John Wilkes Booth Site for Sale – Civil War Reenactors Not Included

Posted on September 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

Cleydael

Photo: Cleydael. Credit: Motley’s Auction and Realty Group.

Three historic buildings in Texas’ Bastrop State Park were lost in the recent wildfire, but many other structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps have survived, according to Ben Wear of the Austin American-Statesman. In case you are wondering, the CCC was a federal work relief project created by President Roosevelt to combat unemployment during the Depression.

Bidders have an opportunity to buy the home of Dr. Richard Stuart, where Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth unsuccessfully sought treatment for his ankle, which was injured when he jumped to the stage of Ford’s Theatre.

According to Linda Wheeler of the Washington Post, the home (plus 12 acres) near Fredericksburg, Va. was put up for auction after owner Kathryn Coombs, who used it as a movie location, died without a will.

As described in the auction listing, the 3,300-square-foot home at 7411 Peppermill Drive, King George, Va., is a two-story Colonial built in 1859. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, tall ceilings and a wrap-around front porch.

The L.A. Daily Mirror and L.A. Crime Beat sifted from Twitter feeds by tireless bots at paper.li

Posted in 1859, Architecture, Crime and Courts, Film, Homicide, Stage, Theaters | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Mystery Film of Los Angeles [Updated]

Posted on September 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

image
Photo: Nathan Marsak tests the latest Ford.

Curbed LA’s link to this 1917 Ford travelogue on Los Angeles has been passed around until I finally saw it. How many of these locations do you recognize? Here’s footage of streetcars and autos downtown. If you look carefully, you’ll see an officer directing traffic.

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Posted in 1917, Downtown, Film, Mystery Photo, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged | 6 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on September 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 7, 2011, Mystery Photo

Here’s today’s mystery photo, courtesy of Steven Bibb!

[Update: This is Linda Ware, who was billed as the next Deanna Durbin. The fellow imitating President Roosevelt is R.D. Parker, who was elected Chief Grouch of 1939 by the Grouch Club. The Grouch Club was a 1930s radio program created by Jack Lescoulie that aired on KFWB].

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

Nazi Swastika on Hollywood Hills!

Posted on September 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 7, 1941, Swastika
Sept. 7, 1941, Pant Pant
Image: “I guess I’m a fool,” she panted. Credit: This Week magazine, Los Angeles Times

Sept. 7, 1941:It’s Sunday in Los Angeles, and although Pearl Harbor is three months away, concern about the impending war is everywhere. Someone even changed a “V” for victory to a swastika  on the hills  over what is now the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, which was then the site of the “Pilgrimage Play.”

There are few recognizable titles among the bestsellers of the day: James Hilton’s “Random Harvest,” William L. Shirer’s “Berlin Diary” and Perhaps A.J. Cronin’s “The Keys of the Kingdom.” The rest have gone to the Zombie Reading Program.

On the radio: the Rev. Bob Schuler at 8:45 a.m. on KMTR; Sister Aimee Semple McPherson at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. on KFSG. Then there’s Gene Autry on KNX at 2:30 p.m.; and Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy at 4 p.m. on KFI.

Jimmie Fidler says of a rumored change of management at a studio:

Producers are too afraid of being ousted to attempt anything but carbon copies of proven hit pictures…. Writers are too busy looking about for new jobs to do anything really creative. Directors are too eagerly currying favor with the new sovereign to stand up for their own ideas. Everyone, in short, devotes 90% of his energy to placating the potential head-lopper-offer and only 10% to his job. No one is sure of himself!

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Posted in 1941, Books and Authors, Film, History, Hollywood, Music, Radio, Religion, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Good Way to Scan Negatives

Posted on September 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

CanoScan

I rarely post non-historic items from EBay, but this one is worth mentioning. It’s a CanoScan 9950F, which handles negatives – and does a good job. These scanners have (of course) been discontinued by Canon, and don’t show up terribly often on EBay, so you might want to think about this one if you have lots of negatives or transparencies to scan. The alternatives made by Epson and Nikon are far more expensive. I got one used on EBay about a year ago and I’m very happy with it.

I should also add that the optical character recognition software that comes with the scanner works well. I use it frequently in preparing posts for the Daily Mirror.

As with anything on EBay, an item and vendor should be evaluated thoroughly before submitting a bid. This one starts at $9.99.

Posted in Found on EBay, Photography | Tagged , | 1 Comment

International Spy Museum Is Hiring!

Posted on September 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

Spy Museum

Photo: The International Spy Museum offers “Dinner With a Spy.” Credit: International Spy Museum.

The International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., has a job opening for director of guest services (and security!)

The ideal applicant must have excellent team building skills, a focus on guest experience, and will direct the planning, and implementation of all daily activities related to admissions, crowd flow, information services, membership sales, special private programs, security services, and ticketing for groups, general admission, members, and VIPs.

More details in the Washington Post’s want ads.

Aggregating —  in which trolls like me gather relevant (and SEO-licious) items for a discerning audience — has a new and more respectable name: digital curating, according to Dominic Basulto in the Washington Post’s Ideas @ Innovations blog. Dominic, you have just been curated!

The L.A. Daily Mirror and L.A. Crime Beat carefully curated from the finest Twitter feeds by the discriminating bots at paper.li. [Gloria Allred, the Angelyne of the legal profession, has scheduled a news conference, according to TMZ.  Stop the presses.]

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‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Navy Reports

Posted on September 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

Feb. 6, 1942, Lookse Talk

Feb. 6, 1942: Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox warns against “loose talk.” Credit: National Archives.

I returned from Saturday’s trip to the National Archives in Riverside with more than 200 images of historic documents. It’s going to take some time process them for posting on the Internet. Many of the documents are carbons on onion skin paper or pulp paper; they are in roughly chronological order with the newest documents on top, but they still need to be organized. And I photographed them with existing light, so they are a bit murky and have to be enhanced to be readable.

“Zoot Suit” and History, Part 1| Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

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Found on EBay – Mullen & Bluett

Posted on September 5, 2011 by lmharnisch
Swimsuit, Mullen Bluett Swimsuit, Mullen Bluett

This vintage swimsuit from Mullen & Bluett has been listed on EBay. Another one was listed in 2009,  also from Mullen & Bluett.

Bidding on this item starts at 99 cents.

Posted in Downtown, Fashion, Found on EBay | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Tenor Salvatore Licitra Dead: News Reports [Updated ]

Posted on September 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

Salvatore Licitra, "I Pagliacci"

Photo: Salvatore Licitra in “I Pagliacci.” Credit: SalvatoreLicitra.com

Italian news sources are reporting that tenor Salvatore Licitra has died a little more than a week after suffering head and chest injuries in a Vespa crash. Doctors say that he suffered cerebral hemorrhage that caused him to lose control of the scooter.

There is no official confirmation on his website. News reports say that his family donated his organs.

[Updated at 12:44 p.m. Salvatore Licitra’s website has confirmed that he died of his injuries. A news conference is scheduled for Sept. 6, 2011, at 10:30 a.m. [1:30 a.m. PDT] at the Sala Dusmet at Garibaldi Hospital in Catania, Italy.]

Licitra’s brother accepted an award in his behalf at Saturday’s Premio Ragusani nel Mondo and urged people to wear helmets when riding motorcycles.

New York Times | Washington Post

Posted in Music | Tagged | 2 Comments

Labor Day, 1886

Posted on September 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 7, 1886, Labor Day

Sept. 7, 1886: The Times publishes a roundup of events marking  Labor Day, but there are no reports of any celebrations in Los Angeles. On the jump, Labor Day, 1891, is celebrated on the West Coast, but there’s nothing about Los Angeles.

For Labor Day, 1895, The Times reported on a parade that began at the old junction of Temple, Main and Spring, which was  changed when Spring Street was straightened to make room for City Hall.

The parade went down Spring to 5th Street, east on 5th to Main, north on Main to 1st and from there to La Grande Station [the Santa Fe depot  at 1st and Santa Fe Avenue (d. 1946)], where many participants took the cars to Redondo Beach.

The parade consisted of four police officers on bicycles, a marching band, the council of labor  and 14 members of the Turnverein Germania. There were 48 members of the Plumbers Union, No. 78; 36 members of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners; 34 members of the Typographical Union, No. 174; 25 members of the Retail Clerks Protective Assn.

After another marching band, there were 50 members of the Pastry Cooks Union; 30 members of the Tin, Sheet and Cornice Workers Union; and 45 members of the Painters and Decorators Union.

The parade ended with 31 men in black shirts and red neckties with “a blood-red flag bearing the words “Socialistic Labor Union,” The Times said.

“The Socialistic Labor Union refused to go to Redondo, claiming that the principles of the organization forbade the needless enriching of a railway corporation’s coffers, and there was small opportunity to capture a train,” The Times said.

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Posted in 1886, 1891, 1895, Labor, Transportation | Tagged , | Comments Off on Labor Day, 1886

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on September 5, 2011 by lmharnisch
hearse_cadillac
Photo: 1998 Cadillac Eureka hearse, $14,990. Credit: Heritage Coach.

Queen of the Dead – dateline September 5, 2011

• Not all 1930s child actresses were sad and bitter, though recent obits of Marcia Mae Jones and Edith Fellows were pretty depressing. But the talented Sybil Jason (who died on August 23, at 83) had a brief but happy career. She appeared at Warner Brothers with Al Jolson, Kay Francis, Humphrey Bogart and Ann Sheridan, and was promoted as a less sugary Shirley Temple (Time amusingly called her the Jean Harlow to Temple’s Ann Harding: “less wholesome but more refreshing”). She left films in 1940, but as recently as two years ago, was posting thanks to her fans on YouTube, noting that “I enjoyed every single second of my career,” and that she was still pals with her screen rival Shirley Temple.

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Posted in Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Music, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

We. Won’t. Be. Doing. This. Evah

Posted on September 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

image

Folks: If you don’t have any ideas for a blog, maybe you shouldn’t be doing one.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on We. Won’t. Be. Doing. This. Evah

Sept. 4, 1781: Los Angeles Is Founded

Posted on September 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

 Sept. 4, 1926, Birthday

Sept. 4, 1926:The Times publishes a map showing the streets of the day, noting the changes made since Ord’s survey.

Sept. 5, 1981, Birthday
Sept. 4, 1981: Mayor Tom Bradley and actress Bernadette Peters cut the cake for Los Angeles’ 200th birthday

Jan. 1, 1892: To retell the founding of Los Angeles, The Times reprints an account from Juan Jose Warner’s “Historical Sketch of Los Angeles County” (1876). This account also appears in the Thompson and West’s “History of Los Angeles County, California” (1880).

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Posted in 1781, 1926, 1981, City Hall, Downtown | Tagged , | Comments Off on Sept. 4, 1781: Los Angeles Is Founded

Pinball Museum to D.C.: ‘Game Over’

Posted on September 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

spacelab_backglass

Photo: Old-school “Spacelab” game, like one we used to play at the Bum Steer in Tucson many years ago. Credit: Internet Pinball Machine Database (yes, there is one).

The National Pinball Museum says “game over” to Washington, D.C. It’s moving to Baltimore. As a farewell, the museum is offering free admission on Labor Day.

The L.A. Daily Mirror and L.A. Crime Beat assembled with Teutonic thoroughness from Twitter feeds by the bots at paper.li.

Posted in Art & Artists, Washington | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Pinball Museum to D.C.: ‘Game Over’

Tenor Salvatore Licitra May Have Had Cerebral Hemorrhage Before Crash

Posted on September 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

Salvatore Licitra, "I Pagliacci" Florence

Photo: Salvatore Licitra in “I Pagliacci,” Florence. Credit: SalvatoreLicitra.com

Tenor Salvatore Licitra’s website confirms what has been speculated for several days: That the singer may have suffered a cerebral hemorrhage that caused him to crash his Vespa last Saturday, sustaining severe injuries to his head and chest.

Licitra remains in stable condition, in a coma. His injuries have cast a somber tone over the Premio Ragusani nel Mondo, in which he was to be honored, but it is taking place as scheduled, with some controversy from those who thought it should have been canceled.

ALSO

Tenor Salvatore Licitra in Coma — Video

Tenor Salvatore Licitra in Coma, Fights Lung Inflammation

Tenor Salvatore Licitra in Critical Condition After Crash

Tenor Salvatore Licitra Injured in Vespa Accident

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Zoot Suit: A Trip to the National Archives

Posted on September 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

Perris, Calif. House

Photo: House, Perris, Calif. Credit: Larry Harnisch/LADailyMirror.com

This house is at the turnoff to the National Archives in Perris, Calif., where I spent the day researching the Zoot Suit Riots. It was great:

Los Angeles if off-limits

Photo: The city of Los Angeles is out of bounds for all enlisted Navy personnel. Credit: National Archives.

Posted in 1943, Libraries, Photography, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Zoot Suit: A Trip to the National Archives

Widow Accused of Killing Ft. MacArthur Officer, Sept. 3, 1941

Posted on September 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 3, 1941, Comics
Sept. 3, 1941, Marie Tucker
Sept. 3, 1941: OK, Maj. Tucker,  let me get this straight.

You and your wife, Marie, got home from  a party, where both of you had been drinking. She was in the bedroom and you were in the kitchen making yourself a ham sandwich and slicing the bread — or the ham — which you were holding against your abdomen.

The knife slipped and you realized you stabbed yourself. And you thought you pulled the knife out — only you hadn’t got it out all the way.

Then you fell against a kitchen drawer and the knife went back in a second time.

So you fell to the floor, reached for the knife — and rolled over onto it.

Well, if that’s your story. Only your wife says there was no ham or bread in the house. She also says she “might have done it,” but was too drunk to remember exactly what happened.

Marie Tucker was indicted in the killing of Maj. George A. Tucker, battalion commander at Ft. MacArthur, and released on $5,000 bail. The charges were dropped in 1947 because the witnesses, all military officers, were scattered around the world, The Times said.

Also on the jump: Lee Shippey and Tom Treanor.

Leatrice Gilbert, 17-year-old daughter of Leatrice Joy and the late John Gilbert, does not want the screen career mamma wants for her, Jimmie Fidler says.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Widow Accused of Killing Ft. MacArthur Officer, Sept. 3, 1941

Revival of Wet-Plate Photography

Posted on September 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

Heather tintype
Photo: “Heather,” done in a wet-plate process. Credit: Robert Christian Malmberg

We will be drinking nothing but clear liquids at the Daily Mirror HQ today in memory of Dr. William Wolff, who helped develop the colonoscopy. Yes, they’re annoying, but they could save your life. New York Times.

L.A. Times columnist Hector Tobar visits Libros Schmibros — both of them.

A Washington, D.C., grand jury has indicted Susan J. Burns in attacks on paintings at the National Gallery of Art. Keith L. Alexander in the Washington Post.

Andy Wright and Reyhan Harmanci of the Bay Citizen write about a revival of wet-plate collodion photography, a technique that dates to the 1850s.

The L.A. Daily Mirror and L.A. Crime Beat, carefully assembled from Twitter feeds by the tireless bots at paper.li, who couldn’t care less that the weekend is coming up.  TMZ SEO bait: Mena Suvari and Dania Ramirez are “pathetic,” sez Lindsay Lohan.

Posted in Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Medicine, Obituaries, Photography, San Francisco, Washington | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Coming Attractions: Telluride

Posted on September 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

telluride_2011_poster

Here’s the schedule for Telluride, Friday through Monday.

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Marion Eisenmann: Artist’s Notebook – Grand Central Market

Posted on September 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

Feb. 15, 2010, Grand Central Market

“Grand Central Market” by Marion Eisenmann

Note: I’m reposting artwork that Marion Eisenmann did with the Daily Mirror when it was at latimes.com. This one is from 2010.

Marion will be giving monthly classes in plein air painting on Thursdays at the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden in Arcadia.

Marion will also be giving plein air classes for youngsters at the Huntington. Workshops for children ages 7 to 12  and an accompanying adult will be held Sept. 17 and 24 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The fee is $25 for one class and $45 for for both for members and $30/$55 for nonmembers. A  class for teenagers (14-17) will be held Oct. 1 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The fee is $30 for members, $35 for nonmembers. Registration at (626) 405-2128.

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Posted in Art & Artists, Artist's Notebook, Coming Attractions, Downtown, Food and Drink, Libraries, Marion Eisenmann | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Marion Eisenmann: Artist’s Notebook – Grand Central Market