Comedian dies during Friars roast, November 24, 1958

Posted on November 24, 2008 by lmharnisch
1958_1124_cover

Ozone in downtown Los Angeles reaches 0.49 parts per million, just short of a Stage 1 alert. Today, 0.50 would be a Stage 3 alert.

1958_1124_runover

Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller arrive in New York.

Comedian Harry Einstein, 53, known as Parkyakarkus, collapses moments after finishing what Friars Club members said was "the most hilarious speech of his career" during a tribute to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.  (Note: The runover page wasn’t microfilmed, so we don’t have the rest of the story).

On his way back to his seat, Einstein touched Art Linkletter on the shoulder, stumbled and grabbed the back of his chair, then fell into the arms of Milton Berle. "It was like a wave of horror had suddenly swept over the room," a witness says.

My colleague Brian Hanrahan points out that Einstein’s sons are Albert Brooks, Bob Einstein and Charles Einstein.

"This offering meant so much to me. Now it means
nothing. Please, everyone, pray to your God that he will be saved."


–Desi Arnaz
1958_1124_wayne

Above, John Wayne says he will  direct "The Alamo."

Interestingly enough, The Times reported as early as 1951 that Republic had approved the budget for Wayne to make "The Alamo." Although imdb reports that the script was by John Edward Grant, The Times said in 1948 that the screenplay was by John Ford’s son Pat. But what’s this? John Wayne was linked to a project about the Alamo in 1935? Hm. By Lindsley Parsons and Robert Emmett. That’s a new one on me.

Posted in @news, broadcasting, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Nightclubs, Obituaries, Television | 4 Comments

Found on EBay — Bullocks Wilshire

Posted on November 23, 2008 by lmharnisch
Bullocks_wilshire_hat_ebay
 Here’s a Dobbs Fifth Avenue hat from Bullocks Wilshire, listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $9.99, but there is a reserve.

   
   
   

Posted in Fashion | Comments Off on Found on EBay — Bullocks Wilshire

Frank Lloyd Wright house — $7.73 million

Posted on November 23, 2008 by lmharnisch




Miniatura_01

Photographs by Scott Mayoral

La Miniatura, 645 Prospect Crescent, Pasadena, still on the market at $7,733,000.

By Diane Wedner,
Times Staff Writer

August 24, 2008

Miniatura_02
La Miniatura — built in Pasadena in 1923 — is remarkable, even by Frank Lloyd Wright standards. One of only four of the famed architect’s local textile-block designs, this renovated home is considered by some to be the most romantic of that style, which features an open floor plan, a seamless indoor-outdoor flow and roof terraces for outdoor living, popularized in the early 20th century.

Wright’s textile-block creations were constructed of precast concrete blocks with patterned exterior surfaces through which natural light flows; the pattern of the blocks varies on each project.

Read more >>>


 

Posted in Architecture, Real Estate | Comments Off on Frank Lloyd Wright house — $7.73 million

Nazi SS troops kill wealthy Jews in orgy of murder, November 23, 1938

Posted on November 23, 2008 by lmharnisch

1938_1123_cover

Death at Sachsenhausen.

1938_1123_bass

These old papers are full of ugly stereotypes, but this one makes
a powerful contrast with the
Holocaust coverage.

The Times publishes a United Press story based a London News Chronicle account. The report says a group of 62 well-to-do Jews, mostly lawyers, doctors, landlords, engineers, businessmen and two rabbis, were forced to run a gantlet in which Nazi SS troops beat them with clubs and shovels. When the Nazis were done, 12 were dead and more were badly injured, "some with eyes out and faces smashed," The Times says.

In Los Angeles, acting Police Chief David A. Davidson transfers 22 men in the continuing shakeup of the department.

Read the fine print: Capt. C.B. Horrall, who will lead the LAPD through World War II, is shifted to the Metro Division and Lt. Arthur Hohmann is appointed police chief. Those are two names to watch for as the next few years unfold. 

1938_1123_rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff performs at Philharmonic Auditorium and includes one
of his own works in a survey of piano repertoire.

1938_1123_sports
Wedding bells for George Zaharias
and Babe Didrikson. 		At left, the Cubs offer Dizzy Dean a $185,000 ($2,696,650.66 USD 2007) contract, which was what he was paid by the Cardinals. Oops, my error. Dean was purchased for $185,000. His salary was $20,000. Thanks for catching it!

In football, USC and UCLA prepare for their Thanksgiving game at the Coliseum.

"It was glove at first sight last night at the Olympic, Irish Mickey
MacAvoy and Al George proving themselves No. 1 contenders in the hop,
step and chump event."

–Jack Singer
Posted in @news, City Hall, Countdown to Watts, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, LAPD | 2 Comments

November 23, 1938: Nuestro Pueblo — Lincoln Heights

Posted on November 23, 2008 by lmharnisch

November 23, 1938: Nuestro PuebloAbove, Sam’s Lunch Room in 1938 and below, Avenue 19 via Google maps street view.

 

Posted in #courts, Food and Drink, Homicide, LAPD, Nuestro Pueblo | Comments Off on November 23, 1938: Nuestro Pueblo — Lincoln Heights

A. Victor Segno — “How to Live 100 Years”

Posted on November 23, 2008 by lmharnisch
“Undergarments worn during the day should never be worn at night. Remove your undergarments and hang them where they will become thoroughly aired before morning. Do not allow them to remain in the room you sleep in for you must not breathe back into your system the impurities thrown off by the pores.”

–A. Victor Segno,
“How to Live 100 Years,”
Los Angeles, 1903
Posted in books, health | Comments Off on A. Victor Segno — “How to Live 100 Years”

Found on EBay — From Silverwood’s

Posted on November 22, 2008 by lmharnisch

Silverwoods_brochure_ebay
 Here’s a 16-page brochure on men’s fashions for 1925 from Silverwood’s, Broadway and 6th Street. Bidding starts at $14.99.
Posted in Fashion | Comments Off on Found on EBay — From Silverwood’s

November 22, 1958: Hall of Famer dies after crash

Posted on November 22, 2008 by lmharnisch

November 22, 1958: Sports By Gary Rubin
Times staff writer

November 22, 1958: Mel Ott raises right foot when battingFifty years ago today, sports fans in general and baseball fans in particular woke up to read the startling news that Hall of Famer Mel Ott was dead after surgery for a kidney injury suffered in an automobile accident in New Orleans. He was just 49.

Baby boomers may not be all that familiar with Ott, but in a 21-year playing career, all spent with the New York Giants, Ott was one of great power hitters of all time, finishing with 511 home runs, a National League record that stood until broken by Willie Mays in 1965.

Though not particularly big, at 5-9, 170, Ott generated great power with a unique batting stance. As the pitch came in, the left-handed Ott would raise his right foot at least a foot.

Continue reading →

Posted in Front Pages, Sports | 1 Comment

November 22, 1958: Estranged wife kills jealous husband

Posted on November 22, 2008 by lmharnisch

November 22, 1958: Times coverIn a confrontation over a divided Berlin, a Soviet official says the government plans to give control to the East Germans by Christmas, and some Soviet troops are reportedly going home. President Eisenhower vows to maintain the occupation of West Berlin. The central issue was whether the U.S., Britain and France would accept East German participation in the organization that controlled the city’s military and commercial air traffic. Continue reading →

Posted in @news, Front Pages, Homicide | Comments Off on November 22, 1958: Estranged wife kills jealous husband

Found on EBay — streetcar photo

Posted on November 21, 2008 by lmharnisch

Trolley_ebay
 Here’s a nice sharp image of a streetcar passing City Hall. It’s been listed on EBay with a starting bid of $5.
Posted in City Hall, Transportation | 1 Comment

End of the view

Posted on November 21, 2008 by lmharnisch

6a00d8341cb90f53ef010535fe438d970b
 I’m sorry to note that one of my favorite downtown blogs, "View From a Loft," is going to be mothballed. Through "Loft," graphic artist Ed Fuentes explored downtown Los Angeles as only a resident can.

He writes:

HELLO, I MUST BE GOING:
Despite an ongoing effort from a strong social and professional network
of supporters, the loft is no longer home. Technically, I have the end
of the month to catch up and retain what has been my residence for ten
years (and workplace for a bulk of those ten years), but for now every
possible solution has been exhausted.

Read more >>>

Posted in art and artists, Blues, Downtown | Comments Off on End of the view

A World War II Thanksgiving, 1943

Posted on November 21, 2008 by lmharnisch




1943_1114_thanksgiving

Above, a World War II recipe for meatless mince pie.

 

"The larders are war-shorn, but let the heart be grateful for the gift
of fertile lands, for the riches of the earth and the sea and the
privilege to share our all-American feast. We give thanks for an
abundance of grain.

"If we skimp today, for the less, ‘Lord make us duly
thankful.’ "

The Times advises readers to be flexible in making substitutes because many items in the traditional Thanksgiving meal are scarce or unavailable. Turkeys are smaller in 1943, The Times says, because feed supplies are low. Many of the birds are being sent to soldiers overseas, so the home front has to make due with chicken, which isn’t rationed, unlike red meat. And if you can’t get a chicken, try pork shoulder.

