Category Archives: Lee Shippey

Union Pleads With Streetcar Workers Not to Strike

Posted on September 5, 2013 by lmharnisch

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 , , , , , | Leave a comment

N.Y. Bans Night Baseball!

Posted on May 19, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 19, 1942: It’s officially straw hat season in Los Angeles, so men, dump that felt chapeau and get yourself a nice Panama. Lee Shippey writes that the evacuation of the Japanese has forced many (white) Angelenos to get back … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Baseball, Columnists, Comics, Fashion, Lee Shippey, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

L.A.’s Traffic Nightmare Threatens Downtown’s Future! Oct. 28, 1941

Posted on October 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

Oct. 28, 1941: Lee Shippey writes about Los Angeles’ congested streets (no, traffic is not a new problem – it’s a very old one that we are still trying to solve). Notice that Shippey says streetcars and automobiles do not … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Freeways, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Obituaries, Streetcars, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Woman Jailed for Driving Too Slowly

Posted on October 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

Oct. 7, 1941: You’re probably wondering how fast Blanche Roberts was driving. The story doesn’t say anything more specific than “an exceedingly low rate of speed” on the Calabasas Grade. Apparently no one thought to query the reporter — the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Dodgers, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Judge Urges U.S. to Deport Union Leader Harry Bridges

Posted on September 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

  Sept. 30, 1941: A judge recommends the deportation of Harry Bridges, head of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union, a decision that was cheered by The Times. Of course, Bridges was never deported, despite a prolonged campaign to send … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Obituaries, Tom Treanor | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Widow Accused of Killing Ft. MacArthur Officer, Sept. 3, 1941

Posted on September 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 3, 1941: OK, Maj. Tucker,  let me get this straight. You and your wife, Marie, got home from  a party, where both of you had been drinking. She was in the bedroom and you were in the kitchen making … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, Sept. 1, 1941

Posted on September 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 1, 1941: I thought it would be interesting to check in with our friends in 1941, since Pearl Harbor is only three months away. Times editorial cartoonist Bruce Russell’s Labor Day drawing says that it’s unpatriotic to strike in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Location Sleuth: Lasky Mesa

Posted on August 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: “Charge of the Light Brigade,” filmed at Lasky Mesa. James Curtis’ interview with Dick Lane touched on a filming location known as Lasky Mesa. Films shot there include “Rose of the Rancho” 1914, “The Thundering Herd” (1925), “The Charge … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, History, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Location Sleuth, Parks, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Van Nuys Plane Crash Kills 2 – Aug. 11, 1941

Posted on August 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

Aug. 11, 1941: Walter P. Palmer and William S. Raney are killed when their plane goes into a spin during a flying lesson and crashes into a bean field at Woodley Avenue and Oxnard Street in Van Nuys, which is … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Lee Shippey, Politics, San Fernando Valley, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Attorney Storms Office, Seizes D.A.’s Bugging Equipment

Posted on July 15, 2011 by lmharnisch

July 15, 1941: Defense attorney Samuel Rummel (shot to death Dec. 11, 1950) breaks a door and seizes a dictograph wired to a microphone in his office in the William Fox Building, 608 S. Hill. Rummel was defending Deputy Charles … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Cold Cases, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Jimmie Fidler, Lee Shippey, Mickey Cohen, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Day in Hollywood: July 8, 1941

Posted on July 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

July 8, 1941: I thought it would be fun to check in with our old pals, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor and Jimmie Fidler. Lee writes about visiting researchers spending their summers at the Huntington. That’s my idea of a vacation! … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Part 3

Posted on June 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

In March 1943, Disney studios released “The Spirit of ’43,” a cartoon in which Donald Duck is forced to choose between saving his money for “taxes to bury the Axis” (aided by a thrifty proto-Scrooge McDuck)  and spending his paycheck … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Latinos, Lee Shippey, Nightclubs, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

From the Reference Desk

Posted on June 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

My childhood heroes: The Lookies! They don’t guess, they look it up in their new World Book Encyclopedia! Dr. Michele K. Troy of Hillyer College writes: Rob Wagner (Red Ink, White Lies) recommended I contact you with an odd research … Continue reading →

Posted in 1936, Books and Authors, Brain Trust, Columnists, From the Reference Desk, Lee Shippey, Libraries, World War II | 2 Comments

‘Hunchback Killer’ Arrested, June 8, 1941

Posted on June 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

June 8, 1941: For some time, I have been coming across stories about Alfred Horace Wells in going through the 1941 clips — “hunchback killer” is not a nickname that’s easy to forget. But I haven’t done anything on him … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1941, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | 2 Comments

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

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1941, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Death Rays, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Leave a comment

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

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

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 | Leave a comment