Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

Main title: Lettering on a slowly rotating (unseen) drum

This week’s mystery movie was the 1942 Paramount film Star Spangled Rhythm, with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Fred MacMurray, Franchot Tone, Ray Milland, Victor Moore, Dorothy Lamour, Paulette Goddard, Vera Zorina, Mary Martin, Dick Powell, Betty Hutton, Eddie Bracken, Veronica Lake, Alan Ladd, Rochester, William Bendix, Jerry Colonna, MacDonald Carey, Walter Abel, Susan Hayward, Marjorie Reynolds, Betty Rhodes, Dona Drake, Lynne Overman, Gary Crosby, Johnnie Johnston, Gil Lamb, Cass Daley, Ernest Truex, Katherine Dunham, Arthur Treacher, Walter Catlett, Sterling Holloway, the Golden Gate Quartette, Walter Dare Wahl and Company, Cecil B. DeMille, Preston Sturges and Ralph Murphy. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 1961 Bel-Air Fire Burns 450 Homes

Posted on January 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

Nighttime photo of the Bel-Air fire, showing flames over the mountains.

The 1961 Bel-Air fire in a time exposure. Photo by Alan Hyde/Valley Times Collection, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library.

Sadness and disbelief pervade Los Angeles looking over the tragic remains of the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires. People have been wondering, how could this happen? It already had, 64 years before in the cataclysmic 1961 Bel-Air fire, which burned more than 4,000 acres and over 450 homes, considered the most disastrous brush fire in Los Angeles history until this week’s blazes.

Dry chaparral, drought, overtaxed water pipes and supplies, narrow, winding canyon roads, rocky terrain, and high winds led to a massive fire that swept from Bel-Air to Mandeville Canyon over 35 hours, mirroring much of what has happened this week. A fire swept Topanga Canyon at the same time, threatening to push through canyons to Malibu and over canyon walls into the San Fernando Valley. Perhaps society should look and learn from its past to try and prevent disasters rather than pointing fingers at politicians and terminology. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — The Three Lives Of Villa Aurora

Posted on January 9, 2025 by lmharnisch

Feb. 5, 1928, Villa Aurora

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

Cats have nine lives. People often experience second or third acts in their lives or careers. Some homes have multiple lives as well, like Villa Aurora, which has experienced three diverse lives, bringing knowledge and refuge to those who come through its doors. Opened in 1928, the Villa began life as a Los Angeles Times Demonstration Home, later housed German Jewish expatriates Lion and Maria Feuchtwanger, and now serves as residence for fellowship artists from around the world to freely create new works.

In the Oct. 1, 1926, Los Angeles Times, Santa Monica Judge Arthur A. Weber, George W. Ley, Edward Haas, and other investors announced they had spent $3 million to acquire 847 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean over what was then called Beverly Boulevard (now Sunset Boulevard), not far from Ocean Highway, to establish Miramar Estates. Their development would offer homes reminiscent of the Mediterranean because of the property’s gorgeous panoramic views that resembled those of Naples or Nice. Mark Daniels, former assistant secretary of in the Interior, superintendent of national parks, and renowned Los Angeles architect of what is now Hotel Bel-Air, the clubhouse of Hollywood Riviera Beach Club, and many Bel-Air homes, was hired to design homes in the development.

Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, January 2025

Posted on January 7, 2025 by lmharnisch

In the January 2025 Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case, I talk about my work in progress, Heaven Is HERE! and my current focus on the Los Angeles Examiner’s phone call to Phoebe Short, claiming that Elizabeth Short won a beauty contest.

Reminder: Trim your roses on January 15 in memory of Elizabeth Short, and consider a donation to an agency that provides services for the homeless/unhoused in her memory. I make my donation to Heading Home, which operates in the Boston area, but any similar institution would suffice.

WARNING: I am the “grumpiest man in the world” according to Last Podcast on the Left.

Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 6, 2025 by lmharnisch

Main Title: Lettering over shot of people dancing.

This week’s mystery movie was the 1942 Republic film Lady for a Night, with Joan Blondell, John Wayne, Philip Merivale, Blanche Yurka, Ray Middleton, Edith Barrett, Leonid Kinskey, Hattie Noel, Montagu Love, Carmel Myers, Dorothy Burgess, Guy Usher, Ivan Miller, Patricia Knox, Lew Payton, Marilyn Hare and the Hall Johnson Choir.

Directed by Leigh Jason.

Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 19 Comments

Mary Astor’s Lost Film ‘New Year’s Eve’

Posted on December 31, 2024 by lmharnisch

mary_astor_charles_morton_new_years_eve
Note: This is an encore post from January 2020.

Since TCM is featuring Mary Astor, here’s a brief post on her lost movie “New Year’s Eve.” (A tip of the hat to Lou Lumenick, who tweeted about the movie on — New Year’s Eve.) I also uploaded a version of this post to IMDB, in case you see it there.

Fox originally announced the film under the title “Strong Arm,” based on the story “$100” by Richard Connell, published in the August 1928 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine. The film was supposed to star Lois Moran and George O’Brien in the leads, under the direction of J.G. Blystone. Fox initially planned the movie as a talkie, but released it as “New Year’s Eve,” a silent directed by Henry Lehrman with sound effects and music, designated “sound on film.”

Continue reading →

Posted in 1929, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — Pisco Punch

Posted on December 31, 2024 by lmharnisch

New York Sun, April 23, 1934

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

Just in time for New Year’s, we’ll take a look at a “lost drink,” making a brief inquiry into San Francisco’s Pisco Punch, made famous by Bank Exchange saloon owner Duncan Nicol (often spelled Nichol or Nicoll), who  died in 1926 without revealing the recipe.

Continue reading →

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Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is January 7

Posted on December 31, 2024 by lmharnisch

Boxie and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on the Black Dahlia case Tuesday, January 7, at 10 a.m. Pacific time, on YouTube and on Instagram. Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide – The Queens Cocktail

Posted on December 30, 2024 by lmharnisch

image
Note: This is an encore post from 2017.

Joe Vogel asks if there was a Queens Cocktail. The answer is yes.

According to the Jamaica Long Island Daily Press, Jan. 24, 1935, the Queens Cocktail debuted at the Hotel Commodore in a toast to President Roosevelt. Via Fultonhistory.com.

(No word yet on the Staten Island Cocktail — and boy that sounds like a straight line).

Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Pickford Headlines 1933 Rose Parade

Posted on December 30, 2024 by lmharnisch

Mary Pickford, Rose Parade
Photo: Mary Pickford in the 1933 Rose Parade. Courtesy of Mary Mallory

Note: This is a 2012 post with a slight update. The 136th Rose Parade is Wednesday.

Tomorrow sees the 124th annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena,  welcoming the new year with magnificent garlands of fresh flowers. It also acts as the 80th anniversary of Mary Pickford serving as the first female grand marshal of the parade.

Begun by the Valley Hunt Club in 1890, the Rose Parade saluted the area’s wonderful weather and flowering paradise. Soon, the Tournament of Roses Assn. took over what they now call “America’s New Year Celebration, greeting the world on the first day of the year….”

Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 30, 2024 by lmharnisch

Main Title: Shadow letters in all caps.

This week’s mystery movie was the 1941 Universal film It Started With Eve, with Deanna Durbin, Charles Laughton, Robert Cummings, Guy Kibbee, Margaret Tallichet, Catharine Doucet, Walter Catlett, Charles Coleman, Leonard Elliott, Irving Bacon, Gus Schilling, Wade Boteler and Dorothea Kent. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 38 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — The Bronx Cocktail

Posted on December 29, 2024 by lmharnisch

Dec. 20, 1934, Holiday Cocktails

Dec. 20 1934, Holiday Drinks

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

Dec. 20, 1934: In case you doubted me (but you wouldn’t, would you?), here’s a recipe for the Bronx Cocktail, from the Amsterdam Evening Recorder, courtesy of FultonHistory.com.

In case you plan to mix one up, a Bronx Cocktail is one part Italian vermouth, three parts brandy and a dash of orange bitters. Shake well!

Notice that there are also three variations of the Manhattan.

Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — The Brooklyn Cocktail

Posted on December 28, 2024 by lmharnisch

March 5, 1937, Brooklyn Cocktail

March 7, 1937, Brooklyn Cocktail

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

Yes, the Manhattan cocktail once had competition from drinks named for the other boroughs. Here’s a recipe for the Brooklyn Cocktail, from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 7, 1937. The Brooklyn Cocktail as made by Brad Dewey consisted of

Two parts Jamaica rum
One part lime juice
Dash of grenadine

We won’t be toasting the new year with the Brooklyn Cocktail (we’re working) but if someone is brave enough to try one, let us know how it is.

And in case you are wondering, research shows that there was also a Bronx Cocktail. Evidently it, too, has fallen out of favor.

Posted in 1937, Food and Drink | Tagged , | Comments Off on L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — The Brooklyn Cocktail

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: The Harvey Wallbanger

Posted on December 27, 2024 by lmharnisch

Harvey Wallbagner

A vintage 1972 iron-on transfer of Harvey Wallbanger himself, on EBay for $12.

Note: This is a repost from 2013.

We have been looking at some historic drinks for this holiday season. To the millennials in the audience: This is what mom and dad used to drink (along with the Tequila Sunrise) when they went out in the 1970s.

