Category Archives: Television

Coming Attractions: L.A. Voices by James Curtis

Posted on July 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Dick Lane and Helen Wallace in “Sioux City Sue,” 1946. Coming up Wednesday: Biographer James Curtis shares his interviews in L.A. Voices, beginning with Part 1 of a 1975 Q&A with actor Dick Lane.

Posted in 1946, Books and Authors, Brain Trust, Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood, Television | 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

Wanted: Mickey Cohen on Tape

Posted on July 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

I have received an unusual request regarding a film now in production. The folks are looking for the famous/notorious TV interview that Mike Wallace did with Mickey Cohen in 1957. Clips from the interview are on the DVD with Wallace’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Brain Trust, Film, From the Reference Desk, Mickey Cohen, Television | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Uncle Jed – Outsider Artist

Posted on July 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

In addition to his many other accomplishments (ever see him dance in “Broadway Melody of 1936?”) the late Buddy “Uncle Jed” Ebsen was an outsider artist. An untitled self-portrait in his “Uncle Jed Country Series” has been listed on EBay. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Film, Found on EBay, Television | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

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

#Hollywood #history #museums

Posted on July 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

DEARBORN, Mich. The Arab American National Museum is opening an exhibit focusing on the generation of children who are growing since the 9/11 attacks. The project, “In the Heart of Arab America,” was sponsored by the Asian American Journalists Assn. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Film, Hollywood, Museums, Religion, Television | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on #Hollywood #history #museums

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

Voices: James Arness, 1923 – 2011

Posted on June 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

        James Arness, from “Them!” to “Gunsmoke” and "How the West Was Won." Times TV critic Howard Rosenberg interviewed Arness (or tried to) in 1981 as he began working on “McClain’s Law.” Arness was thrifty with his … Continue reading →

Posted in 1923, 1954, broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Television | 2 Comments

Vice President Predicts ‘Long, Costly’ Struggle in Southeast Asia

Posted on May 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

May 24, 1961: Radio and TV comedy star Joan Davis dies of a heart attack and gets a Page 1 obituary with a jump. Raymond Chandler got an six-paragraph obituary on Page 4.  Davis was 48 when she died.

Posted in 1961, broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Politics, Raymond Chandler, Television | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on May 17, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update: STRANGE CASE — Dan Barton plays the central figure in a homicide with an unusual twist in "A Matter of Degree," Goodson-Todman's production in the new "The Web" telefilm series … Continue reading →

Posted in broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography, Television | 10 Comments

Jim Murray, April 14, 1961

Posted on April 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

            April 14, 1961: The arrival of major league baseball in Los Angeles has curtailed network TV's games of the week, so that sports announcer Dizzy Dean is off the local airwaves, which may be … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, art and artists, broadcasting, Columnists, Comics, Sports, Television | Comments Off on Jim Murray, April 14, 1961

Paul Coates, April 4, 1961

Posted on April 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

    April 4, 1961: Paul Coates has an update on the Watts Towers. On the jump, Al Capp writes about Jim Hagerty, President Eisenhower's former press secretary, who is heading ABC's news operations. One goal is to cut 90 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, art and artists, broadcasting, Columnists, Paul Coates, Television | Comments Off on Paul Coates, April 4, 1961

Paul Coates, March 23, 1961

Posted on March 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

    March 23, 1961: Desi Arnaz, ABC and the National Italian American League to Combat Defamationreach an agreement that fictional characters in “The Untouchables” will not have Italian names. Arnaz also agrees to show the contributions of Italian Americans … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, broadcasting, Columnists, Paul Coates, Television | Comments Off on Paul Coates, March 23, 1961

Jim Murray, Feb. 27, March 14, 1961

Posted on March 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

            Feb. 27, 1961: Jim Murray takes his wife and two other women to see boxing at the Olympic. One question: The best way to wash blood out of boxers’ trunks. Murray writes a nice … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, broadcasting, Columnists, Film, Sports, Television | 1 Comment

In Walter (Cronkite) We Trust, March 14, 1981

Posted on March 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

             March 14, 1981: Howard Rosenberg, The Times Pulitzer Prize-winning TV critic, watches Dan Rather’s debut in taking over from Walter Cronkite on the “CBS Evening News” and he is not a happy man. Art … Continue reading →

Posted in 1981, @news, art and artists, Art Seidenbaum, Blues, broadcasting, Columnists, Comics, Howard Rosenberg, Television, Walter Cronkite | 2 Comments

Confessions of a Story Editor, March 6, 1981

Posted on March 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

            March 6, 1981:  Pulitzer Prize-winning TV columnist Howard Rosenberg talks to a story editor about lining up people for a canceled show called "That's My Line." Z (Rosenberg's source) was one of six story … Continue reading →

Posted in 1981, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Television | Comments Off on Confessions of a Story Editor, March 6, 1981

Jim Murray, Feb. 19, March 5, 1961

Posted on March 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

            Feb. 19, 1961: Baseball fans are over-conservative, Jim Murray says, so they don't like Phil Wrigley's idea of using eight coaches and a computer to manage the Cubs.  March 5, 1961: Jim Murray writes … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, broadcasting, Columnists, Sports, Television | Comments Off on Jim Murray, Feb. 19, March 5, 1961

Paul Coates, Feb. 28, 1961

Posted on February 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

        Feb. 28, 1961: Arthur Godfrey announces that he’s leaving TV’s “Candid Camera” and Paul Coates takes the opportunity to say he can’t understand Godfrey’s appeal. Notice: This KNX ad actually ran Feb. 27 but I wanted … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Television | 6 Comments

What Next for Richard Chamberlain After ‘Shogun?’

Posted on February 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

            Feb. 24, 1981: Young persons…. There was once a sensationally popular TV miniseries called “Shogun,” based on James Clavell’s novel set in feudal Japan, that aired in September 1980 and starred Richard Chamberlain, the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1981, books, Film, Hollywood, Roderick Mann, Television | 1 Comment