Category Archives: Books and Authors

Aug. 23, 1947: Sartre’s ‘No Exit’ Opens in L.A.

Posted on August 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Coronet Play Has ‘No Exit’ BY PHILIP K. SCHEUER Everyone is on his own at the Coronet Theatre, where Pelican Productions last night presented Jean-Paul Sartre’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Comics, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Stage | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Aug. 23, 1907: Motoring to Yale, L.A. Student Averages 29 Miles Per Day

Posted on August 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. William Renwick, recent graduate of Pomona College, was to attend Yale in the fall, and rather than more mundane modes of travel decided to head East by auto in what he hoped … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Bert Longworth and ‘Hold Still, Hollywood’

Posted on August 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2012. In the last forty years, movie collectors and photography connoisseurs have recognized the art and value of Hollywood still photography, most particularly in the gloriously lit and composed portraits of glamorous stars. … Continue reading →

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August 18, 1947: John Steven McGroarty, California Poet Laureate, Honored in Memorial Tribute

Posted on August 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. His favorite verses and anecdotes of his life were recited yesterday as old friends and admirers made their third annual pilgrimage to the grave of John … Continue reading →

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Aug. 12, 1947: Distinguished UCLA English Instructor Dies in Plunge from S.F. Building; ‘He Was Not Married’

Posted on August 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Dr. Stanley Dean Johnson sounds like quite a fellow. He’s a specialist in the works of John Donne, having received his bachelor’s and master’s from the … Continue reading →

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Aug. 7, 1907: Too Late for Wife to Repent Marriage to Abusive Husband, Judge Rules

Posted on August 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Aug. 7, 1907 Los Angeles He swore at her and told her to go to hell. He rarely worked and only helped her run their boarding house when he felt like … Continue reading →

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Scotty Bowers’ Mountain of Lies — Not the Hill I Care to Die On

Posted on August 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Scotty Bowers’ mountain of lies is not the hill I care to die on. But be assured that he has told a mountain of lies. Have you seen even one photograph of him with one of his alleged amours? Scotty … Continue reading →

Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Aug. 3, 1947: ‘Kingsblood Royal’ by Sinclar Lewis Leads Bestseller List

Posted on August 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. “Kingsblood Royal,” like “Gentleman’s Agreement,” deals with prejudice, in this case, discrimination against blacks. Lewis’ novel was criticized in some reviews for superficial characters and a … Continue reading →

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July 27, 1947: Chinese Author Visits Dr. George Hodel,

Posted on July 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. “Knowledge is desirable, but learning is pleasure.” That is one of the sayings of Author Helena Kuo, who came a long way from her native China … Continue reading →

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July 27, 1907: Mayor Harper Calls for More LAPD Officers, New Library, More Schools

Posted on July 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Above, Mayor Harper’s goals for his administration. Note especially item No. 11–more police officers–and item No. 17: new schools. Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 27, 1907 Los Angeles One of Mayor Harper’s promises in taking over … Continue reading →

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July 24, 1907: Columbia University Professor Becomes an Explorer of the Occult

Posted on July 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 24, 1907 Los Angeles On a speaking tour of America, former Columbia professor James H. Hyslop is trying to raise interest in a scientific approach to psychic research while deflating the … Continue reading →

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July 23, 1907: A Belated Tribute to Heroic Officer

Posted on July 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 23, 1907 Los Angeles John Conroy, a career criminal, planned his work carefully: He would wait until 10 p.m., pry open the skylight of J.C. Fleming’s jewelry store at 531 S. … Continue reading →

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July 21, 1907: What the President Is Reading

Posted on July 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 21, 1907 Los Angeles President Theodore Roosevelt suggests “reading of certain books of pure fiction that have the prime quality of being interesting.”

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Architecture, Preservation and Noir

Posted on July 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Architecture, murder and hardboiled writing. Do you suppose McCoy had the 1947 Project in mind when he knocked off this forgotten little tale? (Note the first-person … Continue reading →

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1947: Bookstore Owners Fined for Selling Obscene ‘Memoirs of Hecate County’

Posted on July 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. In the days when I lived in Hecate County, I had an uncomfortable neighbor, a man named Asa M. Stryker. He had at one time, he … Continue reading →

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Mechanical Engineer Publishes First Book

Posted on July 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Hard at work as a mechanical engineer during the day, the former naval aviation researcher still finds time to do a little writing. At the moment … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Can This Be the Fourth of July?

Posted on July 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 4, 1907 Los Angeles And how does Los Angeles celebrate Independence Day? With cricket matches and bagpipe contests.

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Slander, My Sweet: Raymond Chandler, John Houseman and ‘The Blue Dahlia’

Posted on June 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in “The Blue Dahlia.” Here are the opening paragraphs of the piece I’ve been working on for the last few months as I waited for the clamor to die down about Piu Eatwell’s “Black Dahlia, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, 1946, Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

June 28, 1907: 62 Cars Enter Endurance Race From Los Angeles to Lakeside

Posted on June 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 28, 1907 Los Angeles Give cars to a bunch of wealthy Los Angeles residents and what do they do? Race them, of course. Not on a track this time, but in … Continue reading →

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June 27, 1947: Ray the Newspaper Boy Publishes First Book, ‘Dark Carnival’

Posted on June 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. I’ll be putting that little landmark on my tour of the Black Dahlia crime scene, which is about three miles away. Bradbury’s first book got a … Continue reading →

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