Category Archives: Music

Jan. 6, 1947: Artist Dies While Hanging From Ceiling to Ease Spinal Pain

Posted on January 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. Jan. 6, 1947: Charles Clyde Atchison, 66, a sculptor and stone mason, had back problems—at least that’s what he told his sister Leona of 1110 W. 30th St. … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Mary Lou Williams ‘Waltz Boogie’

Posted on January 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

“Leon Wheaton of 1011 E. 43rd Place, Los Angeles, one of the latest local victims of police brutality,” in a photo published Jan. 2, 1947, in the Los Angeles Sentinel.  Unfortunately, there is no further information in the Sentinel about … Continue reading →

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Jan. 3, 1947: Actress Helen Walker Hurt in Crash That Kills Soldier, Injures 2 Others

Posted on January 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

Yes, this is the Jan. 2, 1947, comics page, which pops up for Jan. 3, 1947. Note: This is a post that I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. This is one of those days where there’s too much to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, Music, Transportation, Vietnam | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: The Harvey Wallbanger

Posted on December 27, 2017 by lmharnisch

A vintage 1972 iron-on transfer of Harvey Wallbanger himself, on EBay for $12. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. We have been looking at some historic drinks for this holiday season. To the millennials in the audience: This … Continue reading →

Posted in 1971, Food and Drink, Music | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Posted on December 25, 2017 by lmharnisch

Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale in “Holiday Inn.” Note: This is an encore post from 2015. Recognized today as one of the top selling singles and pieces of sheet music of all time, Irving Berlin’s “White … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Organist C. Sharp Minor, Major Talent

Posted on October 30, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Music was an integral part of silent films, giving emotional texture or humorous voice to the films’ precious images. Different types of music and musicians accompanied them: orchestras, bands, photoplayers, pianists and … Continue reading →

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L.A. Philharmonic Opens Season — Glitter and Be Gay, but With Mozart

Posted on September 27, 2017 by lmharnisch

The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s opening night program with a souvenir bit of golden film, one of thousands of pieces showered on the audience at the end of the performance. Tuesday’s opening night of the Los Angeles Philharmonic 2017-18 season concluded … Continue reading →

Posted in 2017, Music | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘I’m the Guy’ – Rube Goldberg as Comic Performer

Posted on July 3, 2017 by lmharnisch

  The cover of “I’m the Guy” as a refrigerator magnet, available on EBay for $4.99. Long before newspaper humorists like Erma Bombeck and Dave Barry came on the scene, there was Rube L. Goldberg, Renaissance Man of entertainment. Cartoonist, … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Nigel De Brulier — Soothsayer From the East?

Posted on June 5, 2017 by lmharnisch

Nigel de Brulier, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2014 For decades, Hollywood typed actors for their looks, personality, temperament, a shorthand telling audiences what they could expect whenever the actor appeared. Some personalities like … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

RIP: Dave Pell, Jazz Musician 1925 – 2017

Posted on May 8, 2017 by lmharnisch

Veteran jazz musician and record producer Dave Pell has died at the age of 92, according to his Facebook page. Here are excerpts of an interview I did in 2007. (The full interview is at latimes.com.) Dave Pell on Lenny … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, 2017, Mickey Cohen, Music, Nightclubs, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Eve Golden’s YouTube Theater: Some People . . .

Posted on February 21, 2017 by lmharnisch

Ethel Merman in Gypsy on the cover of Playbill. So Barbra Streisand is still talking about playing Mama Rose in Gypsy. Now, I love Babs, but she is 74, and when Dainty June and Rose Louise went into vaudeville in … Continue reading →

Posted in Eve Golden, Music, Stage | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Musical-Political Theater by the Tucson Symphony in the Time of Trump

Posted on January 21, 2017 by lmharnisch

Tucson Symphony Orchestra guest conductor Markus Huber. Photo by René Achenbach. Note: This has nothing to do with Los Angeles or with history – except perhaps my own history as onetime classical music critic of the Arizona Daily Star. Feel … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Eve Golden’s Radio Theater: Rich Conaty’s ‘Big Broadcast’

Posted on January 3, 2017 by lmharnisch

Photos of Rich Conaty courtesy of WFUV.     I am hijacking the usual YouTube Theater for a tribute to Rich Conaty, who hosted The Big Broadcast radio show—playing hits of the 1920s and ’30s—since 1973. He died of cancer … Continue reading →

Posted in Eve Golden, Music, Radio | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘I’m Just Wild About Animal Crackers’ Heats Up Promotions

Posted on October 3, 2016 by lmharnisch

The sheet music for “I’m Just Wild About Animal Crackers,” courtesy of Mary Mallory. Popular culture, be it music, the written word, or mass entertainment, so often unintentionally defines a time and place in history, revealing so much about a … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

L.A. Celebrates Fourth of July With Cricket Match, Bagpipe Contest

Posted on July 4, 2016 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post from 2007. July 4, 1907 Los Angeles And how does Los Angeles celebrate Independence Day? With cricket matches and bagpipe contests.  

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Fashions, LAPD, Music, Parks, Streetcars | Comments Off on L.A. Celebrates Fourth of July With Cricket Match, Bagpipe Contest

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Take Your Girlie to the Movies’ Promotes Film and Romance

Posted on March 7, 2016 by lmharnisch

   “Take Your Girlie to the Movies,” as recorded by Billy Murray, 1919. Popular songs often speak to issues of the period in which they are written, providing commentary on political, social, and cultural issues. Most of the songs in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1919, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: The Harvey Wallbanger

Posted on December 28, 2015 by lmharnisch

A vintage 1972 iron-on transfer of Harvey Wallbanger himself, on EBay for $12. Note: This is a repost from 2013. We have been looking at some historic drinks for this holiday season. To the millennials in the audience: This is … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Posted on December 21, 2015 by lmharnisch

Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale in “Holiday Inn.” Recognized today as one of the top selling singles and pieces of sheet music of all time, Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” was just one of eleven songs in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 4269 Lankershim Blvd: Evolution of an Address

Posted on July 27, 2015 by lmharnisch

Club Indigo matchbook courtesy of Mary Mallory. While some proprietorships remain in business for decades at one address, most often, occupancy at the site frequently changes due to economic and cultural cycles. Following owners usually continue in the same vein … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music, Nightclubs, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: ‘Black Dahlia’ Composer Bob Belden Dies at 58

Posted on May 21, 2015 by lmharnisch

Adam Parker of the Post and Courier is reporting the death of composer Bob Belden, who wrote the orchestral suite “Black Dahlia,” which was released on CD in 2001. If you’re not familiar with the suite, here’s a selection. I … Continue reading →

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