On Assignment

Posted on April 27, 2012 by lmharnisch

I’m on assignment. It’s fun, but there are only so many hours in the day.

–Larry

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Men 45-64 Register With Draft Boards

Posted on April 26, 2012 by lmharnisch

April 26, 1942, Comics

April 25, 1942, Draft Registration

April 26, 1942: Men between the ages of 45 and 64 form a line a block long outside the draft board at 329 W. 2nd St. to comply with a new registration order.

The men would be called upon to serve in civilian jobs rather than in uniform, The Times says.

Among the first to register was one local draft board’s examining physician, Dr. Frederick L. McLeod, who was 63. “This is an all-out war we’re having,” he says. “We’ve got to get behind it. I think everyone should be registered — including women.”

The Ice-Capades of 1942 is at the Pan-Pacific.

Gag writer Wilkie Mahoney gives a brief explanation of humor in Philip K. Scheuer’s Town Called Hollywood.

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Posted in 1942, Comics, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on April 25, 2012 by lmharnisch

April 25. 2012, Mystery Photo

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

Update: This is John Lodge in “Mayerling to Sarajevo.” Please congratulate Mike Hawks and Mary Mallory for identifying him.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , | 21 Comments

Black Dahlia – Los Angeles Police Historical Society

Posted on April 25, 2012 by lmharnisch

Black Dahlia Interview

The Daily Mirror visited the Los Angeles Police Historical Society on Saturday and stopped in at the Black Dahlia exhibit.

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Posted in 1946, Black Dahlia, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Museums | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on April 23, 2012 by lmharnisch

hearse_1959_oldsmobile
A postcard of a 1959 Oldsmobile hearse, listed on EBay with bids starting at $8.99.

Queen of the Dead – dateline April 23, 2012

•  The last of the old-time tummlers is gone. Lou Goldstein, famed at the borscht-belt hotel Grossinger’s from 1948 till it closed in 1986, died on April 2, aged 90. “Tummler” is, essentially, Yiddish for “obnoxious loud-mouth.” Not literally, of course: but they were hired by hotels to run around like six Lucille Balls on crack, making jokes, singing, clowning, anything to get lazy vacationers up and enjoying themselves, whether they goddam wanted to or not. Jerry Lewis, Mel Brooks, Danny Kaye, Sid Caesar and Red Buttons all started their careers as tummlers, so—well, there you are. Blogger Adam Dickter in The New York Jewish Week recalls Goldstein’s “winning personality as a natural people person, exactly the type the managers at Grossinger’s and other hotels needed: a front man to work the crowd, remember their names, kibitz with them and compliment their kids on how fine they’ve grown up.”

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Posted in Eve Golden, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Queen of the Dead, Television | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

State OKs Women Wearing Pants to Work

Posted on April 21, 2012 by lmharnisch

April 21, 1942, Women Wear Pants

April 21, 1942, Women Wear Pants

April 21, 1942: It took the approval of State Public Works Director Frank W. Clark, but women are wearing pants to work!

The fashion iconoclasts are Olive Faisy and Lorena Hermance, telephone operators at the State Building. They were joined by Ruth Jordan, a stenographer for the city of Los Angeles, who received permission from J.D. Lathrop, chief clerk in the traffic violations bureau.

The ladies say that wearing slacks and a blouse is more economical than a dress, and they avoid the costs of a slip, hose and can wear less expensive shoes.

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Posted in 1942, Fashion, World War II | Tagged , | 3 Comments

‘Full Service’: Fun With Fact-Checking, Part 26

Posted on April 20, 2012 by lmharnisch

"Full Service" cover

In case you just tuned in, I’m doing a little fact-checking as I go through Scotty Bowers’ “Full Service.” This will be fairly tedious except to a research drudge.

We have moved on, ever so slightly, to the further exploits of Scotty Bowers in 1946. In this portion of the book, he’s discussing life in Los Angeles.

Fact-Checking “Full Service”: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25

 

Continue reading →

Posted in 1946, Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

‘Full Service’: Fun With Fact-Checking, Part 25 [Updated]

Posted on April 19, 2012 by lmharnisch

"Full Service" cover

In case you just tuned in, I’m doing a little fact-checking as I go through Scotty Bowers’ “Full Service.” This will be fairly tedious except to a research drudge.

Several regular readers have asked whether I have given up on “Full Service.” The answer is no. I’ve been busy with my job at The Times, writing an occasional column (shout out to Ed Fuentes) and working on “Titanic. 100 Years Later,” an e-book that The Times has released.

In addition, the Daily Mirror HQ is undergoing renovations. The painters are here and everything is shrouded in plastic. Anyone who has done home repairs knows what I’m talking about.

But let’s plunge ahead to Page 7 — and according to my calculations, at the present rate, it will take more than 1,000 posts to finish the book. Hm. Should I rethink this?

Fact-Checking “Full Service”: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24

Continue reading →

Posted in 1946, Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated ++]

Posted on April 18, 2012 by lmharnisch

April 18, 2012, Mystery Photo

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

[Update: This is Henry Armetta with John Garfield in “Dust Be My Destiny.”]

Just about everybody recognized one or both of our mystery guests (although Herb Nicholas threw me a curve by using the birth name of the chap on the left – went right past me). Bob Duncan was first, followed by Dewey Webb, Michael Ryerson, RJ, Richard Heft, Benito (half credit). Jenny M, Mike Hawks, William Stansel (half credit), Sarah (half credit), Mary Mallory, Gregory Moore (half credit), Gary Martin (half credit), Don Danard, Bob Hansen, (half credit) and Rick Scott.

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 32 Comments

Doolittle Raiders Bomb Tokyo

Posted on April 18, 2012 by lmharnisch

April 18 1942, Tokyo Bombed

April 18, 1942, Comics
April 18, 1942:  The Doolittle Raiders, flying from the carrier Hornet, bomb Tokyo. According to DoolittleRaider.com, the  five surviving crew members are scheduled to attend the 70th reunion, which is being held through April 20 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

Tom Treanor  complains that all branches of the Los Angeles Public Library are closing at 6 p.m. because of fears of a blackout. “Miss Althea Warren, public librarian, says that the library board has already been asked to reconsider the 6 o’clock closing order,” Treanor says.

Gov. Olson raises concerns about companies that hire women when there are so many unemployed men. Bonus fact: It is illegal in California for women to work between midnight and 6 a.m.

Streetcar motorman T.D. Wilson gets into a dispute with a group of African Americans boarding a car at Jefferson Street and Grand Avenue. Some of them tried to board for free and a fight broke out when Wilson asked them to pay. The money changer was torn from Wilson’s belt, spilling coins on the floor of the car, and “a small riot ensued,” The Times said.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, African Americans, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Labor, Streetcars, Tom Treanor | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on April 16, 2012 by lmharnisch

April 16, 2012, Mystery Photo

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

Update: This is Gila Golan from “Three on a Couch” and she also appeared in one of the favorite movies at the Daily Mirror HQ, “The Valley of Gwangi.”  Please congratulate Dewey Webb, Benito, Mike Hawks, Rotter, David Franklin and William Stansel for identifying her. Gwangi! Gwangi!

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

Internment of Japanese Farmers Causes Food Shortage

Posted on April 16, 2012 by lmharnisch

April 16, 1942

April 16, 1942, Japanese Farmers

April 16, 1942: If you send all the Japanese farmers to internment camps, there’s no one to grow strawberries, tomatoes, carrots, green peas and onions. Oops.

Charlotte LeNordtestifies that she killed her foster mother Celeste Frank — who read palms as Madame Lorraine — by mistake, assuming that the gun wasn’t entirely loaded.

Which is to say that she took most, but not all, of the cartridges out of the cylinder before pointing the gun at Frank and pulling the trigger as she said “bang.”

LeNord testified that she thought the cylinder was on an empty chamber, but the old revolver was defective and the cylinder rotated freely. The killing was ruled accidental.

“Joan of Paris” opens at the Carthay Circle.

Victor Mature as Rudolph Valentino? Maybe, says Edwin Schallert. At least Pola Negri visited Mature on the set of “Footlight Serenade,” which may have special significance.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on April 16, 2012 by lmharnisch

Dodge Caravan Hearse
A 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan hearse, listed on EBay at $27,970.

Queen of the Dead – dateline April 16, 2012

•  Australia’s Silver Duchess has died: 92-year-old fashion editor, writer and socialite Sheila Scotter died on April 6. The founder of Vogue Living and former editor of Vogue Australia was “opinionated, fastidious, fiercely loyal to her friends, she terrified and charmed in equal measure, tossing in the occasional social grenade to keep things frisky,” says the Sydney Morning Herald. In 2009, Scotter told Vogue Australia, “Anyone can buy fashion, but you cannot buy style. You either have it or not.” She always championed Aussie designers, and noted that “A golden rule of mine was that if anyone from my staff was visiting a Condé Nast office, they must be wearing Australian-made clothes (the rule included myself, of course).”

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Posted in Books and Authors, Eve Golden, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on April 13, 2012 by lmharnisch

April 13, 2012, Mystery Photo

Regular reader Earl Boebert sends along this mystery photo for Friday.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 34 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo – Newsboy Caps Again!

Posted on April 12, 2012 by lmharnisch

2012_0412_mystery_photo

A regular reader sends this along, in light of our recurring theme of newsboy caps.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo – Where’s Larry Edition

Posted on April 11, 2012 by lmharnisch

titanic
“Titanic,” which has been keeping me busy these days. It is available for the Kindle and the Nook, but there’s been some mysterious delay since it was uploaded to iBooks.

In case you have noticed that posting has been thin lately and it’s been a few days since I had a mystery photo, there’s a reason.

I’ve been involved in two projects that have consumed much of my time. The first is an e-book on the Titanic that The Times has published, drawing entirely on our stories, with images mostly from our photo collection.

The Titanic project is unlike any other involving the centennial because it has original coverage of the disaster; the Senate inquiry; profiles of some of the survivors years later – and their obituaries; discovery of the wreckage; a review of “A Night to Remember” and heavy coverage of James Cameron’s “Titanic,” including a clash between Cameron and Times movie critic Kenneth Turan over his commentaries on the film.

Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

Can One Be a True Christian and Protest the Coming of Colored, Japanese or Jewish Folk Into His Neighborhood?

Posted on April 10, 2012 by lmharnisch

Oct. 22, 1927, Integration

Oct. 22, 1927: “Can One Be a True Christian and Protest the Coming of Colored, Japanese or Jewish Folk Into His Neighborhood?” Food for thought at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church.

Posted in 1927, African Americans, Religion | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Can One Be a True Christian and Protest the Coming of Colored, Japanese or Jewish Folk Into His Neighborhood?

‘Negroes and Whites, Including Women, Mix in Unbelievable Orgies’

Posted on April 9, 2012 by lmharnisch

March 24, 1925, Hummingbird

March 24, 1925: I found this while researching something else and it’s too cool not to share.

Posted in 1925, African Americans, Food and Drink, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on April 9, 2012 by lmharnisch

Horse-Drawn Hearse
A postcard of a horse-drawn hearse listed on EBay with bidding starting at $2.50.

Queen of the Dead – dateline April 9, 2012

•  The Telegraph hits another one out of the ballpark with their tribute to Peregrine John Wishart Fairfax, 12th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, who died on February 23 at 86. A Royal Lancer during the Allied advance through Italy, he later was a champion of the farming life. But here comes the creamy nougat center (sorry, centre) of the Telegraph’s obit, as they talk of his animal husbandry (watch that!) and “his passion for lurchers and longdogs” (I have no idea what that even means, but I blush just typing it). Fairfax kept a black and white rat with him during the war, till it was tragically eaten by locals, and—wait for it—“One of his party tricks was to dress for dinner, accessorised with a pair of white ferrets down his trousers. When he stood up, their red eyes would shine out from his nether regions in the candlelight.” Bliss! Thank you, Telegraph.

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Posted in Art & Artists, Dance, Eve Golden, Film, Queen of the Dead, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

‘What’s the Matter With the Modern Woman?’

Posted on April 8, 2012 by lmharnisch

image

Oct. 25, 1924: “What’s the Matter With the Modern Woman?” also “Fast Young Women – Sowing the Wind and Reaping the Whirlwind.”

Posted in 1924, Religion | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments