Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + +)

Posted on January 6, 2014 by lmharnisch

Jan. 6, 2014, Mystery Photo

For Monday, we have a mystery woman.

Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 57 Comments

1944 on the Radio — ‘Abbott and Costello,’ Jan. 6, 1944

Posted on January 6, 2014 by lmharnisch

radio_dial_1944

Jan. 6, 1944: Here’s “Revenge in the Yukon,” a 15-minute episode of “Challenge of the Yukon,” from WXYZ in Detroit.  As far as I can tell, this show was not broadcast in Los Angeles at the time, but it fills a blank in the schedule.

And here’s “The Abbott and Costello Program” with guest Judy Canova. And one of the gags involves two men getting married. No really!

Courtesy of Archive.org

Posted in 1944, Film, Hollywood, Music, Radio, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on 1944 on the Radio — ‘Abbott and Costello,’ Jan. 6, 1944

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — “ ‘Nice People’ Wear Mallory Hats”

Posted on January 6, 2014 by lmharnisch

Mallory Hats Window
Mallory hats, courtesy of Mary Mallory.


Not many companies in the United States can claim over 100 years in business, especially clothing manufacturers, who must deal with so many unique variables, and in particular, constantly changing styles. Two purveyors of classic, quality clothing, Brooks Brothers and Levi’s, have been operating more than 100 years. One, Mallory Hats, constructed quality, classic men’s and women’s hats for more than 142 years before ending production in 1965. Here is their story.

The brochure/book, “A Century of Hats and the Hats of the Century,” published in 1923, relays the history of the industry surrounding the manufacturing of hats by the Mallory family in Danbury, Conn. The text claims the first hat manufactured in the United States came out of Danbury in 1684. Ezra Mallory established his own hat manufacturing concern in 1823 to construct beaver “stovepipe” hats. Mallory supervised the making of hats, and ventured to neighboring towns and stores to sell his wares, and by 1825, took steamboats to New York promoting his stock. His company slowly grew in number and reputation, adding new styles to their output. They produced roughly twelve hats a week.

Mary Mallory’s “Hollywood: Tales Lost and Found” is available for the Kindle.

Continue reading →

Posted in Fashion, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — “ ‘Nice People’ Wear Mallory Hats”

Movieland Non-Mystery Photo

Posted on January 5, 2014 by lmharnisch

'Stage Mother'

Look who showed up in “Stage Mother” the other day on TCM!

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

1944 on the Radio — ‘Mail Call’

Posted on January 5, 2014 by lmharnisch

radio_dial_1944

Jan. 5, 1944: Here’s “Mail Call,” an Armed Forces Radio Service program featuring Jack Benny, Skinnay Ennis, Judy Garland and Johnny Mercer, announced by Harry von Zell. Courtesy of Archive.org.

Posted in 1944, Film, Hollywood, Music, Radio, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on 1944 on the Radio — ‘Mail Call’

Coming Attractions — Mark A. Vieira on Hollywood Photographer George Hurrell

Posted on January 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

GEorge Hurrell

I had the great good fortune of spending several hours Saturday with Mark A. Vieira, a regular commenter on the mystery photos and author of several books, including the current release “George Hurrell’s Hollywood.” I will post more about our chat, but you should know that Mark will be delivering a presentation on George Hurrell on Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hollywood Heritage Museum’s barn, 2100 N. Highland Ave. Tickets are $15, $5 for members.

“George Hurrell’s Hollywood is available on Amazon ($42.67) and at local bookstores for $60. I paid the full $60 to support Vroman’s, my local, independent bookstore.

Posted in Books and Authors, Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood, Photography | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Coming Attractions — Mark A. Vieira on Hollywood Photographer George Hurrell

World War II on the Radio — The Fall of Ortona, Jan. 4, 1944

Posted on January 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

Jan. 2, 1944, War Map

Jan. 4, 1944: A Canadian Broadcasting Corp. news program, courtesy of Archive.org.

Posted in 1944, Radio, World War II | Tagged , , | Comments Off on World War II on the Radio — The Fall of Ortona, Jan. 4, 1944

1944 on the Radio — ‘Duffy’s Tavern’

Posted on January 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

image


Jan. 4, 1944: “Duffy’s Tavern,” with guest Fred Allen, courtesy of Archive.org.

Posted in 1944, Hollywood, Radio | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on 1944 on the Radio — ‘Duffy’s Tavern’

1944 on the Radio — Jan. 3, 1944

Posted on January 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

Jan. 3, 1944, Radio Dial

Jan. 3, 1944: We have three programs on today’s schedule:

“Information Please,” with John Kieran, Franklin P. Adams, Oscar Levant and Louis Bromfield, hosted by Clifton Fadiman.

“Lux Theater,” with the radio version of “Shadow of a Doubt” with Teresa Wright and William Powell.

“Screen Guild Theater” has that troublesome story “The North Star,”  with Walter Huston, Anne Baxter, Jane Withers, Farley Granger. Later on, during the Red scare, “The North Star” will be one of the movies cited as evidence of Communist influences in Hollywood.

Happy listening!

All courtesy of Archive.org.

Posted in 1944, Radio, World War II | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on 1944 on the Radio — Jan. 3, 1944

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on January 3, 2014 by lmharnisch

Jan. 32, 2014, Mystery Photo

And here’s a mystery chap for Friday, courtesy of writer Christopher McPherson.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

1944 in Print — Life Magazine, Jan. 3, 1944

Posted on January 3, 2014 by lmharnisch

Life magazine, Jan. 3, 1944

Jan. 3, 1944: Google has thoughtfully scanned Life magazine for 1944. Here’s the first issue of the year.

Posted in 1945, History, Hollywood, Photography, World War II | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Harvey Glatman: The Early Years — Part 2

Posted on January 3, 2014 by lmharnisch

Aug. 26, 1946, Knickerbocker News

Aug. 26, 1946: Harvey Glatman is arraigned on robbery charges in Albany, N.Y.

When he was still a teenager, Harvey Glatman was already displaying the behavior that led to the deaths of three Southern California women in the 1950s and his execution in the gas chamber.

Glatman was born in New York, but moved with his parents, Abe and Ophelia, to Denver, where he apparently lived until his middle teens.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, 1946, 1957, 1958, 1959, Homicide | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Harvey Glatman: The Early Years — Part 2

What Happened to the Lindbergh Beacon on L.A. City Hall?

Posted on January 2, 2014 by lmharnisch

Militant Angeleno

Joining us in our question,  blogger Militant Angeleno also asks “What happened to the Lindbergh Beacon on City Hall?”

The Militant says: “Leaving the Lindbergh Beacon off during the holiday season makes Huell Howser’s angel cry.”

Here’s video.

Posted in Architecture, City Hall, Downtown, Spring Street | Tagged , , | Comments Off on What Happened to the Lindbergh Beacon on L.A. City Hall?

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on January 2, 2014 by lmharnisch

Jan. 2, 2014, Mystery Photo

And for Tuesday, a mystery woman, courtesy of writer Christopher McPherson.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

1944 the Year in Radio — ‘Texaco Star Theater’ With Fred Allen

Posted on January 2, 2014 by lmharnisch

radio_dial_1944


Jan. 2, 1944: “Texaco Star Theater” with Fred Allen, Portland Hoffa and violinist Albert Spalding. Courtesy of archive.org.

Posted in 1944, Radio | Tagged , , | Comments Off on 1944 the Year in Radio — ‘Texaco Star Theater’ With Fred Allen

Harvey Glatman: The Early Years — Part I

Posted on January 2, 2014 by lmharnisch

Herald Statesman, Aug. 27, 1946
Aug. 27, 1946: Harvey Glatman in the Yonkers, N.Y., Herald Statesman.

Aug. 27, 1947, Herald Statesman Whenever I am contacted by TV producers about appearing on a crime show, I always caution them that I’m a specialist not a generalist. I don’t do Sal Mineo, Marilyn Monroe, the Manson family or O.J. Simpson, etc., etc. Just the Black Dahlia.

But as I was reminded by a television production company from Australia, I had written several entries on Harvey Glatman when the blog was at latimes.com. They asked if I would please consider discussing him.

So I reluctantly agreed.

To be honest, I don’t like talking about Harvey Murray Glatman, at right, about 1946, who was born Dec. 10, 1927, in New York and executed in the California gas chamber Sept. 18, 1959.  The women he killed were nothing but objects to him and they endured horrible ordeals before being strangled. Oh yes and he took pictures of them, in case you didn’t know.

The deaths of his Los Angeles victims Judith Ann Dull, Shirley Ann Bridgeford and Ruth Rita Mercado were already covered when the blog was at latimes.com, so I won’t repeat that information here.

But I think it’s wrong to waste research, so over the next few days we will look at Glatman’s earlier crimes, the ones that occurred in New York in the 1940s.

To be continued.

Posted in 1946, 1957, 1958, 1959, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Television | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Harvey Glatman: The Early Years — Part I

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on January 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

Jan. 1, 2014, Mystery Photo

And here’s our first mystery photo of the new year, courtesy of writer Christopher McPherson.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

1944 in Print — The L.A. Daily Mirror Newsstand, January 1944

Posted on January 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

January 1944, Weird Tales
January 1944 Weird Tales, for sale on EBay at $49.99.

I had so much fun adding radio broadcasts for Christmas 1943 that I thought I would add radio shows throughout the year, on the days that they aired in 1944 – our base year for 2014.

That’s been interesting (there are lots of old-time radio shows out there). Some of the shows are timeless, but I discovered that our friend Fred Allen was making lots of lots topical references in his programs, including one to an article in Life magazine about comedians. Fortunately, Google has scanned all of Life for 1944, so those got added to the mix.

Then I remembered another website that has scanned lots of old magazines, like the American Mercury, Saturday Review of Literature and Weird Tales.

So now we have the 1944 magazine rack. Hope you enjoy the reading! Courtesy of Unz.org

Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

1944 on the Radio — ‘Challenge of the Yukon’

Posted on January 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

radio_dial_1944

Jan. 1, 1944: And so we start with our experiment of going through 1944 on the radio, beginning with “Challenge of the Yukon,” a 15-minute program later named “Sgt. Preston of the Yukon.” Courtesy of archive.org.

Posted in 1944, Radio | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Rediscovering Los Angeles — A Japanese Garden

Posted on January 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

Feb. 17, 1936, Rediscovering Los Angeles

Feb. 17, 1936: I think this may be my favorite entry so far. Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit a Japanese flower shop on San Pedro Street north of 1st Street, which was converted by Toyo Y. Maeda from a garage and parking lot.

Enter a hidden garden of a size and beauty that makes us say “Oh!” It is a completely Japanese garden with miniature landscaping in large plats or little flower boxes one can pick up; with miniature bridges over imaginary streams, a Shinto shrine in the corner — an apparently accidental yet carefully studied arrangement of flora in profusion…

Traffic cannot be seen or heard, for the walls keep the sound out. You can stand there right in the heart of old Los Angeles, with streetcars and motor trucks jammed on all sides, and hear birds sing and look up at the blue square of sky and write  a poem or chew gum meditatively — commune with nature according to your desires.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1936, Art & Artists, Downtown, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment