Category Archives: Hollywood

Tip Poff, July 17, 1932

Posted on June 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

July 17, 1932: I’ve been meaning to post some of the Tip Poff  gossip columns that The Times used to run in the movie/drama pages of the 1930s. The Times experimented with the column and by 1939 was calling it … Continue reading →

Posted in 1932, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Courts, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on Tip Poff, July 17, 1932

North American Aviation Strike

Posted on June 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

  June 7, 1941: The strike at the North American Aviation plant, in which Army troops dispersed union activists and took over an essential American defense facility,  is one of the landmark events in Los Angeles history. Because of its … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | 1 Comment

Police Chief on His Way Out

Posted on June 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

           June 6, 1941: Police Chief Arthur Hohmann and Deputy Chief C.B. “Jack” Horrall are about to trade jobs.  Horrall will remain chief through World War II and into the postwar period, finally retiring during the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on June 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update:  Dorothy Ford, one of Earl Carroll's most beautiful girls, swims and rides horseback for relaxation between nightly appearances at the Hollywood Carroll theater, in a photo published Oct. 11, 1941.] … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 42 Comments

Senator Demands Probe of Lewd ‘Soundies’

Posted on June 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

    July 2, 1941: Sam Coslow announces a deal with Mills Novelty Co. to produce 208 "soundies"  and plans to make 20 of them in the next month, directed by Josef Berne. The acts include Gale Page, Martha Tilton, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Film, Hollywood, Music | 4 Comments

June 4, 1941: Burbank Man Invents Death Ray!

Posted on June 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

June 4, 1941: I’ll admit I’m a sucker for stories about death rays. Evidently The Times’ editors were too since they put this item on Page 1. Promoter Kurt Van Zuyle credited L.E. Riley of Burbank as the inventor. It … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1941, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Death Rays, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on June 4, 1941: Burbank Man Invents Death Ray!

Voices: James Arness, 1923 – 2011

Posted on June 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

        James Arness, from “Them!” to “Gunsmoke” and "How the West Was Won." Times TV critic Howard Rosenberg interviewed Arness (or tried to) in 1981 as he began working on “McClain’s Law.” Arness was thrifty with his … Continue reading →

Posted in 1923, 1954, broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Television | 2 Comments

From the Stacks – ‘Facts You Should Know About California’

Posted on June 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

    Since March, when I examined Louis Adamic’s “The Truth About Los Angeles,” I have been hunting the other pamphlets he wrote for E. Haldeman-Julius. A box of a dozen musty tracts arrived Friday, courtesy of EBay, and I … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1927, 1928, books, Crime and Courts, From the Stacks, Hollywood, Zombie Reading List | 3 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, June 2, 1941

Posted on June 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

           June 2, 1941: The pajama-clad body of Hungarian-born danseuse Jenny Dolly, who with her sister Rosie was the toast of two continents two decades ago, was found dangling from a wrought-iron curtain rod in her … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Suicide, Tom Treanor | 1 Comment

Maltese Falcon, 1931

Posted on June 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

        June 1931: Warner Bros. releases “The Maltese Falcon,” starring Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniels. Although the film is little more than an obscure curiosity today, it made a deep impression at the time.  Reviewing the now-famous … Continue reading →

Posted in 1931, boxing, Film, Hollywood | 2 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, June 1, 1941

Posted on June 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

                     June 1, 1941: LONDON, May 31. (AP)– German airmen who went belatedly to Iraq to bolster the Axis-inspired war against Britain were reported fleeing the country tonight as Iraqi resistance … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Music, Tom Treanor, Transportation | 2 Comments

Audie Murphy Dies in Plane Crash, June 1, 1971

Posted on June 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

June 1, 1971: World War II hero Audie Murphy, whose record as the Army’s most decorated soldier launched a movie career, dies in a plane crash with five other people.Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor, two Silver Stars, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries | Comments Off on Audie Murphy Dies in Plane Crash, June 1, 1971

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 31, 1941

Posted on May 31, 2011 by lmharnisch

        May 31, 1941 – Arthur Hohmann, the LAPD’s reform police chief, will step down in June, citing the deaths of his son and his mother. He was replaced by Clemence C.B. “Jack” Horrall, who served as … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 31, 1941

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on May 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update: This is Lisa Eilbacher in a photo published Nov. 24, 1977. Please congratulate JM Green, Cold in Phoenix, Barbara, Mary Mallory and Candy C for identifying her. ]  Here’s our … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 17 Comments

Memorial Day, 1941

Posted on May 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

                        Memorial Day, 1941: “The crowd rose to its feet in acclaim to two troops of Boy Scouts marching along behind their unit banners and the national ensign. “The … Continue reading →

Posted in 1910 L.A. Times bombing, 1941, Cemeteries, Hollywood, World War II | Comments Off on Memorial Day, 1941

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 28, 1941

Posted on May 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

        May 28, 1941: LONDON, May 27 (AP) — The 35,000-ton German battleship Bismarck, one of the newest and most powerful in the world, was smashed and sunk today by British warships and aerial bombers on the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Nuestro Pueblo, Tom Treanor, World War II | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 28, 1941

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 27, 1941

Posted on May 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

             LONDON, May 27 (Tuesday.) (AP) — British warships apparently were engaged in a mighty duel with a German battle squadron, including the 35,000-ton Bismarck, in the North Atlantic early today after a British naval … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, books, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 27, 1941

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on May 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update 2: Yes, I got tricky. There were two Jack Lamberts in the Jack Lambert envelope! [BAD MAN … 1800 style … is popular character actor Jack Lambert, here seen as … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 37 Comments

Coming Attractions: Silent Movies!

Posted on May 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is presenting Summer of Silents, nine selections chosen from movies that were awarded Photoplay magazine’s  Medal of Honor. Except for “The General,” the films will be shown on Monday nights … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood | 2 Comments

Jimmie Fidler, May 26, 1941

Posted on May 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

           May 26, 1941: PITTSBURGH, May 25 (AP) — A man's leg was found along the Ohio River at suburban Moon Township tonight and detectives seeking the remainder of the body said it was probably "another … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler, May 26, 1941