Category Archives: World War II

September 13, 1942: Retired Police Lt. George H. Williams, Badge 1, Dies at 84

Posted on September 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 13, 1942: Retired Lt. George H. Williams,who held LAPD retirement Badge 1, dies at the age of 84. He retired in 1912 after serving with the department for 23 years and was in charge of the detail that brought bodies out of the Times Building after the 1910 bombing. Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Obituaries, World War II | Tagged film, hollywood, lapd, movies, obituaries | Comments Off

1944 in Print — Hollywood Gossip by Louella Parsons, September 12, 1944

Posted on September 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 12, 1944: Through the grapevine, ’tis whispered Capt. Ronald Reagan, who has been in the service since the beginning of the war, may be out the first of the year. He has a wife and child. If this is true, Ronnie will probably resume his movie career in “The Voice of the Turtle,” which is a natural for him, Louella Parsons says. Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Horoscope, World War II | Tagged 1944, comics, Danton Walker, film, hollywood, Louella Parsons, World War II | Comments Off

September 11, 1943: Escaped Soldier Denies Attacking Former Screen Star

Posted on September 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 11, 1943: Pvt. George P. Rimke, who was convicted of “attacking” screen dancer and actress Lina Basquette (d. 1994), escapes from March Field, but surrenders to attorney S.S. Hahn. Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Music, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged #courts, 1943, burlesque, film, Jimmy Dorsey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Comments Off

September 5, 1943: Union Pleads With Streetcar Workers Not to Strike

Posted on September 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 5, 1943: The head of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen pleased with Pacific Electric workers not to strike. Eight to 10 streetcar workers are quitting every day to take better jobs. Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Streetcars, Transportation, World War II | Tagged 1943, film, hollywood, labor, Streetcars, Wallace Beery | Comments Off

1944 in Print — Life Magazine, September 4, 1944

Posted on September 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 4, 1944: Life magazine’s cover story is on Secretary of State Cordell Hull in a portrait by Karsh. Alfred Eisenstaedt celebrates 15 years as a photojournalist, and a photographer snaps photos at Hollywood and Vine. Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Film, Hollywood, Photography, World War II | Tagged 1944, film, hollywood, photography, World War II | Comments Off

September 3, 1943: Los Angeles Tattoo Shops

Posted on September 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 2, 1943: One of my favorite finds from the city archives — a visit to Los Angeles’ tattoo shops. Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Libraries, Photography, World War II | Comments Off

September 3, 1941: Widow Accused of Killing Ft. MacArthur Officer

Posted on September 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 3, 1941: Maj. George Tucker of Ft. MacArthur, stabbed several times in the abdomen, says the knife slipped. His widow (yes, the wounds were fatal) says they had been drinking heavily and she didn’t remember exactly what happened. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged #homicide, #LAPD, 1941, World War II | Comments Off

1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, September 2, 1944

Posted on September 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 2, 1944: Michael Todd has discovered an unpublished score by Victor Herbert and signed Jeannette MacDonald to star in the operetta, Louella Parsons says. Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged 1944, comics, Danton Walker, film, hollywood, Louella Parsons, World War II | Comments Off

September 1, 1947: 1,000 World War II Veterans Now in LAPD Uniforms

Posted on September 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 1, 1947: More than 1,000 new LAPD officers are World War II veterans. “We’re going to have a young and strong Police Department,” Assistant Chief Joe Reed says. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, LAPD, World War II | Tagged 1947, crime and courts, lapd, World War II | Comments Off

September 1, 1941: Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood

Posted on September 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 1, 1941: Tears over MGM’s cancellation of the Maisie series, Jimmie Fidler says. Donoho Hall, technical advisor on “Sergeant York,” says “the problem of the 5 million uneducated hillbillies in the South should be more America’s problem than any foreign missions.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged #Labor Day, #Unions, 1941, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Comments Off

August 29, 1943: Parents Sue Doctor Who Said Baby Girl Was a Boy!

Posted on August 29, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 29, 1943: Dr. John M. Andrews is being sued for $500,000 by Mr. and Mrs. Harry J. Hartwig after delivering a baby and telling the family that it was a boy, whom they named Richard Allen Hartwig — when it was actually a girl. Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Medicine, Streetcars, Transportation, World War II | Tagged 1943, film, hollywood, POWs, Streetcars, World War II | 1 Comment

1944 in Print — Life Magazine, August 28, 1944

Posted on August 28, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 28, 1944: Life magazine’s cover story is on the new fashion craze of pedal pushers. Preston Sturges is probably the most exciting movie director to emerge in the past decade, Life says. Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, Photography, World War II | Tagged 1944, fashion, film, hollywood, Preston Sturges, World War II | Comments Off

1944 in Music — Oscar Levant and Leonard Bernstein at the Hollywood Bowl, August 22, 1944

Posted on August 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 22, 1944: The Times encourages readers to save copies of the paper for reuse in the war effort. Let’s hear it for recycling! Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Streetcars, World War II | Tagged 1944, comics, film, hollywood, Japanese internment, Streetcars, World War II | Comments Off

1944 in Print — Life Magazine, August 21, 1944

Posted on August 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 21, 1944: Life magazine has Alfred Eisenstaedt’s photo essay on European immigrants arriving in America. Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Film, Hollywood, Photography, Politics, World War II | Tagged 1944, film, hollywood, photography, politics, World War II | Comments Off

August 13, 1942: Times Visits African American Troops

Posted on August 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 13, 1942: The Times visits a company of Black soldiers — but the story is one stereotype after another. Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, World War II | Tagged African Americans, Army, World War II | 2 Comments

August 11, 1941: Van Nuys Plane Crash Kills 2

Posted on August 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 11, 1941: Two men are killed when their plane goes into a spin during a flying lesson and crashes into a bean field. Plus Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Lee Shippey, Politics, San Fernando Valley, Transportation, World War II | Tagged #comics, #film, #hollywood, #valley, #wwii | Comments Off

Aug. 8, 1947: Two Years of Peace Haven’t Healed Wounds of World War II

Posted on August 8, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 8, 1947: The L.A. Times runs a photo page of changes since World War II. In Holland, people adopt the graves of men from the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions killed while taking Nijmegen Bridge. And Christian Dior unveils his ‘New Look.’ Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, World War II | Tagged 1947, World War II | Comments Off

1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, Aug. 8, 1944.

Posted on August 8, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 8, 1944: Clark Gable has never looked more handsome than he does with a little gray in his hair. Clark says he’s interested in doing the biopic “Lucky Baldwin,” Louella Parsons says. Horoscope: : Cheerful outlook for ambitious, venturesome Leo. Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged 1944, comics, film, hollywood, Louella, World War II | Comments Off

1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, Aug. 7, 1944

Posted on August 7, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 7, 1944: Gail Patrick says the honeymoon is over now that she has to go back to work on “Brewster’s Millions,” Louella Parsons says. Horoscope for Leo: Some a.m. benefic influences, that’s about all today. Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged 1944, comics, film, hollywood, Louella Parsons, World War II | 2 Comments

1944 in Print — Life Magazine, Aug. 7, 1944