Category Archives: Comics

FDR Warns of Long Struggle; Nisei Vow Loyalty to U.S.

Posted on December 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

Dec. 10, 1941: At Los Angeles City College, Japanese American students are stunned by the Pearl Harbor attack and promise loyalty to the United States. “We American students of Japanese blood have confidence in the fairness of white Americans. Everyone … Continue reading →

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FBI Rounds Up Japanese in Hunt for Subversives, Dec. 8, 1941

Posted on December 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

Dec. 8, 1941: The FBI begins rounding up 200 “alien Japanese suspected of subversive activities” Several truckloads of Japanese were seen passing through Brea toward Pomona, Brea police reported, and orders to stop all cars bearing Japanese and to confiscate … Continue reading →

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Japan Ready to Reject U.S. Terms

Posted on December 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

Dec. 5, 1941: There’s almost too much interesting news on Pearl Harbor Day minus 2. Josephine Trout Barnes is reunited with her baby girl Camelia/Camellia/Carmelia (newspapers in the Linotype era sometimes had a fluid sense of spelling when it came … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Books and Authors, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Tom Treanor, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Peace Talks Between U.S., Japan on Verge of Collapse

Posted on December 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

Dec. 4, 1941:Dr. Richard A. Carter, head of the Carter Neurological Clinic in Garden Grove, is accused of negligence in administering a fatal dose during insulin shock treatments for Virginia Lamb, 22, of Anaheim for dementia praecox. It’s unclear from … Continue reading →

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L.A. County Pays Immigrants on Welfare to Go Back to Mexico

Posted on December 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

Dec. 3, 1941: Here’s how Los Angeles County once handled immigration. Officials paid families on welfare $100 ($1,464.25 USD 2010) over 10 months to go back to Mexico. Since 1930-31, more than 4,000 families had gone back to Mexico under … Continue reading →

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Army Is Prepared, but Needs to Toughen Up for War, General Says

Posted on December 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

Dec. 1, 1941: With the attack on Pearl Harbor six days away, Lt. Gen. Lesley J. McNair says U.S. troops are ready to fight, but would suffer heavy losses with only six months of field training. “Properly trained units cannot … Continue reading →

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Dying Man Found on Main Street

Posted on November 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

Nov. 30, 1941:President Roosevelt says the U.S. may be at war in a year – actually, it was a week later. Bartender Eddie Watton was closing up at the Theatre Cafe, 324 S. Main St., and wanted the man at … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

November 27, 1941: Streetcar Companies Ask Council to End Bus Ban in Downtown L.A.

Posted on November 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

November 27, 1941: The Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railways ask the City Council to repeal a ban against buses operating in downtown Los Angeles. Pacific Electric officials said the ban prevented them from routing the line from Los Angeles … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Streetcars, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

On the Frontiers of Science – The Virgin Rabbit

Posted on November 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

Nov. 23, 1941: Dr. Herbert Shapiro of the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia has discovered that if you place a bag of ice cubs on the side of a rabbit for 90 minutes, the rabbit may become pregnant. “The ice … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Animals, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Medicine | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Duchess Spinelli, Doomed to Gas Chamber: ‘No Christian Will Kill!’

Posted on November 21, 2011 by lmharnisch

Nov. 21, 1941: Juanita “The Duchess” Spinelli arrives at San Quentin to be executed in the gas chamber – the first woman legally executed in California’s history. “No one who is a Christian will kill!” the 52-year-old mother of three … Continue reading →

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Hollywood Model Dies of Botched Abortion, Nov. 19, 1941

Posted on November 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

This post has be edited. See note at bottom for explanation. Nov. 19, 1941: Angelka Rose Gogich was 18 when she died at Glendale Emergency Hospital after undergoing an abortion. She had be working as a model, hat check girl … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Abortion, Art & Artists, Black Dahlia, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Medicine, Obituaries | Tagged | 1 Comment

Private Detective Held in ‘Love’ Killing, Nov. 18, 1941

Posted on November 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

Nov. 18, 1941: Jimmie Fidler says that new Alan (Paramount white hope) Ladd and Sally Wadsworth romance won’t please his studio, which is readying a “wolf” buildup.

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Women Reporters

Posted on November 17, 2011 by lmharnisch

Nov. 17, 1941: Reporter Mary Shaw Leader is honored posthumously for her work in covering Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Leader, a reporter for the Hanover Spectator, walked 15 miles to Gettysburg, Pa., to cover the Lincoln’s talk. “She carried his … Continue reading →

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Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on November 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: 1997 Cadillac hearse for sale on EBay. Bidding starts at $3,800. Queen of the Dead—dateline November 14, 2011 •  Family Circus has long been one of those legacy comics you love to hate. But I was sad when creator … Continue reading →

Posted in Comics, Eve Golden, Fashion, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead, Sports | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

U.S. Prepares to Round Up Japanese in Event of War, Nov. 13, 1941

Posted on November 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

Nov. 13, 1941: An FBI investigation into the Los Angeles Japanese Chamber of Commerce and the Central Japanese Assn. reveals monthly donations of $4,000 to $5,000 to the Japanese government “for the army and navy,” The Times says. Atty. Gen. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Crowds Line Broadway for Armistice Day Parade, Nov. 12, 1941

Posted on November 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

We just don’t get deep thoughts in comics anymore. Nov. 12, 1941: Crowds line Broadway in downtown Los Angeles for the annual Armistice Day parade, which marked the end of what used to be called the Great War or the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, A Kinder, Simpler Time, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Man Says He Shot Wife With ‘Unloaded’ Rifle

Posted on November 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: The 600 block of West 87th Street via Google’s Street View. Nov. 10, 1941: A week after Kenneth and Betty met at a malt shop, the 20-year-olds drove to Yuma, Ariz., to get married. They moved in with his … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Religion | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Test Pilot Dies as P-38 Crashes Into Glendale House, Nov. 5, 1941

Posted on November 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

Witnesses said the twin-engined, double fuselaged ship was booming westerward at near-maximum speed (unofficially reported to be between 400 and 500 mph) when the duralumin tail assembly “simply floated away.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Aviation, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Theaters, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Wingy Manone Puts the Swing in Swing Shift — Nov. 3, 1941

Posted on November 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

Nov. 3, 1941: Tom Treanor goes to a dance at the Glendale Civic Auditorium for swing shift workers, about 5,000 of them, from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Most of the couples are married, he says, … Continue reading →

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L.A.’s Traffic Nightmare Threatens Downtown’s Future! Oct. 28, 1941

Posted on October 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

Oct. 28, 1941: Lee Shippey writes about Los Angeles’ congested streets (no, traffic is not a new problem – it’s a very old one that we are still trying to solve). Notice that Shippey says streetcars and automobiles do not … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Freeways, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Obituaries, Streetcars, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment