Category Archives: books

Reading list, 1938

Posted on October 2, 2008 by lmharnisch

I dug out my old copy of William L. Shirer’s "Berlin Diary" the other day and was pleasantly surprised to see how much more I understood of what he was saying after going through all these 1938 newspapers. What had … Continue reading →

Posted in @news, books, Politics | Comments Off on Reading list, 1938

Leading defense attorney dies; Dodgers win against Cubs, September 27, 1958

Posted on September 27, 2008 by lmharnisch

LeCompte Davis dies at 95 Prominent attorney represented the McNamara brothers in The Times bombing and Alexander Pantages in his famous sexual assault case.  Stewart Granger in "Harry Black and the Tiger."   LeCompte Davis, left, with Frank Bryson in … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, @news, books, Dodgers, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Stage | Comments Off on Leading defense attorney dies; Dodgers win against Cubs, September 27, 1958

Films in production — Wizard of Oz, September 24, 1938

Posted on September 24, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, W.C. Fields is out of "The Wizard of Oz" and Frank Morgan is in. Nearly 500 people are dead from a hurricane that tore through the northeastern United States. Damage is so great that no reliable estimates are available. … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Sports | 1 Comment

Black civil rights leader stabbed; Dodgers win, September 22, 1958

Posted on September 22, 2008 by lmharnisch

Martin Luther King Jr. hospitalized Woman judged insane after plunging a letter opener into the civil rights leader’s chest. Black civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 29, is in critical condition at Harlem Hospital in New York after being … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, books, Dodgers, Front Pages, Religion, Sports | Comments Off on Black civil rights leader stabbed; Dodgers win, September 22, 1958

Los Angeles history — noir

Posted on September 12, 2008 by lmharnisch

The Los Angeles Conservancy is sponsoring a one-day tour of sites titled "L.A. NOIR-chitecture, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 9. The locations have become famous in noir fiction and film and include the Formosa Cafe (James Ellroy’s "L.A. … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, books, Film, Hollywood, San Fernando Valley | 1 Comment

From the Daily Mirror mailbox

Posted on September 12, 2008 by lmharnisch

The inbox, Williams and Walker My Sept. 7 piece in "Then and Now" on the black minstrel teams of McIntyre and Heath and Williams and Walker — based on this Daily Mirror post — drew a fair number of responses. … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Film, Hollywood, Music, Stage | 2 Comments

Los Angeles history — smog

Posted on September 11, 2008 by lmharnisch

I stumbled across a blog devoted to air pollution called Smogtown, written by Chip Jacobs and William J. Kelly, authors of a forthcoming book by the same name. Overlook, their publisher, says: "Smogtown is the story of pollution, progress, and … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Environment, Science, Transportation | Comments Off on Los Angeles history — smog

Comic artist Al Capp visits LA, House panel questions Red official, September 3, 1958

Posted on September 3, 2008 by lmharnisch

A panel from Al Capp’s "Li’l Abner," April 25, 1943. During a visit to Los Angeles, "Li’l Abner" cartoonist Al Capp says he once again has the freedom to satirize American institutions "lovingly and savagely," after being limited during what … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, @news, art and artists, books, Current Affairs, Film, Front Pages, Stage | 1 Comment

A higher plane

Posted on August 22, 2008 by lmharnisch

e at the Daily Mirror have been taken to task by an anonymous commenter (an SBC Global subscriber ISP 75.50.124.114) for focusing on "crap"  rather than more intellectually stimulating fare. Anon@yahoo.com (I tend to suspect this is a pseudonym, though … Continue reading →

Posted in books | Comments Off on A higher plane

Author: Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Posted on August 3, 2008 by lmharnisch

Selected articles by author Alexander Solzhenitsyn from the Los Angeles Times.
Continue reading →

Posted in @news, books, Front Pages | 1 Comment

July 7, 1908

Posted on July 7, 2008 by lmharnisch

e have a bounty of news today. Above, Mexican troops put down an insurrection in the state of Coahuila. And turmoil in the Mideast. At left, Mayor Harper urges Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan to accept Capt. Eugene Merrick … Continue reading →

Posted in @news, books, Front Pages, Suicide, Transportation, travel | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on July 7, 1908

June 24, 1938

Posted on June 24, 2008 by lmharnisch

uestro Pueblo is a new discovery for me, and a very happy one. The Times began the feature by writer Joe Seewerker and artist Charles Owens in June 1938, publishing installments Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The series ended in October … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Architecture, art and artists, books, City Hall, Downtown, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, LAPD, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

George Carlin, RIP

Posted on June 23, 2008 by lmharnisch

aybe you remember him as Al Sleet, the "Hippy, Dippy Weatherman with the hippy, dippy weather … man" or as Rufus in "Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure" or the author of an incredible number of jokes that are  eternally circulating … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, books, broadcasting, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Stage | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on George Carlin, RIP

Voices–James Ellroy

Posted on June 22, 2008 by lmharnisch

  Aug. 30, 1995 By Amy Wallace Times Staff Writer n his 1987 crime novel, "The Black Dahlia," James Ellroy had the audacity–what he would call the "righteous authorial authority"–to cook up a solution to Los Angeles’ most famous unsolved … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Film, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Voices–James Ellroy

Geneva Ellroy, RIP

Posted on June 22, 2008 by lmharnisch

Geneva Ellroy crime scene, Arroyo High School, El Monte, Calif., via Google maps street view. o much has already been written about the June 1958 murder of Geneva Hilliker Ellroy; there’s very little I can add to what my friend … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Front Pages, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

June 22, 1938

Posted on June 22, 2008 by lmharnisch
Posted in art and artists, books, Nuestro Pueblo | Comments Off on June 22, 1938

Found on EBay

Posted on June 21, 2008 by lmharnisch

Why if it isn’t another another envelope sent to our old friend Prof. A. Victor “How to Have Beautiful Hair,”  “How to Be Happy Though Married” Segno. Alas, the money that was in this envelope was spent long ago. The … Continue reading →

Posted in books | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Found on EBay

Home of the week

Posted on June 7, 2008 by lmharnisch

June 7, 1908 Above, the home of J. de Barth Shorb (1842-1896) in San Marino, which Henry Huntington has torn down to make way for his cozy little cottage.  True confession: I have been a member of the Huntington for … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, art and artists, books, Front Pages, Real Estate | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Home of the week

June 4, 1968

Posted on June 4, 2008 by lmharnisch

        Literature: William Styron’s "The Confessions of Nat Turner" wins the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. At left, the late Times staff writer Richard Bergholz says that a large voter turnout will probably favor Sen. Eugene McCarthy … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Politics, RFK, Rock 'n' Roll | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on June 4, 1968

May 29, 1938

Posted on May 29, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, what Los Angeles was reading in 1938–and a shoutout to the Zombie Reading Program over at This Book Is for You…. "When there’s no more room in closed stacks, the out-of-print will rise up and walk the earth." At … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, books, Front Pages, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on May 29, 1938