Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Dec. 1, 2018, Mystery Movie
This week’s mystery movie was the 1955 Warner Bros. picture “I Died a Thousand Times,” with Jack Palance, Shelley Winters, Lori Nelson, Lee Marvin, Gonzalez Gonzalez, Lon Chaney, Earl Holliman, Perry Lopez, Richard Davalos, Howard St. John, Olive Carey, Ralph Moody, James Millican and Bill Kennedy. In CinemaScope and WarnerColor.

Written by W.R. Burnett (“High Sierra”), photographed by Ted McCord, art direction by Edward Carrere, set decoration by William L. Kuehl, wardrobe by Moss Mabry. Second unit director Russ Saunders, second unit assistant Al Alleborn, second unit photographer Edwin DuPar, dialogue supervisor Eugene Busch, makeup supervisor Gordon Bau, orchestrations by Maurice de Packh and Gus Levene, assistant director Chuck Hansen, music by David Buttolph, produced by Willis Goldbeck and directed by Stuart Heisler.

“I Died a Thousand Times” is available on DVD from Warner Archive.

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 52 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Actor Jack Donovan Designs Bungalow Courts for Hollywood Artistes

Posted on November 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Jack Donovan

Jack Donovan on the porch of his home, “Picture-Play Magazine,” April 1923..


From its beginnings, the Hollywood film industry has constructed elaborate sets and facades before demolishing them to build something else, such as David O. Selznick burning down old sets and gates still standing from the 1932 film “King Kong” to create the massive conflagration for his 1939 epic “Gone With the Wind.” Most studios just pulled down the unneeded materials and threw them away, while sometimes selling off odd pieces of sculpture or paintings they no longer required or wanted.

One of the first to find value in the old bric-a-brac and leftover props and set pieces was bon vivant and jack of all trades, handsome Jack Donovan, young Irish American actor and man about town. Following green principles and practicing “reduce, reuse, and recycle” long before it became a necessity, go-getter Donovan bought unwanted old movie sets and props from small independent studios or bankrupt companies that he combined to create architecturally diverse bungalettes for Hollywood types looking for quaint and attractive homes in which to live. In a way, the driven young man could be called one of the first Hollywood home flippers.

Mary Mallory’s latest book, “Living With Grace: Life Lessons From America’s Princess,”  is now on sale.

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Nov. 25, 1947: House Indicts the ‘Hollywood 10’ for Contempt

Posted on November 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

Nov. 25, 1947, L.A. Times

L.A. Times, Nov. 25, 1947

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

One Republican, Claude I. Bakewell of Missouri; Vito Marcantonio of the American Labor Party; and 15 Democrats voted against this measure: John Blatnik of Minnesota; Sol Bloom of New York; John A. Carroll of Colorado; Emmanuel Celler of New York; Helen Gahagan Douglas of California; Herman Eberharter of Pennsylvania; Franck Havenner of California; Chet Holifield of California; Walter Huber of Ohio; Frank Karsten of Missouri; Arthur G. Klein of New York; Thomas Ellsworth Morgan of Pennsylvania; Joseph Lawrence Pfeifer of New York; Adam Clayton Powell of New York; and George Gregory Sadowski of Michigan.

 

Quote of the day: “Pretty please.”

What Minnie Chapman refused to say to her husband, George, while they were drinking—so he shot her to death. Chapman was sentenced to Pennsylvania’s electric chair in the “Pretty Please Murder.”

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Nov. 24, 1907: Roving to Monrovia

Posted on November 25, 2018 by lmharnisch


Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

Nov. 24, 1907
Monrovia

The Times real estate section takes a look at what was then the distant suburb of Monrovia, 22 miles from downtown Los Angeles. The writer notes the increasing use of concrete and stone, explaining that the cost of lumber is forcing builders to use other materials. The writer also notes the broad, shaded verandas of three featured homes as well as the outlines of their roofs.

The story highlights the home of B.R. Davisson on East Orange Avenue, H.M. Slemmons (or Slemon) on North Myrtle Avenue and the home of John C. Rupp at Ivy and Greystone, built for $6,500 ($133,403.21 USD 2005).

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Posted in 1907, 1908, 1911, Architecture, Downtown, Education, Film, Freeways, Hollywood, Real Estate | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Nov. 24, 1947: Airline Passenger Dies En Route to L.A.; Shabby Drug Runner Carried a Fortune in Heroin

Posted on November 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947

L.A. Times, 1947

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

He was a shabby little man of 44 when he died with $111 in his pockets and a suitcase full of mystery and drugs. Although some people die without a name, the 145-pound man died with several: Ralph Mazy, Ralph Masey, Ralph Macri and Rapeal Mazy.

During the war, Ralph worked at Todd Shipbuilding Corp. in Brooklyn, N.Y., but had a prison record as a drug dealer going back to the 1920s. He died on a United Air Lines flight somewhere between Denver and Los Angeles, where his body was taken off the plane. A mortician from nearby Hawthorne, Jordan E. Dunaway, went through Ralph’s unlocked suitcase and found 2 pounds of pure heroin with a value estimated at $500,000 to $3 million ($4,732,092.98 to $28,392,557.91 USD 2005).

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Nov. 23, 1947: ‘Lonesome’ Woman Sought Threesomes and Husband, Ex-Wife Says

Posted on November 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

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L.A. Times, 1947

Kitty Higgins in all its uproarious humor.

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L.A. Times, 1947Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

This was rather a racy edition of The Times, especially for a Sunday paper. Next to the Kertz’s saga, the news editor placed an advance on a martial relations course at UCLA (sample lectures: “Love and Conduct in a Changing World,” “Sex Problems of Youth”). And the front page featured the story of a ballet dancer with the Ballet Russe who lost part of her costume during “Scheherazade.” Pretty ribald for a family paper in the 1940s.

Unfortunately, The Times never followed up on this story, so the suit between the Kertzs remains lost to history.

Bonus factoid: Is there anything more annoying than the comic strip “Nancy”? Yes, it’s what seems to be low-rent knockoff of “Nancy” called “Kitty Higgins” with none of the Bushmilleresque touches. Interestingly enough, “Kitty Higgins” began in 1932 while “Nancy” debuted in 1933. Hm.

Here, by the way, is an index to the complete comics of the Los Angeles Times.

Quote of the day: “But after martinis—which are to martinis in Paris what the ideal circle is to circles drawn on a blackboard—the meal is delicious.”
Simone De Beauvoir, “America Day by Day,” on lunch at Lucey’s restaurant, 5444 Melrose Ave., Feb. 27, 1947.

Posted in 1947, Chicago, Comics, Crime and Courts, Food and Drink | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Nov. 23, 1907: Baby Murdered With Ax, Half-Eaten by Pigs in Garbage Heap

Posted on November 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

Nov. 23, 1907
South Pasadena

Warning: This is a grotesque, tragic story with graphic details.

Pasadena Detective Wallace H. Copping is investigating the murder of a young baby boy, whose half-eaten body was found in a pigpen on the Berry ranch in South Pasadena.

Authorities say the boy, weighing about 14 pounds and less than 10 days old (yes, quite a large baby by today’s standards), was discovered by Mrs. J.H. Anderson, whose husband leases the ranch. Apparently Mr. Anderson picked up the baby’s body as he made the rounds of about 20 homes gathering garbage to feed his pigs.

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L.A. Celebrates a Wartime Thanksgiving, 1943

Posted on November 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

Nv. 26, 1943, Thanksgiving
Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

A wartime Thanksgiving in Los Angeles, with many service personnel welcomed into people’s homes for a holiday meal.

The Times published cooking tips for war workers, advising cooks who were otherwise engaged “for the duration” to use prepared mixes, packaged pie crust and canned pumpkin to cut preparation time.

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An 1890s Thanksgiving in the Kitchen

Posted on November 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

Everyday Cook-Book

Note: This is an encore post from 2011.

Here’s a traditional roast turkey recipe from the “Every-Day Cook-Book and Family Compendium,” written about 1890 by Miss E. Neill. Be sure your fire is bright and clear and watch out for the gall-bag.
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Roosevelt Declares Early Thanksgiving

Posted on November 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

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Nov. 9, 1941, Thanksgiving
Note: This is an encore post from 2011.

Nov. 9, 1941: Amid the gathering clouds of World War II, President Roosevelt declares what will be the last peacetime Thanksgiving.

Noting American aid to nations fighting the Axis, Roosevelt says: “Let us ask the divine blessing of our decision and determination to protect our way of life against the forces of evil and slavery which seek in these days to encompass us.”

It is also the last time the nation will celebrate an early Thanksgiving. Roosevelt tried extending the pre-Christmas shopping season by making the holiday one week earlier, but merchants didn’t report any improvement in business.

On the jump:

— A teary Josephine Trout, a 19-year-old unwed mother, is reunited with her month-old daughter, Camellia Ann, after abandoning her in a downtown hotel two weeks earlier. After the brief reunion, Trout was taken back to jail on charges of child abandonment.

— Msgr. Bernhard Lichtenberg, dean of St. Hedwig’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Berlin, is arrested by the Gestapo. His crime: praying for the Jews. He died in prison in 1943.

— “Hot Spot,” with former mystery photo subject Laird Cregar, is opening at Grauman’s Chinese and Loew’s State.

— Not one Hollywood star in 10 can act, if judged by the old standards of the legitimate stage, but acting isn’t necessary, for behind the players stand capable directors to interpret their scenes and  opulent studios ready to laugh off the filming of 20 or 30 “dud takes” in order to get one that’s OK, Jimmie Fidler says.

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Posted in 1941, Columnists, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Religion, World War II | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Roosevelt Declares Early Thanksgiving

Nov. 22, 1947: Wiretapping System Found in State Building

Posted on November 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947

L.A. Times, 1947

Note: This is an encore post and originally appeared on the 1947project.

Such are the threads of research, tangled by time and coincidence:

The gateway is a Page 1 story about extensive wiretapping at the state office building, with lines leading to Philharmonic Auditorium. Russell D. Mason, the technician who installed the wires, says he got permission from investigators for Atty. Gen. Fred Howser, but everyone in Howser’s office denies the allegations. Mason’s troubles grow worse when a fire at his home destroys expensive equipment and documents needed for his wire-tapping trial. And his ex-wife sues for back child support when she sees his picture in the paper.

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Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Nov. 22, 1907: Son Beats Father With Baseball Bat to Protect Mother; Bleeding and Shot in the Head, She Vows Eternal Love

Posted on November 22, 2018 by lmharnisch


Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

Nov. 22, 1907
Los Angeles

Weeping and heavily bandaged from where her drunk, enraged husband had shot her in the head, Ellen Larkin, 38, rose from her hospital bed, staggered to a nearby room and threw herself into the arms of her injured spouse. She covered him with kisses, vowing that she still loved him, and promised that he could come home as soon as he recovered from shooting himself and being nearly beaten to death with a baseball bat by their oldest son.

According to The Times, Jefferson B. Larkin, 45, a sometime teamster, horse player and “remittance man,” had returned to Los Angeles after spending four months in San Francisco while John, 16, the oldest of the Larkins’ four children, supported the family. As Larkin got thoroughly drunk, someone told him that his wife had been unfaithful, so he went to a pawnshop and bought a cheap revolver.

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Nov. 20, 1947: Contralto Carol Brice to Perform in L.A.

Posted on November 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Sentinel, 1947

 

“On Ma Journey,” performed by Carol Brice, accompanied by her brother Jonathan.

Nov. 20, 1947: Carol Brice will perform at Philharmonic Auditorium. Here are a few of her recordings.

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Posted in 1947, African Americans, Music | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Nov. 21, 1947: Judge Tells Joel Thorne to Quit ‘Fooling Around’ With Racecars, Nightclubs

Posted on November 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947
Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

Joel Thorne apparently ignored the warning and on Oct. 17, 1955, the millionaire playboy race-car driver plunged his Beachcraft Bonanza into an apartment building at 11948 Magnolia in North Hollywood, where a baptismal party was underway for Sheryll Camiel Preston, who was 7 weeks old. Thorne and eight other people were killed in the crash and fire from the flaming wreckage. Investigators said he had 90 arrests for traffic violations and got driver’s licenses in Arizona and Michigan after his California and Nevada driver’s licenses were revoked. What was left of him was further cremated and his ashes were buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in New York.

Quote of the day: “Don’t keep fooling around with race cars, nightclubs and continue wasting your life.”

 

Judge Roy V. Rhodes, lecturing Joel Thorne, who sneaked out of Cedars of Lebanon Hospital after being badly injured in a motorcycle crash to avoid paying his alimony to his ex-wife.

