Trip Around the World, 1910

Found on EBay – Sawtelle

Posted on April 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

These early 20th century postcards showing Sawtelle, an area of Los Angeles west of the San Diego Freeway and bisected by the Santa Monica Freeway, have been listed on EBay. The top image shows two streetcars on Oregon Avenue and … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Transportation | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Sawtelle

Matt Weinstock, April 23, 1960

Posted on April 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

  “What’s That?! Someone in a Space Suit Is Leaving the Eliza Ann!” The Amok Amoeba     Future historians looking back on 1960 doubtless will make a footnote on April 19, the day of the great L.A. amoeba quest.  It … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock | 1 Comment

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 23, 1960

Posted on April 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Wow! Now there’s an ugly layout, even for 1960.  Mash Notes and Comment       (Press Release)  "An actor, by name TV star Don Porter, decided he needed a publicist and dropped in to see me regarding same.     … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Nightclubs, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 23, 1960

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 23, 1940

Posted on April 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

    April 23, 1940: “Hollywood, where the girl you take to dinner tonight is usually fed up with you by tomorrow,” Jimmie Fidler says.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 23, 1940

Movie Star Mystery Photo

Posted on April 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Los Angeles Times file photo As nearly everyone guessed, this is Bob “Bazooka” Burns. Above, Burns and Martha O'Driscoll, examine the bazooka baseball pitcher, Dec. 29, 1946.  Feb. 3, 1956: Bob Burns dies at the age of 65.   … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | 48 Comments

World Mourns Mark Twain

Posted on April 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 23, 1910: “Several of his neighbors who stood close to him in life were permitted today to view the body. Mr. Clemens did much of his work in bed, and in death he still seemed a part of … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Obituaries | Comments Off on World Mourns Mark Twain

Found on EBay – Central Park

Posted on April 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

Someone recently asked me when “L.A.” became a common term for Los Angeles. I said I didn’t know and was reluctant to speculate because at the Daily Mirror, we don’t guess, we look things up. This postcard of Central Park … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Parks and Recreation | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Central Park

Matt Weinstock, April 22, 1960

Posted on April 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

The Vanished Bus       A fun-loving Hollywoodian is sweating out a nightmare, hoping it will go away.  The complication is that it wasn't a nightmare, it was real.       He went to Tijuana and became so simpatico with … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock, Suicide | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, April 22, 1960

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 22, 1960

Posted on April 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

New Information on Griffith Park Hermit       Call this an update on Dennis Farrell.     It's not good news.  But it's not bad news, either.     Dennis — In case his name has slipped your memory — is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Front Pages, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 22, 1960