Category Archives: 1942

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Posted on December 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

Recognized today as one of the top selling singles and pieces of sheet music of all time, Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” was just one of eleven songs in the 1942 holiday classic, “Holiday Inn.” First put to paper by Berlin in 1940, the tune evolved over time before becoming the beloved hit sung by the dulcet tones of baritone Bing Crosby. Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

December 15, 1942: Stripper Discharged From Waacs Was Out of Uniform – and Everything Else

Posted on December 15, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 15, 1942: Kathryn Doris Gregory, a stripteuse who performs as Amber d’Georg, is out of the Waacs for going AWOL.  The former chorus girl reported for training, then disappeared and was arrested after performing in a Thanksgiving matinee in Des Moines. Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Columnists, Comics, Food and Drink, Stage, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

October 26, 1942: Lon Chaney’s Ghost Haunts Hollywood and Vine!

Posted on October 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 26, 1942: Councilman Norris Nelson tells a story about the ghost of Lon Chaney sitting on a bench at Hollywood and Vine. Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, African Americans, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on October 26, 1942: Lon Chaney’s Ghost Haunts Hollywood and Vine!

September 13, 1942: Retired Police Lt. George H. Williams, Badge 1, Dies at 84

Posted on September 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 13, 1942: Retired Lt. George H. Williams,who held LAPD retirement Badge 1, dies at the age of 84. He retired in 1912 after serving with the department for 23 years and was in charge of the detail that brought bodies out of the Times Building after the 1910 bombing. Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Obituaries, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on September 13, 1942: Retired Police Lt. George H. Williams, Badge 1, Dies at 84

August 13, 1942: Times Visits African American Troops

Posted on August 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 13, 1942: The Times visits a company of Black soldiers — but the story is one stereotype after another. Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have a mysterious foursome. Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 43 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 6, 2025 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have a mystery woman. Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 19 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Posted on December 2, 2024 by lmharnisch

Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale in “Holiday Inn.” Note: This is an encore post from 2015. Recognized today as one of the top selling singles and pieces of sheet music of all time, Irving Berlin’s “White … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Posted on December 12, 2022 by lmharnisch

Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale in “Holiday Inn.” Note: This is an encore post from 2015. Recognized today as one of the top selling singles and pieces of sheet music of all time, Irving Berlin’s “White … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 21, 2022 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1942 MGM picture Tish, with Marjorie Main, Zasu Pitts, Aline MacMahon, Susan Peters, Lee Bowman, Guy Kibbee, Virginia Grey and Richard Quine.

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 54 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 20, 2022 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1942 MGM film Journey for Margaret, with Robert Young, Laraine Day, Fay Bainter, Nigel Bruce, William Severn, and presenting Margaret O’Brien. Elisabeth Risdon, Doris Lloyd, Halliwell Hobbes, Heather Thatcher, Jill Esmond, G.P. Huntley Jr. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 49 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Posted on December 20, 2021 by lmharnisch

Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale in “Holiday Inn.” Note: This is an encore post from 2015. Recognized today as one of the top selling singles and pieces of sheet music of all time, Irving Berlin’s “White … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Pearl Harbor Survivor Kills Himself

Posted on December 7, 2020 by lmharnisch

Can’t draw? You too can be a famous cartoonist. Note: This is an encore post from 2012. Jan. 10, 1942:  Pearl Harbor survivor William Parks kills himself in San Francisco after going AWOL. “His note to his wife indicated that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Immigration, Religion, Tom Treanor | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on October 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1942 Twentieth Century-Fox film “The Man Who Wouldn’t Die,” with Lloyd Nolan, Marjorie Weaver, Helen Reynolds, Henry Wilcoxon and Richard Derr. Executive Producer Sol M. Wurtzel. Screenplay by Arnaud d’Usseau, based on a novel … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 25 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on February 10, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1942 MGM film “Eyes in the Night,” with Edward Arnold, Ann Harding, Donna Reed, Horace McNally, Katherine Emery, Allen Jenkins, Stanley C. Ridges, Reginald Denny,  John Emery, Rosemary de Camp, Erik Rolf, Barry Nelson, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Animals, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 73 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Posted on December 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale in “Holiday Inn.” Note: This is an encore post from 2015. Recognized today as one of the top selling singles and pieces of sheet music of all time, Irving Berlin’s “White … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

A Wartime Fourth of July: Los Angeles, 1942

Posted on July 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post from 2015. Years ago, in researching Camp Cooke, I bought the diary of a soldier named Harry A. Rankin, who was stationed there in 1942 and early 1943 (and no, he doesn’t mention Elizabeth Short). … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Black Dahlia, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Posted on December 25, 2017 by lmharnisch

Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale in “Holiday Inn.” Note: This is an encore post from 2015. Recognized today as one of the top selling singles and pieces of sheet music of all time, Irving Berlin’s “White … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

L.A. Times Recants 1942 Editorials on Internment of Japanese Americans

Posted on February 19, 2017 by lmharnisch

Feb. 21, 1942: The Times reports President Roosevelt’s executive order on the evacuation of Japanese Americans. Note the byline: Future Nixon booster Kyle Palmer. Feb. 19, 2017: The Los Angeles Times recants its 1942 editorials on the internment of Japanese … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, 2017, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on L.A. Times Recants 1942 Editorials on Internment of Japanese Americans

A Wartime Fourth of July: Los Angeles, 1942

Posted on July 4, 2016 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post from 2015. Years ago, in researching Camp Cooke, I bought the diary of a soldier named Harry A. Rankin, who was stationed there in 1942 and early 1943 (and no, he doesn’t mention Elizabeth Short). … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Black Dahlia, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments