Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 11, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2013. You might have to hunt a bit for Don Normark’s 1999 book “Chavez Ravine, 1949,” but your search will be rewarded. The photos are terrific and the residents’ recollections make the book even … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 10, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2013. Glen Creason’s book on maps of Los Angeles shows the many ways people have viewed the city over the years. I interviewed him for The Times in 2012 and fortunately for all concerned, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2010, Books and Authors, Libraries | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1961 Warner Bros. film “Susan Slade,” with Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens, Lloyd Nolan, Dorothy McGuire, Brian Aherne, Grant Williams, Natalie Schafer, Kent Smith, Bert Convy and Guy Wilkerson. Color by Technicolor. This was Williams’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

L.A. Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2017. Mary Mallory’s posts are one of the L.A. Daily Mirror’s most popular features, so we are happy to recommend “Hollywoodland”; “Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays,” written with Karie Bible; “Hollywood at Play,” written … Continue reading →

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

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 8, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2013. Whenever I’m asked about my favorite books on Los Angeles, my first recommendation is “Nuestro Pueblo,” a selection of features by Times artist Charles Owens and writer Joseph Seewerker that appeared in The … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 7, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2013. True style never goes out of date, after all. We are being bombarded by stories about Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with videos of long lines at stores and the attendant consumer frenzy. … Continue reading →

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A Firsthand History Lesson on Pearl Harbor

Posted on December 7, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2011. In 1962, I was a seventh-grader at Washington Junior High School in Naperville, Ill. On Dec. 7, Mr. Humbert, our social studies teacher, put aside the regular curriculum to give his young pupils … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Education, History, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Huntington Japanese Garden Gives Rest and Refinement

Posted on December 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

A c. 1937 image of the Japanese garden at the Huntington, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library. In 1919, Henry E. and Arabella Huntington signed trust papers that would turn their estate into a public institution. Once opened to … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Museums | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1956 Warner Bros. film “A Cry in the Night,” with Edmond O’Brien, Brian Donlevy, Natalie Wood, Raymond Burr, Richard Anderson, Irene Hervey, Carol Vezzie, Mary Lawrence, Anthony Caruso, George J. Lewis, Peter Hanson, Tina … Continue reading →

Posted in 1956, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

L.A. Celebrates a Wartime Thanksgiving, 1943

Posted on November 28, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. A wartime Thanksgiving in Los Angeles, with many service personnel welcomed into people’s homes for a holiday meal. The Times published cooking tips for war workers, advising cooks who were otherwise engaged … Continue reading →

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An 1890s Thanksgiving in the Kitchen

Posted on November 25, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. Here’s a traditional roast turkey recipe from the “Every-Day Cook-Book and Family Compendium,” written about 1890 by Miss E. Neill. Be sure your fire is bright and clear and watch out for … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Elsie Janis Rallies the Troops for World War I

Posted on November 25, 2019 by lmharnisch

World War I, the “War to End All Wars,” concluded 100 years ago at the 11th minute of the 11th hour, November 11, 1918. A bloody conflagration involving such countries and republics as the United States, Canada, England, France, Germany, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1918, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, World War I | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 25, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1946 Twentieth Century-Fox film “Somewhere in the Night,” with John Hodiak, Nancy Guild, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Conte, Josephine Hutchinson, Fritz Kortner, Margo Woode, Sheldon Leonard and Lou Nova. Screenplay by Howard Dinsdale and Joseph … Continue reading →

Posted in 1946, 1947, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

From the Vaults — ‘Vamonos Con Pancho Villa!’

Posted on November 21, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. “Vamonos Con Pancho Villa!” (“Let’s Go With Pancho Villa!”) is the surprisingly dark, roughly hewn story of six friends who call themselves “the lions of San Pablo” and join the Mexican Revolution … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 18, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1937 Paramount film “Bulldog Drummond Comes Back,” with John Barrymore, John Howard, Louise Campbell, Reginald Denny and E.E. Clive. Screenplay by Edward T. Lowe, based on “The Female of the Species” by H.C. “Sapper” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 36 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood Sign Built and Illuminated November-December 1923

Posted on November 18, 2019 by lmharnisch

The Hollywoodland Sign, in a photo published in the Los Angeles Evening Herald, Dec. 8, 1923. Note: This is an encore post from 2017. Originally constructed as a publicity gimmick and branding symbol to help generate sales for a real … Continue reading →

Posted in 1923, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Ivan Mosjoukine, the Man With the Piercing Eyes

Posted on November 12, 2019 by lmharnisch

Ivan Mosjoukine, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2013 featuring the star of last week’s mystery movie. Not as well known as other silent film stars like Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Buster Keaton or Rudolph … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Einar Petersen and His ‘Aladdin and His Lamp’ Murals

Posted on November 11, 2019 by lmharnisch

One of Einar Petersen’s murals at the Spring Street Guaranty Building and Loan Assn., courtesy of Mary Mallory Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Curbed L.A. recently reported on the renovations at the building. Fame is fleeting. An … Continue reading →

Posted in 1928, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Spring Street | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Einar Petersen and His ‘Aladdin and His Lamp’ Murals

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 11, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1934 Vitaphone short “Art Trouble,” with Harry Gribbon, Shemp Howard, Beatric Blinn and Leni Sengel. Writted by Jack Henley and Dolph Singer, photographed by E.B. DuPar, directed by Ralph Staub. According to the trades, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1934, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Black L.A. 1947: Kiwanis Refuses to Give Lottery Winner a New Cadillac Because He’s Black

Posted on November 6, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2018 that is getting lots of interest on Reddit. This is a story that involves a $1 lottery ticket, a new Cadillac and an incredible amount of stupidity by members of an ostensibly … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Transportation | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment