Dec. 25, 1947: The Times Christmas Poem

Posted on December 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947

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

The Times’ front-page Christmas and Easter poems are as forgotten today as their author, James M. Warnack. I’ll leave it to my theological betters to parse the significance of a Christmas poem that’s mostly about the crucifixion, but Warnack was just as contradictory as his work.

He called himself the Foothill Philosopher and was nicknamed around the office as “the Bishop” because of his angular features and long, white hair. An actor in his early life, he appeared in D.W. Griffith’s silent movies, portrayed a priest in the “Mission Play” and Judas in the first “Pilgrimage Play.”

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Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Obituaries, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Los Angeles Celebrates Christmas, 1913

Posted on December 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

Dec. 25, 1913, Christmas in Los Angeles

Dec. 25, 1913, Christmas

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

Dec. 25, 1913: The Times carries a biblical passage across the nameplate (notice the artwork of the new and old Times buildings) and a Page 1 cartoon by Edmund Waller “Ted” Gale. “Cartoonist Gale” frequently drew a character known as Miss Los Angeles, but I don’t recall seeing “Mr. Wad” before. Gale was an institution at The Times for many years, but finally quit in a dispute and went to the Los Angeles Examiner.

One way Los Angeles celebrated Christmas 100 years ago was dinner at the Cafe Bristol, Spring and 4th streets.  The 50-cent luncheon deluxe would be $11.80 today.

Or one could take a refreshing, invigorating bath at Melrose Avenue and Gower Street, location of the Radium Sulphur Springs, which advertises: Drink the most radioactive natural curative mineral water.

And there’s a poem by Britain’s poet laureate, Robert Bridges, which you may recognize because John Denver turned it into a song, “Christmas Eve, 1913.”

Best wishes from the Los Angeles Daily Mirror.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

Dec. 29, 2018, Seven Faces of Dr. Lao
This week’s mystery movie has been the 1964 film (copyright 1963) “7 Faces of Dr. Lao,” with Tony Randall, Barbara Eden, Arthur O’Connell, John Ericson, Noah Beery Jr., Minerva Urecal, Frank Kreig, Eddie Little Sky, Lee Patrick, John Qualen, Peggy Rea, Royal Dano, John Doucette, Frank Cady, Argentina Brunetti, Dal McKennon, Chubby Johnson, Douglas Fowley and Kevin Tate.

Music by Leigh Harline, photography by Robert Bronner in Metrocolor, art direction by George W. Davis and Gabriel Scognamillo, set decoration by Henry Grace and Hugh Hunt. Assistant director Al Shenberg, advisor of magic George L. Boston, makeup by William Tuttle, special visual effects by Paul B. Byrd, Wah Chang, Jim Danforth, Ralph Rodine and Robert R. Hoag, film editor George Tomasini, assistant to the producer Gae Griffith, recording supervisor Franklin Milton, hairstyles by Sydney Guilaroff. Screenplay by Charles Beaumont based on the novel “The Circus of Dr. Lao” by Charles G. Finney, directed by George Pal.

“7 Faces of Dr. Lao” is available from Warner Archive.

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 56 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Posted on December 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

motionpictureher147unse_0603
Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale in “Holiday Inn.”

Note: This is an encore post from 2015.

Recognized today as one of the top selling singles and pieces of sheet music of all time, Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” was just one of eleven songs in the 1942 holiday classic, “Holiday Inn.” First put to paper by Berlin in 1940, the tune evolved over time before becoming the beloved hit sung by the dulcet tones of baritone Bing Crosby.

Jody Rosen, in his book, “White Christmas: The Story of an American Song,” reveals that on Monday, January 8, 1940, Berlin composed forty-eight bars which his secretary Helmy Kresa transcribed to manuscript paper, after the composer flew into the office claiming he had written his greatest song. Nearly fully formed as the song we know today, the most famous sixty-seven notes never changed from the first time they hit the page. These emotion-filled lyrics touched hearts during America’s first year in World War II, nostalgic for better and happier times.“Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays” by Karie Bible and Mary Mallory is now available at Amazon and at local bookstores.

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Dec. 24, 1947: LAPD Seeks 700 Officers and L. Ron Hubbard Answers the Call

Posted on December 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.

Dec. 24, 1947

One of the applicants appears to have been future Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Records show that he was fingerprinted Dec. 31, 1947, as an applicant with the LAPD.

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Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 6 No Connection

Posted on December 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Elizabeth Short contrasted with the unidentified woman found in George Hodel’s photo album. Not at all the same.

Here are six reasons Dr. George Hodel did not kill Elizabeth Short that you will need to know before watching the TNT mini-series “I Am the Night” or listening to the eight-part podcast accompanying the production.

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Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Dec. 23, 1907: Shopping Cures Insanity — An Early Test of Retail Therapy

Posted on December 23, 2018 by lmharnisch



Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

Dec. 23, 1907

St. Louis, via Direct Wire to The Times

Dr. Henry S. Atkins, superintendent of St. Louis’ insane asylum, has found that Christmas is a perfect time to test his theory that shopping cures insanity.

Atkins and two attendants took 60 women from the asylum “into the world of department stores and the activities which all women enjoy,” The Times said.

 

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Posted in 1907, Medicine | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 5 Not a Practicing Surgeon

Posted on December 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

George Hodel

Here are six reasons Dr. George Hodel did not kill Elizabeth Short that you will need to know before watching the TNT mini-series “I Am the Night” or listening to the eight-part podcast accompanying the production.

Reason No. 5: Dr. George Hodel had no surgical practice in Los Angeles. He had no admitting privileges as a surgeon at any Los Angeles hospital.

Previously:

Reason No 1: George Hodel was never “a prime suspect” in the Black Dahlia case.

Reason No. 2: George Hodel was found not guilty of morals charges.

Reason No. 3: George Hodel was not pals with Man Ray.

Reason No. 4: George Hodel served the poor blacks of Bronzeville.

 

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Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Medicine, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 5 Not a Practicing Surgeon

Dec. 23, 1947: Baby Girl Abandoned at Downtown Restaurant With Christmas Card Pinned to Blanket

Posted on December 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947

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

The young mother asked the waitress at the cafe in the Subway Terminal Building to hold her baby for just a moment—and then she was gone.

Four-month-old Nancy Joyce Morris, with light blue eyes and blond hair, was wrapped in a purple quilt and a pink blanket to which her young mother had pinned a Christmas card: To Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lane, 1711 N. Alexandria, with a return address of C.H. Wagoner, 4256 Troost Ave., in North Hollywood. It was signed Bonnie.

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Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 4 Clinic Served Poor Blacks of Bronzeville

Posted on December 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

bronzeville
Los Angeles, May 25, 1944: At a Shinto shrine near City Hall, Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron, second from left, Dr. George M. Uhl and Nicola Giulli of the city housing authority talk to black residents of Bronzeville. Courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library.

Here are six reasons Dr. George Hodel did not kill Elizabeth Short that you will need to know before watching the TNT mini-series “I Am the Night” or listening to the eight-part podcast accompanying the production.

Reason No. 4: George Hodel operated a clinic serving poor African Americans living in Bronzeville, the nickname for Little Tokyo, left vacant by the internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry.

Previously:

Reason No 1: George Hodel was never “a prime suspect” in the Black Dahlia case.

Reason No. 2: George Hodel was found not guilty of morals charges.

Reason No. 3: George Hodel was not pals with Man Ray.

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Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Homicide, LAPD, Medicine, Television, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dec. 22, 1907: For I Was Homeless and You Ran Me In — L.A. Prepares for ‘Hobo Season’

Posted on December 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Homelessness is a more than century-old problem in Los Angeles — there are no easy or quick fixes. And yes, homeless people were put on the chain gang in 1907.   

Dec. 22, 1907
Los Angeles

As Police Capt. Flammer approached Yuma, Ariz., to take custody of George White, he noticed the smoke of hundreds of campfires made by hobos burning old railroad ties.

The hobos, Flammer learned, were avoiding Yuma because the marshal meted out hard justice to vagrants, as he warned in posters all over town. But Flammer also learned all those homeless men were heading for Los Angeles.

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Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 3 Not Pals With Man Ray

Posted on December 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

The “minotaur love/death cult of Hollywood” is apparently getting a big play in “I Am the Night.” Oh dear.

Here are six reasons Dr. George Hodel did not kill Elizabeth Short that you will need to know before watching the TNT mini-series “I Am the Night” or listening to the eight-part podcast accompanying the production.

Reason No. 3: George Hodel had nothing more than a minor business transaction with Man Ray for a photo session. Dr. Hodel also had a book of photos.
__________
Correction: A previous version of this post said Dr. Hodel bought a book of photos. It’s unclear how he obtained the book.
__________

Previously:

Reason No 1: George Hodel was never “a prime suspect” in the Black Dahlia case.

Reason No. 2: George Hodel was found not guilty of morals charges.

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Posted in 1947, Art & Artists, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD, Libraries, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Dec. 21, 1947: ‘Tubby the Tuba’ and Music for Children

Posted on December 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947

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

Bonus factoid: The Jewish “defense army” Haganah was reported to have made a major attack—the largest since the U.N. partition decision—against Arabs in Lydda and Bet Nabala, where troops of the Trans-Jordan Arab Legion are camped.

Listen to Victor Jory read “Tubby the Tuba”

Listen to “Uncle Don’s Playland”

Listen to “The Great Gildersleeve”

Links to mp3 files of 78 rpm children’s records

While you’re it, listen to “Grumpy Shark”

 

Quote of the day: “For a redhead who worked her way through law school as a floorwalker in a department store and by washing dishes, that’s not bad!”
The Times, on Municipal Judge Mildred L. Lillie, whose 1971 nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court by Richard Nixon predated Justice Sandra Day O’Connor by 10 years. When a 12-member bar panel rated Lillie, who had 24 years on the bench, “unqualified” because the men feared a woman would be “too emotional” for the Supreme Court, Nixon withdrew her name in favor of William Rehnquist.

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

Dec. 21, 1907: Desperate Girl, Alone and Friendless in L.A., Steals $10

Posted on December 21, 2018 by lmharnisch


Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

Dec. 21, 1907
Los Angeles

Lillian Poelk was new to Los Angeles, with no friends and little more than a job as a waitress that didn’t quite cover the rent of her room at 831 S. Hope.

“While other girls were getting pretty things and preparing for a pleasant Christmas, she was shut up in a cheerless room,” The Times said.

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Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 2 Not Guilty of Morals Charges

Posted on December 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1949
Here are six reasons Dr. George Hodel did not kill Elizabeth Short that you will need to know before watching the TNT mini-series “I Am the Night” or listening to the eight-part podcast accompanying the production.

Reason No. 2: George Hodel was found not guilty of molesting his daughter, Tamar.

Previously:

Reason No 1: George Hodel was never “a prime suspect” in the Black Dahlia case.

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Posted in 1947, 1949, 1950, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide: ‘Making Black Los Angeles’

Posted on December 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

Making Black Los Angeles

I only recommend books that I have read, which is why I haven’t listed Susan Orlean’s “The Library Book” or Stephen Gee’s “Los Angeles City Hall: An American Icon.” I look forward to reading both of them, but I’m not there yet.

image
Marne L. Campbell also appears in a video on Archive.org.

“Making Black Los Angeles,” by Marne L. Campbell, 2016. University of North Carolina Press.

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Posted in 2016, African Americans, Books and Authors, History | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

December 20, 1947: Pulp Author Rob Eden Dies | Author of ‘Short Skirts: A Story of Modern Youth’

Posted on December 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 194

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

And at the age of 55, after dozens of novels and countless short stories, he died. Not that you’ve heard of him or any of his books—unless you collect potboiler novels of the 1930s.

The list of his works is impressive in bulk if nothing else, with titles that tell the entire plot in two or three words: “Dancing Feet,” “In Love With a T-Man,” “Love or Money,” “Modern Marriage” and my favorite: “Short Skirts: A Story of Modern Youth.”

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Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Dec. 20, 1907: Miracle Doctor Fer-Don Cures Man of 90-Foot Tape Worm!

Posted on December 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

Dec. 20,1907
Los Angeles

Mr. C.D. Roberts of 1900 E. Main was feeling a bit unwell. He had bad headaches, an irregular appetite, saw dark spots before his eyes and felt as if something in his stomach was alive.

Not sure what to do, Roberts consulted the European Medical Experts at 745 S. Main St., where he was treated with the secret cure of “The Great Fer-Don.” “He was prevailed upon to try it, with the result that his system was quickly relieved of this monster scores of feet in length,” surely the Loch Ness creature of internal parasites.

 

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Posted in 1907, 1908, 1909, LAPD, Medicine, Pasadena, Streetcars | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 1 Not a Prime Suspect

Posted on December 19, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1949
Here are six reasons Dr. George Hodel did not kill Elizabeth Short that you will need to know before watching the TNT mini-series “I Am the Night” or listening to the eight-part podcast accompanying the production.

Reason No. 1: Dr. George Hodel was never “the prime suspect” or even “a prime suspect” in the Black Dahlia case.

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Posted in 1947, 1949, 1950, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Dec. 19, 1947: Going Down – City Hall Bans Clever Nicknames for Its Floors

Posted on December 19, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947

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

City Hall’s elevator operators have been having a little too much fun on the job. Instead of calling out the numbers of the floors, they have been using nicknames and building superintendent Ralph Hoffman wants them to stop.

The operators say that the passengers were the ones who were using the nicknames:

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