Thursday, January 31, 2013

2008 - January 31, 2013

I didn't start doing a year-end summary in this blog until 2010.  I thought I might go back and review the years before.

In January, I wrote about a dvd set of documentaries about early sound and color movies.  Pacifica suffered from flooding during big storms.  Our SamTrans bus shelter was badly damaged.  Oscar Peterson died.  I wrote about Batman and Robin, a 1949 serial which I watched on dvd.  I started my yearly series about Catholic Schools Week and wrote about two of my old teachers who had died.

In February, I started my series of photos of early aviators and airplanes.  During the presidential primary, I voted for Senator Barack Obama.  I started the 22-part series "Reminiscences of an Active Life," the memoirs of Doctor Peter Henri Van Der Weyde, the man who gave this blog its name.  Representative Tom Lantos died.  We had another big storm.

In March, tearing down the building at Howard and Hawthorn exposed a ghost sign that had been hidden for many years.  I took the photo above on 13-March-2008.  Pacifica's Seaview Theater got torn down.  I wrote about a dvd edition of The Hunchback of Notre Dame with Lon Chaney.  I wrote about how people figured out how to play some of Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville's phonautograms.  At the Stanford Shopping Center, we found that both Books, Inc and the Oakville Grocery had closed.  The Giants celebrated 50 years in San Francisco.

In April, the Olympic torch run passed through San Francisco.  I wrote about the first two volumes of Leslie S Klinger's The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes.  We celebrated the 100th anniversary of the New York to Paris round-the-world race. I wrote about The Feel of the Rope, a dvd about cable cars.

01-May-2008, was the 125th anniversary of the Giants' first game.  I saw a duck in the Yerba Buena Gardens.  We attended a family graduation at San Francisco State.  I wrote about the first part of a Kino dvd, Houdini the Movie Star.  The Giants turned their first triple play in the new park.  Omar Vizquel set the record for games played at shortstop.

In June, I saw defending champ Leonard Oats win the 46th Annual Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest in Union Square. Matthew Bruccoli died.  I started a short series of photos of posters representing scenes from The Maltese Falcon.  I wrote more about the Kino dvd, Houdini the Movie Star. On the first anniversary of the blog, I started a practice of listing all the current labels and their counts from the blog.

In July, we took a cruise from San Francisco to Alaska.

In August, Isaac Hayes died.  We flew down to Disneyland.

In September, I wrote about a Flicker Alley dvd set, Georges Méliès First Wizard of Cinema.  We celebrated the 100th birthday of the Ford Model T.

In October, Good Shepherd School celebrated its 40th anniversary.  Muni rolled out the 74X Culture Bus.  The presidential debates grew ugly.  I wrote about Livy's The History of Rome from Its Foundation, Books XXI-XXX.  I saw some disgusting racism from people who were opposed to Barack Obama.  I started a series about the Giants Wall of Fame.  Merl Saunders died.

In November, John Fell, my old film professor, died.  Barack Obama won the presidential election.  I was and still am proud of the United States for electing (and later re-electing) a man of African descent.  Tim Lincecum won the National League Cy Young Award. I did a walking tour for people who won me in the auction for the community support campaign at work.  We visited the new home of the California Academy of Science but found it terribly crowded.

In December we took some young relatives downtown and had a nice time.  PG&E installed a Smart Meter at our home.  We cut our Christmas tree at Santa's Tree Farm in Half Moon Bay.  Eartha Kitt died. We had a stretch of very cold weather.  

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

2009 -- January 30, 2013

I didn't start doing a year-end summary in this blog until 2010.  I thought I might go back and review the years before.

In January I wrote about the first Golden Gate Express Railway, a garden scale display in the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park.  Actor Patrick McGoohan died.We celebrated Edgar Allan Poe's 200th birthday.  President Barack Obama was inaugurated.  I watched the construction of the Temporary Transbay Terminal.

In February, we went to see Wicked at the Orpheum.  We celebrated Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday.  This was the first time I realized that Edgar Allan Poe and Abraham Lincoln were the same age.  Stacey's Bookstore closed.  The California Historical Society was closed for most of the month after a car hit the fire hydrant out front and flooded the premises.

In March, the California Historical Society reopened with a wonderful exhibit, "Hobos to Street People: Artists’ Responses to Homelessness from the New Deal to the Present."  Four Oakland police officers  were murdered by a parole violator.

In April, we visited the Auto Museum in Blackhawk.  I was an auction item at the annual auction/dinner dance for Good Shepherd School. General Motors announced it was dropping the Pontiac brand.

In May, Dom DiMaggio died. I wrote about a Kino DVD with Harry Langdon's last three silent features.  I started a new series on pulp magazine covers.  I gave a walking tour to the people who won me at the Good Shepherd auction.  We were at the ballpark when Randy Johnson had a chance to get his 299th victory, but he did not have it that day. 

In June, Randy Johnson got his 300th victory.  We went to see Spamalot at the Golden Gate.I was at Union Square to see defending champ Leonard Oats win the 47th Annual Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest in Union Square. The See's Candy store in Union Square closed.  We went to the Port of Oakland to see Disney's "A Christmas Carol" Train Tour.

In July, SamTrans announced that it wanted to eliminate the bus that I commuted on every day, the DX.  We observed the 75th anniversary of Bloody Thursday.  Jonathan Sanchez pitched a no hitter, and nearly had a perfect game. This was the Giants' first no hitter since Montefusco in 1976.  We celebrated the 40th anniversary of the moon landing.  We were at the ballpark to see Matt Cain pitch 9 scoreless innings.  Unfortunately, the Giants had not scored any runs.  They scored in the 10th and Brian Wilson got the win.

In August, I attended a meeting to talk against the elimination of our bus.  I started a series of photos of hand and footprints at Grauman's Chinese.  We visited Mission San Juan Batista and I posted an entry that has been very popular in searches.  I took the photo above on 15-August-2009.  Muni eliminated the Culture Bus.  Senator Edward Kennedy died.  At the Cartoon Art Museum we saw an exhibit marking the 50th anniversary of Sleeping Beauty.

In September, the Bay Bridge closed for retrofit work.  SamTrans announced that our bus, the DX was eliminated.

In October, Rich Aurilia played his final game for the Giants.  Father Damien was canonized.  I started a new series of photos of alleys.  We visited the Disney Family Museum in the Presidio.  The Bay Bridge closed again when a big piece of metal fell to the deck.

In November the current Cliff House celebrated its centennial.  I gave a walking tour to some people who won me in a community support auction at work.  I finished the 22-part series "Reminiscences of an Active Life," the memoirs of Doctor Peter Henri Van Der Weyde, the man who gave this blog its name.We celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.  I started a new series of railroad and transit heralds.  Tim Lincecum won the National League Cy Young award for the second straight year. Radio station KCBS celebrated its centennial.

In December we got our first artificial Christmas tree.  I rode the DX for the last time.  We went to a family wedding in Arizona.  TCM had a Sherlock Holmes marathon.  I wrote about Woody LaBounty's Carville-by-the-Sea book. 

Here is the summary from my last entry of the year:
2009 has been an exciting year. Many people are unhappy with President Obama's performance, but I think they had excessive expectations. I think he is trying hard against some determined and unscrupulous opponents. 
The state's budget mess caused the governor to take away all mass-transit funding. This caused SamTrans to cancel the bus I have commuted on daily since 1995.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

162 On the Move -- January 29, 2013

San Francisco Municipal Railway car 162, built in 1914 by Jewett, rolls towards the stop in front of the Ferry Building.  I took the photo on 25-January-2013. 

Clara Bow -- January 29, 2013

Red haired Clara Bow was probably the most popular silent actress after Mary Pickford. A photo from the December, 1928 Photoplay shows her "reading a few of the 35,000 letters she receives from fans every week." 

Monday, January 28, 2013

Most Remarkable Photographs Ever Taken -- January 28, 2013


This image, from the 09-October-1912 Tacoma Times, is an aerial view of the 1912 Milwaukee Grand Prix. Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.  Driver Ralph De Palma wound up in the hospital, seriously injured, a short time later.  He has shown up before in this blog: http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2008/07/ralph-depalma-july-31-2008.html

Young aviator Farnum Fish has also shown up before on this blog: http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2008/04/eighteen-year-old-farnum-fish-starting.html

MOST REMARKABLE PHOTOGRAPHS EVER TAKEN

PICTURES FROM SKY; FROM AN AEROPLANE GOING 60 MILES AN HOUR, SHOWING GRAND PRIX RACER GOING 72 MILES AN HOUR

The Times is proud to present to its readers today the above remarkable news photograph of this year's greatest and fastest automobile race —a picture of the marvelous Grand Prix race taken from ABOVE the racers—taken in fact, from the clouds.

The camera is rapidly becoming the eye of the world and the Times shows today how the camera and the airship can unite to educate and interest us.

The photograph shows graphically what an automobile speeding at 72 miles an hour looks like from an airship whipping the ether at 60 miles an hour.  It was taken by the noted press photographer, Hugo Wagner, in an airship driven by the spectacular 16-year-old boy aviator, Farnum Fish, (on his sixteenth birthday, by the way). The swiftly speeding auto race seen on the road is Ralph De Palma, who won the Yanderbilt cup race three days before and who met with disaster five minutes after this photograph was taken in trying to pass the winner of the race, Caleb Bragg. De Palma is now in a hospital. Note the car number, 35. The photograph was taken from a height of about 300 feet, at an acute angle.

The large white streaks forming an angle at the right side of the photograph are the bars of the biplane's skids. Note the men and women walking at the side of the race course, and their shadows, even bigger than themselves. This is the first time that one of the great world's automobile races has ever been photographed from the air, although unsuccessful attempts have been made. The tremendous speed of both racing automobiles and speeding aeroplanes has always foiled the daring aerial photographer until now.

The photographs are printed in Tacoma exclusively by the Times. It is proper to say that such an interesting and expensive achievement, at such a distance, was only possible to the Times by reason of its membership in the Newspaper Entcrprise Association, which carried through this remarkable enterprise. The photograph reproduced above was taken Saturday afternoon, Oct. 5, on the race course near Milwaukee, during the world-famous Grand Prix cup race. Immediately thereafter it was put in the mail and rushed by special delivery to the Times.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Catholic Schools Week -- January 27, 2013

Today is the start of Catholic Schools Week.

I'm grateful that my parents put me in Catholic schools for 12 years.

Good Shepherd in Pacifica gave our daughter a great education and continues to do the same for many other children. They are having an open house today from 11am to 2pm.  The school is worth considering if you live in or near Pacifica: http://goodshepherdschool.us/

Saturday, January 26, 2013

By Means of the Megaphone -- January 26, 2013

City of Peking was a Pacific Mail Steamship Company iron-hulled screw steamer which ran in transpacific service from 1875 to 1903.  Transfer companies took luggage and express from arriving ships and took it to hotels or transportation connections. 

From the 24-April-1897 San Francisco Call. William A Coulter did many maritime drawings for the newspaper. Click on the image to see a larger version. 


A NEW USE FOR THE MEGAPHONE

Transfer Men Use It to Solicit Orders From Steamers.
Brought to Bear on the City of Peking Last Sunday With Good Effect.

Competition makes trade, and the fight among the transfer men seems to grow instead of diminishing. The Pacific Transfer Company seems to hold the whip hand, but it has to work hard in order to maintain its position. It brought the Morton Transfer Company to terms, but no sooner had it killed off that opposition than up sprang the Commercial Transfer Company. The latter concern went vigorously into the business, and soon had a large clientage. Rates were slashed right and left, and then the Pacific people succeeded in barring all the opposition's runners from incoming steamers and sailing vessels. Not to be beaten, the Commercial people purchased a gasoline launch and megaphone. They started in with their new scheme last Sunday, when the City of Peking was passing up the bay. One of the men handled the launch, and "Sam" Wells used the megaphone to such good effect that he secured at least two-thirds of the baggage that came on the steamer.  The little boat goes away out to sea, and she is more than a surprise to incoming ships when the passengers hear a plainly spoken request for the right to handle their baggage coming out of space.


Thursday, January 24, 2013

1930 Auburn Model 125 Deluxe Sedan -- January 24, 2013

San Francisco's Academy of Art University has a fine collection of classic cars available for study by its design students. They shared the collection at the 2010 San Francisco International Auto Show.


I like the paint scheme on this 1930 Auburn Model 125 Deluxe Sedan. 

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour -- January 23, 2013

Arthur Wonter is remembered today for playing Sherlock Holmes in a series of British movies during the 1930s.  Many people feel he was too old for the part.  His first Holmes film, The Sleeping Cardinal, was called Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour in the US.  Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.  The trade ad is from the 24-July-1931 Moving Picture Daily.

Ghost Sign #15 -- January 23, 2013

Ghost signs for Morelo's Hotel and Boss of the Road Overalls, "The Watchdog of Quality," across I Street from the California State Railroad Museum. I took the photo during our visit in July, 2012.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Inauguration Day -- January 22, 2013

I didn't get to write about this yesterday, but it was nice to get a chance to watch the public inauguration ceremony.  I hadn't seen one for many years.  President Obama gave a good, forward-looking speech.  "For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that America's prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American; she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own...

"We do not believe that in this country freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us at any time may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other through Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security, these things do not sap our initiative, they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great...

"For now decisions are upon us and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today's victories will be only partial and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years and 40 years and 400 years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall."

New Poodle Dog -- January 22, 2013

The Poodle Dog Restaurant opened in San Francisco in 1849.  The name may have come from miners mangling the name Poulet d'Or.  Prohibition killed the restaurant in 1922.  The name has been revived a couple of times since then.  The ad and article are both from the 29-December-1907 San Francisco Call

THE OLD POODLE.DOG


When the earthquake and fire eliminated from San Francisco all that was good in the restaurant line, when prayers were said for the hungry, the Old Poodle Dog, the most popular of all the French restaurants in the the city, responded, and, ere the ashes were cold a new place had grown up. The Old Poodle Dog was again to the front, 824 Eddy street being the new location.  The Old Poodle Dog, formerly of Bush street and Grant avenue, in the old days was noted for its excellent cuisine, its reputation being international, and
many of the old patrons are to be found today seated in the spacious dining rooms of  the new cafe paying tribute to that host of hosts, whose one inspiring aim is "to please." After the expiration of the present lease the Old Poodle Dog will be known under a new, incorporated name; the Bergez-Franks restaurant and cafe and will open on the second anniversary, of the fire at Kearny and Bush streets with an equipment costing over $100,000. 

Monday, January 21, 2013

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Comic Book #20 -- January 20, 2013

Captain Marvel, the Big Red Cheese, made his debut in Whiz Comics #2, published by Fawcett.  Fawcett had earlier published the humor magazine Captain Billy's Whiz Bang.  The Captain was Billy Batson, a boy who worked for radio station WHIZ.  An ancient wizard gave him the ability to become adult Captain Marvel by saying the word "SHAZAM."  Captain Marvel, often drawn by CC Beck, was Superman's greatest competitor until National Periodicals (DC) won a lawsuit alleging that Captain Marvel infringed on Superman's copyright.  At the same time, most superhero titles were dead or declining.  DC revived Captain Marvel in the 1970s.

Here he tortures a Nazi.  Spy Smasher, another Fawcett hero, also appears on the cover.

Captain Marvel appeared in a 1941 Republic serial: http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com/2011/09/dvd-adventures-of-captain-marvel.html

The image is from the wonderful site CoverBrowser (http://www.coverbrowser.com/

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Stan Musial, RIP -- January 19, 2013

Stan the Man Musial, the greatest Cardinal player, died today.  I don't remember him playing, but I remember people saying what a nice guy and a wonderful hitter he was.  Willie Mays said Musial was always a gentleman "who understood the race thing" and took care of him at the All Star Game.  Brooklyn fans, who hated everyone, gave him his nickname, and appreciated the way he accepted Jackie Robinson and integration.

He served in the Navy at the end of World War II.  

I have never read anything bad about him.  

Earl Weaver also died.  I never really liked his management philosophy, but I liked his quotes and respected his success with the Orioles.


Friday, January 18, 2013

Graumann's Chinese #22 -- January 18, 2013

In July, 2012 we paid a return visit to Hollywood and Grauman's Chinese Theater.  Sid Grauman was a San Francisco showman who came to Los Angeles and built three major houses, the Million Dollar, the Egyptian, and the Chinese. The theater has hosted many film premieres, but is most famous for the hand and footprints (and hoofprints and nose prints and other types of prints) in the forecourt.

Musical stars Joan Blondell and Dick Powell, who were married at the time, left their hand and footprints in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese on 10-February-1937.   "Thanks a million Sid" wrote Dick Powell.  "Thanks two million!" wrote Joan Blondell. 

Danny Kaye 100 -- January 18, 2013

Danny Kaye was a famous performer and humanitarian.  His acting, singing and dancing abilities were wonderful, but he always made me uncomfortable.  I sometimes attribute that to seeing Hans Christian Anderson on tv when I was very young.  I got scared, and I don't remember why.  He appeared in many big-budget movies produced by Samuel Goldwyn.  A Song is Born was a remake of Ball of Fire.  I liked Ball of Fire better.  Barbara Stanwyck played her part better than Virginia Mayo.

The image is from the wonderful site LucyWho: http://www.lucywho.com/

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Tigris -- January 17, 2013

Tigris was a brand of Itala Film, a company in Turin.  This ad, from Motography, 12-April-1913, would make a great tee shirt.

Pulp #39 -- January 17, 2013

The Steam Man of the Plains returns, this time in the company of Frank Reade, Sr.  This novel was an imitation of his previous appearance in this blog: 

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

What's More Important -- January 16, 2013


Thank you to http://wh.gov/now-is-the-time. We need some common-sense laws to reduce the number of gun deaths in our United States. 

Optic Comedy -- January 16, 2013

I would like to learn more about the Optic Comedy Theater, "Charlie Chaplin Always Heading an All Comedy Bill."  I wonder how long that lasted.  The ad is from the 09-January-1915 Photoplayers' Weekly.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

And It Ain't a Fit Night Out For Man Nor Beast -- January 15, 2013

It has been very cold, below 40F the last two mornings.  I agree with Mister Snavely. 

Nickname #22 -- January 15, 2013

Charlie Hickman was a good hitter and an excellent base runner who somehow acquired the nickname "Piano Legs."  He played for the New York Giants in 1900-01 during his 12 year career in the major leagues.  

Monday, January 14, 2013

Loretta Young 100 -- January 14, 2013

I see that missed Loretta Young's 100th birthday.  She was born on 06-January-1913.  She had a long career, stretching from silents to talkies to television. 

The image is from the 12-January-1931 Weekly Kinema Guide, a British publication. 

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Oz Film -- We Are Just Completing Our First Feature -- January 13, 2013

The Oz Film Manufacturing Company, located in Los Angeles, was formed in 1914 to produce movies based on stories by L Frank Baum, the creator of The Wizard of Oz.  The company made some movies, but was not a financial success. The ad is from the 18-July-1914 edition of Moving Picture World.  It states that their first feature, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, is just being completed and it invites feature exhibitors to "secure it at an early date."  The handwriting is an interesting touch.  The images are by John R Neill.  

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Kibbles and Klips -- January 12, 2013

We drove to Half Moon Bay for lunch, then went to Kibbles and Klips to get some catfood.  The cat keeps changing her mind about what she likes.  The tunnel looks about ready. 

I took this photo of a mural on Main Street on 21-January-2012. 

Friday, January 11, 2013

Ferry Intintoli -- January 11, 2013

Ferry Intintoli backs out of Pier 1/2 by the Ferry Building in April, 2002.  Its trip to Vallejo will be the longest ferry ride on the bay, taking about 1 hour, depending on tides and weather conditions.  The service is operated by Vallejo Baylink (http://www.baylinkferry.com/).  The boat is named after a former mayor of Vallejo. 


Thursday, January 10, 2013

Free Guide to the West -- January 10, 2013

The Union Pacific System offered a Free Guide to the West to help people plan their vacations.  The ad is from the April, 1931 Photoplay Magazine.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Barry Bonds Strikes Out -- January 9, 2013

The Baseball Writers' Association elected no one to the Hall of Fame this year.  Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa have all been the subject of controversy because of accusations about the use of performance enhancing drugs.  I saw Bonds play many times before and after he was accused of cheating.  He was Hall of Fame worthy both ways. 

Institute for Young Ladies -- January 9, 2013

I assume that Madame Van Der Weyde from France is Jeannette W Van der Weyde, wife of Doctor PH Van der Weyde, who wrote the articles which gave this blog its name.  Jeannette Van der Weyde was French and she had taught a school in their home in the Netherlands.  This ad is from the 28-August-1855 New York Tribune.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Tom Mix #1 -- January 8, 2013

Tom Mix was the biggest cowboy star in silent movies.

The caricature is from the August, 1926 Motion Picture Classic. I have not been able to identify the illustrator Curzon.

Central Pacific 150 -- January 8, 2013

On 08-January-1863, in Sacramento, Governor Leland Stanford turned the ceremonial first shovelful of earth for the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad, the western half of the great transcontinental railroad on the Overland Route.  In honor of the anniversary, the California State Railroad Museum will put a plaque near the site. 

I took this photo of the reproduced arcade depot in Old Sacramento in July, 2008. 

Monday, January 7, 2013

Huell Howser, RIP -- January 7, 2013

I was sad to learn of the passing of Huell Howser, who shared his enthusiasm about life and history and nature with all of us on California's Gold and other programs.  I loved the way he would focus on tiny details and talk to anyone about their lives. 

Train Station #55 -- January 7, 2013


The 1926 Southern Pacific Depot is used by Amtrak and Caltrain. There was a great deal of work going on last summer.

 I took the photo during our July, 2012 visit.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Bessie Love #1 -- January 6, 2013


I have always been fascinated by the career of actress Bessie Love.  She was born in Texas.  Her name was Juanita Horton.  Her family moved to Los Angeles and she went to Los Angeles High School.  Looking for work, she met director  DW Griffith and got a small part in Intolerance.  She appeared in movies with William S Hart and Douglas Fairbanks.  She was a 1922 WAMPAS (Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers) Baby Star.  She played many leading roles, most famously in The Lost World, but never broke through until the talkies came, when she starred in The Broadway Melody.  Her career was hot for a few years, but then tailed off.  She continued to appear in small parts in movies until the early 1980s. 

This item, from the May, 1929 Photoplay heralds her rise to good roles in the talkies.

Firehouse #63 -- January 6, 2013


Sacramento Number 3 was built in 1853. It was used as a firehouse until 1921. It is now a nice restaurant in Old Sacramento. I took the photo during our visit in July, 2012.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

North Beach -- January 5, 2013

Today we parked at Fifth and Mission and walked out Kearny and Columbus to North Beach.  We had lunch at the new US Restaurant.  We walked by the former location of Victoria Pastry.  We bought some cookies at Stella, then walked down Columbus.  We found the new location of Victoria by Washington Square.  We walked down to the end of the F line and rode 1050 back to 4th and Market.

I took the photo of City Lights Bookstore on 10-August-2010. 

Friday, January 4, 2013

Thurston, Kellar's Successor -- January 4, 2013

Magician Howard Thurston established himself as a successful vaudeville performer, then joined with Harry Kellar on his farewell tour.  When Kellar retired in 1908, Thurston carried on as his successor.  Thurston carried on performing until he suffered a stroke in 1935. 

The ad is from the 28-April-1910 Washington Times.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Harry Carey, Jr, RIP -- January 3, 2013

Harry Carey, Jr, a wonderful character actor, died last week.  His father, Harry Carey Sr, had been born in the Bronx but wanted to be a man of the west.  After acting on stage, he became a member of DW Griffith's Biograph stock company.  Later he was an early western star, who helped John Ford get his first job directing a feature, Straight Shooting.  Harry Jr performed in many of John Ford's westerns.  When television westerns became popular, he appeared in many of them.  In later years he performed small but important parts in western movies.

We lost some other great character actors late last year, including Jack Klugman and Charles Durning.  During World War II, Carey served in the Navy and Klugman and Durning were in the Army.  Charles Durning was in the first wave at Omaha Beach. 

The image is from John Ford's Three Godfathers, which starred John Wayne, Harry Carey, Jr and Pedro Armendáriz.  The image is from the wonderful site LucyWho: http://www.lucywho.com/

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Chasing a Million -- January 2, 2013

From the 01-August-1914 Moving Picture World.  The Straits Settlements are now part of Malaysia and a few other entities.  Note that the airplane is not mentioned in the review. 

"Chasing a Million"

A Three-Part Novelty Burlesque by "Leading Players" -- Its Second Title Is "Or Around the World in Eighty Days."  

Reviewed by Hanford C Judson.


This three-reel picture, made for the sake of laughter, has many excellent things in the way of comical situations and thrills that will prove diverting and amusing.  There are bare places in its three reels; but this foolish, rough and tumble stuff seems to be a trump with audiences this hot weather and the offering will probably prove acceptable with the majority, as a whole, while it is sure that all will enjoy the truly funny things with which it is filled.  It doesn't seem to be a cheaply put-together offering, nor is it a studio-made picture.  There is plenty of outdoors in it, with ocean and dry land, rocky coast, jungle and desert.  There are wild animals loose in it and one of its really fine scenes is a heavy thunder storm at sea -- taken in a studio, but the real thing in the fun line for all that.

It opens with a prologue in which we are introduced to the Rajah of Yeabo; his vizier, the Gink; and his priestess, Punkette.  They are on a vacation from the Straight (sic -- JT) Settlements and are doing the delights of gay Paree, where they meet Piggy, the flower girl, and her two steadies, Nutty and Cremo.  When the royal party departs things must have seemed slow and the grand announcement in the "Continental Lyre" of a great race for a million to the Island of Bunco, where the latest copy of the "Lyre" has been hidden, must have been welcome.  The first to get this and return to Paree is to get a million (if it's there).

Piggy, Nutty and Cremo are late at the start; but make up for it by extra exertions which soon carry them way ahead of all other competitors.  After earning prize money by throwing the bull in a real bull fight (it isn't hush money) Cremo gets to the ship first.  Piggy missing it by a hair, follows in a rowboat and catches it at Port Said, at which port, too, Nutty, who has swum the seas, climbs aboard.  From that point the rush across the desert is begun.  Cremo, to pay for his good lunch at the start is now selected for a meal by a crocodile, who chews him up but can't digest him.  Cremo carries a pair of pliers with which he cuts his way out of the reptile's stomach and rejoins his two comrades in misery and with them enjoys many a sad experience with man eating cannibals and with pirates of the Strait Settlements, where, greatly to their surprise, they meet again with their old friend the Rajah -- "How people will meet!"  So the adventure is carried on until they come to Bunco, only to find that an ape has already discovered the copy of "The Lyre" and has torn it.  Yet there is enough left for each to have his portion,  which after more troublous voyaging they bring back to gay Paree, only to find that the "Continental Lyre" has gone into bankruptcy and that there is no million for anyone. 

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Emancipation Proclamation 150 -- January 1, 2012

On 01-January-1863, President Abraham Lincoln, freeing everyone held as a slave in Confederate territory and ordering the army to treat them as free people.  The Confederates were outraged.  Too bad.

The stamp was issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the proclamation in 2013.  

Happy New Year #6 -- January 1, 2013

I wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year.

 The cartoon is from the 01-January-1913 San Francisco Call.  The signature appears to say "Henry Murphy."