Author Archives: lmharnisch

About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on May 29, 2023 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have a mysterious lad.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 22, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1953 MGM picture The Clown, with Red Skelton, Tim Considine, Jane Greer, Loring Smith, Philip Ober, Lou Lubin, Fay Roope, Walter Reed, Edward Marr, Jonathan Cott, Don Beddoe and Steve Forrest.  

Posted in 1953, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 43 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Patience Abbe

Posted on May 22, 2023 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2012. Patience Abbe and her brothers John and Richard parlayed their adventures globetrotting with their famous photographer father James Abbe and mother Polly, a former Ziegfeld dancer, into three books in the 1930s. … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Fine Chinese Dining and Asian American Celebrities’ Restaurants

Posted on May 17, 2023 by lmharnisch

Willie Fung opened the New Moon cafe. Americans fell in love with Chinese food over the decades, drawn to it originally by cheap prices and chop suey, before growing to love more exotic and elegant dishes. At the same time, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 15, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1946 MGM picture No Leave, No Love, with Van Johnson, Keenan Wynn, Pat Kirkwood, Guy Lombardo and his Orchestra, Edward Arnold, Marie Wilson, Leon Ames, Marina Koshetz, Selena Royle, Wilson Wood, Vince Barnett and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1946, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Remembering Newsman Tony Valdez | 1945-2023

Posted on May 11, 2023 by lmharnisch

We’re remembering veteran Fox 11 newsman Tony Valdez, who died last week at 78. Tony loved Los Angeles and he loved Los Angeles history; for Tony, the city was a profession and an avocation. When he wasn’t reporting on Los … Continue reading →

Posted in broadcasting, Obituaries, Photography, Television | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 8, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1939 Universal picture First Love, with Deanna Durbin, Robert Stack, Eugene Pallette, Helen Parrish, Lewis Howard, Leatrice Joy, June Storey, Frank Jenks, Charles Coleman, Mary Treen and Kathleen Howard.

Posted in 1939, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Two Chinese Restaurants in Studio City

Posted on May 8, 2023 by lmharnisch

A matchbook cover for Rickshaw Boy, Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2016. Graphics, films, advertisements, music – all demonstrate values and cultures of the time and place in which they were created. Words, phrases, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything – May 2023

Posted on May 2, 2023 by lmharnisch

Here’s my latest Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 1, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1939 Warner Bros. short Old Hickory, with Hugh Sothern, Nana Bryant, Victor Kilian, Frank Wilcox, Irving Pichel, Natalie Moorhead, George Renevant and John Hamilton.

Posted in 1939, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 33 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood’s First Studio Librarian, Elizabeth McGaffey

Posted on May 1, 2023 by lmharnisch

In a field that prides itself on accuracy in production, it took a woman to recognize the importance of organizing and conducting research to verify facts and figures. Forgotten today, Elizabeth McGaffey established the Lasky Feature Play Company’s library with … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything – May 2, 2023

Posted on April 25, 2023 by lmharnisch

Coming next week: Ask me anything about the Black Dahlia case, Tuesday, May 2, at 10 a.m. Can’t make the live session? Email me your questions and I’ll answer them! The video will be posted once the session ends.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 24, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1944 Twentieth Century-Fox picture Wilson, with Charles Coburn, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell, Ruth Nelson, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, William Eythe, Mary Anderson, Ruth Ford, Sidney Blackmer, Madeleine Forbes, Stanley Ridges, Eddie Foy Jr., … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 43 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – The Quest for a Movie Museum

Posted on April 24, 2023 by lmharnisch

Image: Postcard showing a model of a proposed Hollywood museum, listed on EBay $3.99. Note: This is an encore post from 2011. Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Oct. 6 … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Museums, Preservation | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: TCM Classic Film Festival Salutes Warner Bros. Centennial

Posted on April 19, 2023 by lmharnisch

Highlighting classic film while saluting legendary Warner Bros. Studio’s Centennial, the recently concluded 14th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival offered an entertaining, thoughtful slice of life through its diverse slate of vintage movies and programming. While slimmed down from past … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 17, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1947 Republic picture The Flame, with John Carroll, Vera Ralston, Robert Paige, Broderick Crawford, Henry Travers, Blanche Yurka, Constance Dowling, Hattie McDaniel, Victor Sen Yung, Harry V. Cheshire, John Miljan, Garry Owen and Eddie … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 33 Comments

Eve Golden: The Amazing Life of Allan Gould

Posted on April 14, 2023 by lmharnisch

Ruth Tester and Allan Gould perform Manhattan in the 1929 Paramount short Makers of Melody. Longtime readers may recall that way back in 2013, Larry and I pondered the career of Allan Gould, whom I had seen in a 1929 … Continue reading →

Posted in Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Music, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + +)

Posted on April 10, 2023 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have a mysterious fellow. Back of the Head Guy has been cropped out due to insufficient mysteriousness and will appear later in the week. Update: For Friday, here’s Back of the Head Guy.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 37 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights, ‘Hollywood’

Posted on April 10, 2023 by lmharnisch

Aug. 26, 1923: “Hollywood” plays at Grauman’s Rialto. Note: This is an encore post from 2011. More than a decade before the release of HOLLYWOOD BLVD., Paramount Pictures also released a film looking at the behind-the-scenes industry that was also … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything on YouTube for April 2023

Posted on April 4, 2023 by lmharnisch

Here’s my latest “ask me anything” on the Black Dahlia case. I talked about John Gilmore, Steve Hodel, Piu Eatwell, the crime scene and the LAPD investigation, among many other Dahlia-related subjects.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment