Tag Archives: #Lana Turner

Lana Turner Elopes!

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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Hubble: No Evidence of ‘Big Bang’ Theory

Dec. 31, 1941: Celebrate New Year’s Eve at the Hollywood Palladium with Tommy Dorsey, Buddy Rich AND Frank Sinatra … plus Connie Haines and the Pied Pipers. John P. Varnum has a cute little racket. He pretends to be a … Continue reading

Posted in 1941, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Music, Nightclubs, World War II | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

L.A. Women Are Slackers in Fighting the Axis!

Dec. 30, 1941: It seems that local women didn’t get the memo about the being the “Greatest Generation.” They’re a bunch of slackers in the war against the Axis and don’t want to work as air-raid wardens. “Los Angeles women … Continue reading

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Streetcars, Theaters, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

April 25, 1958

Above, the L.A. Dodgers appear in a crossword puzzle, always a barometer of popular culture … Below, Cheryl Crane is released from custody … Secret Service agents detain a woman who burst out of a crowd and insisted on seeing … Continue reading

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April 17, 1958

Below, Dodgers over the Giants, 13-1, in San Francisco. Tomorrow is the Big Day in L.A., with a Dodger motorcade from City Hall to the Coliseum, The Times says … Police  investigate whether the late Johnny Stompanato was blackmailing Hollywood … Continue reading

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Stompanato inquest

April 11, 1958Los Angeles The Mirror published excerpts of the coroner’s inquest in the death of Johnny Stompanato. Several crucial paragraphs about the stabbing are, unfortunately, illegible in my scan of the first runover page. I’ll try to get a … Continue reading

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April 11, 1958

Gosh, I don’t remember "Viking Women and the Sea Serpent" coming to my neighborhood theater when I was a kid. And no, it’s not on Netflix! "The Astounding She Monster" is not a title that leaves much to the imagination, … Continue reading

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April 9, 1958

Above, a review of a concert at the Million Dollar Theater (coming up May 11: Mariachi Vargas!) Below, Mickey Cohen touches off a sensation by releasing Lana Turner’s love letters to Johnny Stompanato. Quote of the Day: "In all my … Continue reading

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April 8, 1958

Above, Al Jolson in blackface as the lead in "Porgy and Bess" while African Americans play all the other roles? Now there’s a casting idea that takes my breath away. Philip Scheuer interviews Ira Gershwin and notes that the lyricist … Continue reading

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April 7, 1958

Above, the quarrel between Lana Turner and Johnny Stompanato that led to his death may have begun over whether he was going to accompany her to the Academy Awards! Below, some of the type is missing from the jump of … Continue reading

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Cheryl Crane

Photograph by the Los Angeles Times Cheryl Crane in a heavily retouched photograph published April 6, 1958, while she was being held in the stabbing death of Johnny Stompanato. This is one of the most heavily repainted photographs I have … Continue reading

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Johnny Stompanato, RIP

Above, the Mirror brings out an extra on the Johnny Stompanato killing.

Posted in Front Pages, Homicide, Mickey Cohen | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

March 20, 1958

Above, more layoffs, this time in Los Angeles’ auto assembly plants in South Gate, Van Nuys and Maywood, recall the recurring theme of unemployment in recent columns by Matt Weinstock and Paul Coates. Below, the Navy discovers that a mystery … Continue reading

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Mystery photo

Los Angeles Examiner Negatives Collection in the the Regional History Collection of USC Libraries OK, who are they? Jerry Geisler and Lana Turner? (Chris Morales and Mike Mynahan). Yep, they were easy. Now for the fun part: Who are the … Continue reading

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Kiss and Tell

  Aug. 24, 1957 Los Angeles And where does our favorite scandal magazine get such high-quality dirt?  (Oh, I know, people only read it at the beauty parlor and the barbershop). It turns out that in Hollywood, money will unseal … Continue reading

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