Category Archives: Columnists

UCLA Provost Calls for a Return to Basics in Education

Posted on February 25, 2012 by lmharnisch

Feb. 25, 1942: UCLA Provost Earle Hedrick (d. 1943) describes the prevailing disdain for the “three Rs” as “the Pearl Harbor” of American education. Charging that American education is ruled by an elite clique, Hedrick says: “I propose that we … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Education, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Lawmakers Urge Roosevelt to Order Immediate Evacuation of All Japanese

Posted on February 14, 2012 by lmharnisch

Feb. 14, 1942:  West Coast legislators abandon plans to register “enemy aliens,” a process that would allow them to remain in defense zones. Instead, the congressmen ask President Roosevelt to order the “immediate evacuation” of “all persons of Japanese lineage.” … Continue reading →

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U.S. Moves to ‘War Time’

Posted on February 9, 2012 by lmharnisch

Feb. 9, 1942: It’s a sad day at the Daily Mirror HQ. No more Jimmie Fidler. The U.S. moves to Daylight Saving Time “for the duration,” which will last until six months “after the day America wins the war,” The … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, African Americans, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Religion, World War II | Tagged | 5 Comments

Body of Kidnapped Girl Found in Riverbed

Posted on February 4, 2012 by lmharnisch

Feb. 4, 1942: “As Coroner R.E. Williams and his aides bore the pitiful little body, still clad in her gay blue and white striped red school dress, toward town for an autopsy to determine the cause of death, the hundreds … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, A Kinder, Simpler Time, Art & Artists, Cold Cases, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Jimmie Fidler, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

L.A. County Board Recommends Roundup of All Japanese

Posted on February 3, 2012 by lmharnisch

Feb. 3, 1942: The FBI, police and sheriff’s deputies round up 336 “alien Japanese fishermen” on Terminal Island. “Operating with machine-like efficiency, the FBI agents, headed by J.W. Vincent, in charge of operations, had prepared lists of the names and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Stravinsky Premieres ‘Danses Concertantes’ in Los Angeles

Posted on February 1, 2012 by lmharnisch

Feb. 1, 1942: The Times serializes Hallett Abend’s “Japan Unmasked.” Abend (d. 1955) was The Times city editor from 1920 to 1924 and was later a Far East correspondent for the New York Times.  (Note: An interesting line from his … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Books and Authors, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

U.S. Urged to Evacuate Japanese Immediately

Posted on January 31, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 31, 1942: Members of Congress from the West Coast call on the U.S. to expedite the evacuation of “enemy aliens,” a term that includes native-born people of Japanese ancestry. Officials concede that some of them may be loyal – … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, African Americans, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Freeways, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Politics, Richard Nixon, Streetcars, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on U.S. Urged to Evacuate Japanese Immediately

FBI Smashes Nazi Spy Ring in Beverly Hills: 3 Sent Coded Letters to Third Reich

Posted on January 29, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 29, 1942: The FBI accuses Dr. Hans Helmut Gros, his wife, Frances, and Albrecht Rudolf Curt Reuter of belonging to a Nazi spy ring. According to allegations, Gros, of 328 N. Maple Drive, sent letters to purported relatives that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

L.A. County, City Fire All Japanese Workers!

Posted on January 28, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 28, 1942: Buried on the jump of this story is the news that the city of Los Angeles urged all Japanese employees to take a leave of absence “for the duration.” Those who refused to quit were suspended. The … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Mob Slaying of ‘Big Greenie’ Greenberg Retold in Bugsy Siegel Trial

Posted on January 27, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 27, 1942: Ida Greenberg testifies in the trial of Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel (d. 1947) and Frank “Frankie” Carbo (d. 1972) in the killing of her husband, Harry “Big Greenie” Greenberg, who was shot to death in his driveway at … Continue reading →

Posted in 1939, 1942, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Music, Religion, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Molestation Suspect Questioned in Killing of Girl, 9

Posted on January 25, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 25, 1942: Detectives Harry Fremont and Jack Dwight are questioning Leo M. King, accused of molesting a 5-year-old girl, in the death of Dorothy Lee Gordon. The case of Dorothy Gordon, an African American child who was kidnapped and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Architecture, Art & Artists, Cold Cases, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Nuestro Pueblo, World War II | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

L.A. Studebaker Plant Converts to War Production

Posted on January 22, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 22, 1942: Chika Takamoto and Ryohei Tanaka are in jail for violating the federal ban on Japanese Americans possessing cameras or radios. Studebaker Pacific manufactures its last passenger car and converts to defense work “for the duration.” The Times … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

L.A.’s Garbage Fed to Hogs … Nom Nom Nom!

Posted on January 21, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 21, 1942: Tom Treanor looks at tin recycling for the war effort and notes that garbage in Los Angeles is fed to hogs in Fontana – with a steam shovel. Hogs in the Los Angeles area had been fed … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Animals, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Theaters, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lombard a ‘Shining Mark’ in Hollywood

Posted on January 18, 2012 by lmharnisch

What do you know! Ernie Bushmiller could actually draw. Jan. 18, 1942: Times artist Charles Owens draws a terrific map of the crash that killed Carole Lombard. Edwin Schallert reflects on Lombard’s life, adding her to the tragic deaths of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Obituaries | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Carole Lombard Among 22 Dead in Crash; Gable Charters Plane for Las Vegas

Posted on January 17, 2012 by lmharnisch

Photo: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard at home with their pet Siamese cats. Jan. 17, 1942: Carole Lombard, who was returning from a campaign to sell defense bonds; her mother, Elizabeth K. Peters; and MGM publicist Otto Winkler are among … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Animals, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Transportation | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Pearl Harbor Survivor Kills Himself

Posted on January 10, 2012 by lmharnisch

Can’t draw? You too can be a famous cartoonist.   Jan. 10, 1942:  Pearl Harbor survivor William Parks kills himself in San Francisco after going AWOL. “His note to his wife indicated that the bombardment he underwent had upset him,” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Immigration, Religion, Tom Treanor | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Girl ‘11 or 12’ Taken From 62-Year-Old Husband

Posted on January 7, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 7, 1942: Whenever people give me this nonsense about the past being “a kinder, simpler time,” I always think of stories like Joe Downs and his “wife.” President Roosevelt delivers his annual State of the Union address, which was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Politics, Religion, Tom Treanor, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Examiner, Mirror Fold; L.A. Becomes Two-Newspaper Town

Posted on January 5, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 5, 1962: A dark, painful day in the history of Los Angeles journalism. Virtually overnight, the city becomes a two-newspaper town. The evening Mirror ceases publication Jan. 5, merging with The Times, and the morning Examiner merges with the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1962, Columnists, Front Pages | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Removal of Streetcar Tracks Leaves Ugly Mess in Redondo Beach

Posted on January 5, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jan. 5, 1942: Nazi patrols plow through students protesting in Paris’ Latin Quarter, “firing a warning burst from machine guns over the heads of the crowd” and then proceeding to “clean up the situation,” The New York Times reports. “A … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Environment, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Streetcars, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Removal of Streetcar Tracks Leaves Ugly Mess in Redondo Beach

War Workers Start Day With Prayer

Posted on January 4, 2012 by lmharnisch

Photo: The 4200 block of South Olive Street via Google’s Street View. Jan. 4, 1942: William E. Kosdy uses a shovel to dig a two-person bomb shelter in the backyard of his home, 4236 S. Olive St. “I didn’t follow … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Columnists, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, LAPD, Nightclubs, Religion, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments