Category Archives: Brain Trust

Ed Fuentes: We Lose a Member of the Brain Trust

Posted on February 8, 2019 by

Dear friends and members of the Brain Trust. We lost a charter member with the death of Ed Fuentes, who apparently suffered a fatal heart attack, according to Facebook. Ed was the subject of my first column at The Times … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, 2019, Art & Artists, Brain Trust, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Books and Authors: ‘Deepwater Horizon’

Posted on May 3, 2016 by

  Earl Boebert, a member of the Brain Trust, writes that his book “Deepwater Horizon: A Systems Analysis of the Macondo Disaster,”  written with James M. Blossom, will be published in September by Harvard University Press. This is a little … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Brain Trust | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Research by Mary Mallory

Posted on June 17, 2013 by

Dear friends, By now you are familiar with the writing and research abilities of Mary Mallory (not to mention her skill at identifying mystery guests!) I occasionally receive requests for help with research and I am pleased to say that … Continue reading →

Posted in Brain Trust, Mary Mallory | Tagged , | Leave a comment

‘Full Service’: Fun With Fact-Checking, Part 8

Posted on March 6, 2012 by

In case you just tuned in, I’m doing a little fact-checking as I go through Scotty Bowers’ “Full Service.” This will be fairly tedious except to a research drudge. Good grief, Harnisch, eight posts and you’re still on Page 1? … Continue reading →

Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, Brain Trust, Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Libraries, World War II | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Coming Attractions: Lunch With the Daily Mirror

Posted on September 21, 2011 by

Photo: Monument to Eliza A. Otis, 1833 – 1904, wife of Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Credit: Larry Harnisch/LADailyMirror.com Karie Bible has agreed to give the Daily Mirror’s Brain Trust a tour of Hollywood Forever Cemetery on a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1910, Brain Trust, Coming Attractions, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, Obituaries | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Mystery Witzel Photo

Posted on August 18, 2011 by

This Witzel photo has been posted on EBay. Judging by the stamp on the back, it’s some celebrity, but the woman isn’t identified. OK, brain trust, what do you think? Bidding starts at $24.99.

Posted in Brain Trust, Mystery Photo, Photography, Witzel | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on August 1, 2011 by

Photo: 1948 Buick Roadmaster hearse for sale on EBay. Bidding starts at $9,102. Queen of the Dead—dateline August 1, 2011    • Elliott Handler, cofounder of Mattel, died on July 21, age 95. He and Harold Matson (thus the name: … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Books and Authors, Brain Trust, Comics, Eve Golden, Film, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead, Television | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

James Curtis: L.A. Voices – Dick Lane, Part 2

Posted on July 27, 2011 by

This is Part 2 of James Curtis’ 1975 interview with Dick Lane. In this segment, Lane discusses his start in films in Los Angeles, making “Union Pacific” with Cecil B. De Mille, Howard Hughes’ takeover of RKO  and making “Boom … Continue reading →

Posted in 1975, Brain Trust, Film, Hollywood, James Curtis, L.A. Voices | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on July 25, 2011 by

Photo: 1940 Ford Siebert hearse converted to a delivery sedan, $49,000 on Hemmings.com   Queen of the Dead—dateline July 25, 2011   • July 22 saw the death of the first Bond Girl, Linda Christian, 87. Her career was pretty … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Brain Trust, Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Music, Nightclubs, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead | 1 Comment

Coming Attractions: L.A. Voices by James Curtis

Posted on July 18, 2011 by

Photo: Dick Lane and Helen Wallace in “Sioux City Sue,” 1946. Coming up Wednesday: Biographer James Curtis shares his interviews in L.A. Voices, beginning with Part 1 of a 1975 Q&A with actor Dick Lane.

Posted in 1946, Books and Authors, Brain Trust, Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood, Television | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on July 18, 2011 by

Photo: New, horse-drawn hearse for sale on EBay, $9,500. Credit: Justin Carriage Works Queen of the Dead—dateline July 18, 2011   • All the silent movie stars are long-gone, now we are down to memorializing their children. Rex Bell, Jr., … Continue reading →

Posted in Brain Trust, Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Politics, Queen of the Dead, Television | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on July 11, 2011 by

Queen of the Dead—dateline July 11, 2011   • Archduke Otto of Austria, pretender to the throne of the late Austria-Hungary, died on the Fourth of July, at 98. I must admit to a schoolgirl crush on his  . . … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Brain Trust, Eve Golden, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Wanted: Mickey Cohen on Tape

Posted on July 8, 2011 by

I have received an unusual request regarding a film now in production. The folks are looking for the famous/notorious TV interview that Mike Wallace did with Mickey Cohen in 1957. Clips from the interview are on the DVD with Wallace’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Brain Trust, Film, From the Reference Desk, Mickey Cohen, Television | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Nathan Marsak, This One Is for You!

Posted on July 5, 2011 by

June 5, 1943: A nude (well almost) woman climbs onto a neon sign at 6th and Broadway. Beatrice Tucker was clearly ahead of her time.

Posted in 1943, Brain Trust, Downtown | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on June 22, 2011 by

Photograph by Howard Decker / LADailyMirror.com [Howard says: The lady in the fur coat is Julia Jean Mildred Frances Turner, known as Lana, with her newly minted (seventh, I think) husband Ronald Pellar, known as Ronald Dante and Dr. Dante. … Continue reading →

Posted in Brain Trust, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on June 20, 2011 by

Photograph by Howard Decker [Update: Howard says: The beautiful bride is Kris Harmon, on her way into the church in Brentwood to marry Ricky Nelson on April 20, 1963.] Our good friend Howard Decker (a.k.a. Fibber of the Brain Trust) … Continue reading →

Posted in Brain Trust, LAPD, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

From the Reference Desk

Posted on June 13, 2011 by

My childhood heroes: The Lookies! They don’t guess, they look it up in their new World Book Encyclopedia! Dr. Michele K. Troy of Hillyer College writes: Rob Wagner (Red Ink, White Lies) recommended I contact you with an odd research … Continue reading →

Posted in 1936, Books and Authors, Brain Trust, Columnists, From the Reference Desk, Lee Shippey, Libraries, World War II | 2 Comments