Category Archives: Hollywood

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on April 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update two: This is Mabel Todd (sometimes spelled Mable in The Times).] [Update: Please congratulate Dewey Webb, Mike Hawks, David Thompson and Eve Golden for identifying our mystery gal! NOTE: If … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 19 Comments

Daily Mirror Readers — The ‘Brain Trust’

Posted on April 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photos         The back of yesterday’s photo. Notice that there’s no publication date. Very annoying!   Here’s why I call the Daily Mirror’s readers “the brain trust.” You may recall … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 2 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 4, 1941

Posted on April 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

        April 4, 1941: Lee Shippey has an item on Leland Stowe, the reporter who was the subject of a Tom Treanor column. Treanor, meanwhile, writes about Arthur Ernest Morgan, the former president of Antioch College and … Continue reading →

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From the Vaults: ‘Fantasia’

Posted on April 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

    For the last few days, the DVD player has been glowering at me. Over two nights, I worked my way through most of “Fantasia” and whenever I went near, it would scold me as if to say “Don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Film, From the Vaults, Hollywood | 3 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 3, 1941

Posted on April 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

        April 3, 1941: Tom Treanor, who died covering World War II for The Times, writes about Leland Stowe, a reporter for the Chicago Daily News who was visiting Los Angeles. Stowe and Treanor had crossed paths … Continue reading →

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 2, 1941

Posted on April 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

        April 2, 1941: Tom Treanor talks to Richard Neutra about a 300-unit housing development he designed for a community outside Dallas.  Betty Grable tells Jimmie Fidler: “Any girl in the Hollywood spotlight is handicapped in the … Continue reading →

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

Paul Coates and Matt Weinstock, April 1, 1961

Posted on April 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

           April 1, 1961: Barbara Mills, a dancer who performed as April Adams and Chondelli, dies after being found in a coma at the Coronet Motel, 5410 Hollywood Blvd. We don’t know much more about her … Continue reading →

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 1, 1941

Posted on April 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

           April 1, 1941: Leroy Keane lives in a 7 by 10 room at 415 Crocker, but has a library of several hundred books, many of them first editions. He acquires them from the drivers of … Continue reading →

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Kennedy Kills Project to Build Atomic Airplane

Posted on April 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

           April 1, 1961: You may not recall the idea of nuclear-powered aircraft, but there was once such an idea.  General Electric, one of the companies involved in the experiment, "challenged President Kennedy's statements that achievement … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, Film, Hollywood, JFK, Transportation | Comments Off on Kennedy Kills Project to Build Atomic Airplane

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 31, 1941

Posted on March 31, 2011 by lmharnisch

        March 31, 1941: Everybody has ideas about making movies – even the window washers, Lee Shippey says. EVER SINCE RETURNING from Europe I have been pestered by one question to which I could give no satisfactory … Continue reading →

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Private Investigator Held in Extortion

Posted on March 31, 2011 by lmharnisch

        Private investigator Charles R. Chase decided to make a little extra money by squeezing an extra $900 out of a teenager who stole $100 from the  drugstore where he worked. The police set a trap and … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1931, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Transportation | Comments Off on Private Investigator Held in Extortion

Matt Weinstock, March 29, 1961

Posted on March 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

      March 29, 1961: Brendan Behan’s play “The Hostage” is opening in Los Angeles and Matt Weinstock has a few lines about the playwright …  The gagged-up menu at the Writers Guild awards dinner included "Great Impasta," "Aspartacus … Continue reading →

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 29, 1941

Posted on March 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

           March 29, 1941: Jan Valtin (Richard Krebs), the author of the controversial book “Out of the Night,” is arrested on charges of being an illegal immigrant. I’m almost 100 pages into “Out of the Night” … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on March 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update: Yes, this is Portland Hoffa, the wife of radio comedian Fred Allen. I discovered Allen’s radio shows after his death in 1956 and always wondered about the women named Portland … Continue reading →

Posted in broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography, Stage | 32 Comments

Paul Coates, March 27, 1961

Posted on March 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

    March 27, 1961: Paul Coates has the story of two students who went on vacation to Mexico and came back with a 12-year-old orphan.   And Mirror reader Jerry Feldner sends a letter about the artistry of bullfighting.

Posted in 1961, Animals, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Immigration, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul Coates, March 27, 1961

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 27, 1941

Posted on March 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

        March 27, 1941: I'm delighted to see that four speakers at a Japanese meeting here declared the Japanese people to be loyal to America. The Rev. Kengo Tajina declared that his son, though born in Japan, … Continue reading →

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 26, 1941

Posted on March 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

           March 26, 1941: Tom Treanor wonders why women in defense plants are only being given office jobs, and he expects that to change before the year is out. Titles of Robert Montgomery's next two pictures … Continue reading →

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 25, 1941

Posted on March 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

           March 25, 1941: Tom Treanor has another column on Jan Valtin’s “Out of the Night,” which I have begun reading, thanks to the Los Angeles Public Library, and I must say that so far the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, books, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, Zombie Reading List | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 25, 1941

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on March 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   Here’s this week’s mystery lady! Nobody identified our weekend mystery guest so I’m going to have to figure out how to proceed. Maybe I can find some more photos of her … Continue reading →

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

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 24, 1941

Posted on March 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

          March 24, 1941: Tom Treanor has an item about a man on crutches leading a blind fellow across the street at 3rd and Grand. Ingrid Bergman is still dazed from the startling discovery, while enjoying … Continue reading →

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