Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Film Strike Ends

Posted on April 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Aug. 5, 1981, President Reagan fires striking air traffic controllers. April 9, 1960: Screen Actors Guild President Ronald Reagan and actor Charlton Heston shake hands with Charles S. Boren and Columbia Vice President B.B. Kahane on a tentative … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Politics | Comments Off on Film Strike Ends

From the Vaults: ‘Way Down East’ (1920)

Posted on April 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

Five years after “Birth of a Nation,” D.W. Griffith directed this five-hankie melodrama based on a hugely popular stage play. If you're fond of rambling 19th century novels or four-week 1970s TV miniseries, with tragic heroines and broad casts of … Continue reading →

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

City Hall Is a Firetrap

Posted on April 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

  The 1889 City Hall on Broadway just north of what is now the Victor Clothing Building. Notice that there are no fire escapes. April 9, 1910: A fire that broke out in the janitor’s basement office could have quickly … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, City Hall, Downtown, Environment | Comments Off on City Hall Is a Firetrap

Matt Weinstock, April 8, 1960

Posted on April 8, 2010 by lmharnisch

“And When You Go Up to the Front Desk, the Librarian Looks at You With Her Great Big Eyes, and She….”  The Fourth at State     A crew of painters has been working on the sixth floor of the Hall … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 8, 1960

Posted on April 8, 2010 by lmharnisch

Two Women Tell of Some Frantic Hours     For Gwendolyn Tarpy and Pauline Rose, the day of danger is over. It's two weeks buried in old headlines.       But to them its immensity remains undiminished.     It began on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Caryl Chessman, Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 8, 1960

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 8, 1940

Posted on April 8, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 8, 1940: Don't let Charlie Laughton's flabby appearance fool you. He has a grip like a blacksmith … She's been gone for more than a year, but RKO workers invariably cite Katharine Hepburn's screwy doings when they want … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 8, 1940

Dodgers Swap Don Zimmer

Posted on April 8, 2010 by lmharnisch

April 8, 1960: Don Zimmer, the Dodgers' vocal and often-angry backup infielder who thought he should be starting or at least playing, finally got his wish to leave L.A. as the big name in a four-player trade with the Cubs. … Continue reading →

Posted in Dodgers, Sports | Comments Off on Dodgers Swap Don Zimmer

Cholos

Posted on April 8, 2010 by lmharnisch

Sept. 19, 1887: A comment on the use of “cholo” in a 1910 story prompted me to look for the first occurrence in The Times. ProQuest’s search engine is imperfect – it mistakes “cholera” for “cholo” — but this seems … Continue reading →

Posted in Web/Tech, Weblogs | Comments Off on Cholos

End of Watch, Danny Galindo

Posted on April 8, 2010 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Don Cormier / Los Angeles Times Regular Daily Mirror readers will be familiar with Detective Danny Galindo, who died Tuesday at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. Here he is in 1963, taking the part of Karl Hettinger, center, … Continue reading →

Posted in LAPD, Obituaries | Comments Off on End of Watch, Danny Galindo

Hot Stove League

Posted on April 8, 2010 by lmharnisch

  March 10, 1960: The Times published the Hot Stove League as a daily feature, but I’m posting them once a week so they’ll last longer. Is Don Blasingame safe or out?

Posted in Hot Stove League, Sports | Comments Off on Hot Stove League

The Times’ Changing Nameplate

Posted on April 8, 2010 by lmharnisch

  The Times’ nameplate before the 1910 bombing, with The Times Building at right.  The revised nameplate of 1913 shows the building on fire. The 1913 nameplate also shows the new building on the site of the old one at … Continue reading →

Posted in @news, Downtown, Food and Drink | 2 Comments

Matt Weinstock, April 7, 1960

Posted on April 7, 2010 by lmharnisch

'Good Evening, Friends…'     The TV cliche file is overwhelming again so let's drain off another batch.     Irene McCroskey of Burbank shrinks every time she hears the line, which she contends is in every British film, "Darling! It must … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, April 7, 1960

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 7, 1960

Posted on April 7, 2010 by lmharnisch

S. Smith Griswold's Finest Hour at Hand     The man's name:  S. (for Sam) Smith Griswold.     He's 51 years old, married, father of two, and — by his own admission — a descendant of Aaron Burr.     This last … Continue reading →

Posted in Caryl Chessman, Columnists, Environment, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 7, 1960

Hedda Hopper, April 7, 1941

Posted on April 7, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 7, 1941: James Cagney … female impersonator? That’s a new one on me.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Those Dodger Bugles

Posted on April 7, 2010 by lmharnisch

April 7, 1960: Danny Goodman knew how to sell baseball fans anything. He worked with the Hollywood Stars of the old Pacific Coast League and kept selling when the Dodgers moved to L.A.

Posted in Dodgers | Comments Off on Those Dodger Bugles

U.S. Clergymen Hold Easter Services for Embassy Hostages in Iran

Posted on April 7, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 7, 1980: Three Christian ministers from the American Iranian Crisis Resolution Committee hold Easter services for 50 hostages who had been held since Nov. 4, 1979, at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. On April 24, 1980, President Carter … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Religion | Comments Off on U.S. Clergymen Hold Easter Services for Embassy Hostages in Iran

Nuestro Pueblo

Posted on April 7, 2010 by lmharnisch

Oct. 10, 1938: Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens visit Sunset Beach, where an old wooden fish advertises bait. Note: The original run of Nuestro Pueblo ended in 1939. I’m going back and picking up the entries I missed in 2008-09. … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, books | 1 Comment

Vernon Hog Farmer Accused of Ignoring L.A. Garbage Laws

Posted on April 7, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 7, 1910: A century ago, hogs were fed garbage, and if you had a lot of hogs, you needed lots of garbage. What better way to get it than what was discarded from Los Angeles restaurants?  P.J. Durbin, … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, City Hall, Environment, Food and Drink | 1 Comment

Matt Weinstock, April 6, 1960

Posted on April 6, 2010 by lmharnisch

The Silly Season     Obviously the sun spots which jammed radio and TV reception a few days ago didn't do people any good, either.  The kids are all mixed up, or at least pretending to be.     Bob Owen thinks … Continue reading →

Posted in Caryl Chessman, Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, April 6, 1960

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 6, 1960

Posted on April 6, 2010 by lmharnisch

Prudery Not So Very Practical These Days     Read a report the other day that a French sociologist named Pierre-Louis Weil sees the western world entering upon an era of prudery.     He bases it on the belief that sex … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates, Transportation | 1 Comment