Category Archives: Hollywood

Union Pleads With Streetcar Workers Not to Strike

Sept. 5, 1943: Explaining that “war strategies between President Roosevelt and Britain’s Prime Minister Churchill come first,” William P. Nutter of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen pleads with dissatisfied employees of the Pacific Electric Railway to stay on the job. … Continue reading

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Streetcars, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Union Pleads With Streetcar Workers Not to Strike

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated +++)

And for Monday, three mystery gents.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 36 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — The Three Lives Of Villa Aurora

Cats have nine lives. People often experience second or third acts in their lives or careers. Some homes have multiple lives as well, like Villa Aurora, which has experienced three diverse lives, bringing knowledge and refuge to those who come … Continue reading

Posted in 1928, Architecture, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Barbara Graham Defense Wins Delay After Prosecution Bombshell

Aug. 30, 1953: Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charles W. Fricke grants attorneys for Barbara Graham a slight delay in opening their defense after the prosecution closes with a “bombshell”: A transcript of a recorded conversation between Graham and … Continue reading

Posted in 1953, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Parents Sue Doctor Who Said Baby Girl Was a Boy!

Aug. 29, 1943: The family of Marine Cpl. Carroll E. Trego, a radio operator captured in the fall of Wake Island, receives a letter written from a prisoner of war camp in Shanghai. Dr. John M. Andrews is being sued … Continue reading

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Medicine, Streetcars, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

N.R.A. Frees Workers to Visit the Library

August 1933: In my journey through years ending in “3,” I have neglected 1933, when the National Recovery Act took effect  Aug. 1. President Roosevelt’s plan was to put people back to work by raising the minimum wage to $12 … Continue reading

Posted in 1933, Comics, Hollywood, Libraries, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated +++)

And for Monday, we have a mystery fellow with the latest in gentlemen’s accessories.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 59 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood Studio Club Provides Home For Movie-Struck Girls

The Studio Club in Photoplay, 1917. T he advent of the 20th century offered the possibility of more freedom and opportunity for women. For decades, women had advocated for the right to vote, led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan … Continue reading

Posted in 1916, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: New ‘Evidence’ in George ‘Evil Genius’ Hodel Franchise

Black Dahlia breakthrough! Let us suppose that there was a mathematician. A retired mathematician who once taught at a major university, who published and received tenure, and retired as a well-regarded member of the faculty. Let us further suppose that … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Rocket Builder Steals Truckload of Equipment From Caltech

Aug. 22, 1953: Fred Frank Wildemuth kills his wife because he didn’t want her to catch carbon monoxide poisoning from him. “I, the Jury” in 3-D at the Paramount theaters in Hollywood and downtown. A brilliant — and unidentified — … Continue reading

Posted in 1953, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Music, Suicide | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

LAPD Women Join Marines

Aug. 21, 1943: Two women from the LAPD are joining the Marines: Lucy White, 26, who works in the fingerprinting department, and Margaret Davis, 22, of the record bureau. Judge Benjamin J. Scheinman is leaving the municipal bench to join … Continue reading

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Nightclubs, Stage, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated +++)

And for Monday, a mystery woman…..

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 29 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘War Brides’ Promotes Peace

The killing of Austria’s Franz Ferdinand in 1914 helped kick off the Great War, or what we now know as World War I. Brutal fighting led to maimings and killings on a scale never witnessed before. Great Britain and France … Continue reading

Posted in 1916, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, World War I | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

LAPD Spied on Mayor, Attorney General, Detective Says

Aug. 16, 1983: Former Times reporter Joel Sappell reports on allegations by Detective Michael J. Rothmiller that the LAPD’s Organized Crime Intelligence Division spied on Mayor Tom Bradley, then-Atty.Gen. John Van de Kamp, and other U.S., state, county and local … Continue reading

Posted in 1983, City Hall, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Music, Stage, Television | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Hero Stops Runaway L.A. Streetcar

Aug. 15, 1943: Los Angeles’ long-gone streetcar system has achieved sainthood, but here’s an incident suggesting that in reality, it was less than perfect. (Heresy, I know). Shura Cherkassky performs at the Greek Theatre. Hedda Hopper with her version of … Continue reading

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Music, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Jean Renoir, Orson Welles and the Dim Remembrance of Things Past

Journalists are fond of telling and retelling their favorite war stories. These are raucous tales of daring exploits — usually mixed with strong drink — of great personal heroism, of triumphs on deadline and other various noble achievements, often involving … Continue reading

Posted in 1979, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo — Newsboy Cap Edition XI (Updated +++)

Here we have a cute tyke with … a newsboy cap! How to Wear a Hat — Newsboy Cap Edition How to Wear a Hat — ‘Grapes of Wrath’ Edition Movieland Mystery Photo — Newsboy Cap Edition I Movieland Mystery … Continue reading

Posted in Fashion, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , | 28 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Albert Witzel, Early Glamour Photography Pioneer

Albert Witzel, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Deadwood, S.D.-born Albert Walter Witzel possessed a dead-on knack for capturing the public’s eye with his vibrant, elegant portrait photographs. Witzel became one of the premier portraitists in the teens and early 1920s, influencing … Continue reading

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography, Witzel | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Black Dahlia: Still Waiting for Test Results on Soil From George ‘Evil Genius’ Hodel’s Murder HQ

Feb. 3, 2013: “Soil samples were taken and results are expected next week,” according to Christine Pelisek in the Daily Beast. We’re still waiting.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Rose Parade Encounter Leads to Killing of Arcadia Woman

Aug. 9, 1963: “In Saigon, 400 miles to the south, police geared for trouble as a young, unidentified monk announced plans to burn himself to death in the continuing Buddhist struggle for what they consider their civil rights and religious … Continue reading

Posted in 1963, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Religion, Vietnam | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments