Category Archives: 1942

Judge Cites ‘Right of Battle’ in Sentencing Conscientious Objector

Posted on June 16, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 16, 1942:  Robert Lee Allen is sentenced to five years in federal prison for refusing to enlist in the Army. Judge Jeremiah Neter, 80, noted that Allen had not used the available provisions to file for conscientious objector status … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Food and Drink, Music, Religion, Stage, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mexican Workers Sought to Fill California’s Farm Labor Shortage

Posted on June 15, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 15, 1942:  The Japanese who operated farms have been evacuated to internment camps, many farm workers have taken defense jobs and still more have been drafted. So to get farm labor, California turns to …  guess where: Mexico! Times … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Immigration, World War II | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Gang Member Held in Shooting That Sparked Coliseum Riot

Posted on June 14, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 14, 1942:   Police arrest Oscar Fierro, 18, an alleged member of the East First Street Gang, in the shooting of Frank Torres, a purported member of the Clanton Street Gang, who was wounded in the head while leaving the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Westlake Park Renamed in Tribute to Gen. MacArthur

Posted on June 12, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 13, 1942:Westlake Park is being renamed as part of the city’s observances to honor Gen. Douglas MacArthur, commemorating the day he entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Marines at Camp Elliott are shocked to see women … … Continue reading →

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

Now Hiring: Douglas Aircraft of Santa Monica

Posted on June 12, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 12, 1942: The Douglas plant in Santa Monica is hiring men – and women! Betty Rowland, the Ball of Fire, is at the Follies Theatre. Lionel Atwill refuses to testify before the Los Angeles County Grand Jury about charges … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, 1942, Art & Artists, Aviation, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Theaters, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

32 Taverns and Bars Declared Off-Limits

Posted on June 7, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 7, 1942: The Navy declares 32 bars and taverns off limits in Los Angeles. Most of them are on Main Street and East 5th with a few in Hollywood. The posts on the Zoot Suit Riots have more information … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Aviation, Comics, Food and Drink, Hollywood, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

L.A. Nazi Spy Convicted!

Posted on June 5, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 5, 1942: Dr. Hans Helmut Gros is convicted of being a Nazi spy. And radio stations along the Pacific Coast went off the air at 9 p.m. so their signals couldn’t be used as beacons in case of a … Continue reading →

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Doolittle Visits North American Plant, Praises Workers for Bombers Used in Tokyo Raid

Posted on June 2, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 2, 1942: In a visit to the North American aircraft plant, Brig. Gen. Jimmy Doolittle praises workers who built the bombers used in his raid on Tokyo. Otis W. Hall is accused of killing his estranged wife and sending … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Aviation, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Doolittle Visits North American Plant, Praises Workers for Bombers Used in Tokyo Raid

John Barrymore Dies at 60

Posted on May 30, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 30, 1942:  Actor John Barrymore, known as “the Great Profile,” dies at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital 10 days after collapsing during a rehearsal for Rudy Vallee’s radio program. He was 60 and was suffering from liver and kidney problems, plus … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Stage | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Louis B. Mayer, Clark Gable Lead in U.S. Salaries

Posted on May 29, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 29, 1942: The highest-paid executive in America is Louis B. Mayer, who earned $704,426.60 ($11,025,713.90 USD 2012) in 1941. The next-highest is Clark Gable, who earned $357,500 ($5,595,604.59 USD 2012) and Nicholas M. Schenck is third at $334,204.54 ($5,230,983.10 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Dark Side of Rosie the Riveter

Posted on May 25, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 25, 1942: Tom Treanor, who was killed covering World War II, visits a munitions factory and writes about women in the workplace. Interviewing a foreman, Treanor says: I asked him him how he stood it bossing 150 women doing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Nuestro Pueblo, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Hollywood Notes

Posted on May 24, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 24, 1942: Duesenberg for sale (sigh). Read Kendall has the story of Pvt. Kenneth Arlen, a screen extra whose final job involved getting a kiss from Judy Garland as she finished singing “Over There” in “For Me and My … Continue reading →

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Japanese Man’s Suicide Note: ‘My Country Goes Greatly Wrong’

Posted on May 23, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 23, 1942: Iyamma Satos uses three neckties to hang himself in Elysian Park. His suicide note reads: “My country goes greatly wrong. I cannot face my good friend America anymore, so I had to die. Please bury me quietly.”

Posted in 1942, Parks, Suicide, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Accused Killer, Shot in Courtroom, Convicted as He Dies

Posted on May 22, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 22, 1942: As the prosecutor finished his closing arguments in the trial of Mazo Shepherd, accused of killing a taxi driver, the victim’s nephew walked up to Shepherd and shot him in the head. Shepherd was taken from the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Homicide | Tagged | 5 Comments

N.Y. Bans Night Baseball!

Posted on May 19, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 19, 1942: It’s officially straw hat season in Los Angeles, so men, dump that felt chapeau and get yourself a nice Panama. Lee Shippey writes that the evacuation of the Japanese has forced many (white) Angelenos to get back … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Baseball, Columnists, Comics, Fashion, Lee Shippey, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Officer in Harry Raymond Bombing Dies in San Quentin

Posted on May 18, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 18, 1942: Former Police Officer Roy J. Allen, who was convicted with Earle Kynette in the 1938 Harry Raymond bombing, dies in the hospital at San Quentin. He was 38. More on the Harry Raymond bombing Charlie Chaplin’s “The … Continue reading →

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Pilot Lands P-38 Between Venice, Ocean Park Piers

Posted on May 17, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 17, 1942: Lt. William K. Long lands his P-38, with smoke pouring from one of the engines, between the Venice and Ocean Park piers. “Then, swimming a short distance through deep water, he waded ashore,” The Times said. Philip … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, African Americans, Film, Hollywood, Music, Mystery Photo, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Wife Stabs Abusive Husband to Death as Children Sleep

Posted on May 16, 2012 by lmharnisch

Tips on how to tell Chinese (allies!) from Japanese (enemies!) by cartoonist Milton Caniff. May 16, 1942:  Earl Blaisure came home drunk at 2:30 a.m., picked up his .22 rifle and pointed at his wife, Molly, the latest in what … Continue reading →

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Caltech Students Hold Drag Beauty Contest

Posted on May 15, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 15, 1942: In a typical publicity stunt, someone from showman Earl Carroll’s operation offered to select Caltech’s beauty queen. Nobody told them that the campus was all-male (oooh girls can’t be engineers!). So the young men decided to have … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Education, Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Suicide, World War II | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Caltech Students Hold Drag Beauty Contest

Battle of the Coral Sea, 1942

Posted on May 9, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 9, 1942: Allied forces fight the first what would be six major aircraft carrier battles with the Japanese, the next being the Battle of Midway. On the jump, a war map by Times artist Charles Owens, whom you may … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, LAPD, Obituaries, Stage, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Battle of the Coral Sea, 1942