Nuestro Pueblo, Pasadena

Posted on October 21, 2009 by lmharnisch
July 27, 1938, Nuestro Pueblo  
July 27, 1938: Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens visit Pasadena for Nuestro Pueblo. Here’s a map of Japanese-owned businesses in Pasadena before World War II. 

Note: The original run of Nuestro Pueblo concluded in 1939. I’m going back and picking up the entries that I missed the first time.

Posted in art and artists, books, Nuestro Pueblo | 1 Comment

Riot in Times Square Over Wagner Opera!

Posted on October 21, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 21, 1919, No Wagner!  
Oct. 21, 1919: Servicemen and civilians riot in Times Square over a production of Richard Wagner's "Die Meistersinger" staged at the Lexington Theater despite Mayor John Francis Hylan’s ban on German opera!

Posted in #opera, classical music, Music, Stage | 1 Comment

Who Can Be an American Citizen?

Posted on October 21, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 21, 1909, Woman Juror
Oct. 21, 1909: Johanna Engleman of Santa Monica still hopes to be a juror, but no attorney wants her on a case because the decision might be reversed. After all, she may not be qualified to serve as a juror!

Oct. 24, 1909, Women Jurors

Oct. 24, 1909: The police chief says he doesn’t want women jurors in police court because they are too weak to endure the foul language used in legal proceedings.

Police Chief Edward F. Dishman says: “Just picture a sensitive woman, with a sense of decency, sitting through some of the cases it is necessary to deal with. It is bad enough to force them to appear as witnesses in some instances. While I am chief of police I will not permit one of my officers to summon any venire or any part of a venire of women.”

Below: A Syrians banned from citizenship because they are Mongols?
Oct. 21, 1909, Immigration Cas

The legal system is grappling with the question of who can be an American citizen. The issue of whether Johnanna Engleman, a woman, can be seated as a juror focuses on whether she meets the requirements, including citizenship. One previous story said that under the laws in force in 1909, a woman didn’t become a citizen until she was married.

The other story involves a Syrian named George Shushine/Shushime/Shishim, and whether he is a “free, white person” or a Mongol who would be barred from citizenship.

The deputy U.S. attorney argued against admitting him.   The Times said: "Debating the proposition that the Syrians stood in the same light as the Jews, the speaker contended that the Jews were scattered all over the earth wherever white men lived, but that Syrians had only begun to come to this country within the last thirty years."

The attorney said: “America is for Americans, and those who come here asking for the rights of citizens must accept the terms we give them. It is all very well to talk about this being the asylum for the oppressed of all nations, but the question is, are those who desire to enter within the terms of the naturalization act of Congress?”

And yes, he was admitted. Nov. 5, 1909: 
Nov. 5, 1909, Syrian Nov. 5, 1909, Syrian

Posted in #courts, LAPD | 1 Comment

October 20, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on October 20, 2009 by lmharnisch

October 20, 1959: Ad for Ford cars.Memorable Speech

Matt WeinstockAlmost a week later, those who heard it are still tingling over H.C.(Chad) McClellan’s talk before the Rotary Club.

McClellan, 62, L.A. paint company executive and onetime NAM president, organized and managed the U.S. exhibit in Moscow, which 2,700,000 Russians visited in its six-week run last summer.

He represents capitalism, a hate word in Russia.  Yet in his five months there he earned the respect of the Russians by his blunt sincerity.  He spoke the same way to the Rotarians. Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Matt Weinstock, Transportation | Comments Off on October 20, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Oct. 20, 1959

Posted on October 20, 2009 by lmharnisch

 

Oct. 20, 1959, Paul Coates
Paul is still on vacation …
Oct. 20, 1959, Abby
Oct. 20, 1959: Well this is cryptic: “He who lives more lives than one more deaths than one shall die.”

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Oct. 20, 1959

Quints Born in Texas

Posted on October 20, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 20, 1959, Mirror Cover

Oct. 20, 1959: Former Secretary of State and Defense Gen. George C. Marshall is buried at Arlington. Former President Truman says: "I sincerely hope that when it comes my time to cross the great river, Gen. Marshall will place me on his staff so that I may try to do for him what he did for me."

Oct. 20, 1959, Caryl Chessman

Oct. 20, 1959: Caryl Chessman invites two women to witness his execution. They would be the first women to witness an execution in the state’s gas chamber.

Posted in #courts, Caryl Chessman, Front Pages | Comments Off on Quints Born in Texas

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movies

Posted on October 20, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 20, 1947, Forever Amber  
Oct. 20, 1947: “Forever Amber” is opening Oct. 29. With great music by David Raksin.

