Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on June 18, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 18, 2012, Mystery Photo

Here’s another mystery photo from the collection of Steven Bibb!

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on June 18, 2012 by lmharnisch

Cuban Herase
This postcard of a Cuban hearse has been listed on EBay, listed as Buy It Now  at $20.

Queen of the Dead – dateline June 18, 2012

•   Production designer J. Michael Riva, 63, died on June 7. Modern filmgoers know him as the man behind the “look” of the Lethal Weapon, Spider-Man, Charlie’s Angels and Iron Man films (as well as The Color Purple, Dave, The Goonies, Ordinary People and others). But we die-hard fans also know him as one of three grandsons of the great Marlene Dietrich. His mother (“that howwible Mawia Wiva”) suffered from “I want to be my mother” syndrome and wrote a vicious memoir, which I recommend you read with one eyebrow raised cynically, and then go straight for Steven Bach’s excellent Dietrich bio (bypassing, of course, anything by Charlotte Chandler or David Bret). Michael Riva laughed about the glamour of production design to NPR in 2009: “Tony, in the Iron Man armor, pukes in a toilet. I design a toilet. My big job for the day. After that I can go home. My kids ask me, ‘What’d you do today, Dad?’ I designed a toilet!”

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Posted in Eve Golden, Film, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead, Television | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo – Sports Edition

Posted on June 16, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 16, 2012, Mystery Photo

Easy, but a fun picture

Posted in Mystery Photo | 11 Comments

Judge Cites ‘Right of Battle’ in Sentencing Conscientious Objector

Posted on June 16, 2012 by lmharnisch

image

June 16, 1942, Command to Fight
June 16, 1942:  Robert Lee Allen is sentenced to five years in federal prison for refusing to enlist in the Army. Judge Jeremiah Neter, 80, noted that Allen had not used the available provisions to file for conscientious objector status and noted “the right of battle taught all through the Bible.”

Simons Drive In at Washington and Grand, and Sunset and Highland is hiring cooks, waitresses and car hops.

Paul Whiteman will be performing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Shrine Auditorium in a program with Bing Crosby, Harry James, the Kings Men and Dinah Shore.

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Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Food and Drink, Music, Religion, Stage, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mexican Workers Sought to Fill California’s Farm Labor Shortage

Posted on June 15, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 15, 1942, Comics

June 15, 1942:  The Japanese who operated farms have been evacuated to internment camps, many farm workers have taken defense jobs and still more have been drafted.

So to get farm labor, California turns to …  guess where: Mexico!

Times artist Charles Owens has a terrific war map of the Middle East.

And the Navy Relief Society makes a Father’s Day pitch for donations.

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Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Immigration, World War II | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Gang Member Held in Shooting That Sparked Coliseum Riot

Posted on June 14, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 14, 1942, Comics
June 14, 1942:   Police arrest Oscar Fierro, 18, an alleged member of the East First Street Gang, in the shooting of Frank Torres, a purported member of the Clanton Street Gang, who was wounded in the head while leaving the Coliseum with a girl after attending a track meet.

The shooting touched off a riot “among thousands of teenaged boys, who were subdued only by the efforts of 50 armed soldiers called out from a nearby encampment,” The Times said.

Rear Adm. Frederick C. Shermandescribes the loss of the aircraft carrier Lexington in the Battle of the Coral Sea, calling it “the first time in history there has been an air-sea battle between aircraft carriers.”

The ship, which was racked by fire and explosions, was sunk by a destroyer to keep from falling into enemy hands.

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Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Coming Attractions: Mary Mallory Signs ‘Hollywoodland’

Posted on June 14, 2012 by lmharnisch

Hollywoodland

Mary Mallory, who writes Hollywood Heights for the L.A. Daily Mirror, will be signing copies of her book “Hollywoodland” on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Costco at 1051 Burbank Blvd. in Burbank. All profits from the sales go to Hollywood Heritage.

Posted in Architecture, Books and Authors, Coming Attractions, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on June 13, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 13, 2012, Mystery Photo

What happened to our mystery guest?

