Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

A Second Look at Reagan’s Campaign Claims

Posted on April 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

April 12, 1980: “It is often said of Reagan that he never met a statistic or an anecdote he didn't like if it helped him illustrate the evils of big government,” according to The Times’ Bill Stall and William Endicott.   … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 1 Comment

Otis Chandler Named Publisher of The Times

Posted on April 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Photograph by Frank Q. Brown / Los Angeles Times  Norman Chandler, left, during the luncheon to announce that his son, Otis, was the new publisher of The Times. April 12, 1960: Otis Chandler is named publisher of the Los … Continue reading →

Posted in @news, Photography | 2 Comments

Mule Driver Doesn’t Swear – Even When Kicked in the Head

Posted on April 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 12, 1910: The geometry of the eternal triangle is particularly complicated in the case of David Perry Doak, who kept a home in Los Angeles with  Jessie May Doak – and a ranch at Klamath Falls, Ore., with … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Animals | Comments Off on Mule Driver Doesn’t Swear – Even When Kicked in the Head

Matt Weinstock, April 11, 1960

Posted on April 11, 2010 by lmharnisch

“ ‘Library Fever’ Is Similar to Other Mental Disturbances.”   Pay-as-You-Breathe Plan       Everyone, it seems, wants to help the beleaguered councilmen find a way to raise desperately needed revenue.  And it is a heartening thing indeed to witness the … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 11, 1960

Posted on April 11, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Patty Gardenseed Walks the World       John Chapman . . . born 1773 . . . in Pennsylvania . . . a pioneer . . . also known as Johnny Appleseed . . . he devoted his life … Continue reading →

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Jimmie Fidler, April 11, 1940

Posted on April 11, 2010 by lmharnisch

  “Weird experiments of a mad scientist.” Are there any other kind?  April 11, 1940: Ode to mayhem: "And now, Miss Velez, DO try to act like a lady!"

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler, April 11, 1940

Pacific Ocean Park

Posted on April 11, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 11, 1960: Happy Easter from Pacific Ocean Park (1958-1975). Adult admission is $10.75, USD 2009. On the jump, African Americans across the South begin an Easter week boycott of stores with segregation policies.

Posted in Countdown to Watts, Parks and Recreation | Comments Off on Pacific Ocean Park

Emergency Medical Training for Police, Firefighters

Posted on April 11, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 11, 1910: Dr. Charles Zerfing, the police surgeon, wants police officers and firefighters to be trained in “first aid to the injured.” Zerfing also wants an automobile ambulance equipped with emergency supplies, The Times says. Zerfing’s actions come … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, health, LAPD | Comments Off on Emergency Medical Training for Police, Firefighters

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 10, 1940

Posted on April 10, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 10, 1940: How come Metro finds such difficulty in fitting Hedy Lamarr with a story? The biography of Lola Montez has never been screened.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | 2 Comments

John Paul Stevens, a Cautious Jurist, Named to Supreme Court

Posted on April 10, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Dec. 19, 1975: President Gerald Ford chats with Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger, center, after John Paul Stevens, right, was sworn in as the court’s newest member.  Dec. 20, 1975: The Times’ Linda Mathews covers Senate confirmation hearings on … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Politics | Comments Off on John Paul Stevens, a Cautious Jurist, Named to Supreme Court

Two U.S. Hostages Go On Iranian TV as ‘Confessed Spies’

Posted on April 10, 2010 by lmharnisch

    April 10, 1980: One of two unidentified hostages shown on Iranian TV gives a tour of a warehouse apparently used for intelligence by the NSA and CIA. On the jump, do doctors spend more time with male or … Continue reading →

Posted in health, Politics | Comments Off on Two U.S. Hostages Go On Iranian TV as ‘Confessed Spies’

L.A. Mayor Drives Electric Car

Posted on April 10, 2010 by lmharnisch

   Mayor Alexander’s electric car! April 10, 1910: Mayor George Alexander says he’ll still be chauffeured on his official duties but is learning how to drive an electric Waverly phaeton for personal use. The 70-year-old mayor of Los Angeles says, … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, City Hall, Comics, Transportation | Comments Off on L.A. Mayor Drives Electric Car

Matt Weinstock, April 9, 1960

Posted on April 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

Bed Burners Beware     Too often there are stories in the papers about persons who are badly, even fatally burned by falling asleep with a lighted cigarette.  Well, something has been done about them.     An amendment to the fire … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 9, 1960

Posted on April 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

Mash Notes and Comment       (Newsletter) "VAGABONDING WITH VANDERBILT, by Cornelius Vanderbilt . . .     "I WRITE AS I PLEASE . . .       "People are always writing me and asking why I don't write 'exactly' what … Continue reading →

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Broadway Traffic, 1930

Posted on April 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

December 1930: Broadway and 3rd Street. The Los Angeles County Transportation Authority Library and Archive is a wonderful source of old photos. Here's one of Broadway at 3rd Street taken in December 1930. The Times Building in the center-right portion  … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Photography, Transportation | Comments Off on Broadway Traffic, 1930

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 9, 1940

Posted on April 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

  “Young Tom Edison Was a Bad Boy!” April 9, 1940: Are those Saturday afternoon air jaunts of Jimmy Stewart and Olivia de Havilland dress rehearsals for an elopement, as intimates insist? … Now it's Akim Tamiroff who's bought a … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 9, 1940

Mystery Photo

Posted on April 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

   Los Angeles Times file photo Update: This is vaudeville star Kitty Doner in a 1925 publicity photo. Doner died Aug. 26, 1988, in Los Angeles at the age of 92.  Dec. 23, 1925: Kitty Doner appears as a man … Continue reading →

Posted in Mystery Photo, Obituaries, Photography | 24 Comments

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