March 21, 1945: Author Kathleen Winsor tells veteran Times columnist Timothy G. Turner that she’s tired of people asking whether “Forever Amber” is autobiographical.
March 21, 1945, Kathleen Winsor

Posted in books, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movies

Caryl Chessman Wins Delay

Posted on October 20, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 21, 1959, Mirror Cover  

Oct. 21, 1959, Caryl Chessman
Oct. 21, 1959, Rescue

Oct. 21, 1959: Caryl Chessman gets a stay of execution.

Posted in #courts, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood | Comments Off on Caryl Chessman Wins Delay

President Asks Court to Halt Steel Strike

Posted on October 20, 2009 by lmharnisch

Oct. 20, 1959, Times Cover

Oct. 20, 1959: No clemency for Caryl Chessman, governor says … Calling it a sad day for America, President Eisenhower tells the Justice Department to seek a federal injunction to halt a strike by the United Steelworkers of America. 

 
Oct. 20, 1959, Errol Flynn
“Created 2-Headed Dog” is perhaps the best kicker I have ever seen.

Security at Errol Flynn's funeral is so tight that film comedian Jack Oakie
is barred.  Flynn was buried next to a statue of a woman titled
"Flowers of Remembrance." One mourner says "Errol would have liked
having a beautiful woman watch over him night and day.

Oct. 20, 1959, Flynn

Hollywood is “a little too rough,” so Beverly Aadland, Errol Flynn’s
girlfriend, is staying with attorney Melvin Belli in San Francisco …

Oct. 20, 1959, Jack Smith Jack Smith on men's fashions.

Oct. 20, 1959, Sports The Dodgers won yet another legal round in their fight to build a new ballpark in Chavez Ravine as the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed three appeals on the legality of deeding the area to the ballclub.

But don't think the fighting was over.

John Holland, a City Councilman who had long opposed the Dodgers moving to Chavez Ravine, said the council "must respect this contract but in areas where we are allowed to use our own judgment, I may still register my opposition to these plans."

In other words, stay tuned.

The Times' Jeane Hoffman said construction crews hoped to finish leveling the dirt for the ballpark by January. The paper's coverage included a vision of what Dodger Stadium was expected to look like once completed and a photo of earth movers and bulldozers working in Chavez Ravine. One house can still be seen.

–Keith Thursby

Posted in #courts, Caryl Chessman, City Hall, Dodgers, Downtown, Fashion | Comments Off on President Asks Court to Halt Steel Strike

Man Sues for Divorce, Claims Wife Had Affair With Stepson

Posted on October 20, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 25, 1919, Helen Stokes  

Above, the woman at the center of the divorce case, Helen Elwood Stokes, Oct. 25, 1919.

Oct. 20, 1919, Stokes Divorce

Oct. 20, 1919: W.E.D. “Weddie” Stokes Jr. says he had an affair with his stepmother. She later brought a $1-million lawsuit against him for defaming her. 

May 20, 1926, W.E.D. Stokes

May 20, 1926: William Earle (or Earl) Dodge Stokes dies at the age of 73.

Anyone looking to write a book about an early 20th century scandal will find a rich vein of material in the life of millionaire W.E.D. Stokes. His sensational allegations against his second wife are only part of his lurid tale. There’s also an incident in which he was shot by two showgirls who said they acted in self-defense. The plot turns in his legal cases are far too complex for the Daily Mirror, but it is quite a story. Bonus: Stokes was a eugenicist and wrote “The Right to Be Well-Born.”

Posted in #courts, Obituaries | Comments Off on Man Sues for Divorce, Claims Wife Had Affair With Stepson

Woman May Be Seated as Juror

Posted on October 20, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 20, 1909, Woman Juror
Oct. 20, 1909: Johanna Engleman may become California’s first woman juror. I’ll try to find a more legible copy of this story.

Oct. 23, 1909, Woman Juror

Johanna Engleman of Santa Monica almost became the state’s first woman juror, but was removed by a peremptory challenge from the defense. Notice that “a woman upon her first marriage acquires a personal status of citizenship which cannot be lost as in the case of other citizens; that this status is not affected by her subsequent marriage.”

Posted in #courts | Comments Off on Woman May Be Seated as Juror

Matt Weinstock, Oct. 19, 1959

Posted on October 19, 2009 by lmharnisch

October 19, 1959: Christine Jorgensen at the Interlude

Desert Beachcomber

Matt WeinstockAfter a long time, I crossed orbits again the other day with Peter O’Crotty, writer, beachcomber and enthusiastic fugitive from civilization.  Pete, a fun-loving, charming gentleman to whom crazy things are always happening — with his help, it must be added — disappeared into the desert below Tucson about five years ago.

The last I heard he had built a adobe house and announced he was holing up in it until the world came to its senses.  He calls his place Rancho Despoblado, which means deserted spot or wilderness.

What was Pete, a man with a talent for being happy though broke, doing back in L.A. in of all places, a luxurious bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel? Continue reading →

Posted in #gays and lesbians, Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, Oct. 19, 1959

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Oct. 19, 1959

Posted on October 19, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 19, 1959, Paul Coates
Paul is still on vacation …
Oct. 19, 1959, Paul Coates
Oct. 19, 1959: A woman who may have a bad case of “nerves” yells constantly at her 4-year-old daughter … And a woman whose husband keeps telling people about her  “horrible mistake” and her “punishment” of giving up her baby for adoption. 

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Oct. 19, 1959

Supreme Court OKs Dodger Stadium

Posted on October 19, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 19, 1959, Mirror Cover

Oct. 19, 1959: Few attend Errol Flynn’s funeral … "Men will walk on the moon before there is a woman president," says Mrs. Claire B. Williams, assistant chairman of the Republican National Committee in charge of women's activities.
Oct. 19, 1959, Mirror Sports
Dodger Stadium gets a final OK and the NFL votes to add teams in Dallas and Houston.
Posted in Dodgers, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Sports | Comments Off on Supreme Court OKs Dodger Stadium

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movies

Posted on October 19, 2009 by lmharnisch

Oct. 18, 1946, Brief Encounter

Oct. 19, 1946: “Brief Encounter” is playing at the Esquire.

Oct. 19, 1946, Brief Encounter

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movies

Errol Flynn’s Body Arrives in Los Angeles

Posted on October 19, 2009 by lmharnisch

Oct. 19, 1959, Errol Flynn
Oct. 19, 1959: Errol Flynn’s body arrives at Union Station.

Oct. 19, 1959, Errol Flynn

No mourners or crowds greeted the arrival of Errol Flynn’s body, just the folks from Forest Lawn and a few reporters.

Oct. 19, 1959, Errol Flynn

Oct. 19, 1959, Beverly Aadland
Beverly Aadland was groomed for show business starting at the age of 2.
Posted in Film, Hollywood, Obituaries | 1 Comment

Judge Bars Gambling on Ships

Posted on October 19, 2009 by lmharnisch
June 5, 1939, Rex
June 5, 1939: A full-page ad for the S.S. Rex.

Oct. 19, 1939, Gambling Ships

Oct. 19, 1939: A judge grants a preliminary injunction barring gambling on ships beyond the three-mile limit.

Posted in #courts | Comments Off on Judge Bars Gambling on Ships

An Unlikely Film Idol

Posted on October 19, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 19, 1919, Ben Turpin  

Oct. 19, 1919, Ben Turpin

Oct. 19, 1919: What actor is setting ladies’ hearts aflutter? Why it’s Ben Turpin, who says: “Never let your right eye know what your left is doing.”

Posted in Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Doctor Charged With Illegally Prescribing Drugs

Posted on October 19, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 19, 1909, Dope Fiends 
Dr. G.W. Finch is arrested on charges of illegally prescribing morphine to drug addicts.

Posted in #courts, LAPD | Comments Off on Doctor Charged With Illegally Prescribing Drugs

Lunch With the Daily Mirror

Posted on October 18, 2009 by lmharnisch
 Oct. 17, 2009, Daily Mirror Philippe

Photograph by Navid Nonahal / Los Angeles Times

Oct. 17, 2009: We had a festive time on Saturday at Philippe, discussing Los Angeles history, vintage movies, the true origin of the French dip sandwich and tips on blogging.  I think we have enough material for someone to do a doctoral dissertation analyzing the enduring influence of car dealers’ TV ads on the vernacular culture of Los Angeles.

Above, from left, Robert Daeley (Trolley Dodger), Larry Harnisch, Bruce Swanson (a second- generation LATer), Ed Fuentes (View From a Loft), Alex Justice (Loyola Marymount) and James Curtis (biographer of Preston Sturges, W.C. Fields and Spencer Tracy). Not shown, Miles Corwin (“Homicide Special”) and Navid Nonahal, who is interning with the Daily Mirror this semester. 

I hope to have another lunch in early December. Stay tuned for details.

Posted in Downtown, Food and Drink | Comments Off on Lunch With the Daily Mirror