Category Archives: Comics

‘Dead Man’ Killed in Fight Over a Penny

Posted on July 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

July 12, 1963: Curtiss A. Adams, the only man to survive the Jan. 31, 1957, crash of an F-89J and a DC-7B over Pacoima, testifies in a lawsuit between Douglas, which made the transport, and Northrop, which built the F-89J. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Columnists, Comics, LAPD, San Fernando Valley | Comments Off on ‘Dead Man’ Killed in Fight Over a Penny

L.A. County Jail’s New Piano Should Be an Instrument of Torture!

Posted on June 28, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jun2 28, 1921: Mrs. K.T. Lindy of Inglewood thinks jails are for punishment. Now that someone has given women prisoners a piano, she hopes they have to practice chromatic scales and not that evil jazz! Lindy says: “I hope this … Continue reading →

Posted in 1921, Comics, Music | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Japanese Lieutenant Killed at Guadalcanal Went to USC

Posted on April 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

April 11, 1943: And here begins one of my favorite “Li’l Abner” episodes: Zoot Suit Yokum. The Times reports a strange encounter on Guadalcanal in which an unidentified Marine took a rifle from a wounded Japanese lieutenant. According to Torrance … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Comics, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Nell Brinkley, Queen of Early American Comics

Posted on April 8, 2013 by lmharnisch

When Americans think of classic illustrators from the early 20th century, names such as Charles Dana Gibson, Harrison Fisher, Haskell Coffin, James Montgomery Flagg, and John Held Jr. spring to mind. Forgotten by almost everyone, but in every way these … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Comics, Fashions, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Human Fly Flees Hall of Justice

Posted on April 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

April 4, 1943: Col. Darryl F. Zanuck comes under criticism for trying to return to civilian life. (Zanuck said there wasn’t much chance that he would make more movies of combat.) Sen. Harry Truman (D-Mo.) of the Senate War Program … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Broadway, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Immigration, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mobs Storm Butchers Trying to Beat Ration Deadline

Posted on March 28, 2013 by lmharnisch

People line up outside a meat market at 2100 N. Broadway. 2100 N. Broadway via Google Street View. March 28, 1943: And did the “Greatest Generation” meekly, humbly and patriotically accept meat rationing for the war effort? They did not. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Books and Authors, Broadway, Comics, Downtown, Food and Drink, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mobs Storm Butchers Trying to Beat Ration Deadline

Deadly LAPD Beating: Officer Describes Arrest

Posted on January 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 17, 1943: District attorney’s investigators question Police Sgt. James F. Martin about the arrest of Stanley H. Beebe, who died after being beaten by LAPD officers. Martin said that he got a bloody nose and two broken ribs in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hill Street, LAPD, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Man Held in Brawl With Mexican Youths

Posted on January 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 4, 1942: A rather drunk William Kollomick, who gave his address as “Pearl Harbor,” is in jail after getting into a brawl with four unidentified Mexican youths outside a cafe at 1st and Broadway. The youths walked out of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Broadway, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Man Held in Brawl With Mexican Youths

Stripper Discharged From Waacs Was Out of Uniform – and Everything Else

Posted on December 15, 2012 by lmharnisch

Dec. 15, 1942: Some restaurants close for lack of butter, meat and sugar due to wartime food rationing. And people rush to the Pike amusement park in Long Beach after rumors that it had plenty of hamburger, which is scarce … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Columnists, Comics, Food and Drink, Stage, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Housewives Scour Stores for Butter, Meat

Posted on December 13, 2012 by lmharnisch

Dec. 13, 1942: Housewives are searching for butter, meat and canned goods as wartime food rationing depletes grocery shelves, The Times says. Farmers report that agents for restaurants and hotels are approaching them “with instructions to get eggs no matter … Continue reading →

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Buck Jones Among Hundreds Killed in Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire

Posted on November 30, 2012 by lmharnisch

Nov. 30, 1942: Saying “My hands are trembling all over this typewriter keyboard,” Associated Press writer Harry C. Glasheen writes of his experiences covering Boston’s Cocoanut Grove fire, which had a final death toll of 492 people, including Western movie … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Comics, Film, Fires, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Errol Flynn Set for Trial in Sex With Underage Girls

Posted on November 7, 2012 by lmharnisch

Nov. 7, 1942: Pursuing British mobile forces, equipped with big American-made Gen. Sherman tanks, have overtaken some of the remnants of Marshal Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps in the Matruh region of Western Egypt “and are steadily chopping them to pieces,” … Continue reading →

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Women Truck Drivers Replace Men at Ft. MacArthur

Posted on November 2, 2012 by lmharnisch

Nov. 2, 1942: The Army hires 10 women to serve as truck drivers at Ft. MacArthur so that men who have been doing the job can be released to field positions. “The women drivers will work an eight-hour day and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Transportation, World War II, Zoot Suit | 3 Comments

Death Rolls the Dice in Friends’ Fatal Craps Game

Posted on October 12, 2012 by lmharnisch

Oct. 12, 1942: Walter Miller, a 31-year-old lumberyard foreman, and his friend Eddie “Red” Phillips, a 32-year-old mechanic, were shooting dice in the living room of Phillips’ home, 1442 E. 59th St., when they began arguing. Miller was stabbed during … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

America Losing War, Navy Official Says

Posted on September 25, 2012 by lmharnisch

Sept. 25, 1942: Assistant Secretary of the Navy Ralph Bard says that America is losing the war because it has been blinded by “an insufferable and materialistic pride,” a feeling that prevents Americans from realizing the “desperate fury” of Nazi … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Comics, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Retired Police Lt. George H. Williams, Badge 1, Dies at 84

Posted on September 13, 2012 by lmharnisch

Sept. 13, 1942: Retired Lt. George H. Williams,who held LAPD retirement Badge 1, dies at the age of 84. He retired in 1912 after serving with the department for 23 years and was in charge of the detail that brought … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Obituaries, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Retired Police Lt. George H. Williams, Badge 1, Dies at 84

2 Die in Fiery Crash on Arroyo Seco Parkway

Posted on September 9, 2012 by lmharnisch

Sept. 9, 1942: Two people died when they were trapped in a burning car on the Arroyo Seco Parkway in South Pasadena after the gas tank exploded in a fiery crash at the Fair Oaks Avenue exit. John Lucas and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, African Americans, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Playwright Clifford Odets Held for DUI

Posted on September 8, 2012 by lmharnisch

Sept. 8, 1942:Playwright Clifford Odets of 8729 Lookout Mountain Ave. is arrested on charges of drunk driving and speeding on Roosevelt Highway (Pacific Coast Highway) at Topanga Canyon.  CHP officers say Odets refused to stop until they forced him off … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Stage, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

30 Firefighters Escape Blaze in Box Canyon

Posted on August 24, 2012 by lmharnisch

Aug. 24, 1942: Sheriff’s deputies break up a planned fight between the Lincoln Heights Square John gang and the Huntington Park Levis gang at Central and Florence avenues, arresting 17 members of the Square John gang (no members of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Aug. 13, 1942: Times Visits African American Troops

Posted on August 15, 2012 by lmharnisch

Aug. 15, 1942: The good news: The Times writes about African American troops. The bad news: The story is one stereotype after another.

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