Category Archives: books

Trouble Was His Business — Raymond Chandler

Sept. 12, 1943, a feature on the upcoming film "Double Indemnity." Here’s an undiscovered treasure: The Times’ Philip K. Scheuer interviews James M. Cain AND Raymond Chandler on the upcoming production of "Double Indemnity." Chandler tells Scheuer that his next … Continue reading

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Trouble Was His Business — Raymond Chandler

As with “Farewell, My Lovely,” The Times evidently did not review Raymond Chandler’s third novel, “High Window.” When the movie was released as “The Brasher Doubloon,” it was the bottom half of a double bill with the 1938 film “Alexander’s … Continue reading

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Trouble Was His Business — Raymond Chandler

"The Big Sleep," "Farewell, My Lovely," "The High Window" and "The Lady in the Lake" are published in "The Raymond Chandler Omnibus," with a forward by Lawrence Clark Powell. Powell says: "Almost everything written about La Reina de Los Angeles, … Continue reading

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Found on EBay — Pacific Electric Railway

Now here’s an intriguing book. "A Pictorial Album of Electric Railroading" compiled by Donald Duke, published in 1958. Bidding starts at $30.

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Trouble Was His Business — Raymond Chandler

The Times’ Robert R. Kirsch reviews Philip Durham’s "Down These Mean Streets a Man Must Go," Dec. 11, 1963. Kirsch says: Raymond Chandler "was one of a small group of writers who used Los Angeles in the regional sense. The … Continue reading

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Trouble Was His Business — Raymond Chandler

I hate to say it, but as far as I can tell, The Times didn’t review Chandler’s second novel, "Farewell, My Lovely," at left. We did review the 1945 film, however.  

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March 5, 1959: Blinded by Bullet, Officer Shoots Gunman Who Killed Partner

Through the 1950s, Police Officer Ector A. Garcia became a minor celebrity for producing sketches of crime suspects that were astonishingly accurate. But he wanted the excitement of being on the streets and that’s what he got. Garcia and his … Continue reading

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Trouble Was His Business — Raymond Chandler

Feb. 19, 1939: "The Big Sleep," reviewed in The Times by Wilbur Needham, a name Chandler might have used for one of his characters. Needham and his wife, Ida, operated Needham Book Finders at 2317 Westwood Blvd. Note: To mark … Continue reading

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Voices — Horton Foote, 1916 – 2009

Photograph by Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times Horton Foote at New York’s Booth Theatre, where his "Dividing the Estate" was being performed, Oct. 11, 2008. Horton Foote: "I Stick With It" * Theater * The playwright, 86, keeps very … Continue reading

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Trouble Was His Business — Raymond Chandler

Note: To mark the 50th anniversary of Raymond Chandler’s death, the Daily Mirror is revisiting some of The Times stories about his life and influence. We invite the Daily Mirror’s readers to share their thoughts.  The Raymond Chandler Lookalike Contest … Continue reading

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Matt Weinstock — March 3, 1959

Death of a Fighter Rene Belbenoit, a gallant man, goes to his grave today at Pierce Bros. Hollywood cemetery. Rene, 59, was found dead, sitting in a chair, in the little desert store he had operated the last seven years … Continue reading

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Trouble Was His Business — Raymond Chandler

    Note: To mark the 50th anniversary of Raymond Chandler’s death, the Daily Mirror is revisiting some of The Times’ stories about his life and influence. We invite the Daily Mirror’s readers to share their thoughts. The MEAN Streets … Continue reading

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Trouble Was His Business — Raymond Chandler

Judith Freeman, author of "The Long Embrace," is giving a four-part continuing education course on Raymond Chandler. The sessions will be held on Tuesday nights, March 31, April 7, April 14 and April 21, at USC University Park Campus. Part … Continue reading

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Trouble Was His Business — Raymond Chandler

On March 25 at 7:30 p.m. at USC’s University Club, Judith Freeman, author of "The Long Embrace,"  will moderate a panel discussion of Raymond Chandler’s legacy. The panel will feature Times film critic Kenneth Turan, author Denise Hamilton and Leo … Continue reading

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Voices — Jerry Cronin

Ned Cronin, left, at the Daily News. Note the headset with his candlestick phone and the wire service ticker. Jerry Cronin, who has shared other recollections about his father, sportswriter Ned Cronin, writes: I was cleaning out my basement and … Continue reading

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The 1950s — Caught in a Flash

Photograph by Neil Clemans News photography as it was practiced in the 1950s. The era of journalism when newspapers had easy access to celebrities, the police and just about anybody else lives again in Neil Clemans’ " Picturing the ’50s," … Continue reading

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Trouble Was His Business — Raymond Chandler

With the 50th anniversary of Raymond Chandler’s death coming up March 26, the Daily Mirror thinks it’s a perfect opportunity to take a long, thoughtful view of his enduring influence. I hope to gather a wide array of readers’ perspectives. … Continue reading

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Nuestro Pueblo — February 6, 1939

Citizens Chevrolet, 2030 Colorado Blvd. I was pleased to find a little documentation of this method of advertising. I first heard about it when I interviewed Walter H. "Tim" Leimert Jr., who said his father did the same thing to … Continue reading

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Santa Barbara Oil Spill; Don’t Change Baseball, February 11, 1969

The Times publishes a Chuck Powers story on the Santa Barbara oil spill. Powers left The Times to become a novelist but died just before his first book, "In the Memory of the Forest," came out. "Anyone who says he … Continue reading

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Sholem Aleichem Turns 150

By Jonathan Kirsch The writer known as Sholem Aleichem (Sholem Rabinovich, 1859-1916) was a towering figure in the Yiddish-speaking world, praised in his own lifetime as "the Jewish Mark Twain." The critic Irving Howe later singled him out as "the … Continue reading

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