Category Archives: Hollywood

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 25, 1941

           LONDON, MAY 24 (AP) — The 42,100-ton battle cruiser Hood, largest warship in the world, was blown to bits in the waters between Greenland and Iceland today by the new German battleship Bismarck during a … Continue reading →

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 24, 1941

        May 24, 1941: HOLLYWOOD AFTER DARK: The Mocambo orchestra hailing Jimmy Stewart home on leave with "Till Reveille" … Maureen O'Hara at the Beverly Tropics, giving the waiter an involved order in French — and escort … Continue reading →

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Vice President Predicts ‘Long, Costly’ Struggle in Southeast Asia

May 24, 1961: Radio and TV comedy star Joan Davis dies of a heart attack and gets a Page 1 obituary with a jump. Raymond Chandler got an six-paragraph obituary on Page 4.  Davis was 48 when she died.

Posted in 1961, broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Politics, Raymond Chandler, Television | 1 Comment

Jim Murray, May 24, 1961

        May 24, 1961: Donald George Bragg is depressed. In the first place, some young upstart had just broken his listed world record in the pole vault. In the second place, the upstart had done it using … Continue reading →

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Bullet of Mystery – Part 5

In case you just tuned in, I’m posting a small case study of research I did with Caroline Comport on her grandfather Lionel Comport for her master’s thesis. Researching Los Angeles is a treasure hunt, and every time I dig … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1901, Crime and Courts, Film, From the Stacks, health, Hollywood, Pages of History, Zombie Reading List | 3 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 23, 1941

        May 23, 1941: Why is Luise Rainer, a brilliant artist, permitted to twiddle her thumbs at the Beverly Hills Hotel? (She came here to get her final divorce decree.) Why are incompetents given fine dramatic roles … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update 2: This is Ivan Jandl in "The Search." Jandl received a special Academy Award and a miniature statuette for outstanding juvenile performance, The Times said. According to IMDB, Jandl died … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 25 Comments

Found on EBay – Florentine Gardens

This postcard from the Florentine Gardens in Hollywood – rather graphic for the 1940s – has been listed on EBay. These postcards turn up somewhat often, but I have never seen one that was actually mailed. I wonder why! Bidding … Continue reading →

Posted in Found on EBay, Hollywood, Nightclubs, Photography | 1 Comment

Jimmie Fidler, May 21, 1941

           May 21, 1941: Nazi Chute Swarm? And I thought “Nazi Sky Fleet” was silly. Tom Treanor, on a press junket to Venezuela, says: Walter Kerr and myself have a nine-room house with an icebox full … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update 2: This is Brenda Benet and it was particularly sad to be scanning photos of her on Mother’s Day, considering her story. At right, the March 4,  1981, account of … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 55 Comments

Bullet of Mystery — Part 3

In case you just tuned in, I’m posting a small case study of research I did with Caroline Comport on her grandfather Lionel Comport for her master’s thesis. Researching Los Angeles is a treasure hunt, and every time I dig … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1901, Architecture, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Real Estate | Comments Off on Bullet of Mystery — Part 3

Found on EBay – Hollywood Estate

       A postcard showing the Hollywood estate of A.G. Bartlett at 6219 Hollywood Blvd. has been listed on EBay. The home was built about 1901 by Bartlett, the head of a downtown music company. The seven-acre estate, north … Continue reading →

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 20, 1941

           May 20, 1941: International playboy Baldwin M. Baldwin (d. 1970), the son of Anita Baldwin and the grandson of E.J. “Lucky” Baldwin (the despot of Arcadia, according to The Times) gets married for the fifth … Continue reading →

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 19, 1941

           May 19, 1941: Lee Shippey announces his return, thanks the guest columnists who filled in for him and says he doesn’t plan to answer the get-well cards he received, despite the entreaties of his secretary. … Continue reading →

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Bullet of Mystery – Part 1

    Los Angeles history in the 1900s is an acquired taste. Most people limit themselves to  the Raymond Chandler era, the 1930s through the 1950s, as if Philip Marlowe moonlighted as a historian. Perhaps they find the city’s horse-and-buggy … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1901, Animals, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Raymond Chandler | 1 Comment

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 18, 1941

          May 18, 1941: Nazi sky fleet?  Lee Shippey returns for a Sunday column. Tom Treanor says: Americans are here developing Venezuela's oil resources for just one reason. They have the capital and the know-how for … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo – Special Edition [Updated]

    There’s a saying at the Daily Mirror HQ: “Any day I can do research is a good day.” And Tuesday was certainly an excellent day. I spent the morning with Caroline Comport discussing her research project on her … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 15 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 17, 1941

        May 17, 1941: Allen Rivkin fills in for Lee Shippey with a column about problems at the post office in Westwood. Notice that even in the glory days of the streetcars, traffic was still a problem. … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update: STRANGE CASE — Dan Barton plays the central figure in a homicide with an unusual twist in "A Matter of Degree," Goodson-Todman's production in the new "The Web" telefilm series … Continue reading →

Posted in broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography, Television | 10 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 16, 1941

        May 16, 1941: Richard Macaulay, a screenwriter on “The Roaring Twenties” and “They Drive by Night,”  fills in for Lee Shippey, who is still recovering from surgery. Tip Jimmy Stewart that his ol' pal, Franchot Tone, … Continue reading →

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