Note: This is an encore post from 2006.
December 1, 1907
Los Angeles
The Times runs a small blurb on writer Willis George Emerson, noting that the National Magazine has begun serializing a new story, “The Smoky God.”
The Times notes: “The story has to do with the discovery of the North Pole, and inhabitants of the interior of the Earth. It is the supposed story of Olaf Jansen, a Swedish sailor, and is told by Mr. Emerson as selections from papers left by the adventurer.”
Above, a frame from “I Am the Night” showing what I have to assume is Dr. George “Evil Genius” Hodel presiding over a meeting of the Hollywood Minotaur Club.
I was looking over the cast of “I Am the Night,” the upcoming TNT mini-series “inspired by a true story” and noticed that Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff appears somewhere or other. There are so many ludicrous claims in the Dr. George Hodel/Black Dahlia Avenger franchise that it’s hard to keep them all straight. I think the rather dubious claim is that Rachmaninoff encountered young George Hodel at some point and was impressed with his prowess as a pianist or a composer.
But you know who’s missing from the cast? Man Ray! That’s right!! The surrealist artist that Dr. George Hodel supposedly idolized so much that he butchered the Black Dahlia in a surrealistic way in homage to … uh-oh. I better stop before my head explodes.
You would think six episodes would be ample time to work in Man Ray for at least a moment. But nope, evidently he doesn’t get any screen time. Is it possible that the Man Ray Trust refused to grant permission for someone to portray him in this little project “inspired by a true story?”
I’ll just leave that right here.
Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project..
A little grid, 13 boxes square, full of obscure words and frustration, the crossword emerged in The Times in November 1924 as the craze swept America following the publication of Simon and Schuster’s “The Cross Word Puzzle Book” the previous April.
Provided by the Bell Syndicate, the puzzles first appeared weekly in the Sunday magazine, including instructions on how to solve them, but soon became a daily feature.
The syndicate’s 1947 puzzles (small by today’s standard of the 15 by 15 grid) are not particularly difficult compared with current puzzles. Although many words endure (ali, eel, era, ewe, ode, ute, atone, denim) the 1940s puzzles are remarkable for their lack of compass directions, Roman numerals, books of the Bible and use far fewer foreign terms. On the other hand, words like “gerent” (a person who governs or rules) and “hispid” (covered with rough bristles) have vanished from even puzzlers’ vocabulary, as have obscure definitions: “to spread for drying” = ted.
“The Cross-Word Puzzle Book beneath a bough,
Pencil, eraser, dictionary, thou
Beside me, solving in the wilderness.
Wilderness were Paradise enow.”
Grant Overton, after Omar Khayyam.
Quote of the day: “But why do dogs have to die? What can’t they just go on forever?”
Meredith Davis, The Trouble About Having a Dog, The Times, Sept. 14, 1924
Note: This is an encore post from 2006.
Nov. 30, 1907
Los Angeles
A secret witness in the trial of the Mexican revolutionaries—kept under close guard because his life has been threatened—went into convulsions shortly after eating a meal that apparently contained strychnine.
Trinidad Vasquez, identified by The Times as a member of the Mexican Secret Service, has been accompanied everywhere by Detective Thomas Furlong. But after a stormy court session, Vasquez complained of being hungry and was allowed to go to a cafe on 5th Street near Olive, where he had a ham and cheese sandwich with a cup of coffee.
Here’s the former Calvary Presbyterian Church in South Pasadena, now the Grace Brethren church.
Note: This is an encore post.
Nov. 30, 2006
Los Angeles
I don’t think anyone who knows both of us will ever confuse me with Nathan Marask; certainly not when it comes to architectural photography. In fact, I don’t really do architectural photography. I take snapshots of buildings—and lousy ones at that. Nor do I have Nathan’s charm in wangling my way into historic structures (see the 1947 Project entry on the “Cafeteria of Doom!” for example)
But I do have a couple of pictures to share.
And here is the home of early 20th century developer Daniel T. Althouse, 2125 S. 4th Avenue. Click on the photo to enlarge it. Aren’t these window frames cool?
Here’s where I really blew it. I got to the Rupp home in Monrovia late in the day and since the building faces east, the sun was behind the house, burying it in deep shadows. Obviously I flunked architectural photography 101. That, plus the lavish landscaping, make it difficult to see much of the house. Trust me, it’s cool.
On the other hand, I did find myself behind this incredible car getting off the Ventura Freeway on my way to Fry’s in Burbank. It looked like a stainless steel torpedo. And who’s that driving it? Why it’s Jay Leno, who gave me a big smile and a “V”-sign as we cruised Hollywood Way. This is his “tank car.” Note the serious tailpipes. They are loud.
Every so often, my curiosity gets the better of me and I venture out on the Internet to take the pulse of Black Dahlia theories.
Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project..
They were a quiet young couple in their 20s, so quiet that their neighbors in Valley of the Moon, near Santa Rosa, rarely saw them. David Warren worked around their ranch and his wife taught at Sonoma Valley High School.
David and his wife were newlyweds, having taken out a wedding certificate in June and gotten married that month in San Francisco.
But although they lived modest lives, David failed to register for the draft and came to the attention of the FBI. When agents arrested him, they discovered the real story.
Marieta Cook, 26, and Thelma Walter, 28, told officials they fell in love while they were roommates at the University of California in 1940. “I’ve wanted to be a man ever since I was 5 years old,” Marieta said. The women were held under an 1872 law against impersonating another person and making false affidavits to marry.
Unfortunately, The Times never followed the United Press story on this case, so there’s no telling what became of Marieta and Thelma. A Google search turns up nothing. If they were alive today, they would be in their 80s. I would love to know what became of them.
Quote of the day: “Prefrontal lobotomy, a delicate brain operation, is recommended by two prominent neurosurgeons to relieve emotional tension from those patients who have ‘only pain and death to look forward to.’ ”
Drs. Walter Freeman and James W. Watts, “who have performed more than 400 such operations, usually for certain psychoses that have resisted all other forms of treatment.”
One of the Daily Mirror’s themes is to highlight women’s history – not an easy task because women’s achievements were often poorly documented, and women who attained any sort of prominence were presented as curiosities. Like the Samuel Johnson quip on a dog walking on its hind legs.
Note: This is an encore post from 2006.
Nov. 29, 1907
Los Angeles
Oh Those Shriners: Recall, if you will, the grisly train wreck that killed a large number of Shriners returning from their convention in Los Angeles. It seems that one of them, George F. Hageman, inadvertently touched off a legal dispute between two belles of Reading.
Sarah Reber and Maude Weber went before the court insisting that each of them was the rightful heir of the bachelor, who was “tall and handsome and very popular with the fair sex,” The Times says. Both women claim that Hageman “spent his last evening in Reading with them” before he left for the Shrine convention and made promises of $12,000 in stock.
The court awarded the stock to Reber. Continue reading
Nov. 27, 1947: This week, we have two holiday songs: “Merry Christmas, Baby,” by Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers, and “How I Hate to See Xmas Come Around,” by Jimmy Witherspoon.
OK, even for Ernie Bushmiller and “Nancy,” this Thanksgiving panel is bizarre..
Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.
Nothing further was written about this unfortunate woman, who killed herself the day before Thanksgiving. There wasn’t even an obituary notice that might have included the names of her husband and possibly her children—if she had any. Who was her mother? We simply don’t know, except that her maiden name was Cameron. Public records show that she had just turned 44 (DOB Nov. 8, 1903) was born in Massachusetts and had Social Security No. 552-10-8600, issued in California. There’s no apparent record of any siblings in the state death records. Her mother might have been Harriet Clark (maiden name Cameron) who died Dec. 30, 1945, in Los Angeles at the age of 76. It’s also interesting to note the use of a narrative approach rather than a “five-w” lede.
Bonus factoid: The Thanksgiving edition of The Times is 50 pages with a supplement for Bullock’s. There must have been some very happy ad salespeople at The Times. (All those pipe-smoking dads in pajamas look like a Bob Dobbs convention).
Quote of the day: “When I saw the place, it looked like a cyclone struck it.”
Howard R. Taylor, salesman who let his relatives use his ranch home near San Diego. When he asked for the property back, they moved 10 miles away—and took the house with them.
Note: This is an encore post from 2006.
Nov. 28, 1907
Los Angeles
Aug. 25, 1948: Lizabeth Scott tells veteran Hollywood columnist Bob Thomas of the Associated Press:
“I never did understand the character. Bogie was a baby. He was the only thing that made it possible to get through the picture.”
Also, Alan Ladd on “The Blue Dahlia,” Edmond O’Brien on “Powder Town,” Robert Ryan on “Trail Street,” James Stewart on “The Last Gangster” and Claire Trevor on “Bachelor’s Daughters.”
You have GOT to be kidding. Is THIS supposed to be Dr. George Hodel???
This is ridiculous – and has nothing to do with the Black Dahlia case. Nada.
Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.
A 91-year-old former actor named Noah Simon tried to kill himself three years later by cutting his wrists and temple with a razor, saying that “I am lonely and even my children have forgotten me.” It’s unclear whether this is the pinochle player in question. The fates of Middleman and Levin aren’t recorded. And while The Times records the colorful exploits of a Detective Lanier going back to the 1920s, it isn’t clear if it is the same officer.
Note: This is an encore post from 2006.
November 27, 1907
Los Angeles
A shadowy, global conspiracy of anarchists is being described in the trial of revolutionaries Ricardo Flores Magon, Antonio Villareal and Librado Rivera in federal court. The fourth defendant, L. Gutierrez De Lara, was charged separately with committing larceny in Sonora, Mexico.
“The first positive evidence of a gigantic conspiracy to overthrow a friendly government was legally introduced,” The Times said. “Although there has been intimation of the danger[ous] character of the three men under arrest, and a partial expose of their cowardly plans to [overthrow] the presidents of this country and of Mexico, the far-reaching character of the junta has hardly been realized, even by government officials.”
Here’s a short clip I did in 2006.
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.
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.
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.”
ladailymirror.com 