January 1959: Studio Exec Says They Would Have to Kill Him to Get Wallet – So They Did

Posted on January 5, 2019 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1959

Kenneth Savoy told holdup men “If you want my wallet, you’re going to have to kill me to get it.” So they did. The story of George Albert Scott and Curtis C. Lichtenwalter, who were robbing bars across Los Angeles.

The original post from 2009, via Archive.org.

Posted in 1959, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Video: David Blight on ‘Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom’

Posted on January 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

C-SPAN

I’m late to the party on this book, but I was pleased to run across a Q and A with historian David Blight of Yale on his new biography, “Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom.” The session, with Princeton professor Eddie S. Glaude Jr., is worth your time.

Continue reading →

Posted in 2018, African Americans, Books and Authors, History | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jan. 4, 1959: Grocermat – The Supermarket of Tomorrow!

Posted on January 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

1959_0104_grocermat

I love “futurism” stories like this one, featuring a 7-Eleven for the Jetsons.  In sports, football coach Earl “Curly” Lambeau says the split-T offense is dead. He also thinks college ball should put the goal posts back on the goal line!.

The entire post from 2009 is here via Archive.org.

Posted in 1959, 2009, Futurism, Sports | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Victor Segno: ‘How to Live 100 Years’

Posted on January 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

image

A. Victor Segno is my favorite Los Angeles charlatan. I wrote a feature about him for The Times in 2012..

The entire Daily Mirror post appears on Archive.org.

Posted in 1903, 2009, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Victor Segno: ‘How to Live 100 Years’

Jan. 2, 1945: The Making of ‘The Blue Dahlia’

Posted on January 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

Two Years Before the Mast

Jan. 2, 1945: Paramount promotes “Two Years Before the Mast,” with Alan Ladd, Howard Da Silva and William Bendix, all appearing in “The Blue Dahlia.”  “Two Years Before the Mast” was finished in 1944, but not released until November 1946, disproving John Houseman’s claim that

Alan Ladd – the studio’s top star and the highest-rated male performer in the U.S. — would be entering the Army in three months’ time, leaving behind him not one foot of film for the company to release in his absence.

To be continued.

Posted in 1945, Blue Dahlia, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Jan. 1, 1945: The Making of ‘The Blue Dahlia’

Posted on January 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

image

Jan. 1, 1945: Raymond Chandler writes to Charles Morton, mentioning his original idea for a film. “The Blue Dahlia” would become Chandler’s first original screenplay.

To be continued.

Posted in 1945, Blue Dahlia, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jan. 3, 1959: Russia Winning Space Race! Bulla Leads L.A. Open!

Posted on January 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1959

The Soviets are winning the space race! Moral Re-Armament stages “Turning of the Tide” and “The New American!” French Foreign Legion rifles, only $9.88!  Johnny Bulla leads the L.A. Open!

The entire post from the 2009 Daily Mirror via Archive.org.

Posted in 1959, Film, Sports, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Jan. 3, 1959: Russia Winning Space Race! Bulla Leads L.A. Open!

Jan. 3, 1949: Tom Harmon on the Future of Televised Sports

Posted on January 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 2009

Here’s a nice piece from Keith Thursby, now of ESPN. The complete post from the Daily Mirror, Jan. 3, 2009, is at Archive.org..

Story, Part 1 | Story, Part 2

Posted in 1949, Baseball, Sports, Television | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Jan. 3, 1949: Tom Harmon on the Future of Televised Sports

Jan. 2, 1959: Paul Coates ‘Repeal the Mann Act?’

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 2009

Jan. 2, 1959: Long before Nate Silver launched 538, Paul Coates was skeptical of polls and to prove his point formed his own polling concern: the Los Angeles Survey Institute. His question: “Do you think the Mann Act deters or helps the cause of organized labor — and if you feel it deters, would you vote for its repeal?”

The Mann Act, of course, banned taking a woman across state lines for immoral purposes. Coates found that 12% of respondents realized the Mann Act involved “white slavery.” The rest? Oh dear.

Coates entire column is at Archive.org.

Posted in 1959, 2009, Columnists, Paul Coates | 3 Comments

Jan. 2, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘Reader’s Choice’

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 2009

The old-school newspaper columnists were tough, writing six pieces a week. Six-day-a-week columnists like Matt Weinstock and Paul Coates took it easy by making their Saturday columns a roundup of readers’ letters. In those days, apparently, newspaper columnists received interesting letters. What a concept.  (Jim Murray did the same thing in his first years at The Times)..

Weinstock’s complete column is here at Archive.org.

Posted in 1959, Books and Authors, Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Jan. 2, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘Reader’s Choice’

Jan. 2, 1969: College Student Home on Vacation Killed, Dumped Off Mulholland

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1969

This is another story that I don’t remember at all. The original post is here at Archive.org. The killing of Marina Elizabeth Habe remains unsolved (I see that I garbled her name in the original post).

See also Keith Thursby’s story on the bidding war for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor

Posted in 1969, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Keith Thursby | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Another Fine Mess? Stan Laurel Accused of Planning to Bury Wife in Backyard

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 2009

I have written more than 10,000 posts about L.A. history over the years and I don’t remember many of them. Like this one, which was turned into a “Then and Now” a feature that continued briefly after Cecilia Rasmussen left the paper.

The complete post from Jan. 2, 2009, is at Archive.org.

