1944 on the Radio — ‘Texaco Star Theater’ and ‘The Great Gildersleeve,’ Jan. 9, 1944

Posted on January 9, 2014 by lmharnisch

radio_dial_1944


Jan. 9, 1944

— “Texaco Star Theater” with Fred Allen and Portland Hoffa.

—“The Great Gildersleeve” with Harold Peary.

Courtesy of archive.org.

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World War II on the Radio — The CBS News, Jan. 9, 1944

Posted on January 9, 2014 by lmharnisch

Jan. 9, 1944, Prices

Jan. 9, 1944: The news report from CBS, sponsored by Admiral Radio, courtesy of Archive.org.

Posted in 1944, Radio, World War II | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Harvey Glatman: The Early Years — Part 4

Posted on January 9, 2014 by lmharnisch

Aug. 26, 1946, Harvey Glatman Arraignment

Aug. 26, 1946: Harvey Glatman is arraigned, published in the Knickerbocker News of Albany, N.Y.

In case you just tuned in, I did quite a bit of research on the early years of serial killer Harvey M. Glatman for an upcoming TV show and thought I would share it on the L.A. Daily Mirror.

The story so far: Harvey Glatman’s mother took him to stay with relatives in New York after he was arrested in Colorado on charges of attempted robbery. Police said he was suspected of “terrorizing girls on Capitol Hill in Denver” by accosting them, undressing them and tying them to trees.

On Aug. 17, 1946, he set off on a plan to commit holdups in what he later called “the outlying sections,” taking some clothesline, a penknife and buying a toy gun for 35 cents.

On the morning of Aug. 18, 1946, he awakened after spending the night in the woods around Yonkers, having stabbed Thomas Staro,  who got free of his bonds while Glatman was tying up Staro’s woman companion, Doris Thorne, during an attempted robbery. Yonkers detectives identified Glatman through a dry cleaner’s mark found on the jacket he left at the crime scene.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1946, 1951, 1956, 1957, Homicide | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo — Guest Edition

Posted on January 8, 2014 by lmharnisch

Jan. 8, 2014, Mystery Photo

Christina Rice, photo archivist at the Los Angeles Public Library, is looking for help with this undated, unidentified photograph, so I said I would ask the brain trust.

Although the image is part of the library’s collection, it is for sale elsewhere on the Internet (hm) and dated 1914.

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

1944 on the Radio — ‘Inner Sanctum’ and ‘Abie’s Irish Rose,’ Jan. 8, 1944

Posted on January 8, 2014 by lmharnisch

radio_dial_1944

Jan. 8, 1944: Today we have four features:

–“The Death Laugh” on “Inner Sanctum Mysteries.” Notice the creaking door.

–“City of the Dead” Part 1 on “Adventures by Morse.” Featuring Capt. Friday!

—“Abie’s Irish Rose” via WMAQ Chicago. (The sound is crummy at the beginning of the disc).

–Carmen Miranda, Shirley Ross, Veronica Lake and Harry James on “Command Performance USA,”  an Armed Forces Radio Service program.

Courtesy of Archive.org.

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1944 in Print — The Daily Mirror Newsstand, Jan. 8, 1944

Posted on January 8, 2014 by lmharnisch

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Jan. 8, 1944: This issue has reviews of Gene Fowler’s biography of John Barrymore, “Good Night Sweet Prince” and James Thurber’s “Men, Women and Dogs.” 

Also: Collier’s Weekly, Jan. 8, 1944

Courtesy of Unz.org

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Harvey Glatman: The Early Years — Part 3

Posted on January 8, 2014 by lmharnisch

imageThe story so far:

In the summer of 1946, Ophelia Glatman received permission from the Colorado courts to take her son, Harvey, to stay with relatives named Feldman in New York.

Harvey Glatman had been arrested in Colorado in 1945 on charges of attempted robbery and was suspected of “terrorizing girls on Capitol Hill in Denver” by accosting them, undressing them and tying them to trees. According to 1946 news accounts, the Feldmans lived at 1565 Townsend Ave. in the Bronx and operated a summer concession in Rockaway.

On the afternoon of Aug. 17, 1946, Glatman, 18, left  the Feldmans’ apartment, telling his mother he was going to see the Marx Bros. “A Night in Casablanca.” Before Glatman left, he took a length of clothesline and was carrying a knife.

After seeing “A Night in Casablanca” in Manhattan, Glatman bought a toy pistol for 35 cents and took the subway to Woodlawn. From there, he boarded a trolley and then another trolley to get to Saw Mill River Road in Yonkers, N.Y.

Above right, the Yonkers Herald Statesman, Aug. 26, 1946.

Continue reading →

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Los Angeles County Sheriffs — Biscailuz, Pitchess, Block and Baca

Posted on January 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

eugene_biscailuz
Los Angeles County Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz, left, actor Leo Carrillo, center, and Gov. Earl Warren from “Biscailuz: Sheriff of the New West.”

The impending retirement of Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca is a good time to dip into the archives.

Eugene Biscailuz, above, who died in 1969, was sheriff of Los Angeles County until his retirement in 1958. Biscailuz became undersheriff in 1923. He was appointed in 1932 to replace Sheriff William I. Traeger, who was elected to Congress. Biscailuz was elected to the post in 1934, winning reelection in 1938, 1942, 1946, 1950 and 1954.

Peter Pitchess, Sherman Block
Sheriff Sherman Block, left, and former Sheriff Peter J. Pitchess in an undated photo,  probably taken about 1982.

 

Biscailuz retired in 1958 and was replaced by former FBI Agent Peter J. Pitchess, above right,  who became undersheriff in 1953 and was elected sheriff in 1958 with Biscailuz’s endorsement. (The Times also endorsed Pitchess). Pitchess won election by more than 150,000 votes in the June 1958 primary against rancher John Doran.

Pitchess, who died in 1999, stepped down in early 1982, and the Board of Supervisors appointed Undersheriff Sherman Block, above left, as his successor. Block died in 1998 during a campaign for his fifth term in a race against Lee Baca.

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1944 on the Radio — ‘Amos ‘N’ Andy,’ Jan. 7, 1944

Posted on January 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

radio_dial_1944

Jan. 7, 1944: Time for “Amos ‘N’ Andy” with guest Pat O’Brien. I debated with myself about posting this show, but coverage of 1944 wouldn’t be complete without it, given its popularity. Courtesy of Archive.org.

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

Rediscovering Los Angeles — The Baker Block

Posted on January 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

Rediscovering Los Angeles, Feb. 27, 1936

Feb. 27, 1936: This week, Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit the Baker Block, one of the huge gingerbread buildings that flourished in downtown Los Angeles, like the Hall of Records.

The Baker Block, at Main and Arcadia, was demolished in 1942 after being occupied by Goodwill Industries for many years.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1936, Architecture, Art & Artists, Columnists, Downtown, Main Street, Nuestro Pueblo, Preservation | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Rediscovering Los Angeles — The Baker Block

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

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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 →

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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