Instead of butter, use margarine or chicken or bacon fat. Sage, most of it from Dalmatia, is unobtainable, so try using oregano in your dressing. Oysters are also scarce because the men who would have harvested them are at war.

"After the war, we can eat the oysters we can’t get today," The Times says.


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Writer arrested for threatening wife with butcher knife, November 21 1958

Posted on November 21, 2008 by lmharnisch




1958_1121_oconnell
   
   
 

1959_1018_chamales_2
"Suddenly it seemed the whole panorama of his life was a race and he was running last…. There was something in him that had to come out. He had to find a way to get it out, to free himself of it. Something that would give him a chance to feel and know things. To blend all of the things which were in him: the matter, the spirit, the flesh."

–Thomas T. Chamales, "Go Naked in the World."

"Chamales is a writer who can and must write. Even his partial failures
are more impressive than some fancy-Dan success we’ve seen in recent
years."

–Robert Kirsch

If you were ever looking for a prototype of the alcoholic, brawling, self-destructive author, you might consider Thomas T. Chamales,
a veteran of the OSS who wrote the 1957 bestseller "Never So Few,"
which The Times’ Robert Kirsch called, "Easily one of the best novels to
come out of World War II."

Before he died at the age of 35 when
he was trapped in a burning apartment, Chamales wrote "No Rent in His
Hand," an unpublished novel; another novel, "Go Naked Into the World";
a play, "Forget I Ever Lived"; an outline for screenplay, "The Mill";
and 550 pages of an unfinished novel titled "Run and Call It Living." 

He
also spent a fair amount of time in jail during his stormy marriage to
big band vocalist Helen O’Connell, whom he married in 1957, with
novelist James Jones as best man.

In October 1958, Chamales
and O’Connell had a violent argument at a Wilshire Boulevard
restaurant, but police said she refused to press charges. A month
later, O’Connell’s 14-year-old daughter from a previous marriage called
police from the family home at 445 Homewood Ave., to report that
Chamales had threatened O’Connell with a butcher knife. While he was in
jail on those charges, he was accused of passing a bad check in Florida.

In
June 1959, he was fined $500 and given two years’ probation for
wife-beating and the next month, five LAPD officers showed up at the
home to evict him.

He lived hard! He fought hard! And he fell hard!

And then, on the night of March 20, 1960,
Chamales smoked his final cigarette. He was living in a fourth-floor
apartment at 1441 S. Beverly Glen Blvd., and evidently fell asleep. The
cigarette set the sofa on fire and soon the apartment was in flames.
Firefighters found him on the floor in his shorts; blackened hand
prints on the walls of the apartment showed where had desperately tried
to find the door.

He was survived by a daughter from his marriage with O’Connell and two sons from a previous marriage.

Curiously, and perhaps tragically, Chamales’
novels appear to be largely forgotten. "Never So Few," was made into a
movie with Frank Sinatra, but the book is long out of print after being
reissued in 1972.

The Wall Street Journal published this story about Gerald Chamales, one of the novelist’s children, in 1998.

Update: The only copy of any of Chamales’ books in the Los Angeles Public Library is in Spanish!


Posted in #courts, books, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, LAPD | 1 Comment

Coming attractions — Maltese Falcon

Posted on November 20, 2008 by lmharnisch

Bogart_maltese
 "The Maltese Falcon" will be shown at the Warner Grand in San Pedro at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008. Tickets are free for L.A. Conservancy members–while supplies last. If you’re a member of the Los Angeles Conservancy, RSVP to Deandra Rosales or Debra Espinoza at 310.548.2493 by 5 pm on Friday, November 21, or bring your membership card to the box office on Saturday after 3 p.m.

Tickets for non-L.A. Conservancy members are $5/$10 and can be purchased at www.warnergrand.org

Posted in Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood | 2 Comments

Found on EBay — Vintage film poster

Posted on November 20, 2008 by lmharnisch

Selig_ebay02
 At left, a poster from the 1912 Selig film "The Peculiar Nature of the White Man’s Burden" is on EBay. Bidding starts at $9.95 or buy it now for $150.
Posted in Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on Found on EBay — Vintage film poster

Thanksgiving, 1936

Posted on November 20, 2008 by lmharnisch
1936_1117_thanksgiving
Recipes for "modern" stuffing from The Times, 1936. Please note that this item has not been put through the Daily Mirror test kitchen (our Le Creuset has been gathering cobwebs of late). These recipes are for entertainment value only.
Posted in Food and Drink, Front Pages | Comments Off on Thanksgiving, 1936

November 20, 1958: Valley man killed with hammer

Posted on November 20, 2008 by lmharnisch

November 20m, 1958: Los Angeles Times cover: Crashing Jet Derails L.A.-San Diego TrainThe crash of a Marine plane near El Toro derails the Santa Fe’s San Diegan, but no serious injuries are reported.

