Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Black Dahlia: Why Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill His Secretary

Posted on June 17, 2019 by lmharnisch

Here’s the May 9, 1945, death certificate of Ruth Frances Spaulding. Notice that the Los Angeles County coroner determined that Spaulding committed suicide at the age of 27. If you have listened to Steve Hodel at all, you will have … Continue reading →

Posted in 1945, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 17, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1951 MGM picture “The Law and the Lady,” with Greer Garson, Michael Wilding, Fernando Lamas, Marjorie Main, Hayden Rorke, Margalo Gillmore, Ralph Dumke, Rhys Williams and Natalie Schafer. Screenplay by Leonard Spigelgass and Karl … Continue reading →

Posted in 1951, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 44 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Norman Kerry, Preservationist

Posted on June 16, 2019 by lmharnisch

Norman Kerry in 1924. Long before billionaire investor Ron Burkle purchased and restored such historic architectural properties as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis-Brown House, Harold Lloyd’s Greenacres, and Bob Hope’s Palm Springs and Toluca Lake houses, silent film star Norman Kerry … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 10, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s particularly fun (for me, anyway) mystery movie was the 1950 United Artists release “The Underworld Story,” with Dan Duryea, Herbert Marshall, Gale Storm, Howard Da Silva, Michael O’Shea, Mary Anderson, Gar Moore, Melville Cooper, Frieda Inescort, Art Baker, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 47 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Julian Eltinge Says ‘I’m at Your Service, Girls’

Posted on June 10, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2016.   One of the most famous female impersonators of all time, but now also one of the most forgotten, Julian Eltinge stood as one of the most successful headliners of the early … Continue reading →

Posted in 1915, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Stage | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

ALLIES INVADE FRANCE! JUNE 6, 1944; Complete Radio Coverage

Posted on June 6, 2019 by lmharnisch

The headline and map by Charles Owens from The Times. Note: This is an encore post from 2014. Reposting to fix some broken links. June 6, 1944: Complete radio coverage of the D-Day Invasion. This was pool coverage using correspondents … Continue reading →

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James Ellroy: ‘This Storm’ — Racism and Anti-Semitism Masquerading as History

Posted on June 5, 2019 by lmharnisch

A historical aside to everybody gushing over James Ellroy’s latest, “This Storm,” which opens with a speech from Father Coughlin’s supposed bootleg radio station in Mexico. (Coughlin was a notorious right-wing radio broadcaster of the 1930s who was silenced by … Continue reading →

Posted in 2019, Books and Authors, Radio | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: Newsweek Mangles the George Hodel Story Beyond All Recognition

Posted on June 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

About 1980, when I was in journalism school, one of my classes heard guest speaker Martin Kasindorf, who impressed the room of aspiring reporters with his tales of being a Newsweek correspondent. (He was later the magazine’s New York bureau … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2019, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1929 MGM picture “The Last of Mrs. Cheyney,” which was released in sound (8,651 feet) and silent (6,484 feet) versions. With Norma Shearer, Basil Rathbone, Herbert Bunston, George Barraud, Hedda Hopper, Moon Carroll, Madeline … Continue reading →

Posted in 1929, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: First National Building Banks On Hollywood’s Future

Posted on June 3, 2019 by lmharnisch

Hollywood First National Bank Building, Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2014 Soaring to the skies, displaying confidence in Hollywood’s unlimited future, the First National Building, constructed and opened in 1928, brought Art Deco-Gothic beauty … Continue reading →

Posted in 1927, Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Maria Ridulph, Mary Mallory, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: First National Building Banks On Hollywood’s Future

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Commercial Photographers and Hollywood

Posted on May 27, 2019 by lmharnisch

Thanks to the work of often uncredited talented stills photographers during the era of classic Hollywood, movie stars appeared sexy, glamorous and larger than life, gods and goddesses the moviegoing public could only aspire to. These stills men and women … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 27, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1935 Twentieth Century film “Les Miserables,” with Fredric March, Charles Laughton, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Rochelle Hudson, John Beal and Frances Drake. Directed by Richard Boleslawski, associate producers William Goetz and Raymond Griffith, screenplay by … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 46 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 20, 2019 by lmharnisch

  This week’s mystery movie was the 1979 film “Zulu Dawn,” with Burt Lancaster, Peter O’Toole,  Simon Ward, Nigel Davenport, Michael Jayston, Peter Vaughan, James Faulkner, Christopher Cazenove, Simon Sabela, Dai Bradley, Bob Hoskins, Anna Calder-Marshall, Freddie Jones, Nicholas Clay, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1979, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 42 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: The House of Westmore Beautifies Hollywood

Posted on May 20, 2019 by lmharnisch

Ann Sheridan promotes the House of Westmore. Note: This is an encore post from 2015. Since the 1920s, the Westmore family has served the entertainment industry as some of the greatest practitioners of makeup artistry. From leading studio makeup departments … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Now on Wikipedia — Hodel vs. Hodel Family Feud!

Posted on May 13, 2019 by lmharnisch

OK, I admit it. I love that this is happening. This is Steve Hodel vs. Fauna Hodel’s daughter Rasha Pecoraro on the question of the Hodel family DNA and whether it shows that George Hodel was Fauna Hodel’s father. (Spoiler … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Wikipedia | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 4634 Santa Monica Blvd., Where History Was Made

Posted on May 13, 2019 by lmharnisch

Though today the home of Union Swap Meet, 4634 Santa Monica Blvd. once served as the location for pioneering director Lois Weber’s motion picture studio from 1917 through 1925. Ranking as one of the top three directors in 1915, Weber … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 13, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1941 Columbia picture “Texas,” with William Holden, Glenn Ford, Claire Trevor, George Bancroft, Edgar Buchanan, Don Beddoe and Willard Robertson. Screenplay by Horace McCoy, Lewis Meltzer and Michael Blankfort, from a story by Michael … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 53 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: San Francisco Silent Film Festival Celebrates Humanity

Posted on May 7, 2019 by lmharnisch

Just as today’s immigrants search for shelter and sanctuary, the films at the 24th Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival featured protagonists pursuing their own refuge and safety through the dreams of opportunity, love, and home. Spanning the globe with … Continue reading →

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

May 7, 1959: Dodgers Honor Roy Campanella as Coliseum Crowd Sets Record

Posted on May 7, 2019 by lmharnisch

Keith Thursby has the story of Roy Campanella being honored in a ceremony during an exhibition game at the Coliseum between the Dodgers and Yankees. The game raised nearly $60,000 for the former Dodger catcher, who was partially paralyzed in … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on May 6, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1935 Columbia film “She Married Her Boss,” with Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, Michael Bartlett, Raymond Walburn, Jean Dixon, Katherine Alexander, Edith Fellows, Clara Kimball Young, Grace Hale and Charles E. Arnt. Screenplay by Sidney … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 44 Comments