Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on April 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

  March 28, 2011, Mystery photo  
  Los Angeles Times file photo  

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details

[Update 3: This is Madeleine Carroll and her husband Philip/Phillip Astley in a photo published Nov. 7, 1936].

[Update 2: We have another mystery here. Some comments are getting lost in the ether: Mary Mallory and Bob Levinson tell me they left comments but for some reason, nothing appeared in TypePad. I have even started checking the spam filter in case something goes astray, but no luck. My apologies. If this continues I'll have to figure out some other way to handle the comments.]

[Update: Please congratulate Gerald McCann, Periwinkle, Carmen, Dewey Webb, Lee Ann, LC and Claire Lockhart for identifying our mystery guest! ]

It’s mystery time!

 

There’s a new photo on the jump!

For the record, 4:10 p.m., March 31: A previous version of this post credited Barry Levinson with identifying our mystery woman. He is Bob Levinson.]

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 53 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on April 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

  April 2, 2011, Mystery Photo  
  Los Angeles Times file photo  

[Update two: This is Mabel Todd (sometimes spelled Mable in The Times).]

[Update: Please congratulate Dewey Webb, Mike Hawks, David Thompson and Eve Golden for identifying our mystery gal! NOTE: If you submitted a comment and I haven’t posted it or given you credit, email me] 

Here’s our mystery gal!
 
There’s a new photo on the jump!

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Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 19 Comments

Daily Mirror Readers — The ‘Brain Trust’

Posted on April 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

  2011_0405_mystery_photo  
  Los Angeles Times file photos  

  Mabel Todd  

  The back of yesterday’s photo. Notice that
there’s no publication date. Very annoying! 		 

Here’s why I call the Daily Mirror’s readers “the brain trust.” You may recall the lady on the left as yesterday’s mystery gal. Mike Hawks had identified the latest mystery guest as Mabel Todd, but when I posted yesterday’s picture he said: “That’s XXXXX! What gives?” Mary Mallory was the next to ask the same question.

Mary and I exchanged a couple of emails and she faxed me a copy of a photo with the correct identity of yesterday’s mystery woman. (In case you’re wondering how she has access to so many pictures, Mary is a photo librarian at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.)

I went downstairs, checked our photos and found another picture from the same incident, correctly identified as XXXXX (once again not dated, however!).

Which means our reigning mystery guest is the lady on the right.

Thanks Mike and Mary!

 

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 2 Comments

Jim Murray, April 5, 1961

Posted on April 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

 

  April 5, 1961, Alex Perez  

 

  April 5, 1961, Jim Murray  

April 5, 1961: Four years ago, Doug Ford restored the prestige of the Masters after a disastrous attempt to thin the field eliminated some of the greats of golf. Now Ford is returning to Augusta — and he needs a great deal of luck, Jim Murray says. [Golfers will know that 1961 marks Gary Player's first win at the Masters.] 

And we have another drawing by Alex Perez!

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Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Sports | Comments Off on Jim Murray, April 5, 1961

Spade Cooley: ‘I’m not sure, but I think Ella Mae is dead’

Posted on April 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

  Spade Cooley, Oct. 19, 1949  
  Los Angeles Times file photo  

Oct. 15, 1949: Spade Cooley and his daughter Melody pose for a publicity photo aboard his yacht.
  April 5, 1961, Spade Cooley  

April 5, 1961: In a switch from its usual policy of keeping lurid killings off the front page, The Times puts the Spade Cooley story on Page 1 (below the fold).  
 
John, his son from a previous marriage, said: "Dad and mother had not been getting along for weeks. I don't think there was, but Dad had a fixation there was someone else. Dad has a violent temper. But he never beat me. He wouldn't try to take me on. And, as far as I know, he never harmed Melody or Donny.

"He can't be sane to have done a thing like this, can he? Do you know how she died? It was terrible, wasn't it? He just doesn't stand a ghost of a chance."

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Posted in #courts, 1961, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Music, Photography | 4 Comments

Found on EBay — ‘Headline Happy’

Posted on April 4, 2011 by lmharnisch
Florabel Muir

  Los Angeles Times file photo  
A somewhat distressed copy of “Headline Happy” by Florabel Muir  has been listed on EBay. You may recall that Muir, above, has a terrific description of the Busgy Siegel crime scene and, yes, she’s the reporter who got hit in the rear during the attempted killing of Mickey Cohen at Sherry’s in 1949. Trivia note: The Times’ only mention of Muir being shot is in a Hedda Hopper column that says Muir was sporting an “Italian sunset.”

Judging by the vendor’s description, this copy is not in pristine shape, but it’s difficult to find “Headline Happy” for less than $50 and the price (bidding starts at 50 cents) makes it sound interesting for those who are looking for a reading copy. 

ALSO

Mickey Cohen on the Daily Mirror

Florabel Muir on the Daily Mirror
Posted in 1950, books, Crime and Courts, Mickey Cohen, Zombie Reading List | Comments Off on Found on EBay — ‘Headline Happy’

Matt Weinstock, April 4, 1961

Posted on April 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

  April 4, 1961, Comics  

April 4, 1961: ONLY IN L.A. — On a recent dewy day, an ad stating "Utter-McKinley Understands" on the side of a bus had soaked through, revealing the previous ad underneath, which John Watson was delighted to observe, proclaimed that "Some Like It Hot."
 
DEAR ABBY: Will you print my letter as encouragement to women to remain true to their husbands even though they are strongly attracted to someone else? Our marriage lost its sparkle and just when our differences seemed insurmountable, a tall, dark, charming man walked into my life. He was everything my husband was not. Refined, exciting and talented. We seemed made for each other. Knowing that two families were involved (he was married) and our reputations were at stake….

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Paul Coates, April 4, 1961

Posted on April 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

  image[25]  

April 4, 1961: Paul Coates has an update on the Watts Towers. On the jump, Al Capp writes about Jim Hagerty, President Eisenhower's former press secretary, who is heading ABC's news operations. One goal is to cut 90 seconds off the weather report!
 
ALSO

The Watts Towers on the Daily Mirror

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Posted in 1961, art and artists, broadcasting, Columnists, Paul Coates, Television | Comments Off on Paul Coates, April 4, 1961

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 4, 1941

Posted on April 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

  April 4, 1941, Ford Strike  

  April 4, 1941, Comics  

April 4, 1941: Lee Shippey has an item on Leland Stowe, the reporter who was the subject of a Tom Treanor column. Treanor, meanwhile, writes about Arthur Ernest Morgan, the former president of Antioch College and head of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
 
Fan magazine: Lana Turner's pet subjects are clothes, dancing, and, of course, herself. She never even gives Hitler a thought." Serves the old meanie right!

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Posted in 1941, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 4, 1941

Spade Cooley Held in Wife’s Death

Posted on April 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

Spade Cooley, Sept. 6, 1954
Los Angeles Times file photo
April 4, 1961: Western music star Donnell “Spade” Cooley is accused of killing his estranged wife, Ella Mae,  in a jealous rage after listening to tape recordings of her phone conversations about what the defense would call “a free love cult.”

I have not had much exposure to the Cooley case, which occurred in Kern County, except that James Ellroy used to talk about it all the time and it is certainly one of the notorious killings of the early 1960s.

The details of the killing are particularly gruesome and part of it was witnessed by the Cooley’s teenage daughter, Melody, so I’m a little reluctant to dredge up all the gory details. A purported affair with Roy Rogers (yes, that Roy Rogers) — which he and others denied — was also dragged into the courtroom.

It is a nasty, lurid case.

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Posted in 1961, books, Front Pages, Homicide, Music | 4 Comments

Jim Murray, April 4, 1961

Posted on April 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

  April 4, 1961, Weather Girls  

  April 4, 1961, Jim Murray  

April 4, 1961: Jockey Johnny Longden must choose between two troublesome horses for the Kentucky Derby – Flutterby or Four-and-Twenty, Jim Murray says.  [He finished seventh on Four-and-Twenty, by the way—lrh.]

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

From the Vaults: ‘Fantasia’

Posted on April 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

  Fantasia  

For the last few days, the DVD player has been glowering at me. Over two nights, I worked my way through most of “Fantasia” and whenever I went near, it would scold me as if to say “Don’t forget, you still have to watch ‘Night on Bald Mountain’ and ‘Ave Maria.’ ” I always found some excuse for a delay. A long-postponed plumbing project, perhaps, or the laundry. I even tried bargaining with it: “Look what came from Netflix! ‘Yiddle With His Fiddle!’ ” But it was unyielding.

Finally, with all my other tasks out of the way, I sat down to finish the movie. And frankly, whatever Walt Disney expected of “Fantasia,” it certainly wasn’t supposed to be a chore.

My sudden interest in the film is all because of delayed advertising. I have gone through the 1941 stories and display ads for the local premiere of “Fantasia” – it had already debuted in New York — and thought it might be a nice subject for Anne Elisabeth, who responded with a demur, ladylike “No thank you.” So with my curiosity aroused, I took on the film myself.

ALSO

 “Fantasia” on the Daily Mirror

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Posted in 1941, Film, From the Vaults, Hollywood | 3 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 3, 1941

Posted on April 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

  April 3, 1941, Ford Demands Roosevelt Halt CIO Reign of Terror  

  April 3, 1941, Comics  

April 3, 1941: Tom Treanor, who died covering World War II for The Times, writes about Leland Stowe, a reporter for the Chicago Daily News who was visiting Los Angeles. Stowe and Treanor had crossed paths several times in Europe, the last being the time Stowe hitched a ride with a Christian Science Monitor reporter who had a peculiar obsession with owls.  

RKO reports that "Citizen Kane," Hollywood's most controversial film, will be released. THIS MEANS that Orson Welles, who holds a steel-bound contract for a percentage of profits and who threatened a terrific damage suit if the film was shelved, has won his battle and is enthroned as the industry's No. 1 "No" man, Jimmie Fidler says.

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Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 3, 1941

Jim Murray, April 3, 1961

Posted on April 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

  April 3, 1961, Day in Sports  

  April 3, 1961 Jim Murray  

April 3, 1961: Jim Murray has a wonderful feature on featherweight champ Davey Moore. Don’t miss it!

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Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Sports | Comments Off on Jim Murray, April 3, 1961

A Time of Terror — The Westside Rapist

Posted on April 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

 
 

  Dec. 29, 1975, Westside Rapist  

Dec. 29, 1975: Now that John Floyd Thomas Jr. has been sentenced to life in prison in some of the killings blamed on the Westside Rapist, I thought it would be worth running Bella Stumbo's 1975 feature about the then-unsolved crimes. I never met Stumbo, who died in 2002 at the age of 59, but I have heard many stories about her over the years. She was a master of the long personality profile, notably a 1990 nondupe (Colume One) on Marion Barry. The only person to survive a Stumbo piece relatively intact was Police Chief Daryl Gates, according to the late Eric Malnic, who said Gates "just talked her to death."

ALSO

Bella Stumbo on the Daily Mirror

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Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on A Time of Terror — The Westside Rapist

Found on EBay — The Herald Examiner [Updated]

Posted on April 2, 2011 by lmharnisch
Blackface Herald Herald Blackface
[Update: My nickname for Daily Mirror readers is "the brain trust" because they always impress me with their knowledge. Fibber, Sam and Roger believe this is from the Chicago Herald-Examiner, which dates from 1918 to 1939. I was previously unaware of this publication and I'll watch out for it in the future. Thanks, folks! ]

This curious item from the Herald Examiner promoting the “Blackface Index” has been listed on EBay. It’s hard to tell much about this coin except that it can’t be dated any earlier than 1962, when the Examiner merged with the Herald-Express.
Posted in @news | 2 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 2, 1941

Posted on April 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

  April 2, 1941, Bowron, Cunningham Nominated  

  April 2, 1941, Comics  

April 2, 1941: Tom Treanor talks to Richard Neutra about a 300-unit housing development he designed for a community outside Dallas.
 
Betty Grable tells Jimmie Fidler: “Any girl in the Hollywood spotlight is handicapped in the game of love. Too many worthwhile men hesitate to ask for dates because they fear her fame and overpublicized earning power. And too many parasites chase her because they hope to win attention by being seen in her company. Consequently, most stars, unsure of their men, lead discontented lives."

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

Jim Murray, April 2, 1961

Posted on April 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

  April 2, 1961, Comics  

  April 2, 1961, Jim Murray  

April 2, 1961: Golfer Porky Oliver  is dying of liver cancer, as gallantly as the way he lived. There’s an Easter lesson there, Jim Murray says.

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Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Sports | Comments Off on Jim Murray, April 2, 1961

Paul Coates and Matt Weinstock, April 1, 1961

Posted on April 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

 
 

  April 1, 1961, Comics  
  April 1, 1961, Barbara Mills  

April 1, 1961: Barbara Mills, a dancer who performed as April Adams and Chondelli, dies after being found in a coma at the Coronet Motel, 5410 Hollywood Blvd. We don’t know much more about her than what appears in this obituary. Somebody thought she was worth Page 1,  though. With a picture.  

Matt Weinstock hears from surfers and ho-dads.

DEAR ABBY: My husband has been a milkman for over 30 years. All he has ever been able to talk about are the women on his route. He says he knows more about some of them than their husbands do. He's the kind of person women like to sit down with and tell their troubles to. When other milkmen have been home for hours,  my husband is still out listening to these mixed-up women. He says it is all in a day's work and I should be more understanding. I'd like your views.

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Posted in 1961, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Hollywood, Matt Weinstock, Obituaries, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul Coates and Matt Weinstock, April 1, 1961

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 1, 1941

Posted on April 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

 
 

  image  

  April 1, 1941, Comics  

April 1, 1941: Leroy Keane lives in a 7 by 10 room at 415 Crocker, but has a library of several hundred books, many of them first editions. He acquires them from the drivers of rubbish wagons, buying them sight unseen — sometimes getting an entire stack for 15 cents, Lee Shippey says.

Those makeup infection scars on Merle Oberon's face seem permanent, Jimmie Fidler says.

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Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, April 1, 1941