Tag Archives: African Americans

1944 in Print — Hollywood Gossip by Louella Parsons, March 24, 1944

Posted on March 24, 2014 by lmharnisch

Bill Robinson: “The Dark Cloud of Joy!” March 24, 1944 SNAPSHOTS OF HOLLYWOOD COLLECTED AT RANDOM: Staff Sgt. Jack Foisle, the 24-year-old writer who revealed the yarn about Americans shooting down their own planes, was guest at a newspaper dinner. … Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — Walter Winchell on Broadway, March 10, 1944

Posted on March 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 10, 1944 The Private Papers of a Cub Reporter From Miami Beach: At the graduation exercises of Officers Candidate school one of the brand-new lieutenants was a Negro. Which meant he had to be good because while they are … Continue reading →

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1944 on the Radio — ‘Amos ‘N’ Andy,’ Feb. 11, 1944

Posted on February 11, 2014 by lmharnisch

Feb. 11, 1944 Today we have: — Andy adopts a soldier — or so he thinks on “Amos ‘N’ Andy.” Courtesy of Archive.org.

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‘The Clansman’ Comes to Los Angeles – Part 2

Posted on October 30, 2013 by lmharnisch

A photo from an ad for “The Clansman” in the Los Angeles Herald, 1908. Several weeks ago, I stumbled across a program from the Mason Opera House, announcing the upcoming production of “The Clansman,” the play by Thomas Dixon Jr. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1908, African Americans, Animals, Broadway, Downtown, Film, History, Hollywood, Los Angeles Star, Stage | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Navy Doctors Defuse ‘Human Bomb’

Posted on September 19, 2013 by lmharnisch

Sept. 19, 1943: In a story delayed for wartime, the Associated Press reports that Allen L. Gordon, 23, of Rock Island, Ill., fire control operator third class, was struck Dec. 2 with a 20-millimeter antiaircraft shell that lodged in his … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, African Americans, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Hollywood, Labor, Medicine, Music, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Joaquin Murrieta’s Head on Display in San Francisco

Posted on September 10, 2013 by lmharnisch

What exists of the Sept. 3, 1853, issue of the Los Angeles Star, in the collection at the Huntington, is online at USC (although it can only be viewed after it is downloaded due to some malfunction in the interface) … Continue reading →

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6,000 Union Army Veterans Gather to Recall the Campfires of Old

Posted on August 27, 2013 by lmharnisch

The entire Aug. 27, 1903, edition of the Herald is available here. Aug. 27, 1903: The Los Angeles Times (and by extension, the Chandler family) is frequently treated as if it was the only paper in the city’s history. Those … Continue reading →

Posted in 1903, African Americans, Civil War, Parks, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. French Benevolent Society Celebrates Founding in 1859

Posted on August 20, 2013 by lmharnisch

The entire Aug. 15, 1863, issue of the Los Angeles Star, scanned from a copy at the Huntington, is available from USC (in color) or the California Digital Newspaper Collection (black and white). Aug. 15, 1863: Another installment of the … Continue reading →

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L.A. Welcomes Harbor Freeway Extension With Four-Block Traffic Jam

Posted on August 8, 2013 by lmharnisch

Aug. 8, 1953: An extension of the Harbor Freeway carrying traffic into downtown Los Angeles opens — and is jammed immediately. Traffic engineers say the backup was caused by the timing of the signals at 6th Street and Figueroa. Movie … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, African Americans, Comics, Film, Freeways, Hollywood, LAPD, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

California Politics: Democratic Candidate for Governor Seeks to Bar Blacks

Posted on August 6, 2013 by lmharnisch

The entire Aug. 1, 1863, issue of the Los Angeles Star is available online via the California Digital Newspaper Collection.   Buckley shoots Francisco Cruz. Aug. 1, 1863: The Star publishes the campaign speech of former Gov. John G. Downey … Continue reading →

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Black Doctor in Divorce Case Says Wife Tried to ‘Masquerade’ as White

Posted on July 23, 2013 by lmharnisch

July 23, 1923: The centennial of the Monroe Doctrine is celebrated at Exposition Park in the American Historical Revue and Motion Picture Exposition.. The U.S. Mint in San Francisco issued commemorative half dollars for the occasion. The Times says: “One … Continue reading →

Posted in 1823, 1923, African Americans, Art & Artists, Broadway, Comics, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Fires, Hill Street, Hollywood, Theaters | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Was Coleman Harris From ‘Gangster Squad’ a Real Person?

Posted on May 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

Josh Brolin, left, as Sgt. John O’Mara with Anthony Mackie as Officer Coleman Harris in “Gangster Squad.” Drinking in uniform in a nightclub while on duty? I don’t think so. Now that “Gangster Squad” is out on DVD and available … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, African Americans, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

On Eve of Pearl Harbor Anniversary, Roosevelt Halts Enlistments

Posted on December 6, 2012 by lmharnisch

Dec. 6, 1942: As the nation nears the first anniversary of Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt halts all enlistments in the armed forces, shifting the military entirely to the draft. The services also stopped taking men older than 38 and opened … Continue reading →

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Aug. 13, 1942: Times Visits African American Troops

Posted on August 15, 2012 by lmharnisch

Aug. 15, 1942: The good news: The Times writes about African American troops. The bad news: The story is one stereotype after another.

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Lana Turner Elopes!

Posted on July 18, 2012 by lmharnisch

July 18, 1942: Lana Turner elopes to Las Vegas with Stephen Crane in a marriage performed by the same judge who did her marriage to Artie Shaw in 1940. Turner is 22 and Crane is 27. It is the second … Continue reading →

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July 7, 1938

Posted on July 7, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, 6th and Hill streets via Google maps’ street view feature.  "Prison Farm" … now there’s a title that leaves nothing to the imagination. According to imdb, Horace McCoy was an uncredited writer on the picture. Not on Netflix! olling … Continue reading →

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June 24, 1958

Posted on June 24, 2008 by lmharnisch

  t left, a nine-room home in an all-white neighborhood is heavily vandalized after being sold to an African American doctor and his family. The Times says vandals caused $15,000 ($109,315.53 USD 2007) damage to the newly redecorated home at … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Countdown to Watts, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

June 23, 1908

Posted on June 23, 2008 by lmharnisch
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May 29, 1938

Posted on May 29, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, what Los Angeles was reading in 1938–and a shoutout to the Zombie Reading Program over at This Book Is for You…. "When there’s no more room in closed stacks, the out-of-print will rise up and walk the earth." At … Continue reading →

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May 13, 1958

Posted on May 13, 2008 by lmharnisch

Above, President Eisenhower tells African Americans to be patient about gaining civil rights … Below, Dr. Lawrence Michael Dillon, formerly Dr. Laura Maude Dillon, who was apparently the world’s first trangendered man, is interviewed in Philadelphia. In 1945, Dillon began … Continue reading →

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