Category

History Lessons

At my heart I’m a historian. So sometimes I write essays on weird topics. Yes, I write these because I want to, not because I’m getting paid or anything. Seriously.

Myself standing in front of the barn, behind me a large white sign atop the porch that reads "Hollywood Heritage Museum Lasky-DeMille Barn Est. 1913"

Farm to Fame: Tales of Glitz, Glamor & Eminent Domain at the Hollywood Heritage Museum

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At the turn of the 20th century despite its bustling downtown core Los Angeles still had many agricultural elements and in 1901 Jacob Stern built a little barn on the corner of Selma and Vine, just one block south of what would become the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Over the next century the little barn…

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The Devil is in the Details: The Rumored Satanic Curse that Killed Jayne Mansfield

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On June 29, 1967 the fading light of Hollywood starlet Jayne Mansfield was extinguished for good when her car slammed into the back of a truck. Was her death just a random auto accident or the product of a curse brought on by Anton LeVay, the founder of the Church of Satan? Jayne Mansfield had…

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Close-up of the brooch, a hatchet with "Carrie Nation" embossed on the blade.

Remembering the Hatchet Brandishing Carry A. Nation the Unsung Heroine of Prohibition

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When the majority of Americans think about the era of Prohibition, we think of the roaring 20s, with flappers, speakeasies, and flowing illegal hooch. However, the push for outlawing alcohol started before the arrival of the 20th century, and part of it was spearheaded by a formidable woman, towering at six feet tall, dressed in…

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Myself, wearing large pink sunglasses, a white cowboy hat, with blue stars edged in rhinestones, a white and light blue patterned suit with silver thread running through it, and a blue satin shirt.

Rocket Man

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In 1975, after climbing America’s music charts, Elton John stepped onto a stage at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium to a crowd of over 50,000. In the audience for one of the two sold out shows was my mother-in-law, and last week she got to do it all over again, as her, Patrick and myself went…

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The Coven Album "Witchcraft" leans up against the open lid of a record player. The black vinyl record sits on the spindle. The cover features a woman with long blonde hair, and two men, one with dark hair, another with blonde hair and a mustache, in the middle is a human skull. Text across the top reads "Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls Coven"

The Forgotten Mother of Metal Music and Birth of the “Devil’s Horns”

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It’s summer still, but many, including myself, already have Halloween on the mind. Disneyland has released tickets for the after-hours party, Universal Halloween Horror Nights has announced their new mazes and some stores already have Halloween decorations in stock, and me? Well, I’m working on what songs from my spooktacular playlist I’m going to share…

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