Category Archives: 1942

Removal of Streetcar Tracks Leaves Ugly Mess in Redondo Beach

Posted on January 5, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 5, 1942: Nazi patrols plow through students protesting in Paris’ Latin Quarter, “firing a warning burst from machine guns over the heads of the crowd” and then proceeding to “clean up the situation,” The New York Times reports. “A … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Environment, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Streetcars, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged #Carmen Miranda, #Don Ameche, #Dorothy Lamour, #Helen Hayes, Ann Sothern | Comments Off

War Workers Start Day With Prayer

Posted on January 4, 2012 by lmharnisch

Photo: The 4200 block of South Olive Street via Google’s Street View. Jan. 4, 1942: William E. Kosdy uses a shovel to dig a two-person bomb shelter in the backyard of his home, 4236 S. Olive St. “I didn’t follow … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Columnists, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, LAPD, Nightclubs, Religion, World War II | Tagged #Carole Lombard, #Clark Gable, #Mickey Rooney, #Parnell, #Spencer Tracy | 3 Comments

Japanese Americans Held After ‘Hissing Roosevelt’ in Theater

Posted on January 3, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 3, 1942: Manila falls to the Japanese. “The Bare Facts of 1942” opens at the Aztec, 251 S. Main. Movie theater patrons Tombio Ambo and Shigeki Kayama are in custody after Winifred J. Stephens accused them of hissing a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Streetcars, Theaters, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged #Frank Morgan, #Howard Hughes, #Jack Benny, #Mickey Rooney, #Paulette Goddard, #Robert Stack, #Solveg Smith | 3 Comments

Happy New Year From the Daily Mirror

Posted on January 1, 2012 by lmharnisch

Photo: Looking south on Broadway at 3rd Street, via Google’s Street View. Jan. 1, 1942: Downtown Los Angeles is oddly quiet on New Year’s Eve after police and military authorities banned the regular street celebrations. Hotels and nightclubs were sold … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Downtown, World War II | Tagged #Feeback, #Herald Examiner | Comments Off

Dying Man Found on Main Street

Posted on November 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

Nov. 30, 1941:President Roosevelt says the U.S. may be at war in a year – actually, it was a week later. Bartender Eddie Watton was closing up at the Theatre Cafe, 324 S. Main St., and wanted the man at … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged #Main Street, #Pearl Harbor, Bars | 7 Comments

How to Wear a Hat – Noir Edition

Posted on November 16, 2011 by lmharnisch

One thing that drives me crazy about the current crop of period films is that men usually don’t know how to wear hats. “The Black Dahlia” (with costume design by Jenny Beavan) is a particularly excruciating lesson in unfortunate hat … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, 1947, Black Dahlia, Fashion, Film, Hollywood | Tagged #film, #Hats | 13 Comments

‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Part 11

Posted on October 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

Image: Harry Arnheim of the Hollywood Tropics, 1525 N. Vine St., protests being placed off-limits by the Navy. Credit: National Archives at Riverside. To recap briefly, I have been digging into the historical basis of the movie “Zoot Suit,” which … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Crime and Courts, Fashion, Film, Food and Drink, History, Hollywood, Stage, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged #1942, #film, #la, #Navy, #Stage, #World War II, #zoot suits | 3 Comments

Coming Attractions: This Week on the L.A. Daily Mirror

Posted on October 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

On Monday, Eve Golden has a roundup of unusual obituaries in Queen of the Dead, and in Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory takes a look at the Clover Club, a 1930s casino on Sunset Boulevard. On Tuesday, there’s another installment of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1931, 1942, Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, LAPD, Latinos, Libraries, Mary Mallory, Queen of the Dead, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged #coming attractions, #la, #zoot suits | Comments Off

‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Part 10

Posted on September 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

Image: Racial incidents between servicemen and African Americans in San Diego. Credit: The National Archives at Riverside. To recap briefly, I have been digging into the historical basis of the movie “Zoot Suit,” which I saw this summer in the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, 1943, African Americans, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Latinos, Libraries, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged #film, #hollywood, #la, #LAPD, #zoot suits | Comments Off

‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Part 9

Posted on September 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

Image: Isadore Bernstein’s name appears on a list of undesirables. Credit: The National Archives at Riverside. To recap briefly, I have been digging into the historical basis of the movie “Zoot Suit,” which I saw this summer in the Last … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, 1943, African Americans, Crime and Courts, Fashion, Film, History, Hollywood, Latinos, Libraries, Stage, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged #1942, #1943, #National Archives, #Navy, #zoot suits | Comments Off

Zoot Suit Files: Intelligence Report on Subversives

Posted on September 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 24, 1942: Intelligence officer B.L. Canaga compiles a report on subversives that might be active in the 11th Naval District. His list includes communists, Japanese, Falangists, Sinarchists, Italians, Germans and acts of sabotage: “Many prominent and wealthy motion picture … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Libraries, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged #communists, #Germans, #Italians, #Japanese, #sabotage, #subversives, #World War II, $1942 | Comments Off

‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Navy Reports

Posted on September 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

Feb. 6, 1942: Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox warns against “loose talk.” Credit: National Archives. I returned from Saturday’s trip to the National Archives in Riverside with more than 200 images of historic documents. It’s going to take some … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, 1943, Crime and Courts, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged #1943, #fashion, #National Archives, #zoot suits | Comments Off

James Curtis: L.A. Voices – Dick Lane, Part 4

Posted on August 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Dick Lane in 1947. The woman may be Jane Harvey, who was crowned “Queen of Television Week” in March 1947. Credit: Steve Dichter Collection. This is Part 4 of James Curtis’ 1975 interview with Dick Lane. In this … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, James Curtis, L.A. Voices, Obituaries, Television | 2 Comments

Found on EBay – Florentine Gardens

Posted on August 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

This souvenir photograph from the Florentine Gardens has been listed on EBay. Most of these pictures come in a cardboard holder that’s stamped with a date. This one isn’t marked, oddly enough, but a comparison with my reference file indicates … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Nightclubs, Photography, World War II | Tagged #EBay, #hollywood, #nightclubs, #photography | 2 Comments

‘Zoot Suit’ and history – Part 1

Posted on June 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

I was extremely fortunate to attend Wednesday night’s showing of “Zoot Suit” and hear remarks by the panel that preceded the show. Betto Arcos moderated a session with director Luis Valdez, Rose Portillo (Della), Edward James Olmos (El Pachuco) and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, 1943, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Latinos, Music, Stage, Theaters, Zoot Suit | Tagged #1942, #1943, #courts, #fashion, #film, #hollywood, #LAPD, #Latinos, #music, #theaters, 1947, black dahlia, cold cases, lapd | 4 Comments

Found on EBay – Los Angeles Examiner

Posted on May 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

A rather elaborate (OK, expensive and ugly) Citizen Marksmanship Competition lamp/trophy sponsored by the Los Angeles Examiner has been listed on EBay. Bidding on the trophy begins at $2,450. "These charming Milwaukee girls were the first all-woman team to enroll … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, 1942, Found on EBay | 2 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 7

Posted on March 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

These days, many of The Times photos and negatives are held at UCLA. Here’s one of two negatives that Scott Harrison of our photo department got from the archives. As I said at the beginning, the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, Photography, UFOs | 4 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 6

Posted on March 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

July 8, 1947: The first links between the searchlight photo, the Battle of Los Angeles and flying saucers seem to have emerged in the late 1940s. A Times editorial dismissing UFOs compared them to the mystery … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, Photography, UFOs | Comments Off

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 5 [Updated]

Posted on March 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

[Update: The Times published this photo with a story about the Battle of Los Angeles, but the photo was actually taken another time and used in error, according to Scott Harrison, who researched it for The Times' Framework … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, Photography, UFOs | 1 Comment

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 4

Posted on March 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

Oct. 29, 1945: The Times publishes the searchlight photo to accompany a story about the Air Force account of the incident. Almost as soon as the shooting stopped, people began arguing over whether the 1942 air … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, UFOs | 1 Comment