Update: This is O.J. Simpson and Melissa Michaelsen in “Goldie and the Boxer.” I’m especially impressed that so many readers recalled this opus:  Gary Alexander (1), Michael Ryerson (2), Periwinkle (3), Barbara Klein (4), Dewey Webb (5), L.C. (6), Herb Nichols (7), Cold in Phoenix (8), Pamela Porter, (9), Ed (10), Roget-L.A. (11) and Jenny M. (12). ]

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Westlake Park Renamed in Tribute to Gen. MacArthur

Posted on June 12, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 13, 1942, Sailors Abandon Lexington
June 13, 1942, Sailors Abandon Lexington

June 13, 1942, Sailors Abandon Lexington
June 13, 1942, Comics

June 13, 1942:Westlake Park is being renamed as part of the city’s observances to honor Gen. Douglas MacArthur, commemorating the day he entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Marines at Camp Elliott are shocked to see women … driving … jeeps … and … trucks!

The California Taxpayers’ Assn. is demanding that $1.5 million be cut from the Los Angeles County budget to avoid a tax increase. The City Council’s Finance Committee is also recommending cuts in staff and salaries to slash Mayor Bowron’s budget.

Live at the Orpheum: The Andrews Sisters!

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Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, City Hall, Comics, Parks, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Now Hiring: Douglas Aircraft of Santa Monica

Posted on June 12, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 12, 1942, Comics
June 12, 1942, Help Wanted

June 12, 1942: The Douglas plant in Santa Monica is hiring men – and women!

Betty Rowland, the Ball of Fire, is at the Follies Theatre.

Lionel Atwill refuses to testify before the Los Angeles County Grand Jury about charges made in 1941 that a 16-year-old girl was “mistreated” (one of those code words newspapers used when they were squeamish about the details) during a “wild party” (more code words). Atwill claimed that the charges were a shakedown, and the previous grand jury had closed the case after finding a “lack of competent testimony.”

Truck driver Sam Shapiro, 32, is being tried on charges of walking up to Irving Stone, 38, in a pool hall at 2455 Brooklyn Ave., and slitting his throat with a butcher knife borrowed from a nearby restaurant.

Shapiro said he killed Stone because the married man had been involved with his sister, then jilted her, “suggesting that she operate a house of ill-repute,” The Times said in a masterpiece of laundering language for the daily paper.

Coming attractions: Tomorrow at the 4Star —  “Suicide Squadron” and the “Warsaw Concerto!”

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Posted in 1941, 1942, Art & Artists, Aviation, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Theaters, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Found on EBay – Oviatt’s

Posted on June 11, 2012 by lmharnisch
Oviatt's Hat Oviatt's Hat
Two hats from Oviatt’s have been listed on EBay by the same vendor. Bidding on each hat starts at $175. As with anything on EBay, an item and seller should be evaluated thoroughly before submitting a bid.
Posted in Fashion, Found on EBay | Tagged , | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Oviatt’s

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on June 11, 2012 by lmharnisch

hearse_1938_packard

Photo: A 1938 Packard hearse has been listed on EBay at $40,000.

Queen of the Dead – dateline June 11, 2012

•   It’s an oddity of these YouTube days that you can become famous (or re-famous) not only for an old clip of yourself, but for parodies of it. Which leads us to the demise (at age 77, on June 4) of Russian crooner Eduard Khil, better known as “The Trololo Guy.” A pop star in the 1960s and ’70s, he was rediscovered in 2010 when his bizarre, camp, and totally endearing rendition of “I Am Glad, ’Cause I’m Finally Returning Back Home” (with its Soviet-censored lyrics “Trololololololololololo”) gained both genuine and ironic fans worldwide. Parodies sprung up, the best of which (YouTube them!) being “Trololo Cat” and Christoph Waltz’s version. Khil, bless his little cotton socks, had a sense of humor about it, and loved Waltz’s bawdy version: “It’s great,” he said. “Now I want to perform not under the name of Eduard Khil, but under the pseudonym ‘Trololoman.’” I must add how impressed I am that the same day Khil died, someone created a “Hitler Finds Out the Trololo Guy Died” video. That is being on top of your memes.

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Posted in African Americans, Eve Golden, Film, Found on EBay, Nightclubs, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead, Television | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

32 Taverns and Bars Declared Off-Limits

Posted on June 7, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 7, 1942, Off Limits
June 7, 1942, Comics

June 7, 1942: The Navy declares 32 bars and taverns off limits in Los Angeles. Most of them are on Main Street and East 5th with a few in Hollywood. The posts on the Zoot Suit Riots have more information on places that were declared off-limits.

Adeline Gray makes what is described as the first live test of a parachute made of nylon rather than silk. Gray, 24, had made 33 jumps for the Pioneer Parachute Co. of Manchester, Conn., The Times says.

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Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Aviation, Comics, Food and Drink, Hollywood, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated +]

Posted on June 6, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 6, 2012, Mystery Photo

Here’s another photo from the collection of Steven Bibb!

Update: This is Ian Hunter with Deborah Kerr in “Edward, My Son.”

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 28 Comments

Young Author Ray Bradbury Publishes ‘Dark Carnival,’ 1947

Posted on June 6, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 27, 1947, By the Way

June 27, 1947, Ray Bradbury

June 27, 1947: Young Ray Bradbury publishes a book of short stories titled “Dark Carnival.” Notice that he used to sell newspapers at Norton Avenue and Olympic Boulevard. Yes, that’s the same Norton Avenue where the Black Dahlia was found, about three miles away.

Bradbury is rightfully remembered for many things, but we at the Daily Mirror think of him as a friend of libraries, particularly the Los Angeles Public Library.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. Nazi Spy Convicted!

Posted on June 5, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 5, 1942, Midway

June 5, 1942, Comics
June 5, 1942: Dr. Hans Helmut Gros is convicted of being a Nazi spy. And radio stations along the Pacific Coast went off the air at 9 p.m. so their signals couldn’t be used as beacons in case of a Japanese attack.

Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett are going to New York to observe salesmen for their next picture, titled “Men’s Wear.” It was later titled “Bill of Goods.”

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Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on June 4, 2012 by lmharnisch

mckinley_hearse

Photo: A stereo picture of the hearse carrying the body of President McKinley has been listed on EBay at  $18.95.

Queen of the Dead – dateline June 4, 2012

Just back from Paris, my dears, and what you’ve heard is right, 50 Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong. I am sad to report, however, that all the girls in France do not do the hoochie-coochie dance. Maybe, oh, 27 or 28 of them at the most. Now, back to work.

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Posted in Eve Golden, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Music, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead, Television | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Doolittle Visits North American Plant, Praises Workers for Bombers Used in Tokyo Raid

Posted on June 2, 2012 by lmharnisch

Jne 2, 1942, Comics

image
June 2, 1942: In a visit to the North American aircraft plant, Brig. Gen. Jimmy Doolittle praises workers who built the bombers used in his raid on Tokyo.

Otis W. Hall is accused of killing his estranged wife and sending her roses with a note that said: “See you in heaven.”

Bing Crosby sustains a cut to his mouth in a car accident at Wilshire Boulevard and Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills. Crosby had several stitches, but his manager, brother Larry Crosby, says there was no damage to the crooner’s voice.

The Hays office asked Howard Hughes to change a line in  “The Outlaw,” but now New York’s censors are complaining about the revised scene, Hedda Hopper says.

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Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Aviation, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Doolittle Visits North American Plant, Praises Workers for Bombers Used in Tokyo Raid

On Assignment

Posted on May 31, 2012 by lmharnisch

I’m on assignment, so posting will be light until next week.

Posted in History | Comments Off on On Assignment

John Barrymore Dies at 60

Posted on May 30, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 30, 1942, J

My 30, 1942, Comics

May 30, 1942:  Actor John Barrymore, known as “the Great Profile,” dies at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital 10 days after collapsing during a rehearsal for Rudy Vallee’s radio program. He was 60 and was suffering from liver and kidney problems, plus pneumonia.

With him when he died were his brother Lionel; former reporter Gene Fowler, the author of the Barrymore biography “Good Night Sweet Prince”; actor Alan Mowbray; and artist John Decker. His daughter Diana had visited a few hours before his death, The Times said.

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Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Stage | Tagged , | 7 Comments