Category Archives: Obituaries

Eric Malnic

Posted on July 28, 2010 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Rick Meyer / Los Angeles Times Among Eric Malnic’s many accomplishments at The Times was becoming a specialist on airplane crashes and he was proud of getting a pilot’s license as part of the beat. Former Times city … Continue reading →

Posted in Obituaries | 5 Comments

Voices — Edith Shain and ‘The Kiss’

Posted on June 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Photograph by Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times   Celebrating the V-J Day Kiss Seen 'Round the World * The 60th anniversary of the end of World War II focuses new attention on the joyful smooch between two exuberant … Continue reading →

Posted in Obituaries, Photography | 5 Comments

Voices — Jerry Clark, 1940 – 2010

Posted on June 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

   KTLA’s Stan Chambers, left, Times reporter Nieson Himmel, center, and Jerry Clark.   Note: Jerry Clark, who died Tuesday, was a longtime newsman who ran an informal group of retirees called the “Old Farts of The Times” (or in … Continue reading →

Posted in Obituaries | 2 Comments

Pomona Boys Die in Crash of Stolen Plane

Posted on June 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

  June 3, 1960: James A. McDonald, 14, and his 12-year-old brother, Thomas, of Pomona took their dog and ran away from home, determined to steal a plane – destination unknown. Several months before, someone had caught them hot-wiring a … Continue reading →

Posted in Obituaries, Transportation | 2 Comments

William A. Fraker, 1923 – 2010

Posted on June 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

William A. Fraker In my two-story career as a freelancer for American Cinematographer, I interviewed the late William Fraker on location in Florence, Ariz., for the 1985 James Garner-Sally Field movie "Murphy's Romance," directed by Martin Ritt. For my previous … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Photography | 1 Comment

Fantasia!

Posted on June 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

  June 2, 1980: Yes, young persons, “Fantasia” came back in 1980 as a “head film” (note the smoke and mushrooms).  In 1982, in an attempt to improve the audio quality, Disney had a pickup orchestra and conductor/composer Irwin “Chitty … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, classical music, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries | 1 Comment

Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and ‘Easy Rider’

Posted on May 29, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Aug. 10, 1969: Charles Champlin on “Easy Rider.” "Fonda and Hopper, it should by this time go without saying, give immense performances: Hopper as the more traditional 'Hey, man' Rider impatient, self-indulgent, fearful of anything that looks like … Continue reading →

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Voices, Gary Coleman, 1968 – 2010

Posted on May 28, 2010 by lmharnisch

  “Diff’rent Strokes” premieres, Nov. 3, 1978 March 2, 1979: "It's always the same. Three minutes. And me and George Carlin was just gettin' into it," Gary Coleman tells Howard Rosenberg about an appearance on "The Tonight Show With Johnny … Continue reading →

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Aly Khan Killed in Car Crash

Posted on May 13, 2010 by lmharnisch

  May 13, 1960: Prince Aly Khan, former husband of Rita Hayworth, is killed when his Lancia sports car crashes into a Simca at Suresnes, France. Khan, who was driving, was accompanied by French model Bettina (Simone Bodin), who suffered … Continue reading →

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Voices – Lena Horne, 1917 – 2010

Posted on May 10, 2010 by lmharnisch

  June 13, 1968: Lena Horne discusses her return to Hollywood after 12 years for “Patch,” which was apparently released as “Death of a Gunfighter.” "I left because I got sick and tired of being a Negro woman leaning against … Continue reading →

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British Commandos Rescue Embassy Hostages

Posted on May 6, 2010 by lmharnisch

  May 6, 1980: Times Pulitzer Prize winner William Tuohy writes that British commandos stormed the Iranian Embassy in London, freeing 19 hostages, killing three terrorists and capturing two others. The attack was ordered after the terrorists, opponents of the … Continue reading →

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Lynn Redgrave and ‘House Calls’

Posted on May 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Sept. 20, 1981: Universal Studios says Lynn Redgrave left “House Calls” over her salary “demands,” The Times says. A transcript of a phone call between her husband/manager John Clark and Universal’s Pete Terranova tells a different story.

Posted in broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries | 1 Comment

Alfred Hitchcock Dies

Posted on April 29, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 29, 1980: Director Sir Alfred Hitchcock dies in his Bel-Air home at the age of 80. On the jump, former Watergate prosecutor Leon Jaworski calls Ronald Reagan an "extremist" and backs George Bush as the Republican candidate for … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, April 25, 1960

Posted on April 25, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Heartsick Mother's Problem One Which Has No Solution       Steve's mother knows she did wrong.  But she wonders, under the circumstances, what would have been right.       "I don't know," she told me from behind her handkerchief, … Continue reading →

Posted in Caryl Chessman, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Music, Obituaries, Paul Coates | 3 Comments

World Mourns Mark Twain

Posted on April 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 23, 1910: “Several of his neighbors who stood close to him in life were permitted today to view the body. Mr. Clemens did much of his work in bed, and in death he still seemed a part of … Continue reading →

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Mark Twain, 1835 – 1910

Posted on April 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 22, 1910:  Samuel Langhorne Clemens “recognized his daughter Clara (Mrs. Ossip Gabrilowitsch), spoke a rational word or two and feeling himself unequal to conversation, wrote out in pencil: “ ‘Give me my glasses.’   “These were his last words. … Continue reading →

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Mark Twain Near Death

Posted on April 20, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 20, 1910: Samuel Clemens "has been perfectly conscious and in possession of all his faculties throughout his illness and, weak though he is, frequent flashes of the characteristic wit that made him a unique figure when in health, … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, books, LAPD, Obituaries | Comments Off on Mark Twain Near Death

Daryl Gates in His Own Words

Posted on April 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

Photograph by R.L. Oliver / Los Angeles Times March 29, 1978: Sima Gates checks the new badge of her husband, Daryl F. Gates, after he was sworn in as the city's 49th chief of police during ceremonies at the Police … Continue reading →

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Union Officer Recalls Lowering U.S. Flag at Ft. Sumter

Posted on April 13, 2010 by lmharnisch

April 13, 1910: The Times marks the [Update: 49th — I think a 100-year-old correction is some sort of record] 50th anniversary of the firing on Ft. Sumter by interviewing an officer who was there, Lt. Col. W.H. Hamner, a … Continue reading →

Posted in @news, Obituaries | 1 Comment

Mystery Photo

Posted on April 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

   Los Angeles Times file photo Update: This is vaudeville star Kitty Doner in a 1925 publicity photo. Doner died Aug. 26, 1988, in Los Angeles at the age of 92.  Dec. 23, 1925: Kitty Doner appears as a man … Continue reading →

Posted in Mystery Photo, Obituaries, Photography | 24 Comments