Posted in 1940, 2009, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Another Fine Mess? Stan Laurel Accused of Planning to Bury Wife in Backyard

Black Dahlia: My Annual Donation in Memory of Elizabeth Short

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

Heading Home

As longtime readers know, I always begin a new year with an annual donation in memory of Elizabeth Short to Heading Home, which works with the homeless in the Boston area.

Partly because of my research on Elizabeth Short, I try to make the issue of homelessness a continuing theme of the Daily Mirror. I donate to an agency in the Boston area because of Elizabeth Short’s connections there, but Los Angeles also has a severe, chronic problem with homelessness and there are many local agencies that welcome donations.  I believe people will find this more meaningful in the long term than, for example, leaving a bottle of liquor and some cigarettes at her grave, especially since Elizabeth Short didn’t smoke and rarely drank.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Jan. 2, 1958: Photographer Edward Weston Dies

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 2008
1958_0102_weston Here’s a blog post I wrote for the Daily Mirror blog in 2008, when it was hosted by the Los Angeles Times. Edward Weston, one of the great photographers of the 20th century, received a one-paragraph obituary in the Los Angeles Times.

Posted in 1958, Obituaries, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

LAPD Crime Statistics for 1957 | Looking Back at ‘Our Lawless City’

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 2008

If you are a longtime reader, you may remember when the Daily Mirror was hosted by the Los Angeles Times. The Times holds the copyright on these items, even though the blog was killed in 2011 (thank you, Jimmy Orr), but I see no problem in linking to the archival versions of the posts.

From Jan. 2, 2008, looking back at the crime statistics for 1957, in “Our Lawless City.”
Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, 2008, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on LAPD Crime Statistics for 1957 | Looking Back at ‘Our Lawless City’

Jan. 1, 1959: Matt Weinstock, ‘Unsung Heroines’

Posted on January 1, 2019 by lmharnisch

Matt Weinstock, 1959

The other joy of doing the Daily Mirror was reintroducing readers to the columns of Matt Weinstock, taken from the Mirror (d. 1962). Weinstock is remembered today for the 1947 book “My L.A.” (I have enough copies, thank you), which inspired an apparently dreadful revue by Larry Gelbart with music by Sammy Fain..

In this column, Weinstock takes a whimsical look at the origins of “The Little Old Lady From Pasadena.”

Weinstock’s complete column is here, via Archive.org.

Posted in 1959, 2009, Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Jan. 1, 1959: Matt Weinstock, ‘Unsung Heroines’

Jan. 1, 1959: Paul Coates, Confidential File ‘Looking Back at ‘58; Looking Ahead to ‘59’

Posted on January 1, 2019 by lmharnisch

Paul Coates, Confidential File

One of my particular joys in doing the Daily Mirror at the Los Angeles Times was rerunning Paul Coates’ columns, which originally appeared in the Mirror (d. 1962). I was particularly fortunate to have several excellent interns who transcribed them. This entire column is available at Archive.org..

The Times killed the Daily Mirror in 2011, but holds the copyright and the posts remain online in a long-neglected subdomain that isn’t linked to the latimes.com website. To avoid link rot, I’ll link to the copies at Archive.org.

Coates’ most memorable story for 1958? Helping to win a reprieve for Remmel Wayne Brice, who was sentenced to die in the gas chamber for killing the owner of a Van Nuys liquor store..

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Jan. 1, 1959: Paul Coates, Confidential File ‘Looking Back at ‘58; Looking Ahead to ‘59’

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — Pisco Punch

Posted on December 31, 2018 by lmharnisch

New York Sun, April 23, 1934

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

Just in time for New Year’s, we’ll take a look at a “lost drink,” making a brief inquiry into San Francisco’s Pisco Punch, made famous by Bank Exchange saloon owner Duncan Nicol (often spelled Nichol or Nicoll), who  died in 1926 without revealing the recipe.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1915, 1934, 1939, Food and Drink, San Francisco | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 31, 2018 by lmharnisch

Jan.5, 2019, Mystery Photo

This week’s mystery movie was the 1956 Columbia picture “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers,” with Hugh Marlowe, Joan Taylor, Donald Curtis, Morris Ankrum, John Zaremba, Tom Browne Henry, Brandon Rhodes and Larry Blake.

Screenplay by Bernard Gordon and George Worthing Yates, screen story by Curt Siodmak, suggested by “Flying Saucers From Outer Space” by Maj. Donald E. Keyhoe. Photography by Fred Jackman Jr., technical effects by Ray Harryhausen, art direction by Paul Palmentola, film editing by Danny D. Landres, set decoration by Sidney Clifford, special effects by Russ Kelley, music conducted by Mischa Bakaleinikoff. Produced by Charles H. Schneer,  executive producer Sam Katzman, directed by Fred F. Sears.

“Earth vs. the Flying Saucers” is available on DVD from TCM.

Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 33 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Mack Sennett’s Rose Parade Gag

Posted on December 31, 2018 by lmharnisch

Sleuths at the Floral Parade
Photo: “The Sleuths at the Floral Parade.” Credit: Mary Mallory, the Collections of the Margaret Herrick Library.

Note: This is an encore post from 2011.

The Tournament of Roses Parade is going on its 122th year, and grows more elaborate and beautiful every year.  Bands, floats, cars, horses, and even celebrities take part in this festive annual event.  This year, Paramount Pictures is even entering a float celebrating its 100th anniversary, honoring “Titanic” and “Wings,” the first feature film awarded the Best Picture Oscar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927/1928.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography | Comments Off on Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Mack Sennett’s Rose Parade Gag