Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on August 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

Aug. 14, 2011, Mystery Photo

Here’s a sparkling mystery woman, courtesy of Steven Bibb!

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Voices: Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, 1914 – 2011, Part 2

Posted on August 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

Ed Jokisch

Photo: Capt. Ed Jokisch. Credit: Jokisch family

 

This is Part 2 of my interview with the late Ed Jokisch.
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Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Obituaries, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Coming Up

Posted on August 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

Aug. 21, 1941, Zute Suit

Image: A “zute” suit cartoon from the California Eagle, Aug. 21, 1941.

Aug. 14, 1941, Stove Polish In case you’re wondering, I tracked down the Navy’s 1943 report on the Zoot Suit Riots but I can’t get out to the National Archives in Riverside until September. So stay tuned.

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

In the meantime, I made the wonderful discovery that the California Eagle, a weekly newspaper for African Americans published by Charlotta Bass (more about her another time) has been digitized and uploaded to Archive.org. The Eagle and its rival the Los Angeles Sentinel provide a stark counterpoint to the mainstream, white newspapers of the era. The Eagle is full of stories about discrimination that offer a sobering view of the 1940s.

For example, do you think the white newspapers covered the NAACP’s August 1941 protest over this brand of stove polish? Guess again.

On the jump, President Roosevelt’s June 15, 1941, statement against discrimination in hiring by federal defense contractors, and an Aug. 14, 1941, follow-up in the California Eagle.

Roosevelt said: “No nation combating the increasing threat of totalitarianism can afford arbitrarily to exclude large segments of its population from its defense industries. Even more important is it for us to strengthen our unity and morale by refuting at home the very theories which we are fighting abroad.”

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Posted in 1941, 1943, African Americans, Art & Artists, Comics, Fashion, Zoot Suit | Tagged , | Comments Off on ‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Coming Up

Found on EBay – C.C. Pierce Photos of 1910 Aviation Meet

Posted on August 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

C.C. Pierce, 1910 Aviation Meet

C.C. Pierce 1910 Aviation Meet Detail

Four postcards of the January 1910 Aviation Meet in Los Angeles, taken by the C.C. Pierce studio, have been listed on EBay. The meet was held at Dominguez Field and is one of the major events in the history of Los Angeles – and in the history of aviation. Bidding starts at $40.

Posted in 1910, Aviation, Photography, Transportation | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on August 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

Aug. 13, 2011, Mystery Photo

Here’s an intense mystery fellow, courtesy of Steven Bibb!

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The Mystery of J.W. Robinson [Updated]

Posted on August 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

J.W. Robinson's

A postcard showing the J.W. Robinson Co. Building has been listed on EBay. And it’s more of a mystery than I expected….

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Posted in 1914, 1915, 1923, 1934, Architecture, Downtown, Fashion, Found on EBay, Preservation | 10 Comments

Coming Attractions: Culinary Historians Used Cookbook Sale

Posted on August 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

Junior League of Santa Barbara

Photo: The Santa Barbara Junior League Cookbook, 1939. Credit: L.A. Daily Mirror archives.

The Culinary Historians of Southern California will hold its annual used cookbook sale on Aug. 21 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hollywood Farmers Market, at Ivar and Selma avenues. Magazines, menus and other ephemera will also be for sale. The Daily Mirror test kitchen has been inactive for some time, but we do enjoy picking through old cookbooks when we find them and years ago we had a particular soft spot for family recipe boxes we sometimes found in thrift stores. One can discover quite a bit of history in a family’s recipes. We may just have to pay a visit and see what we find!

Posted in 1939, Books and Authors, Coming Attractions, Food and Drink, History, Hollywood | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Coming Attractions: Culinary Historians Used Cookbook Sale

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on August 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

Aug. 12, 2011, Mystery Photo

Here’s another mystery photo courtesy of Steven Bibb!

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Posted in Fashion, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Obituaries, Photography | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

#Broadway, #Civil War, #history, #museums, 8|12|2011

Posted on August 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

image

Photo: Diary of Alexander Sterrett Paxton. Credit: Washington and Lee University.

Daniel de Vise of the Washington Post writes about a collection of six Civil War diaries obtained by Washington and Lee University. The diaries were kept by Alexander Sterrett Paxton, who joined his Washington and Lee classmates in the Liberty Hall Volunteers for what he called the “war of Southern Independence & of resistance to Northern Despotism.”

Paxton wrote: “Nothing is so exciting as to get a shot at a Yankee. How strange that the better & kinder feelings of our natures should be thus changed!”

The diaries were purchased for $21,000 by a group of alumni and given to the university.

Mark St. John Erickson of the Newport News Daily Press writes about efforts to conserve the turret of the Monitor, which was recovered by Navy divers and federal archeologists in 2002.

Kate Taylor of the New York Times’ Arts Beat looks at the latest fallout from the Russian embargo on loans to American museums. The embargo is the result of a dispute with the Chabad-Lubavitch organization, which wants Russia to return a large collection of books and documents seized by the Nazis.

Some people really don’t like the idea of reinterpreting “Porgy and Bess” for Broadway.  Like Stephen Sondheim.

The L.A. Daily Mirror and L.A. Crime Beat lovingly prepared from Twitter feeds to the most exacting standards by the bots at paper.li. What’s this? The bots are leading with nude photos of Lee Grace Dougherty from TMZ.

Posted in Art & Artists, History, Museums, Music, Preservation, Stage, World War II | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on #Broadway, #Civil War, #history, #museums, 8|12|2011

Marion Eisenmann: Artist’s Notebook – Union Station

Posted on August 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

2009_0808_union_station_thumb

“Union Station” by Marion Eisenmann, Aug, 8, 2009

Note: I’m reposting the artwork Marion Eisenmann did several years ago. It’s a pleasure to share her work with a new audience.

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Posted in 1939, Art & Artists, Artist's Notebook, Downtown, Marion Eisenmann, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Van Nuys Plane Crash Kills 2 – Aug. 11, 1941

Posted on August 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

Aug. 11, 1941, Comics

Aug. 11, 1941, Plane Crash

Aug. 11, 1941: Walter P. Palmer and William S. Raney are killed when their plane goes into a spin during a flying lesson and crashes into a bean field at Woodley Avenue and Oxnard Street in Van Nuys, which is now somewhere in the middle of the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area.

Lee Shippey writes about the shortage of silk stockings and blacking out aircraft factories as the nation prepares for war. But not everyone is enthusiastic. An opinion piece by former Rep. Samuel B. Pettengill, “The Gentleman From Indiana,” questions whether Japan is worth a war.  “I sometimes think the chief reason for war is that mankind likes to go on a grand drunk at least once in a generation, plastered with slogans,” Pettengill writes.

FALSE ALARM: Nothing to those Barbara Stanwyck-Robert Taylor baby rumors; the new room is for a billiard table, which no stork is bringing, Jimmie Fidler says.

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Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Lee Shippey, Politics, San Fernando Valley, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated ++]

Posted on August 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

Aug. 10, 2011, Mystery Photo

Our mystery lady has at least one fan.

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

#art, #black dahlia, #books, #courts, #crime, #history, #railroads, 8|10|2011

Posted on August 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

https://i0.wp.com/images2.bonhams.com/erez4/cache/Images_live_2011-05_20_8308567-1-2_JPG_tif_0b8c0a392052174a.jpg

Photo: BMW M1. Credit: Bonhams

A BMW M1 painted by Frank Stella is being auctioned at the Quail Lodge Sale, Aug. 18-19, in Carmel. The BWM belonged to racecar driver Peter Gregg, who committed suicide after an accident left him with double vision and therefore banned from racing.     Phil Patton in the New York Times.

BLACK DAHLIA

A filing in Bankruptcy Court reveals that Steve Hodel is claiming unpaid royalties for “Black Dahlia Avenger.” The unpaid sum: $224,571.07. The court rejected Hodel’s claim for interest against Arcade Publishing.

Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times looks at Michele Bachmann’s views on the Renaissance.

Tea party queen and Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is convinced that America is sinking into tyranny. Why? In a remarkable profile of the candidate appearing in the Aug. 15 issue of the New Yorker magazine, the artistic flowering of the Italian Renaissance takes a beating for having done away with the God-fearing Dark Ages.

The L.A Daily Mirror and L.A. Crime Beat from Twitter feeds prepared to the most exacting specifications by the bots at paper.li.

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Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, History, Motorsports, Museums, Politics, Transportation, Washington | 2 Comments

James Curtis: L.A. Voices – Dick Lane, Part 4

Posted on August 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

 dick_lane_1947-TV
Photo: Dick Lane in 1947. The woman may be Jane Harvey, who was crowned “Queen of Television Week” in March 1947.
Credit: Steve Dichter Collection.

This is Part 4 of James Curtis’ 1975 interview with Dick Lane. In this installment, Lane discusses the early days of television in Los Angeles and Klaus Landsberg.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

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Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, James Curtis, L.A. Voices, Obituaries, Television | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on August 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

Aug. 9, 2011, Mystery Photo

[Update: This is Helene Costello (d. 1957). And yes, that is quite a bracelet.]

Here’s a photo of a mystery woman and some mystery jewelry, courtesy of Steven Bibb!

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

#architecture, #art, #black dahlia, #history, #religion, 8|9|2011

Posted on August 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

image

Photo: 130 W. 30th, via Google maps’ street view.

SPOTLIGHT

David W. Dunlap, writing in the New York Times’ City Room, tells the story of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah,  sometimes called the “gay synagogue,” which is moving into a building with an Assyrian motif.

NEWS

Google is helping to fund the restoration of one of the buildings at Bletchley Park, the famous site of World War II code-breaking. The machines built to help crack the German Enigma codes are often viewed as the some of the earliest computers. BBC

BLACK DAHLIA

Marilyn Manson’s paintings of the Black Dahlia will go on display Nov. 12 as part of the Theatrification event at the Million Dollar Theatre. The event also features David J’s “Black Dahlia” song cycle, written for the film  “The Chanteuse and the Devil’s Muse,” which will be used in a staging that tells the story of Madi/Mady/Mattie/Matty Comfort. Comfort, in case you have forgotten, became part of the confusing myths surrounding the Black Dahlia case because she was photographed by Dr. George “Evil Genius” Hodel. Hodel, at least according to his son’s book franchise, supposedly committed every unsolved killing in Los Angeles for decades, plus the Zodiac murders, designed the Edsel and discovered Milli Vanilli.

The L.A. Daily Mirror and L.A. Crime Beat gathered from Twitter feeds and prepared to the most exacting specifications by the bots at paper.li.

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Posted in Architecture, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Genealogy, Libraries, Music, New York, Religion, Stage | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Architectural Rambling: Julian Eltinge Home – 1921

Posted on August 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

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Julian Eltinge Home, 2007

The home of Julian Eltinge at 2328 Baxter Street in Silver Lake is barely visible from the street.

Julian Eltinge Note: While trolling EBay, I found yet another article that had been cut from a magazine, in this case, the Architectural Record of February 1921. I will say again: Vandalizing books and magazines for such purposes is an abomination. And besides, the article question – a visit to the home of Julian Eltinge – is available online for free from Archive.org.

Eltinge (d. 1941) was perhaps the preeminent female impersonator of his era. His lavish home is at 2328 Baxter St., but virtually impossible to see from the street.

By ELMER GREY

HE who attempts to reach the main entrance gates of Mr. Julian Eltinge’s house by automobile atleast the gates which were originally intended to be the main entrance gates takes his life in his hands. Three persons only have so far attempted the feat and they were reckless drivers. When we visited this enchanting spot, we therefore left our car at the bottom of the hill and climbed the rest of the way on foot ; and we could easily have imagined ourselves mounting to some mediaeval
baron’s home or to some impregnable fortress that had been so placed for defensive purposes.

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Posted in 1921, Architecture, Found on EBay, Interior Design, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Stage | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

#history, #museums, 8|8|2011 [Updated]

Posted on August 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

Colonel Sanders 1976

Photo: Colonel Harland Sanders, 1976. Credit: KFC

 

The Edgar Allan Poe House in Baltimore is threatened with “Nevermore.” Kate Taylor in the New York Times.

KFC has launched a website to collect people’s stories about Colonel Sanders.

[Update: The L.A. Daily Mirror and L.A. Crime Beat from Twitter feeds, prepared to the exacting standards of the bots at paper.li.]

Posted in Books and Authors, Food and Drink, History, Museums | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on #history, #museums, 8|8|2011 [Updated]

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on August 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

Aug. 8, 2011, Mystery Photo

Our friend Fibber sends along this mystery photo

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on August 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

hearse_packard_ebay_crop

This 1939 Packard Hearse has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $16,000, but there is a reserve.

Queen of the Dead—dateline August 8, 2011

 

 •  Milly del Rubio, the last of the amusingly camp del Rubio Triplets, died on July 21. She was 89. The del Rubios seemed to “get the joke,” which I always admire in any celeb. Edith, Elena and Mildred were born in 1921, and “even though we knew we didn’t have any talent, we wanted to be in show business,” as Milly told People in 1988. With their showgirl looks, honking voices, and sense of sheer fun, the triplets played cruises, clubs and cut the occasional record from the 1950s through the early ‘80s—by which time they were reduced to playing old-folks’ homes. But with the ’80s came retro camp, and the del Rubios were discovered by booker and songwriter Allee Willis, who turned them into New Wave stars: they appeared on Pee-Wee’s Christmas Special and The Golden Girls, cut new albums (covering hits by the Beatles, Devo and the Doors). They continued performing till Eadie’s death in 1996; Elena died in 2001.

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Obituaries, World War II | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments