| December 2019 | Rick Prelinger Presents Lost Landscapes: Los Angeles Rick Prelinger of the Prelinger Library and the Internet Archive takes the audience on a journey through Los Angeles that few could remember or perhaps even recognize. |
| June 2019 | Pre-Code vs. Pro-Code: New Stories and New Stances on the Era Before Censorship In this illustrated presentation, Mark Vieira and Tiffany Brannanl offer two viewpoints on the “pre-Code” era (1930 to 1934), when Hollywood ignored the lax Production Code, releasing films that dealt with adult themes. |
| March 2019 | Cora Sue Collins: You May Not Know Her Name, but You Know the Stars She Portrayed From Greta Garbo to Loretta Young to Norma Shearer, Cora Sue Collins was called on during the Golden age of cinema to portray these legends onscreen as children. Here, she discusses her Hollywood career with entertainment agent Darin Barnes. |
| January 2019 | The Night Stalker Case Revisited: Insights From the Lead Investigator Gil Carrillo, now a retired Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant, in conversation with retired LAPD officer Glynn Martin, discussed his key role in the solution of the Night Stalker crimes while sharing his observations regarding the impact of the series of crimes that plagued Southern California in the summer of 1985. |
| September 2018 | Haunted by History Craig Owens discusses his book, “Haunted by History,” and his experiences during his research and photo shoots, including local legends, stories of unusual deaths on the properties, and whether or not he and his crew experienced any paranormal phenomena. |
| August 2018 | Tarzan on Screen and Page: Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Literary Legacy Scott Tracy Griffin, one of the foremost authorities on novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs and his literary legacy, discussed 100 years of Tarzan on film. |
| August 2018 | Tracey Goessel Presents The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks Tracey Goessel, the author of The First King of Hollywood, discusses the life and career of Douglas Fairbanks, one of Hollywood’s first superstars. |
| May 2018 | GALECA Presents: LGBTQs and Television from the 1950s to Now Entertainment journalists informally discuss the surprising history of LGBTQ representation on TV, and have fun presenting rarely-seen television clips and sharing about the shows that shaped, shocked and inspired them. |
| March 2018 | The Television Academy Foundation Presents: The Interviews Adrienne Faillace and Jenni Matz, producers of The Interviews: An Oral History of Television, a program of the Television Academy Foundation, will be show clips from their video collection of oral history interviews, over twenty years in the making, with television personalities and professionals. |
| March 2018 | Leading Ladies of Animation Mindy Johnson, historian & author of Ink & Paint – The Women of Walt Disney’s Animation, pulls back the celluloid curtain on the rich history of women who animate and leads a discussion with today’s trailblazing women whose leading talents brought landmark animated stories to life. |
| October 2017 | Paint, Pencils & Pixels – How Women Transformed Walt Disney’s Animation Mindy Johnson, author of Ink & Paint – The Women of Walt Disney’s Animation, discusses the many contributions of women employed at the Disney Animation Studio. |
| July 2017 | More Stars than there are in Heaven – Alicia Mayer in conversation with Danny Miller Alicia Mayer (great-grandniece of Louis B. Mayer) in conversation with Danny Miller (Cinephiled) shares never before seen photos, memorabilia and insights into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and one of Hollywood’s first families. |
| July 2017 | The Wilshire Slides 1978-79, a Mother & Daughter Kodachrome Adventure Annie Laskey, Erix Lynxwiler, and Shannon Simonds present a selection of images of Wilshire Boulevard, taken in the late 1970s when Annie and her mom, Marlene, photographed the street from Downtown to the ocean. |
| June 2015 | Riot on the Sunset Strip Author and Los Angeles historian Domenic Priore discusses his book Riot on the Sunset Strip, a chronicle of L.A.’s swinging sixties scene, when thousands of teenagers from all over the county migrated to the Boulevard, paraded along the jammed sidewalks, and danced to the hippest bands in the most popular clubs in the country. |
| June 2015 | Neil Zlozower: Legendary Rock Photographer With his photographs featured in thousands of music magazines, album covers, posters, and books, renowned rock photographer Neil Zlozower has documented the Los Angeles rock scene like no other, capturing bands like Van Halen, Mötley Crüe, and Guns N’ Roses early on. Here, music historian Jeff Schwartz interviews “Zloz” for an inside look into his impressive career. |
| April 2015 | Edward Colver & the Birth of Hardcore Punk from its Inception A special presentation of punk rock photography from Ed Colver, the photographer who defined the style. |
| March 2015 | Robert Crane on “Sex, Celebrity, and My Father’s Unsolved Murder” Authors Robert Crane (Sex, Celebrity, and My Father’s Unsolved Murder) and Andrew A. Erish (Col. William N. Selig, the Man Who Invented Hollywood) discuss Crane’s personal tales of growing up in Los Angeles as the child of a celebrity and his struggles to reconcile the good and sordid sides of his father, actor Bob Crane (Hogan’s Heroes). |
| February 2015 | Gary Leonard Makes the Music Go Bang Photographer Gary Leonard presents his favorite music photos, many of which were featured in his book Make the Music Go Bang! : the Early L.A. Punk Scene. |
| January 2015 | Jenny Lens: Punk Pioneer Jenny Lens, MFA, L.A. native and one of the first photographers to chronicle the early punk rock scene of New York, L.A. and London, presents her most beloved and popular photos from her book “Punk Pioneers” and discusses being a woman in the male-dominated field of rock photography. |
| September 2014 | Lost and Found: The Los Angeles Photographs of Herman Schultheis John Canemaker, author of The Lost Notebook: Herman Schultheis and the Secrets of Walt Disney’s Movie Magic, and Christina Rice, Senior Librarian of the LAPL Photo Collection engage in conversation about the work of one-time Disney effects engineer Herman Schultheis. |
| September 2014 | Out of the Shadows and Into the Spotlight: Resurrecting Hollywood’s Stories Film writer Richard Harland Smith (Turner Classic Movies) leads a discussion about the challenges of resurrecting Hollywood’s lesser know stories with biographers Alan K. Rode (Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy), Tom Zimmerman (forthcoming Maria Montez: Queen of Technicolor), Andrew A. Erish (Col. William N. Selig, the Man Who Invented Hollywood), and Christina Rice (Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel). |
| September 2014 | Turn Up the Radio! Rock, Pop and Roll in Los Angeles 1956-1972 Harvey Kubernik, an L.A .native and longtime music journalist digs deep to uncover the studio musicians, background vocalists, songwriters, producers, and engineers who helped propel the Los Angeles rock and pop music scene. |
| August 2014 | Gary Leonard in Conversation with LA Observed’s Kevin Roderick Kevin Roderick of LAObserved.com and local photographer Gary Leonard presents images from Gary’s prolific career, including shots from L.A.’s punk rock scene and favorites from his photo-column, Take My Picture Gary Leonard. |
| June 2014 | Rock and Roll Seen Jeff Schwartz shares photos from the Chuck Boyd Collection, discusses “rock & roll archaeology,” and talks about Chuck’s life along with the challenges of directing an image archive. |
| June 2014 | Drive the California Dream, Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles County Ride Pacific Coast Highway with author Carina Monica Montoya via vintage images from the California Department of Transportation and new photos by John Moss through this remarkable road’s history and the picturesque coastal communities it serves. |
| May 2014 | “The Corner” – Ground Zero of Hollywood’s Golden Age Join Los Angeles historian Marc Chevalier for a slideshow presentation on “the Corner”, the social nexus of Hollywood’s movie industry throughout its golden age. |
| March 2014 | The Orange and the Dream of California Author David Boule presents an illustrated history of the orange, which became a symbol of everything California promised, and how California became the center of the Orange Empire. |
| February 2014 | Iconic Vision Stephen Gee, author of “Iconic Vision: John Parkinson, Architect of Los Angeles”, discusses the life and work of this prolific architect. |
| November 2013 | Shades of L.A. Revisited Kathy Kobayashi, co-architect of Shades of L.A. takes a look back at the landmark project, which was launched in 1991 and resulted in a compelling image archive from diverse Southern California families, copied by Photo Friends from family albums for the LAPL Photo Collection. |
| September 2013 | Artful Lives: Edward Weston, Margrethe Mather, and the Bohemians of Los Angeles Beth Gates Warren, author of “Artful Lives: Edward Weston, Margrethe Mather, and the Bohemians of Los Angeles” (J. P. Getty Museum, 2011) discusses the personal and profession relationship between the two photographers early on in Weston’s career. |
| August 2013 | Harlow in Hollywood Jean Harlow historian Darrell Rooney, co-author of “Harlow In Hollywood,” discusses and presents images on the behind the scenes life of Jean Harlow and the city that helped mold her. |
| July 2013 | Making Waves: Modernist Photographs by Japanese Americans, Los Angeles, 1920-1940 Dennis Reed, Emeritus Professor of Art at Los Angeles Valley College, discusses the modernist works of Japanese American photographers in Los Angeles, much of which was destroyed or lost during the relocation in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor bombing. |
| June 2013 | Sleeping Beauties; Deranged L.A. Crimes from the Notebook of Aggie Underwood Writer and social historian Joan Renner explores the dark side of Southern California with material drawn from two fascinating stories covered by legendary Los Angeles newswoman, Agness “Aggie” Underwood. |
| April 2013 | Turnabout Puppet Theatre Historian J. Eric Lynxwiler presents the history of the Yale Puppeteers and Turnabout Theater, a Los Angeles tale unlike any other. |
| March 2013 | Tales of the Herald Examiner Former photographers of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner share photos and stories from their time at the legendary newspaper that folded in 1989. |
| February 2013 | Zed Adams & Eric Lynxwiler: A City of Fakes – History of Themed Environments in Los Angeles |
| September 2012 | John Bengtson: Silent Footsteps |
| June 2012 | David Davis: Photo Finish – The Olympic Games in Los Angeles, 1932 and 1984 |
| May 2012 | Stefano Block: Painting Bombing and Buffing L.A.’s Freeway Walls – The Birth, Life, and Slow Death of the Olympic Festival Murals |
| March 2012 | Kevin Roderick: Images from the LAPL Photo Collection – Valley Edition |
| December 2011 | Weston Naef & Jennifer Watts: Los Angeles Through the Lens of Carlton Watkins |
| October 2011 | Joan Renner: Gold Diggers & Snake Handlers – Deranged L.A. Crimes from the Notebook of Aggie Underwood |
| July 2011 | Anne Laskey, Shannon Simonds, & Eric Lynxwiler: The Wilshire Slides, 1978-79 |
| March 2011 | Eric Lynxwiler: The Kelly-Holiday Mid-Century Aerial Collection |
Additional Programs
| August 2014 | Ilana Turner: Great Actresses of the Past |
| February 2014 | Christina Rice: Walnuts, Sanka, and a Cow Named Garbo – Ann Dvorak’s Encino Ranch |
| October 2013 | Central Library, 20 Years Later – https://vimeo.com/80201422 |
| November 2012 | Patrick Reagh: William Reagh – A Long Walk Downtown (co-sponsored by the Book Club of California) |
| February 2012 | Galen Wilkes: From Vaudeville to the Nickelodeon, a History of the Illustrated Song |