Oklahoma’s Executioner: Rich Owens

Posted on August 22, 2018 by lmharnisch



Note: This is an encore post that originally appeared in 2006.

Ray Parr’s story about Rich Owens, the longtime executioner at McAlester State Penitentiary, has been knocking around my home office for ages, passed along by a former co-worker many years ago. Writing for the Daily Oklahoman, Parr painted a long, vivid portrait of the man who killed 75 human beings: 65 by electrocution, one by the gallows, two with a knife, six with a gun and one with a shovel. And there could have been more: “I never count peckerwoods,” he said.

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Posted in 1948, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Black L.A. 1947: A Guide to the Homes of Famous Black Entertainers

Posted on August 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

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Hattie McDaniel’s home at 2203 S. Harvard. Ethel Waters lived almost across the street, the Sentinel said. Via Google Street View.

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The home of composer William Grant Still, 3670 Cimarron St., via Google Street View.

Aug. 21, 1947: Sentinel columnist Harry Levette provides the addresses of many African American celebrities and notes that not everybody famous lives on Sugar Hill. Most of the homes are gone now as the 10 Freeway went through the neighborhood. The modest home of composer William Grant Still, 3670 Cimarron St., is still standing.

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Aug. 22, 1947: 5 L.A. Women Doctors Honored at Medical Convention

Posted on August 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947

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

Girls aspiring to careers should follow women physicians’ example—many have both satisfactory home and professional lives, Dr. E. Mae McCarroll of Newark, N.J., told National Medical Association delegates and women’s auxiliary members last night.

The evening session at Second Baptist Church, Griffith Avenue at East 24th Street, concluded the 52nd annual convention’s third-day sessions devoted to a public health program, particularly as it applies to medical and hospital facilities for Negroes.

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Black L.A. 1947: Heavyweight Fighter George Godfrey, ‘The Black Shadow of Leiperville,’ Dies at 50

Posted on August 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

May 15, 1947, George Godfrey

Aug. 21, 1947: In the newspapers, he was “The Black Shadow of Leiperville,” “The Black Baron of Leiperville,” “The Black Giant of Leiperville,” “The Black Shadow of Los Angeles,” or just “Giant Negro.”

Born in Mobile, Ala., Jan. 25, 1897, as Feab S. Williams, he fought under the name George Godfrey after a black heavyweight fighter of the 19th century.

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Aug. 21, 1947: Times Columnist Tim Turner on Women Who Wear Pants

Posted on August 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

Aug. 21, 1947, Timothy Turner

Aug. 21, 1947, Timothy Turner

Note: This is a post from 2005 that originally appeared on the 1947project.

Timothy G. Turner was a prolific, long-established writer for The Times, beginning with a feature on Anna May Wong in 1921. While he retired from the paper in 1954 (having taken a few years off to work in public relations), he continued contributing articles until his death—in fact he wrote a cover letter on a submission to The Times a few hours before he died in 1961 at the age of 75.

He was a bald, lanky man with glasses, and the unsmiling mug shot with his obituary makes him look serious, cold and, in his signature bowtie, a bit eccentric. However, the story says he took delight in poking fun at all pretensions, lived downtown and refused to learn how to drive a car.

 

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Posted in 1947, Columnists, Fashion | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on August 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

Aug. 25, 2018, Mystery Movie
This week’s mystery movie has been 1958/59 film “Das Indische Grabmal” or “The Indian Tomb.”  With Debra Paget, Paul Hubschmid, Claus Holm, Walther Reyer, Sabine Bethmann, Rene Deltgen, Inkijinoff, Jochen Brockmann, Richard Lauffen, Jochen Blume and Helmut Hildebrand. From the novel by Thea von Harbou, screenplay by Werner Jorg Luddecke, original screenplay by Richard Eichberg. Music by Gerhard Becker, photography by Richard Angst.   An Artur Brauner production.  Directed by Fritz Lang.

“The Indian Tomb” is available on DVD from Amazon.

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 35 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Bert Longworth and ‘Hold Still, Hollywood’

Posted on August 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

Joe E. Brown

Note: This is an encore post from 2012.

In the last forty years, movie collectors and photography connoisseurs have recognized the art and value of Hollywood still photography, most particularly in the gloriously lit and composed portraits of glamorous stars. For decades, however, many people, including industryites, failed to recognize the skill and talent of the many photographers shaping the public’s perception of celebrities through their skillful work behind the camera.

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Aug. 20, 1907: Unrest in Morocco

Posted on August 20, 2018 by lmharnisch



Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

Casa Blanca, Morocco
Aug. 20, 1907

The Times carries a vivid description of a battle between Moorish tribesmen, French sharpshooters and spahis (Arabs in the French service), and though the story is extremely detailed about the fighting, there isn’t a word of background as to the cause.

The unrest dates to March 1907, when a mob in Marrakesh killed Dr. Emile Mauchamp, a member of the geodetic survey. Further inquiry shows that there was a general attack on Europeans in which a British official killed two people.

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August 18, 1947: John Steven McGroarty, California Poet Laureate, Honored in Memorial Tribute

Posted on August 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947

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

His favorite verses and anecdotes of his life were recited yesterday as old friends and admirers made their third annual pilgrimage to the grave of John Steven McGroarty, late poet laureate, playwright and Times columnist, at Calvary Cemetery.

The program, held before the poet’s simple headstone beneath the largest oak in the cemetery, was sponsored by the Eire Four Province Club with Thomas R. Lynch, club president, acting as chairman.

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Aug. 17, 1947: At UCLA’s Gayleyville , Tough Times for Married Veterans

Posted on August 17, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947

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

Married veterans attending the Los Angeles campus of the University of California have discovered that the dollar—unlike some bank checks—doesn’t stretch like rubber.

They have found it impossible to live on their G.I. Bill of Rights $90 ($851.78 USD 2005) a month.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Broncho Billy Silent Film Festival Covers the World

Posted on August 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

 

Max Linder
Max Linder, photo courtesy of Mary Mallory.

The 21st Annual Broncho Billy Silent Film Festival traveled the world in its many programs this year, featuring rare technology, recently discovered and restored films, and travelogues from near and far, something to intrigue silent film fans new and old.

The festival opened Friday, Aug. 10, with a screening saluting the dapper French comedian and auteur Max Linder, showcasing his gentle brand of slapstick comedy. A precursor to such screen funny men as Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel, the diminutive Frenchman, attired in tails and top hat, played a self-deprecating dandy getting into all types of mischief. As director, writer, and star, Max brought joie de vivre and romantic comedy to such films as “Max Juggler Par Amour,” “Le Soulier Trop Petite,” “Max – Victime Du Quinquina,” “Max Pintre Par Amour,” “Max and the Statue,” and “Troubles of a Grasswidower.”

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Black L.A. 1947: Drag Ball Planned for the Avodon Ballroom in DTLA

Posted on August 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

Google Street View
The site of the Avodon Ballroom at 843 S. Spring St., via Google Street View. 

Aug. 14, 1947, Drag Ball

Aug. 14, 1947: A drag ball is planned for the Avodon Ballroom, 843 S. Spring St. Although the Sentinel didn’t follow up on the event, drag balls were mentioned regularly in the paper.

The earliest reference I could find in the clips was from 1934, when a drag ball was planned for the Elks Temple, 3616 Central Ave., on Christmas Eve 1934.  Promoter Tony Collins offered a $250 prize ($4,700 USD 2018) for the best impersonator. “Judges will be the leading dressmakers from Hollywood and Los Angeles,” the Sentinel said.

Drag Ball, Club Alabam
An undated photo of a drag ball at the Club Alabam, image from the Gordon-Beverly Collection at UCLA.

Collins promoted another drag ball to be held in July 1935 at the Club Araby, 55th Street and Central Avenue. Collins said 4,000 people attended his previous drag ball at the Elks Temple.

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Posted in 1947, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Dance, Downtown, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

August 16, 1947: L.A. Widow Says Louisiana Sheriff Failed to Protect Husband From Lynch Mob

Posted on August 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947

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

His face and body were burned with a blowtorch so that his eyes popped out of his head. He was beaten with a wide, flat object, like a belt or a wide plank. His wrists were hacked with a cleaver and he was partially castrated.

