Category Archives: Stage

Matt Weinstock, March 29, 1961

Posted on March 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

      March 29, 1961: Brendan Behan’s play “The Hostage” is opening in Los Angeles and Matt Weinstock has a few lines about the playwright …  The gagged-up menu at the Writers Guild awards dinner included "Great Impasta," "Aspartacus … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Matt Weinstock, Stage | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, March 29, 1961

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on March 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update: Yes, this is Portland Hoffa, the wife of radio comedian Fred Allen. I discovered Allen’s radio shows after his death in 1956 and always wondered about the women named Portland … Continue reading →

Posted in broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography, Stage | 32 Comments

Ex-Columbia Student Blames Drugs for Shooting at Actress

Posted on March 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

            March 23, 1901: The Times has grown to an 18-page paper. One front-page story reports a shooting in the Rathskeller of the Pabst Hotel (d. 1902) at 42nd Street and Broadway in New York, … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1901, Crime and Courts, Fashion, Stage | 1 Comment

Another Good Story Ruined — The Black Dahlia

Posted on March 15, 2011 by lmharnisch

I received a news alert the other day about an upcoming play titled “The Chanteuse and the Devil’s Muse” in which Daniele Watts will portray Mady Comfort, at left, purportedly “Elizabeth Short's best friend.” I honestly don’t know how such … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, books, Coming Attractions, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Stage | 6 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 10, 1941

Posted on March 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

        March 10, 1941: Lee Shippey notes the passing of the Lyceum Theater, formerly the Los Angeles, built in 1888.  Tom Treanor has the story of four visiting opera singers who are so engaged in their discussion … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Stage, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 10, 1941

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, Feb. 22, 1941

Posted on February 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

        Feb. 22, 1941: Los Angeles gets nearly 2 inches of rain in 24 hours, leaving Reseda and Canoga Park virtually cut off because of rising floodwaters, The Times says. Dr. E.H. Pitts of Sacramento writes a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, books, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Stage | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, Feb. 22, 1941

On the Trail of the Keystone Kops

Posted on December 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

            Oct. 25, 1915: Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle … and Mayor Sebastian? The ad for the costume ball is the earliest reference to the “Keystone Kops” that I can find in The Times. However, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Stage | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on August 30, 2010 by lmharnisch

   Los Angeles Times file photo Photograph by George Lacks / Los Angeles Mirror  OK, here’s another picture of our mystery woman. And yes, the photo is from the Mirror files. Update: On the jump, the identity of our mystery … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Mystery Photo, Photography, Stage, Suicide | 6 Comments

L.A. Makes Theater Censor Billboards for Play

Posted on August 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Aug. 3, 1910: Remember that beer is a health drink – like “liquid bread.” On the jump, the manager of the Grand Operahouse is arrested for violating the city’s billboard laws over posters for “Queen of the Highway.” Accompanied … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, LAPD, Stage | Comments Off on L.A. Makes Theater Censor Billboards for Play

The Fight of the Century

Posted on July 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

    July 1-5, 1910: The Times’ Harry Carr writes from Reno: "The 'battle of the century' made me think of nothing so much as the butchery of an old bull. "When, at the end of the 15th round, old … Continue reading →

Posted in Countdown to Watts, Film, Sports, Stage | Comments Off on The Fight of the Century

Pavarotti in ‘La Boheme’

Posted on June 6, 2010 by lmharnisch

    June 6, 1980: With the skill of a surgeon, Martin Bernheimer dissects a performance by operatic sensation Luciano Pavarotti (d. 2007). “He conquered. He came. He sang. In that order,” Bernheimer says. Notice that in return for agreeing … Continue reading →

Posted in #opera, classical music, Stage | 1 Comment

On the Frontiers of Medicine, 1910

Posted on June 6, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Anne Blanche in “Freckles” at the Los Angeles Theater.  June 6, 1910: Exhibit 1 in the argument that the past was not a kinder, simpler time is Abraham Flexner’s book “Medical Education in the United States and Canada.” The Times … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, health, Stage | Comments Off on On the Frontiers of Medicine, 1910

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on June 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

     Los Angeles Times file photo    Update: As most people realized, our mystery guest is Hollywood nightclub owner Earl Carroll, who died in 1948 plane crash. In the above photo, he’s the young fellow with Elbert Hubbard (sorry, folks, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography, Stage | 26 Comments

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, June 2, 1960

Posted on June 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

  June 2, 1960: Paul Coates catches up with former Floradora Girl Evelyn Nesbit, whose millionaire husband, Harry K. Thaw, killed architect Stanford White in a jealous rage during a rooftop performance at Madison Square Garden in June 1906.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Paul Coates, Stage | 1 Comment

Stubborn Handcuffs Keep Prisoners Out of Jail

Posted on May 30, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Look! It’s Julian Eltinge! May 30, 1910: “Babe” McCain, the bouncer at Turner Hall, brings two prisoners to the police station, but they can’t be booked until McCain removes the handcuffs – which proves to be a problem. And … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, LAPD, Stage, Transportation | Comments Off on Stubborn Handcuffs Keep Prisoners Out of Jail

She’s Not Afraid of a Mere Man

Posted on May 27, 2010 by lmharnisch

May 27, 1910: Elizabeth La Rue, a costumer at the Majestic Theater Building, is in the news for grabbing a man who rented one of her costumes and was trying to sell it at a secondhand shop. La Rue took … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, LAPD, Stage | Comments Off on She’s Not Afraid of a Mere Man

Husband, Best Man Fight Over Wife

Posted on May 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

“The Rose of the Rancho” Gringo invasion! May 23, 1910: On the jump, a fight with an ax and brass knuckles ensues after Hugh Wilson of San Diego comes home at 3 a.m. to find his wife in the same … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Stage | Comments Off on Husband, Best Man Fight Over Wife

‘Let Us Commune With the Yogi’

Posted on May 14, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Nellie Nichols and the Four Dancing Bugs at the Orpheum! May 14, 1910: On the jump, the curious case of  Sakharam G. Pandit, a Hindu in Chicago with a “hypnotic eye” who allegedly went too far with women when … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Film, Religion, Stage | Comments Off on ‘Let Us Commune With the Yogi’

Kitty Doner’s Mystery Admirer

Posted on April 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

 Los Angeles Times file photo July 19, 1925: “Lady Be Good” at the Mason. Several people asked whether this fellow with Kitty Doner in “Lady Be Good” might be Bing Crosby. I had the same question, so I thought I’d … Continue reading →

Posted in Mystery Photo, Photography, Stage | Comments Off on Kitty Doner’s Mystery Admirer

Found on EBay – Williams and Walker

Posted on April 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

May 1, 1898: Bert Williams and George Walker share the stage with McIntyre and Heath at the Orpheum. This postcard of George Walker of the Williams and Walker vaudeville team has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $8.

Posted in Stage | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Williams and Walker