Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 14, 1941

Posted on May 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

 
 

  Churchill to Quiz Hess  

  May 14, 1941, Comics  

May 14, 1941: Harold Lamb fills in for Lee Shippey, who is recovering from surgery.

Tom Treanor files a report from Caripe, Venezuela, where he manages to find a cold beer kept in a refrigerator that runs on kerosene.

Guy who never forgets to say thanks for a favor: Clark Gable, Jimmie Fidler says.

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Jim Murray, May 14, 1961

Posted on May 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

 

  May 14, 1961, KFI  

 

  May 14, 1961, Jim Murray  

May 14, 1961: Rinold George Duren, is the victim — or the beneficiary, if you want to look at it that way — of the most monumental case of nearsightedness in the annals of sport, if not in the annals of optometry. The movies' Mr. Magoo, who frequently confuses the Sahara Desert with Malibu Beach or a lion with a housecat, is a hawkeye by comparison.

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Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, Baseball, broadcasting, Columnists, Dodgers, Sports | 1 Comment

Gary Cooper Dies of Cancer at 60

Posted on May 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

 
 

  May 14, 1961, Gary Cooper  

  200 Baroda Drive  

May 14, 1961: Gary Cooper dies of cancer at his home, 200 Baroda Drive, Holmby Hills. He was 60.

“Cooper, Hollywood's homespun hero, was another product of its big star era — the same era in which names like Clark Gable, John Wayne, Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power became household words to millions. It was an era which Hollywood itself believes is gone forever,” The Times said.

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Posted in 1961, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries | 1 Comment

Hitler Aide Rudolf Hess Flees to Scotland!

Posted on May 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

 
 

  May 13, 1941, Hess, Hitler Aide, Deserts  

 

  image  

May 13, 1941: Rudolf Hess, the Nazis’ No. 2 deputy, bails out  of his Messerschmitt over Scotland. He will commit suicide in Spandau prison in 1987.

Ralph Bellamy fills in for Lee Shippey, who is recovering from surgery.

Tom Treanor, who was killed covering World War II for The Times, visits an oil field in Venezuela and says the employee facilities  built by Standard Oil are cheap and dreary.

ON THE CONTRARY DEPT. (The boldface type is mine): From a Hollywood daily: “George Raft and Edward G. Robinson, after feuding for days, went at each other with blood in their eyes. Marlene Dietrich separated them,” Jimmie Fidler says. 

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From the Stacks: ‘The Los Angeles Book’

Posted on May 13, 2011 by lmharnisch
 
It has been years since I looked through “The Los Angeles Book” and even longer since I read it. Then several weeks ago, I bought a copy so I could point out a particular photo of Chavez Ravine to a Chapman University student who was interviewing me for a documentary on the Dodgers.

That pretty much sums up the 1950 collaboration of Lee Shippey and Max Yavno (d. 1985):  You remember the pictures and forget the words.  In fact, Yavno once said he never read any of Shippey’s text.

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Posted in 1950, books, Columnists, From the Stacks, Zombie Reading List | 1 Comment

Found on EBay – Frank Sinatra

Posted on May 12, 2011 by lmharnisch
Finian's Rainbow, cartoon A 33 rpm album of the audio from an uncompleted animated feature of “Finian’s Rainbow,” featuring Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, has been listed on EBay.

According to The Times’ clips, this project was begun by Maurice Binder (d. 1991) about 1954 but apparently went on hiatus about August 1955. Binder was later known for his movie titles, done with Saul Bass. This item is listed as “Buy It Now” for $49.95. As with anything on EBay, an item and vendor should be evaluated thoroughly before submitting a bid.
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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 12, 1941

Posted on May 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

  image  

  May 12, 1941, Comics  

May 12, 1941: Producers have a new name for their movie: “Bahama Passage.” The working title may have provoked some unwanted reaction.  
 
Garner Curran fills in for Lee Shippey, who is recovering from surgery, and writes about the late Times columnist Harry Carr.

Ronald Reagan has a new Warners contract with bigger dough and promising a star buildup, Jimmie Fidler says.

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Jim Murray, May 12, 1961

Posted on May 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

  May 12, 1961, Alex Perez  

  May 12, 1961, Jim Murray  

May 12, 1961: Paul Pender is not really a prizefighter at all. He has retired from the game more times than Jackie Jensen. He is a fireman by trade and he still reaches out instinctively to slide down a pole when the alarm goes off early in the morning. He was just whiling away his days off dabbling in the prize ring when he suddenly found himself fighting for the championship of the world last year. Since his opponent was Sugar Ray Robinson, he didn't take his chances too seriously.

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Lugosi to Appear as Weird Scientist

Posted on May 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

  Feb. 17, 1953, Ed Wood Jr.  

  March 4, 1953, Transvestite  

Feb. 17, 1953: This is how I got here. I started researching the Lionel Atwill sex scandal of 1941 and discovered that before his career was derailed, Atwill planned to produce a film of the novel “The Dark River” by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. The project was never filmed, but the novel resurfaced in 1953 in a production that was to star Macdonald Carey.

That project was also never filmed, but  the Feb. 17, 1953, column by Edwin Schallert about the movie referred to the Edward D. Wood Jr. production titled “Transvestite” that was released as “Glen or Glenda?”

And in searching for “Transvestite,” I discovered the March 4, 1953, story of Arnold Lowman,  a chemist and part-owner of a cosmetics company who was suing his ex-wife to get upsupervised visits with their son, Brent. Lowman's ex-wife, Dorothy, objected to anything but supervised visitation, "principally on her former husband's admitted propensity for feminine apparel," The Times said.

Judge Clarence E. Johns decided in favor of Lowman, giving him custody one day a week and on alternate holidays.

Stay tuned for the Lionel Atwill case. It’s complicated, and The Times was squeamish about some of the details. 

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Posted in #gays and lesbians, 1953, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Libel Suit in L.A. Mayor’s Race!

Posted on May 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

  May 12, 1961, Poulson, Yorty  

  May 12, 1961, Comics  

May 12, 1961: Mayor Norris Poulson accused challenger Sam Yorty of being “backed by the underworld” and Yorty responded with a libel suit.   The basis of Poulson's charge was that as an Assemblyman, Yorty supported a bill to legalize bookmaking and as an attorney, he received $12,500 from operators of a Las Vegas casino-hotel for trying to get them a gambling license in Nevada.

Also on the jump: A full-page ad for Moral Re-Armament, one of those cultural forces that took root in the 1930s and may be remembered for the Up With People traveling productions that began in 1965 and struggled to survive in the 1980s.    

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Found on EBay – Oviatt’s

Posted on May 11, 2011 by lmharnisch
oviatt_ebay_suitcase This unusual – and maybe a bit odd – suitcase from Oviatt & Alexander has been listed on EBay. It’s an alligator suitcase with what appear to be little pouches for jewelry on the lid.  Although Oviatt’s has been gone for years, it was considered the leading Los Angeles menswear store and items are highly collectible.  As with anything on EBay, an item and vendor should be investigated thoroughly before submitting a bid. Bidding on this suitcase starts at $125.
Posted in Fashion, Found on EBay | 1 Comment

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 11, 1941

Posted on May 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

 
 

  May 11, 1941, Nazis Batter London  

  May 11, 1941, Fire Engulfs Whole Blocks  

  May 11, 1941, Comics  

May 11, 1941: We decided to poll a vote to decide which of the "funny men" are really funny. Bob Hope won the majority vote for originality. Milton Berle was classed as the fastest spieler with the best memory for gags (it was generally agreed that Berle doesn't mind swiping material).

George Burns won almost hands down as the best teller of anecdotes and stories. Groucho Marx was extolled as a master of dry wit. Jerry Colonna, it was agreed, isn't funny often, but is very funny on those few occasions. Harry Ritz was acclaimed as a top joke teller, especially with stories having a risque slant.

Jack Benny, most of us agreed, is seldom funny in private.

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Jim Murray, May 11, 1961

Posted on May 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

 

  May 11, 1961, This Day in Sports  

 

  May 11, 1961, Jim Murray  

May 11, 1961: The horse player is the hardest guy I know to please in the whole world of sports. He is grumpy, cynical, suspicious. He never smiles. No matter what happens he is not going to like it. If he wins, the price is too short. If he loses, it's somebody else's fault. The boy rode him like a camel. The starter got him stuck in the gate. The other horses came over on him just as he started to run. 

Also on the jump: A golfing official says the PGA’s “Caucasian only” rule is doomed. State Atty. Gen. Stanley Mosk advised the national PGA that it could not stage its tournament in California unless the clause was eliminated.

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Found on EBay – 1912 Rose Parade

Posted on May 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

   1912 Rose Parade EBay  

This magic lantern slide of a woman riding an elephant in the 1912 Rose Parade has been listed on EBay. Nothing says turn-of-the-century Southern California like palm trees in the frontyard of a home. Notice the streetcar tracks! Bidding starts at 99 cents.

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 10, 1941

Posted on May 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

  May 10, 1941, 300 Bombers Raid German Ports  

  May 10, 1941, Comics  

May 10, 1941: Times Managing Editor L.D. Hotchkiss has a long piece against using material that is off the record. He says: “The moment any speaker or person being interviewed announces ‘this is off the record,’ the press should pick up its collective hat and walk out.”
 
Lee Shippey, who does seven columns a week and writes books in his spare time, muses about about laziness. No, really.

NO BELLS TO: Twentieth Century-Fox for dropping Modelovely Bunny Hartley from contract on the heels of her suicide attempt. It would have been more generous to have given her a chance to regain lost perspective, Jimmie Fidler says.

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Jim Murray, May 10, 1961

Posted on May 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

  May 10, 1961, Alex Perez  

  May 10, 1961, Jim Murray  

May 10, 1961: Things have gotten so desperate the Yankees have taken to trading four of their players for two Angels, a ratio, which, if it holds up, will ultimately mean the whole New York franchise here and ours there. I'm not sure I want it that way, Jim Murray says.

Note: The Angels finished the 1961 season in eighth place. The Yankees won the World Series.

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Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, art and artists, Baseball, Columnists, Comics, Sports | 1 Comment

Architectural Rambling

Posted on May 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

  Castle Sans Souci  

  1901 Argyle  

I found this postcard of Dr. Alfred G. Schloesser’s Castle Sans Souci in Hollywood (the Times used the addresses 1831 and 1901 Argyle Ave.) and dug into the clips for a little more information. 

The castle was built about 1912 for Schloesser, who changed his name to A.G. Castles during World War I. It was designed by Dennis and Farwell, the architects of his previous home, Castle Glengarry, which was on the other side of Argyle.
 
In 1928, The Times reported that Castles was moving to an even more opulent home to be called Falconhurst Castle, but it’s unclear from the clips as to whether it was built.  

It’s equally unclear what became of Dr. Castles, who specialized in miracle cures using glandular treatments. The last mention of him in The Times is a 1932 ad headed “Marvels of Science.” 

The postcard is listed as Buy It Now for $12.99.

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Posted in Architecture, Found on EBay, health, Hollywood, Photography | 1 Comment

Found on EBay – Angels Flight

Posted on May 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

 

Angels Flight

Postcards of Angels Flight are fairly common, but I can’t say I have ever seen  one taken from this perspective on 3rd Street. Bidding starts at $6.89.

Posted in Downtown, Photography, Transportation | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Angels Flight

‘Citizen Kane’ Opens in L.A.!

Posted on May 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

 

  May 9, 1941, Nazi Air Losses Set Record  

 

  May 9, 1941, Citizen Kane  

May 9, 1941: “Citizen Kane” opens at the El Capitan and the RKO Hillstreet.

“Orson Welles strikes out in a dozen new directions with his technique of ‘Citizen Kane.’ Yet what he does can scarcely be called the work of a schooled innovator. It is rather that of the daring and gifted amateur in a new medium….

“It may be concluded that he uses the 'Rosebud' idea as a symbol of the childhood dreams of Kane, which he was forced to forego for the career of wealth mapped out for him. This change in his life resulted in his becoming a sometimes half-mad super-egotist.

“Well, it's an interesting picture, certainly. It has a great deal of art, some of which verges on the arty. It isn't a satisfying picture, however, in actual theme and the fulfillment of this idea,” Edwin Schallert says. 

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Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Ronald Reagan, Tom Treanor | 1 Comment

Jim Murray, May 9, 1961

Posted on May 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

 

  May 9, 1961, Day in Sports  

 

  May 9, 1961, Jim Murray  

May 9, 1961: Unfortunately for the ladies — and probably Alejandro Lavorante too — this Latin lover will be doing his tango with the No. 3 heavyweight of the world, Zora Folley, Thursday night at the Olympic. This is a pretty drastic undertaking for a young fellow who has only had a baker's dozen fights and a few of us were questioning the wisdom of Alejandro's manager, Pinky George, in making the match. Career-wise, it would seem simpler just to drop Alejandro in front of a moving train.

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