Category Archives: Obituaries

Voices: Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, 1914 – 2011

Posted on August 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: LAPD homicide detectives in a gag photo, Christmas 1946. Ed is on the left in the back row. Credit: Ed Jokisch   I received word Saturday that my friend, retired Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, has died at the age … Continue reading →

Posted in 1914, Crime and Courts, Downtown, LAPD, Obituaries, World War II | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

#art, #history, #museums, 8|5|2011

Posted on August 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: A page of Woody Guthrie’s scrapbooks. Credit: Robin Carson, the Woody Guthrie Archive   Eve M. Kahn of the New York Times examines efforts to preserve Woody Guthrie’s fragile, crumbling scrapbooks. The Woody Guthrie Foundation received  an $80,000 grant … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, History, Museums, Obituaries, Preservation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on #art, #history, #museums, 8|5|2011

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on August 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

  Jan. 30, 1937: Leroy Broomfield and Aurora Greeley perform at the Ubangi Club. [Update: This is Aurora Greeley, and if you have never heard of her, you have lots of company.] Here’s a Witzel photo that truly is a … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Dance, Mystery Photo, Nightclubs, Obituaries, Photography, Witzel | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on August 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

[Update: Please congratulate Don Danard for identifying James Bush (d. 1987). Here he is with Joan Wheeler (d. 2001) in “The Merry Frinks.”]  Here’s another mystery photo courtesy of Steven Bibb!

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Obituaries, Photography | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on August 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: 1948 Buick Roadmaster hearse for sale on EBay. Bidding starts at $9,102. Queen of the Dead—dateline August 1, 2011    • Elliott Handler, cofounder of Mattel, died on July 21, age 95. He and Harold Matson (thus the name: … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Books and Authors, Brain Trust, Comics, Eve Golden, Film, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead, Television | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Second Takes – ‘Naked City’

Posted on July 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

March 10, 1948: “Naked City” opens in Los Angeles. Credit: Los Angeles Times Several years ago, when Kim Cooper of the 1947project and I were briefly discussing a book, I did some research on film noir, particularly “Naked City,” the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1948, Film, Hollywood, New York, Obituaries, Photography, Second Takes | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

#film, #history, #museums, 7|26|2011

Posted on July 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: “Dear Friend Hitler.” Tripti Lahiri writes in the Wall Street Journal about “Dear Friend Hitler.” Based on the previews, the movie is “Gandhi” meets “Downfall“  meets “The Sound of Music,” in Hindi with an all-Indian cast. A less charitable … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Crime and Courts, Film, History, Hollywood, Museums, Obituaries | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on July 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: 1940 Ford Siebert hearse converted to a delivery sedan, $49,000 on Hemmings.com   Queen of the Dead—dateline July 25, 2011   • July 22 saw the death of the first Bond Girl, Linda Christian, 87. Her career was pretty … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Brain Trust, Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Music, Nightclubs, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead | 1 Comment

Photos That Make Us Wonder

Posted on July 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

OK, does anyone else wonder about the main picture in the Shalikashvili obituary in The Times?

Posted in Obituaries, Photography | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on July 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: New, horse-drawn hearse for sale on EBay, $9,500. Credit: Justin Carriage Works Queen of the Dead—dateline July 18, 2011   • All the silent movie stars are long-gone, now we are down to memorializing their children. Rex Bell, Jr., … Continue reading →

Posted in Brain Trust, Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Politics, Queen of the Dead, Television | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

#history, #museum 7|17|2011

Posted on July 17, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Mail sent by airplane from the 1912 Aviation Meet at Dominguez Field.  Credit: New York Public Library   7|17|2011DEATHSArdis Butler James, 85, co-founder of the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska. Margalit Fox in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1912, Aviation, Baseball, Books and Authors, History, Museums, Music, Obituaries | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on #history, #museum 7|17|2011

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on July 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

Queen of the Dead—dateline July 11, 2011   • Archduke Otto of Austria, pretender to the throne of the late Austria-Hungary, died on the Fourth of July, at 98. I must admit to a schoolgirl crush on his  . . … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Brain Trust, Eve Golden, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined – Mulholland and the Valley ‘Conspiracy’

Posted on July 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

My L.A. Times colleague Elaine Woo has a first-rate obituary on Catherine Mulholland, author of “William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles.” One reason Mulholland took on the biography was to provide what she viewed as a more balanced … Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, History, Hollywood, Obituaries, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Another Good Story Ruined – Mulholland and the Valley ‘Conspiracy’

Z-Boys Skateboarder Chris Cahill Dies at 54

Posted on July 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

My friend and L.A. Times Daily Mirror partner Keith Thursby has an obituary on Chris Cahill, a member of the Dogtown Z-Boys skateboarders. Keith says: The Z-Boys, originally 11 boys and a girl, were the subject of the 2001 documentary … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Obituaries | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Z-Boys Skateboarder Chris Cahill Dies at 54

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on July 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

Queen of the Dead—dateline July 4, 2011   • Adorable, baby-voiced actress Alice Playten, 63, died on June 25. She was one of those “oh, her!” actresses whose face and voice are more familiar than her name. She did zillions … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead, Stage, Television | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on June 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

Queen of the Dead—dateline June 25, 2011 • Wheelchair-bound actor and male stripper Lee Kemp, 39, died of cancer on April 11. The British actor became a paraplegic after a 1990 motorcycle accident and—against all odds—continued his career, even winning … Continue reading →

Posted in Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead, Religion, Stage | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Quote: Fred Steiner, 1923 – 2011

Posted on June 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

Randy Lewis of The Times has a nice obit on Fred Steiner (1923-2011), who composed the famous theme for the “Perry Mason” show: Steiner said he wanted to create music for Mason, writer Erle Stanley Gardner’s legal-eagle lawyer, that projected … Continue reading →

Posted in 1923, Music, Obituaries, Television | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Quote: Peter Falk’s ‘Columbo’ Should Have Failed

Posted on June 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

Peter Falk, 1927 – 2011 Watching CBS’ new savior, Jeff Sagansky, hold his first press conference this week, I kept wondering whether he’d ever heard William Link, co-creator of “Columbo,” describe the origins of that classic Peter Falk detective show. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1927, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Television | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated +++]

Posted on June 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

Steven Bibb, a member of the Daily Mirror’s Brain Trust, has graciously shared some of his pictures as mystery photos. Thanks Steven! [Update: This is Dorothy Dell in a 1934 photo from “Wharf Angel.” Please congratulate Eve Golden for identifying … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Obituaries, Photography | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

Architectural Rambling – The Van Griffith Estate

Posted on June 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

The Times Sunday Business section featured the former home of Van M. Griffith (d. 1974), the son of Griffith Park donor Colonel Griffith J. Griffith.  (For some reason, the early stories in The Times refer to him as “Dan Griffith” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1925, Architecture, City Hall, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Obituaries, Politics, Real Estate, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments