This week’s mystery movie was the 1940 MGM film Third Finger, Left Hand with Myrna Loy, Melvyn Douglas, Raymond Walburn, Lee Bowman, Bonita Granville, Felix Bressart, Donald Meek, Ann Morriss, Sidney Blackmer, Ernest Whitman and Halliwell Hobbes. Continue reading
Eddie Muller’s Dark City Dames, available from Amazon.
Women have been integral to the history and creation of the American film industry. Their attendance at films by 1910 gave the fledgling business respectability, exploding its popularity. Female participation in its workforce allowed it to keep the production line flowing as women created new fields like casting and costume design, while remaining a potent force in each of its major creative professions. The popularity of women behind and in front of the camera turned moving pictures from middling studios into major factories.
Moviemaking attracted women for the same reasons it lured men: higher salaries, more creative possibilities, and especially leadership and power opportunities. Both sexes turned to the new field looking to support family, earn a living, find adventure. Over the decades, many determined, dramatic dames left their marks on moviemaking and acting, luring intrepid writers to tell their riveting stories. In the last few years, several biographies have documented the achievements and eccentricities of some of these accomplished women, who fought the system to bring dynamism and strong characters to the screen. Most of these females were more daring, dishy, and strong than the characters they sometimes portrayed onscreen, fighting the system and society mores to demonstrate true courage, smarts, and balls. Continue reading
Boxie and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on the Black Dahlia case Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at 10 a.m. Pacific time, on YouTube and Instagram (yes I’ve decided to go back).
This week’s mystery movie was the 1939 Twentieth Century-Fox film Stanley and Livingstone, with Spencer Tracy, Nancy Kelly, Richard Greene, Walter Brennan, Charles Coburn, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Henry Hull and Henry Travers. Continue reading
Here’s Boxie and I with this month’s “Ask Me Anything” on George Hodel.
In this session, I’m going to trace lies about the Black Dahlia case from former Examiner reporter Will Fowler to John Gilmore in Severed, to Steve Hodel’s Black Dahlia Avenger franchise.
And then I’ll talk about the hemicorporectomy, which George Hodel supposedly performed on Elizabeth Short — at least in the alternative reality that is the world of Steve Hodel.
This week’s mystery movie was the 1939 Warner Bros. film Blackwell’s Island, with John Garfield, Rosemary Lane, Dick Purcell, Victor Jory, Stanley Fields, Morgan Conway, Granville Bates, Anthony Averill, Peggy Shannon, Charley Foy, Norman Willis and Joe Cunningham. Continue reading
A detail of Ord’s 1849 survey of Los Angeles, showing street names in Spanish and English.
Note: This is an encore post from 2022.
Hispanic Heritage and history have greatly contributed to the rise and evolution of California and Los Angeles from Spanish colonization through Mexican land grants to the rancho period and on to today. Many streets and cities in and around Los Angeles are named after significant people and places in this long Spanish history, though often corrupted or Anglicized over time. Edward O.C. Ord’s map in 1849 shows street names in English and Spanish, such as Calle Primavera and Spring, and Calle Principal and Main. The following is a small list of streets and place names that honor our Hispanic past. Continue reading
On June 6, one of the University of Southern California’s most legendary icons turned 95. Tall, handsome, and imposing, Tommy Trojan, the “Spirit of Troy” proudly protects and salutes his spirited school in the heart of the campus. This monumental artwork survived possible scandal and to rule regally today.
Three members of the University’s Alumni Association selected the preliminary model of renowned sculptor Roger Noble Burnham’s majestic warrior statue design from many submitted works to honor the 50th anniversary of the school’s founding in 1930. Harry Lee Martin, President of the Pacific Mortgage Guarantee company, Kennedy Ellsworth, former chairman of the Alumni Club and the leader of Los Angeles’ Junior Chamber of Commerce, and Frank Hadlock, executive secretary of the Alumni Association, selected the eyecatching figure of the warrior because “the Trojan tradition is emblematic of the University of Southern California, and “because of its embodiment of courage, skill and wisdom,” as the Los Angeles Evening Post-Record reported in mid-September 1929. Campus President Rufus von Kleinsmid believed “it typified the Trojan spirit; intrepid courage, charging forward to meet any opposition.” Continue reading
Reminder: Boxie and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on George Hodel and Steve Hodel on Tuesday, June 17, at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube and Instagram.
Can’t make the live session? Email me your questions and I’ll answer them! The video will be posted once the session ends so you can watch it later. Remember, this is ask me anything, so please remember to ask questions rather than make comments. Thanks!
This week’s mystery movie was the 1938 MGM film The Girl of the Golden West, with Jeannette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Walter Pidgeon, Leo Carrillo, Buddy Ebsen, Leonard Penn, Priscilla Lawson, Bob Murphy, Olin Howland, Cliff Edwards, Billy Bevan, Brandon Tynan, H.B. Warner, Monty Woolley, Charley Grapewin, Noah Beery Sr., Bill Cody Jr., Jeanne Ellis and Ynez Seabury. Continue reading
T.C. Jones, male actress
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 Los Angeles Times file photo T.C. Jones in “Mask and Gown,” 1958. |
 Note: This is an encore post from 2008. He was one of the newest — and certainly one of the freshest — of the “New Faces of ’56,” a Broadway show directed by Paul Lynde with sketches by a variety of writers, including Neil Simon and his brother Danny.His name was Thomas Craig Jones, but he was best known as T.C. Jones and he was, according to The Times’ Philip K. Scheuer, “the greatest female impersonator I have seen and heard since Julian Eltinge — and that’s going back a long way.”In an August 1958 Times story, Charles Stinson described Jones as “a husky, medium-sized fellow in his 30s with a Yul Brynner coiffure and a most affable manner.”Times movie critic Kevin Thomas said in response to my query: “The 1950s were his decade. He was a terrific entertainer, more a male actress, as Charles Pierce described himself, rather than a traditional female impersonator. His rendition of his signature song, ‘Ten Cents a Dance,’ was unforgettable, really wrenching.”Jones was a Navy veteran and a graduate of Carnegie Tech who appeared on Broadway in 1944 as a dancer in “Sadie Thompson,” starring June Havoc. Before becoming a female impersonator, he had worked as a nightclub emcee, standup comic, dancer and actor. He was married, The Times says, and his wife, Donnie Dickson Jones, told Stinson “I keep his wigs in order.” “One night when I was doing stock,” Jones said, “another of the players brought me some comic sketch material that was hilarious. The only catch was that it more or less required a woman to deliver it. He suggested I do an impersonation. I told him I didn’t know if I could bring it off. I had never done any female impersonations and I was starting a career as a male comic. “I finally agreed to try it, though, and it surprised me and went over big. Strangely enough it was in a revue called ‘I’m Not Myself Tonight’ and I haven’t been most nights since.” In “Mask and Gown,” Jones portrayer Bette Davis, Tallulah Bankhead, Mae West, Judy Holliday, Marilyn Monroe, Katharine Hepburn and Ethel Merman. “It is curious, in passing, how impersonators always latch on to the same handful of stars to lampoon,” Scheuer said. “They are the most distinctive!” And, yes, he did Judy Garland too. The Times said in 1965: “Judy Garland and her rendition of ‘Over the Rainbow’ will never be the same after the telling treatment of Jones.” The Times said: “Mrs. Jones has done a splendid job in picking out the proper attire for her husband’s vignettes. Her choice of wigs and outfits matched the mood perfectly.”
T.J. Jones in 1965. He often ended his act by removing his wig to show his bald head. Although Jones said he planned to return to Broadway in a male role in the fall of 1958, the show apparently fell through and he continued as an impersonator for most of his career, although he did appear in a male role in the 1964 production of “Three Nuts in Search of a Bolt” with Mamie Van Doren. Jones made several records and occasionally appeared on television, including a Jackie Gleason TV special in 1960 and a cult episode of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.” He was in the 1968 Bob Rafelson film “Head,” starring the Monkees. Writing in 1973 on a reappraisal of the film, Charles Champlin said: “One of the lads slugs female impersonator T.C. Jones, then argues with director Rafelson whether it’s right for the image. (The grips and extras shy away from him as from someone unclean.)” Jones died Sept. 25, 1971, at the age of 50. The Times did not publish an obituary on him. He is also featured in a 1955 article in the Mattachine Review, “The Other Side of the Coin.” |
The headline and map by Charles Owens from The Times.
Note: This is an encore post from 2014. Reposting to fix some broken links.
June 6, 1944: Complete radio coverage of the D-Day Invasion. This was pool coverage using correspondents from various news organizations. By 10 a.m., CBS had resumed regular programming with news bulletins, so I’ll only post up to noon. The full day is at archive.org.
It’s worth noting that German radio was the source for most of the information in the early hours of the invasion. The eyewitness accounts are vivid and it’s worth listening to Quentin Reynolds’ analysis on how the Allies learned from disastrous surprise invasion at Dieppe in 1942.
The home of Julian Eltinge at 2328 Baxter Street in Silver Lake is barely visible from the street.
Note: This is an encore post from 2011.
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.
In the June 2025 Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case, I talk about my work in progress, Heaven Is HERE!
I also discussed: Continue reading
Crowd gathering to march in the Los Angeles Christopher Street West pride parade. June 28, 1970.
Note: This is an encore post from 2023.
On June 28, 1970, Hollywood hosted the nation’s first legally permitted LGBT Parade, helping spark gay pride and the right for equality in California. Tired of prejudice and bigotry, homosexuals fought back against illegal violence by police in East Hollywood’s Black Cat Cafe in 1967 and the more well known Stonewall Riots in New York City’s Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969. A movement was born, demanding equality, rights, and to live proudly as themselves.
Morris Kight, leader of the Gay Liberation Front, Rev. Bob Humphries, founder of the United States Mission, and Rev. Troy Perry, founder of Metropolitan Community Church, developed the idea for a legitimate parade to celebrate the one year anniversary of gays standing up for their rights rather than marching or holding a rally. Perry himself on behalf of the Metropolitan Community Church filed for a parade permit on Hollywood Blvd., long the site of famed Christmas parades for decades. 34 groups from across the state, both straight and gay, banded together under the name Christopher Street West to sponsor the parade. Continue reading
This week’s mystery movie was the 1936 Universal film Three Smart Girls, with Binnie Barnes, Alice Brady, Ray Milland, Charles Winninger, Mischa Auer, Ernest Cossart, Lucile Watson, John King, Nella Walker, Hobart Cavanaugh, and the Three Smart Girls: Nan Grey, Barbara Read and Deanna Durbin. Continue reading
Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.
They were a quiet young couple in their 20s, so quiet that their neighbors in Valley of the Moon, near Santa Rosa, rarely saw them. David Warren worked around their ranch and his wife taught at Sonoma Valley High School.
David and his wife were newlyweds, having taken out a wedding certificate in June and gotten married that month in San Francisco.
But although they lived modest lives, David failed to register for the draft and came to the attention of the FBI. When agents arrested him, they discovered the real story.
Marieta Cook, 26, and Thelma Walter, 28, told officials they fell in love while they were roommates at the University of California in 1940. “I’ve wanted to be a man ever since I was 5 years old,” Marieta said. The women were held under an 1872 law against impersonating another person and making false affidavits to marry.
Unfortunately, The Times never followed the United Press story on this case, so there’s no telling what became of Marieta and Thelma. A Google search turns up nothing. If they were alive today, they would be in their 80s. I would love to know what became of them.
Quote of the day: “Prefrontal lobotomy, a delicate brain operation, is recommended by two prominent neurosurgeons to relieve emotional tension from those patients who have ‘only pain and death to look forward to.’ ”
Drs. Walter Freeman and James W. Watts, “who have performed more than 400 such operations, usually for certain psychoses that have resisted all other forms of treatment.”
Boxie and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on the Black Dahlia case Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at 10 a.m. Pacific time, on YouTube and Instagram (yes I’ve decided to go back).
A still from Kalem’s Dr. Skinnem’s Wonderful Invention (1912).
Long before the advent of trailers, television, and the internet to publicize movies, photographic stills sold motion pictures and stars to the general public. Scene stills were originally simply used as illustrations to sell movies to theatre owners through exhibitor bulletins and to suggest genre and action to potential audiences. Over the next couple of decades, studios developed new ways to organize and produce the images, as well as forming stills departments to organize the production and development of photos.
A new form of entertainment at the dawn of the twentieth century, moviemaking possessed no rules or regulations in how to create, market, or exhibit films. Early pioneers made it up as they went along, finding the best practices and tools in how to organize their industry. Producers and studios at first copied publicity and selling tools of theatre, the circus, and vaudeville, creating eyecatching lithographic posters to attract consumers and shooting photographs of important scenes more as marketing tools to exhibitors. Continue reading
This week’s mystery movie was the 1936 RKO film The Ex-Mrs. Bradford, with William Powell, Jean Arthur, James Gleason, Eric Blore, Robert Armstrong, Lila Lee, Grant Mitchell, Erin O’Brien-Moore, Ralph Morgan and Lucile Gleason. Continue reading
ladailymirror.com 