Category Archives: Aviation

Oct. 14, 1947: Capt. Chuck Yeager Breaks the Sound Barrier

Posted on December 8, 2020 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Hm…. U.S. prison population up for the first time since World War II…. Lawsuits over deed restrictions in South Pasadena…. A 35-year-old merchant seaman in San Francisco … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Dick Grace, Hollywood’s Daredevil Sky Pilot

Posted on May 4, 2020 by lmharnisch

  Dick Grace in action. Note: This is an encore post from 2014. Hollywood and aviation took off at about the same points in history, helping to put each other on the map. Early American aviators inaugurated the fledgling field … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Feb. 3, 1959: The Day the Music Died

Posted on February 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

I’m a day late but trying to catch up. Here’s the Mirror’s front page from 1959. This post originally ran on latimes.com and is available via Archive.org.

Posted in 1959, Aviation, Music | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Jan. 12-13, 1959: Soviet Leader Mikoyan Visits L.A.

Posted on January 12, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 12-13, 1959: Protests force the plane carrying Deputy Soviet Premier Anastas Mikoyan to divert to Burbank! Mikoyan did a grip and grin with L.A. Mayor Norris Poulson, but Norrie would not be so friendly during Nikita Khrushchev’s time in … Continue reading →

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Nov. 24, 1947: Airline Passenger Dies En Route to L.A.; Shabby Drug Runner Carried a Fortune in Heroin

Posted on November 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. He was a shabby little man of 44 when he died with $111 in his pockets and a suitcase full of mystery and drugs. Although some … Continue reading →

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October 1947: New DC-6 Catches Fire in Midair, Crashes 30 Seconds Short of Landing Field

Posted on October 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. America’s first postwar airliner, the DC-6, was given a royal debut in a ceremony March 28, 1947, at Douglas’ Santa Monica plant attended by 15,000 people, … Continue reading →

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Oct. 14, 1947: Capt. Chuck Yeager Breaks the Sound Barrier

Posted on October 17, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Hm…. U.S. prison population up for the first time since World War II…. Lawsuits over deed restrictions in South Pasadena…. A 35-year-old merchant seaman in San Francisco … Continue reading →

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Sept. 16, 1947: Stanley Beltz, Colorful Lockheed Test Pilot

Posted on September 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Low flying charges have been filed by the Civil Aeronautics Administration against Stanley Beltz, Lockheed test pilot, who reportedly took a four-engined Constellation down to 200 … Continue reading →

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June 14, 1947: U.S. Customs Bars Welcoming Committee From Greeting Mexican Official

Posted on July 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Finger-pointing gestures and assurances that the State Department and other higher echelons will hear protests were features of an “international incident” yesterday when Dr. Francisco Villagran, … Continue reading →

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July 3, 1947: Flying Saucers Over Beverly Hills!

Posted on July 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. This is where the 1947 Project intersects with other 1947 Project. Mysterious flying discs were reported June 28 over New Mexico, prompting sarcastic letters to The … Continue reading →

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June 26, 1947: Helicopter Hovers Over Clipper Ship

Posted on June 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. An unknown press photographer in Long Beach captured them in a small fraction of a second, the old three-masted square-rigger and the brand-new helicopter: old and … Continue reading →

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June 18, 1947: Actor Jon Hall Says Tale of Being Shot Down in Plane Was a Hoax

Posted on June 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The day before, The Times reported a curious incident in which a bullet tore into the propeller of the plane shortly after it took off for … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Aviation, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Black L.A., 1947: Famous Flier James O. Plinton Jr. Visits L.A.

Posted on April 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

April 3, 1947: James O. Plinton Jr., a pioneering African American aviator, visits Los Angeles to buy two Grumman amphibious planes. At the beginning of World War II, Plinton went to the Tuskegee Institute, where he was a flight instructor, … Continue reading →

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Jan. 16 in L.A. History

Posted on January 16, 2016 by lmharnisch

Jan. 16, 1910: The Times recaps Aviation Week.   A Week of Aviation Triumphs, Jan. 16, 1910 Library Officials May Remove Books on Making Alcohol, Jan. 16, 1920  TV Writers Go on Strike Over Residuals, Jan. 16, 1960 Matt Weinstock, … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Dick Grace, Hollywood’s Daredevil Sky Pilot

Posted on October 13, 2014 by lmharnisch

  Dick Grace in action. Hollywood and aviation took off at about the same points in history, helping to put each other on the map. Early American aviators inaugurated the fledgling field in the early 1900s, just as early filmmakers … Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Allies 310 Miles From Berlin! Sept. 19, 1944

Posted on September 19, 2014 by lmharnisch

  Sept. 19, 1944   At a Town Hall luncheon at the Biltmore, RAF Wing Cmdr. Christopher Currant tells the audience that what we now know as the V-2 rocket is the greatest argument against isolationism. “It can be dropped … Continue reading →

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Chaplin Indicted on Mann Act!

Posted on February 11, 2014 by lmharnisch

Feb. 11, 1944: A P-38 rushes from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara and back in an hour to get penicillin for a Jimmy Doyle, 15 months old, who has peritonitis. “Precious little of the stuff is available and that is … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Art & Artists, Aviation, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Medicine, New York, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

1947 World Inventors Exposition at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium

Posted on October 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

An EBay vendor has listed a program from the 1947 World Inventors Exposition. According to ads in The Times, this is where the Tucker automobile had its “premiere public showing.”   Bidding on the program starts at $19.95. I wrote a … Continue reading →

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Sex Talk in Pasadena Canceled Due to Lack of Interest

Posted on September 12, 2013 by lmharnisch

Sept. 12, 1953: Angry San Fernando Valley residents picket Lockheed’s plant in Van Nuys after a jet trainer crashed, killing Phyllis O’Kray, 16504 Chase St., Sepulveda. Lockheed executive Courtland S. Gross expressed regret over O’Kray’s death and noted that the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, Aviation, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Streetcar Strike Could Paralyze Los Angeles!

Posted on July 24, 2013 by lmharnisch

July 24, 1943: Labor problems threaten to paralyze mass transportation in Los Angeles. The Times says that 3,000 Los Angeles Railway workers have ended a 24-hour walkout while 2,500 Pacific Electric workers are scheduled to strike. Marion “More Curves Than … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Aviation, Comics, Labor, Main Street, Streetcars, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment