Category Archives: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender

December 4, 1911: Man Arrested for ‘Masquerading in Female Attire’

Posted on December 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 4, 1911: Clarence Westfall, 22, is arrested for masquerading in female attire when the boat from San Diego docks in San Pedro. Continue reading →

Posted in 1908, 1911, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Fashions, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Streetcars | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

October 23, 1947: Hollywood Fashion Designer, Partner Die Within Hours; Family Sues Over Estate of Men With ‘Strange Attachment’

Posted on October 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 23, 1947: Robert and Joseph were close — even in death. They shared a home filled with antiques, their bank accounts and were beneficiaries of each other’s wills. In fact, the families sued over their estates, charging that they were too close and had a “strange attachment.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on October 23, 1947: Hollywood Fashion Designer, Partner Die Within Hours; Family Sues Over Estate of Men With ‘Strange Attachment’

Architectural Rambling: Julian Eltinge Home – 1921

Posted on June 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

A visit to the home of Julian Eltinge, in an encore post from 2011. Continue reading →

Posted in 1921, Architecture, Found on EBay, Interior Design, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Stage | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Architectural Rambling: Julian Eltinge Home – 1921

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Nation’s First Legally Permitted Gay Pride Parade

Posted on June 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory looks at the nation’s first legally permitted Gay Pride parade, June 28, 1970. Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Nation’s First Legally Permitted Gay Pride Parade

November 1947: Women Charged Under 1872 Law for Same-Sex Marriage

Posted on June 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

Thelma and Marieta met in college as roommates and fell in love, living as Mr. and Mrs. David Warren — then FBI agents came calling about possible draft evasion. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on November 1947: Women Charged Under 1872 Law for Same-Sex Marriage

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Drag Comes to Hollywood at B.B.B.’s Cellar

Posted on July 16, 2024 by lmharnisch

Long before Silver Lake’s Black Cat Cafe or the first LBGT parade down Hollywood Boulevard in the 1960s, Hollywood highlighted female impersonators and the gay community in a popular, energetic nightclub called B. B. B.’s Cellar and led by host … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Mary Mallory, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Nation’s First Legally Permitted Gay Pride Parade

Posted on June 5, 2023 by lmharnisch

Crowd gathering to march in the Los Angeles Christopher Street West pride parade. June 28, 1970. On June 28, 1970, Hollywood hosted the nation’s first legally permitted LGBT Parade, helping spark gay pride and the right for equality in California. … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

A Note to Scotty Bowers’ Fans

Posted on August 1, 2020 by lmharnisch

The announcement that an untitled Scotty Bowers project is in the works at Fox Searchlight has generated new interest in a series of posts I did on Bowers’ “Full Service” in 2012.

Posted in 2012, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Book Review: ‘Cary Grant – A Brilliant Disguise’

Posted on July 8, 2020 by lmharnisch

Executive summary: “Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise,” the latest in Scott Eyman’s long series of Class-A Hollywood biographies, opens strong with the last day of the acclaimed actor’s life and quickly declines to a tedious slog in a book more … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Scotty Bowers 1923 – 2019 | Liar to the Stars

Posted on October 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

Scotty Bowers has left the building. Reminder: Everything he said is a lie. An encore post from 2018. Scotty Bowers’ mountain of lies is not the hill I care to die on. But be assured that he has told a … Continue reading →

Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments

‘Cobra Woman’ Is a Man, Autopsy Reveals

Posted on August 19, 2019 by lmharnisch

This is one reason I love the old newspapers. From the April 16, 1946, the Wilmington Daily Press Journal..

Posted in 1946, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Gentlemen, Your Wedding Photos Are Ready After 62 Years, Part 7

Posted on March 27, 2019 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I’m slowly going through a set of photos of the wedding of two men in Philadelphia in 1957. The film was left at a shop to be developed and the store manager refused to … Continue reading →

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Gentlemen, Your Wedding Photos Are Ready After 62 Years, Part 6

Posted on March 19, 2019 by lmharnisch

If you just tuned in, I’m digging into the 1957 photos of a wedding of two men in Philadelphia. The film was left at a photo shop and the manager refused to return the pictures, which were saved by a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Photography | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Gentlemen, Your Wedding Photos Are Ready After 62 Years, Part 5

Posted on March 18, 2019 by lmharnisch

This is the last interior shot accompanying the photos of the 1957 wedding of two men in Philadelphia. Let’s see if we can detect anything that may shed some light on our mystery guests. Previously: Part 1 | Part 2 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Architecture, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Philadelphia, Photography | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Gentlemen, Your Wedding Photos Are Ready After 62 Years, Part 4

Posted on March 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

Here is another interior shot from the film showing the wedding of two men in 1957. This image, alas, doesn’t seem to have as much information. Let’s take a closer look. Previously: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Posted in 1957, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Philadelphia, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Gentlemen, Your Wedding Photos Are Ready After 62 Years, Part 3

Posted on March 13, 2019 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I’m exploring a series of photos taken in 1957 of a wedding between two men. The photo shop refused to return the photos, which were saved by a store employee and sold on EBay … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Philadelphia, Photography | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Gentlemen, Your Wedding Photos Are Ready After 62 Years, Part 2

Posted on March 12, 2019 by lmharnisch

Yesterday, I posted a few photos from 1957 showing a wedding between two unidentified men. Before we get to the event, let’s look at some of the decor to see if we can find any clues. Whoever snapped these pictures … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Art & Artists, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Philadelphia | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Gentlemen, Your Wedding Photos Are Ready After 62 Years

Posted on March 11, 2019 by lmharnisch

Can you identify any of these men? In 1957, film with these images was left to be developed at a photo shop at Broad Street and Allegheny Avenue in North Philadelphia. According to Philadelphia Gay News, the shop manager had … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Philadelphia, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

January 1959: The LAPD’s Pandora Files

Posted on January 23, 2019 by lmharnisch

This was a fun post on Pandora’s (later Pandora’s Box), 8118 Sunset Blvd., that I completely forgot. The material is in the agenda packets of the Police Commission. The club was under the jurisdiction of the LAPD’s Hollywood Division Vice … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Food and Drink, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

1920: Police Raid Party at Ex-Mayor’s Home, Arrest 7 Men in Drag

Posted on December 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Dec. 10,1907 Los Angeles Mayor Arthur C. Harper happens to be in all sorts of trouble. He’s telling the newspapers that he has had enough of politics and won’t seek another term. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1909, 1912, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Downtown, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments