Category Archives: Art & Artists

September 13, 1963: Woman’s Body Found Behind Wall in Highland Park Home

Posted on September 13, 2026 by lmharnisch

September 13, 1963: Joseph Lewis of Highland Park wasn’t terribly concerned when his wife, Anna, disappeared. It was only when her daughter returned from vacation that police were notified. Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Suicide | Tagged 1963, comics, Highland Park, homicide, lapd | 1 Comment

September 10, 1947: In Love but Unable to Marry First Cousin, 17, Man Shoots Himself

Posted on September 10, 2026 by lmharnisch

September 10, 1947: David Everett, a 30-year-old mechanic, is in critical condition at Torrance General Hospital after shooting himself in the head and neck in despondency over his frustrated love for his 17-year-old first cousin Janet. And yes, she lives in a trailer park. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Art & Artists, Comics, Suicide | Tagged 1947, comics, cousins, Suicide | Leave a comment

Sept. 9, 1947: Model Destroys Fake Painting Showing Her Semi-Nude

Posted on September 9, 2026 by lmharnisch

September 9, 1947: Model Carol Janis destroys a painting in which her head was placed on a semi-nude figure. Men: It’s the end of straw hat season and felt hat season begins. Morning tip: Try a little salt in your coffee! Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Art & Artists, Fashion, Food and Drink | Tagged #Holocaust, 1947, art and artists, fashion, food and drink, Israel, Palestine, slashing paintings | Leave a comment

September 3, 1943: Los Angeles Tattoo Shops

Posted on September 3, 2026 by lmharnisch

September 2, 1943: One of my favorite finds from the city archives — a visit to Los Angeles’ tattoo shops. Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Libraries, Photography, World War II | Comments Off

August 30, 1953: Barbara Graham Defense Wins Delay After Prosecution Bombshell

Posted on August 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 30, 1953: Judge Charles Fricke grants a delay to attorneys for Barbara Graham after the prosecution discloses a recorded conversation between Graham and an undercover police officer. Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Paul Coates | Tagged #Gas Chamber, 1953, Barbara Graham, comics, homicide | Comments Off

July 18, 1947: The Timeless, Subtle Wit of Ernie Bushmiller’s ‘Nancy’

Posted on July 18, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 18, 1947: The timeless humor of Ernie Bushmiller in Nancy. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Art & Artists, Film | Tagged #Ernie Bushmiller, #Nancy, 1947, art and artists, cartoons | 2 Comments

June 10, 1947: Artist John Decker Speaks at His Funeral Via Recording

Posted on June 10, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 10, 1947: Artist John Decker leaves a recording to be played for mourners at his funeral. He recited a speech from Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Art & Artists | Tagged 1947, art and artists, funerals, John Decker, Will Fowler | Comments Off

May 22, 1947: Art Club Calls LACMA Exhibit ‘Subversive Propaganda’

Posted on May 22, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 22, 1947: The California Art Club yesterday lambasted the current Los Angeles County Museum art exhibit—the museum’s eighth annual show—as favoring “radical art” and containing “subversive propaganda.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Art & Artists, Museums | Tagged #subversives, 1947, art and artists, LACMA, Museums | Comments Off

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Ethel B. Higgins, Photographer and Botanist

Posted on January 19, 2026 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory profiles Ethel B. Higgins, an early Hollywood photographer who became a leading botanist in her later years. Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography, Science | Tagged art and artists, hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, photography | Comments Off

January 8, 1947: Judge Denies ‘Hollywood’ Divorce for Actress Virginia Engels ‘The Orchid Queen’

Posted on January 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 8, 1947: A judge rejects a divorce for Virginia Engels, nicknamed “Miss Streamline,” “Miss Los Angeles 1940” and “the Orchid Queen.” Engels was later found not guilty of killing her second husband. A bit player in ‘Caged,’ she died forgotten and alone in her apartment in late 1956. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Art & Artists, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged Abbott and Costello, comics, divorce, hollywood, quote of the day | Comments Off

January 1, 1947: New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on January 1, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 1, 1947: Pansy Yokum writes her “Noo Yars Resolutions,” from Al Capp’s Li’l Abner. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Art & Artists, Comics, World War II | Tagged 1947, comics, World War II | Comments Off

December 30, 1941: L.A. Women Are Slackers in Fighting the Axis!

Posted on December 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 30, 1941: December 30, 1941: It seems that local women didn’t get the memo about the being the “Greatest Generation.” They’re a bunch of slackers in the war against the Axis and don’t want to work as air-raid wardens. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Streetcars, Theaters, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged #Jack Benny, #John Carradine, #Lana Turner, #Lon Chaney Jr., #Lucille Ball, #Marie MacDonald | Comments Off

Los Angeles Celebrates Christmas, 1913

Posted on December 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 13, 1913: Celebrating Christmas in Los Angeles by having dinnor at the Cafe Bristol or taking an invigorating bath at Melrose and Gower, location of the Radium Sulphur Springs, which advertises: Drink the most radioactive natural curative mineral water. Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, Art & Artists, Food and Drink, Medicine | Tagged #Christmas, 1913, comics, food and drink, radioactive insanity | Comments Off

December 19, 1941: Japanese Spy Ring Smashed, FBI Says

Posted on December 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 19, 1941: The suicide of Dr. Rikita Honda, who slashed his wrists while in custody at Terminal Island, revealed that he was the director of a vast spy ring, the FBI says. Honda was head of the Imperial Comradeship Society, which allegedly had 4,800 members in Western states, including California and Arizona. Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Suicide, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged #Dumbo, #Manzanar, #Spies | Comments Off

December 18, 1941: Academy Awards Banquet Canceled; Oscars Postponed Due to War

Posted on December 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 18, 1941: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences cancels its annual banquet, due to the war. The awards will be given out later in some informal gathering, Edwin Schallert writes. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, World War II | Tagged #Dumbo, #Gene Autry, Abbott and Costello | Comments Off

December 14, 1941: War Cancels Rose Parade

Posted on December 14, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 14, 1941: The Rose Parade is canceled and the Rose Bowl – between Duke and Oregon State – is moved to Durham, N.C. The streets of Pasadena were oddly quiet on New Year’s Day as millions reviewed memories of previous parades in all their glory, The Times said. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Tom Treanor, World War II | Comments Off

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 14, 2025 by lmharnisch

Another of my favorite books on Los Angeles is Leo Politi’s “Bunker Hill Los Angeles: Reminiscences of Bygone Days.” Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Books and Authors | Tagged art and artists, Books and Authors, retro gift giving | Comments Off

December 13, 1941: Roundup of Aliens Overwhelms L.A. Jails

Posted on December 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 13, 1941: So many alien Japanese, Germans and Italians are being taken into custody that Chief Jailer William Bright of the County Jail is being forced to send some of his other inmates to county prison farms. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Nightclubs, Nuestro Pueblo, World War II | Tagged #Frank Capra, #Hugh Herbert | Comments Off

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 10, 2025 by lmharnisch

One of my favorite books on Los Angeles is the 1940 Nuestro Pueblo, collected from pieces in the Los Angeles Times, with artwork by Charles Owens and text by Joseph Seewerker. Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged #history, Books and Authors, Los Angeles, Nuestro Pueblo, retro gift giving | Comments Off

FBI Rounds Up Japanese in Hunt for Subversives, Dec. 8, 1941

Posted on December 8, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 8, 1941: The FBI begins rounding up 200 “alien Japanese suspected of subversive activities.”
Several truckloads of Japanese were seen passing through Brea toward Pomona, Brea police reported, and orders to stop all cars bearing Japanese and to confiscate maps and binoculars or radios were given. Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Aviation, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Nuestro Pueblo, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged #Dumbo, #Hap Arnold, #Pearl Harbor | Comments Off