Ernest E. Hargis, who had been a city ambulance driver for 20 years, is found beaten to death with a hammer and shoved under an abandoned car at 13037 Osborne St., Pacoima. Hargis was building a home at the site, The Times said.

Further investigation found that Hargis had been hiring former jail trustees and itinerant laborers to help him on his house. James Edgar Holmes, a former psychiatric patient, was accused of the killing. Holmes admitted killing Hargis but said it was in defense during an argument over a star drill he was using to bore holes in concrete.

Posted in 1958, Front Pages, Homicide | 1 Comment

Found on EBay — Bullocks Wilshire

Posted on November 20, 2008 by lmharnisch
Bullocks_wilshire_ebay Here’s an outfit with lots of sequins from Bullocks Wilshire. Now listed on EBay. Buy it now for $149.99.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Found on EBay — Bullocks Wilshire

Found on EBay — Williams and Walker

Posted on November 19, 2008 by lmharnisch

   
   
   

Posted in art and artists, Music, Stage | 1 Comment

Thanksgiving, 1928

Posted on November 19, 2008 by lmharnisch




1928_1127_thanksgiving

Above, Chef Wyman’s recipes for Thanksgiving, 1928. And thanks to Mary McCoy of This Book Is for You and On Bunker Hill for the tip.

Thanksgiving Family Secrets

What’s Bread in the Coffee Can

RAISIN BROWN BREAD

1 cup milk
1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Ground cloves
1/3 cup molasses

In bowl mix milk with white vinegar. Let stand at room temperature 10 to 15 minutes.

Mix
rye flour, cornmeal, whole-wheat flour, raisins, baking soda, salt,
ginger and dash cloves in large bowl. Stir in molasses and milk. Blend
well.

Butter clean 12-ounce coffee can. Pour in batter. Cover
mouth of can with foil and place in deep pot. Add boiling water halfway
up can. Cover pot and steam over moderate heat, replacing water if
necessary, until straw inserted to middle of bread comes out clean,
about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Remove from heat and let stand on rack
10 minutes, then unmold. While still hot, slice by drawing string
around bread, crossing, and pulling ends. Can be reheated in 300-degree
oven. Makes 10 servings.

Each serving contains about: 126 calories; 136 mg sodium; 2 mg cholesterol; 1 grams fat; 28 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.33 gram fiber.

Thursday November 17, 1994

By CHARLES PERRY,
TIMES STAFF WRITER

Most of my family was living in California by the 1880s, and their various culinary heritages–New England, Southern and Midwestern–had begun to take on a uniform Californian quality by the time I was on the scene. But not my Perry grandfather, the only one of my grandparents not born out here. He came from a rather New England-y part of upstate New York, where Perrys westering in from Massachusetts had been thick on the ground since the early 18th Century, and a mere 60 years of living in California hadn’t altered his tastes.

The rest of the Thanksgiving meal was a menu a lot of people would recognize: turkey with sage stuffing, cranberry preserves, mashed potatoes, candied yams (possibly due to my Southern grandmother’s influence), succotash, green and Jell-O salads, corn bread and hot rolls. But for Granddad’s sake, we always had brown bread.

Insofar as people outside New England know of brown bread, they think of it as something to make canapes and cream cheese sandwiches with, and possibly to eat with baked beans. To Granddad, and consequently to us, it was a bread–a dark, sweet, dessert-like bread you ate at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

*

Brown bread is more like an English steamed pudding than an oven bread. The traditional shape is cylindrical, because for many decades people have usually steamed it in an empty coffee can, rather than a pudding mold.

One theory is that New Englanders invented brown bread because they couldn’t make an English risen loaf with cornmeal, and wheat often didn’t do as well in the local climate as rye. Meanwhile, New Englanders always had a lot of molasses on hand due to their trade contacts with the Caribbean, so why not make pudding?

For Thanksgiving Grandmother often made her own starchy brown pudding from graham flour, which was like a cross between brown bread and fruitcake. When both were served at the same meal, we sometimes felt we’d reached the limit of how much dense, spongy, sweet brown stuff a person could eat. But it wouldn’t have been Thanksgiving without brown bread.


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