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Nov. 21, 1907: Mother, 17, Throws Baby From Train to Hide ‘Shame’ From Family

Posted on November 21, 2018 by lmharnisch


Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

Nov. 21, 1907
Los Angeles

The woman who threw her baby from an inbound train was arrested at her mother’s home at 12th Street and San Pedro after the girl’s nurse contacted authorities, saying that she read about the incident in the newspaper and suspected the woman because she took the baby on a trip while leaving all the infant’s clothes at home.

Louise [or Louisa] Williams, who is in custody in San Bernardino, says the baby’s father “is a worthless mulatto, sometimes employed as a porter on the Salt Lake Overland trains,” according to The Times.

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Posted in 1907, 1908, African Americans, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Nov. 20, 1947: Bobby-Soxer Kills Girl, 5

Posted on November 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947
L.A. Times, 1947

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

Joyce, 13, came home that afternoon and told her father and stepmother what she had done. Her father, an auto body mechanic, ordered his wife and son not to say anything until he figured out what to do. The next morning, Joyce went to school as if nothing was wrong while her stepmother washed out her bloody clothes.

The next day, Joyce calmly faced four detectives, but collapsed in tears when her stepmother fell, sobbing, at her feet. Then she told her story.

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Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Nov. 20, 1907: Police Capture Streetcar Bandits

Posted on November 20, 2018 by lmharnisch


Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

Nov. 20, 1907
Los Angeles

Police battling the current crime wave say they have arrested two men who staged daring holdups on the Ascot Park and Eastlake streetcars, robbing the motormen and conductors as the cars reached the ends of their routes. These holdups had so infuriated local officials that Chief Kern armed bicycle officers with shotguns and ordered mounted policemen to resume patrolling the city.

In each case, robbers waited at the end of a streetcar route, when the trolley was empty except for the motorman and conductor, overpowered the men and robbed them. The bandits only took money or guns. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood Celebrates Christmas With a Parade

Posted on November 19, 2018 by lmharnisch

View down Hollywood Blvd. xmas Parade
The view down Hollywood Boulevard in 2014. Photograph by Mary Mallory.

Hollywood Boulevard, Santa Claus Lane
Photo: Santa Claus Lane, shown in a postcard on EBay, listed as Buy It Now for $8.50.

Note: The 87th Hollywood Christmas Parade, with Nancy O’Dell as grand marshal, is Sunday beginning at 5 p.m. This is an encore post from 2011, with an update from 2014. 


Created by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in 1928 as a way to boost holiday shopping on Thanksgiving weekend, the Hollywood Christmas Parade has endured for over 83 years under a variety of names. The first parade, called the Santa Claus Lane Parade, featured Jeanette Loff, Santa Claus, and a few floats. Its older cousin, the downtown Los Angeles Christmas parade, attracted tens of thousands and featured elaborate floats, like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, started by the New York Department store to increase sales.

Mary Mallory’s latest book, “Living With Grace: Life Lessons From America’s Princess,”  is now on sale.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 19, 2018 by lmharnisch

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This week’s mystery movie was the March 18, 1910, Edison production of “Frankenstein,” directed by J. Searle Dawley, photographed by James White, with Augustus Phillips, Mary Fuller and Charles Ogle. Music scored and performed by Donald Sosin.

The Library of Congress released this historic version of “Frankenstein” earlier this month after restoration by the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center at the Library of Congress. More about the restoration is here.

It can be downloaded here.

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 28 Comments

Nov. 19, 1907: Crime Wave Sweeps L.A.

Posted on November 19, 2018 by lmharnisch


Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

Nov. 19, 1907
Los Angeles

An influx of crooks, petty hoodlums and vagrants drawn by good weather and horse racing at Santa Anita are blamed for a siege of crime throughout the city. The jail is so crowded—300 being held in a building designed for 125—that 95 men arrested for intoxication between Saturday night and Monday morning were released because there was no room for them. Drunks who posed no danger were merely put on a streetcar for a ride home, The Times says.

Carl Chrisensen [Christensen?], who had just served two months for vagrancy, was among 35 men sentenced to the chain gang for being homeless. Officers said Christensen begged at the back doors of homes and wore fraternal pins of the Masons and Eagles to gain housewives’ sympathy. When arrested, he was found to be carrying burglary tools, and he was sentenced to six months’ hard labor.

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