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Black L.A. 1947: Nellie Lutcher’s ‘He’s a Real Gone Guy’ Leads This Week’s Juke Box Hits

Posted on August 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

Aug. 14, 1947: Nellie Lutcher’s “He’s a Real Gone Guy” is this week’s No. 1 juke box hit, according to Murray’s Record Shop, 1055 E. Vernon. “True Blues” by Roy Milton is No. 2.

On the jump, Ask Evangeline helps a young man who is paying off his dead relatives’ debts. “If only I could find a girl who would go along with me until I had some money I might find some happiness too. Please tell me what to do.”

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Posted in 1947, African Americans, Columnists, Music | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Aug. 15, 1947: India Formally Partitioned Into Two Nations

Posted on August 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

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

NEW DELHI, Aug. 15 (Friday) (U.P.)—The proud British Empire of India died last night as the clocks struck midnight.
Two independent nations were born at the moment of its death—the dominions of Hindustan and Pakistan.

Adm. Viscount Mountbatten, great-grandson of Queen Victoria in whose name India was made an empire 70 years ago, ceased to be viceroy and became governor general of Hindustan.

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Aug. 14, 1947: L.A. Telephone Exchanges, Adams to Whittier

Posted on August 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

L.A. Times, 1947

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

The growth of Southern California was reflected in a Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. report issued yesterday. The company said that the number of telephones it has in service in the Southland has increased more than 50 per cent since Pearl Harbor, more than 25 per cent since V-J Day.

R.L. Sawyers, division telephone manager, said that at the beginning of the war the company had 852,000 telephones in service in Southern California. The number had reached 1,021,000 by the time peace came and today it stands at 1,290,000. The increase for the last two years reached a total of 269,000 telephones.

And there are still insufficient telephones for all potential subscribers. About 149,000 applicants are waiting.

Los Angeles Telephone Exchanges:

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Black L.A. 1947: ‘A Song Is Born’ a New High in Interracial Pictures

Posted on August 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

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Aug. 14, 1947: The Sentinel runs a feature on “A Song Is Born” (working title: “That’s Life”) in production at the Goldwyn studios. If the plot sounds a bit like “Ball of Fire,” also made by the Goldwyn studios, I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on August 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Aug. 18, 2018, Mystery Photo

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1959 film “Gangster Story,” with Walter Matthau, Carol Grace, Bruce McFarlan (MacFarlane), Raiken BenAri (Raikin Ben-Ari), David Leonard, John Albright and Clegg Hoit (Hoyt). Screenplay by Paul Purcell, based on an original story by Richard Grey and V.J. Rhems (Rheims), music supervision by Alex (Alec) Compinsky, title song “The Itch for Scratch” written by Leonard Barr, Ronald Bloomberg and Ted Stanford. Photography by Max Glenn, produced by Jonathan Daniels and directed by Walter Matthau.

“Gangster Story” is available on Amazon.

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hale’s Tours Offer Virtual Reality in 1906

Posted on August 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

George C. Hale
George C. Hale in the Salt Lake City Herald, Oct. 20, 1905.

Note: This is an encore post from 2016.

Technology changes often move with the speed of lightning, upending life as it moves hurly burly into a brave new world. The early 1900s saw many new-fangled products introduced such as radio, air conditioning, and vacuum cleaners, while several relatively new inventions such as telephones, automobiles, and electricity moved more into the mainstream.

In the same way, motion pictures began undergoing their own revolution around 1905-1906, when retired Kansas City Fire Chief George C. Hale introduced his Hale’s Tours and Scenes of the World to paying audiences. Filmgoing would soon move beyond kinetoscopes into nickelodeons and eventually movie palaces. More importantly, audiences would no longer just view a movie, but experience it as well.

“Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays” by Karie Bible and Mary Mallory is available at Amazon and at local bookstores.

 

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Aug. 13, 1947: ‘Cuando Lloran los Valientes’

Posted on August 13, 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.

Imagine my surprise to find that The Times reviewed Mexican movies, usually in critiques signed “G.K.,” who praised this classic of Mexican cinema starring Pedro Infante, Virginia Serret and Blanca Estela Pavon, who won the Best Actress Ariel for this film.

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