Category Archives: Hollywood

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

  Nov. 17, 1954: "Touch Connors has been signed to play a Confederate soldier — and he'll be mighty handsome in that uniform — in 'Five Guns West' with John Lund and Dorothy Malone." Eventually “Touch” Conners became known as … Continue reading

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

  Nov. 16, 1953: Edgar Bergen recalls the time Frank Farrell kidnapped Charlie McCarthy.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Voices – Jules Feiffer

Sept. 12, 1969, “Little Murders” runs for more than six months in Los Angeles. After writing a post about “Little Murders” and the monologues in the play, especially the one by homicide Detective Lt. Miles Practice, I e-mailed playwright and … Continue reading

Posted in art and artists, Film, Hollywood, Stage | Comments Off on Voices – Jules Feiffer

Matt Weinstock, Nov. 14, 1959

       Today Is Forever     Thirty years ago R. Julian Dashwood, a Britisher, found himself broke and hungry in Sydney, Australia.  Standing in a free food line, he determined never to be dependent again on how others mismanaged the … Continue reading

Posted in Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, Nov. 14, 1959

Carl Reiner Explains All About Klutzery

  Braven Dyer writes about the death of W.L. "Pop" Guthrie, a Warner Bros. location manager and USC fan who had adopted the football team in 1926 and had been sitting on the Trojan bench for many years. Guthrie had … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood | Comments Off on Carl Reiner Explains All About Klutzery

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

    Nov. 13, 1950: Ginger Rogers has friends over to watch three hours of dance excerpts from her movies with Fred Astaire.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Movie Star Mystery Photo

Los Angeles Times file photo Update: This week’s mystery star is Jane Frazee, above, in “Kansas City Kitty,” June 19, 1945.  Sept.8, 1985: The Times reports the death of Jane Frazee at the age of 67. Just a reminder on … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | 34 Comments

Reporters Walk Out on Rockefeller

   New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller’s plan for separate news conferences for print and broadcast reporters backfires when the TV and radio crews in Los Angeles walk out on him.   Louie Malle’s New Wave film “Lovers” is just plain … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Richard Nixon, Sports | 3 Comments

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

    Nov. 12, 1949: "I wish Metro would find a good dressmaker for Judy Garland instead of making her rip off those much-needed pounds. What if she is fat? A clever dressmaker can hide the bumps.”

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

   Nov. 11, 1948: Edgar “Slow Burn” Kennedy dies of throat cancer at the Motion Picture Country Hospital. “He had been ill quite a long time and suffered untold agonies,” Hedda Hopper says. 

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

  Nov. 10, 1947: Hal Wallis’ script “Be Still, My Love,” is “too stupid to shoot.”  "Be Still, My Love," from a novel by June Truesdell, was to be about a Southern California college teacher who kills one of her … Continue reading

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Wife Stabs Bob Crosby

Nov. 10, 1959: June Crosby stabs her husband, Bob, with a 10-inch letter opener during a fight. She tells Beverly Hills police that she grabbed the letter opener to fight him off after he pushed her down during a violent … Continue reading

Posted in #courts, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Sports | 1 Comment

Mexico, U.S. Blame Each Other After Border Crackdown Fails

  Lerdo’s Typical Grand Mexican Orchestra and “Eyes of Youth” at Tally’s Kinema at Grand and 7th and “Her Game” at Tally’s Broadway, 833 S. Broadway. Nov. 10, 1919: A plan by American and Mexican authorities to deport 100 to … Continue reading

Posted in #courts, Architecture, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Music | 1 Comment

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

  Nov. 9, 1946: “Claudette Colbert and a dozen other people would like to adopt Natalie Wood, 7-year-old girl who played in ‘Tomorrow Is Forever’ and who goes to 20th for ‘The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.’ ”

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Cops Pose as Beatniks to Catch Drug Suspects

Like, dig the crazy berets on the fuzz, daddy-o! One New York detective even wrote poetry to fit in with the beats! Jack Webb’s cult classic about the newspaper business is about to open.   Los Angeles Times file photo … Continue reading

Posted in Comics, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Sports | 3 Comments

Architectural Rambling – Hollywood

  [googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps/sv?cbp=12,228.65,,0,4.34&cbll=34.099212,-118.341731&v=1&panoid=YAvDmGQwU9jUHJUW_dzSjA&gl=&hl=en” width=”550″>View Larger Map Nov. 9, 1919: Two large homes are being built in Hollywood. But don’t go looking for them. They are long gone. 

Posted in Architecture, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on Architectural Rambling – Hollywood

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

  Nov. 7, 1944: Gracie Allen performs her new work, “Concerto for Index Finger.” Some of Charles Laughton’s recordings of the Bible are too hot to handle or at least they're too hot for Decca.  Yes, you can find the … Continue reading

Posted in classical music, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Religion | Comments Off on A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

   Nov. 6, 1943: “Rene Clair, before deciding as to whether Lily Pons will sing for Nellie Melba in ‘It Happened Tomorrow,’ takes two days off to listen to more would-be Melbas. I'm amazed that Lily Pons would even consider … Continue reading

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Stage | 1 Comment

Movie Star Mystery Photo

Los Angeles Times file photo Update: This is Lili Gentle on Jan. 27, 1956, after a judge approved her contract (she was 16) with Twentieth Century Fox. Jan. 11, 1958: Lili Gentle and Richard Zanuck are getting married. Update: I … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | 22 Comments

Women Will Take Over! The Horror!

  Nov. 6, 1959: Oh, the horror! Men are doing housework! They are changing diapers! And it’s all the fault of women who want careers! They are taking over — and they are shrewder and less moral than men! Or so … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on Women Will Take Over! The Horror!