Return with us now to the thrilling days of yesteryear:

1 ounce of vodka
4 ounces of orange juice
half an ounce of Galliano.

Poured over ice in a highball glass.

Cue Grand Funk Railroad’s “Gimme Shelter” or Carole King’s “It’s Too Late.”

Posted in 1971, Food and Drink, Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: The Harvey Wallbanger

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: A Brief History of the Tom and Jerry

Posted on December 26, 2024 by lmharnisch

image

A recipe for the Tom and Jerry from the San Francisco Call, June 30, 1912.

Note: This is an encore post from 2013.

Over on Facebook, Christopher McPherson asked whether the Tom and Jerry was named for the MGM cartoon characters. I said I suspected the opposite was true, rather like Disney’s Chip ‘n’ Dale being named for Chippendale furniture.

All the old newspaper stories give credit for the drink to bartender Jerry Thomas, who according to one account was born in New Haven, Conn., in 1825 (or Watertown, N.Y., in 1830).

Continue reading →

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Al Martinez, a Dying Boy and Some Peaches — A (Non) Christmas Story

Posted on December 25, 2024 by lmharnisch

Jim Romenesko

Note: This is an encore post from 2015.

Jim Romenesko, for those who aren’t in the news business, runs an essential blog that serves as a clearing house for information, gossip, bad headlines and assorted gaffes.

A Jan. 6 post dealt with former Times columnist Al Martinez, who died Monday, and the occasional columns Al wrote over the years about a dying boy who craved peaches.

John Russell of the Indianapolis Star wrote to Romenesko in hopes that some reader would verify Al’s story, saying: “After months of digging, I still can’t find any evidence of the original story, and too many questions to ignore.”

Russell elaborated on his skepticism in “Why I Have Trouble Believing the ‘Get the Kid His Peaches’ Christmas story,” noting that he had written to Al for help in finding the original.

We have some answers — and the story — with a not-so-gentle reminder for reporters: DON’T write from memory or bad things can happen. Use the clips. It’s what they are for.  Memory can compress time and erase crucial details, as we will see with Al’s story.

Continue reading →

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Dec. 14, 1907: L.A. Schools Ban Mention of Christ at Christmas (Uh-Oh)

Posted on December 24, 2024 by lmharnisch


Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

Dec. 14, 1907
Los Angeles

The madman who calls himself the superintendent of the Los Angeles schools has touched off an absolute firestorm of anger by ordering teachers not to mention Christ during Christmas pageants or other festivities.

“The town was agog with it yesterday,” The Times said. “It was the talk among both ministers and laymen of the 200 and more churches in Los Angeles.”

Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: The Story of ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’

Posted on December 23, 2024 by lmharnisch


rudolph_video_titleThe title of the Max Fleischer cartoon of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1948)

Many beloved Christmas-themed movies and songs bring out the holiday spirit in audiences and listeners, highlighting fun-filled, family and friendly times sharing generosity, kindness, and joy, the true gifts of a holiday supposed to honor the birth of baby Jesus. Several, instead, grew out of money-making, advertising opportunities for companies or even parades, like “Here Comes Santa Claus” from the Hollywood Christmas Parade, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and even “Frosty the Snowman.” Another well-loved holiday song, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” the story of “an ugly duckling who made good,” developed as advertising for Montgomery Ward reaching out to families and children in 1938.

While doing fine in the late 1930s, department store Montgomery Ward looked to amp up their Christmas shopping in 1939, hoping to increase sales by doing more than just their regular holiday booklet with something of higher value. They hired author Robert L. May to draft a child-sized fairy tale, one that became the story of an awkward, out-of-place reindeer and how he saves the day for Santa and Christmas. Thus, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was born. Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 23, 2024 by lmharnisch

Main title: Lettering on a "diploma."

This week’s mystery movie was the 1939 RKO picture That’s Right — You’re Wrong, with  Kay Kyser, Adolphe Menjou, May Robson, Lucille Ball, Dennis O’Keefe, Edward Everett Horton, Roscoe Karns, Moroni Olsen, Hobart Cavanaugh, and Kay Kyser’s Band, featuring Ginny Simms, Harry Babbitt, Sully Mason, Ish Kabibble and the College of Musical Knowledge. Continue reading →

Posted in 1939, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 24 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide: ‘Making Black Los Angeles’

Posted on December 16, 2024 by lmharnisch

Making Black Los Angeles

Note: This is an encore post from 2018.

I only recommend books that I have read, which is why I haven’t listed Susan Orlean’s “The Library Book” or Stephen Gee’s “Los Angeles City Hall: An American Icon.” I look forward to reading both of them, but I’m not there yet.

image
Marne L. Campbell also appears in a video on Archive.org.

“Making Black Los Angeles,” by Marne L. Campbell, 2016. University of North Carolina Press.

Continue reading →

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