Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Black L.A. 1947: Little Miss Cornshucks; St. Paul Baptist Church Plans a New Building

Posted on November 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

Nov. 13, 1947: Little Miss Cornshucks is at the Last Word, 4206 Central Ave. The Last Word opened in July 1947 and seems to have closed in 1951. Or at least it was no longer advertising in the Sentinel. On … Continue reading →

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Nov. 14, 1947: Frightening Food From the 1940s – M.J.B. Nightcap

Posted on November 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. 1. In the top of a double-boiler, combine 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon powdered sugar and ¼ cup triple-strength M.J.B. coffee. Half-strength or triple-strength, the mellow … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Film, Food and Drink, Frightening Food From the 1940s, Hollywood, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sept. 19, 1907: Deadlier Than Male

Posted on November 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Sept. 19, 1907 Los Angeles “Hidden somewhere in Los Angeles is a daredevil Spanish woman who should be standing with the Mexican revolutionaries when they are arraigned here in the United States … Continue reading →

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‘Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes’s Hollywood’ | One-Page Fact Check: Fail

Posted on November 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

The one-page fact check of Karina Longworth’s “Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes’s Hollywood” was even more successful than I expected. Well done, Brain Trust. Grade: Fail. Ready? Here we go:

Posted in 1920, 1921, 1923, 1925, Another Good Story Ruined, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, One-Page Fact Check | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Black L.A. 1947: The Week’s Juke Box Hits

Posted on November 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

“Since I fell for You” by Annie Laurie leads the Sentinel’s Juke Box Hits.

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Nov. 13-14, 1947: Deadly Violence in the Holy Land

Posted on November 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

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Nov. 13, 1907: Revolutionary Defense Fund

Posted on November 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Nov. 13, 1907 Los Angeles An uproarious meeting was held last night at Simpson Auditorium to raise money for the four Mexican revolutionaries being held in the Los Angeles County Jail. The … Continue reading →

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Another Good Story Ruined: Karina Longworth’s ‘Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes’s Hollywood’

Posted on November 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Here’s a “fun” challenge. How many mistakes can you spot on the first page of “Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes’s Hollywood?”   A friend who has written many distinguished books on Hollywood emailed me over the weekend … Continue reading →

Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Abel Gance’s ‘J’Accuse’ a Passionate Indictment of War

Posted on November 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

An ad for “I Accuse” in Exhibitors Herald, Nov. 5, 1921. The “war to end all wars” ended November 11, 1918, at 11 am. After four years of butchery, gas attacks, hand-to-hand combat and trench warfare, soldiers walked away from … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, World War I | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1936 Paramount picture “The Big Broadcast of 1937,” with Jack Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Bob Burns, Martha Raye, Shirley Ross, Ray Milland, Frank Forest, Benny Fields, Sam Hearn, Benny Goodman and his … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 40 Comments

Nov. 12, 1947: Pasadena Girl Recovers From Mystery Illness

Posted on November 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.. Andrea Brodine, 6, for whose life many have prayed since she was stricken by a deadly paralysis two weeks ago, walked again at the Huntington Memorial … Continue reading →

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A Bad Way With Horses

Posted on November 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Nov. 12, 1907 Los Angeles Half a block from his home at 1131 Westlake, John P. Shumway Jr. was badly injured when the carriage he was driving collided with the 11th Street … Continue reading →

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Nov. 11, 1907: Cad Told the Truth Only Once — He Wasn’t Worthy of Her

Posted on November 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Nov. 11, 1907 Los Angeles On a trip to Topeka, Kans., to visit relatives, Lena River Packard of Los Angeles met Edgar (or Edwin) Campbell Arnold, a wealthy wholesale druggist who quickly … Continue reading →

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Nov. 10, 1947: Remains of Kidnapped Girl Found in Orange County Ravine

Posted on November 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Bits of clothing found with a child’s skeleton in a small ravine in Orange County yesterday were identified as belonging to 6-year-old Rochelle Gluskoter, who was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Nov. 10, 1907: Story of L.A. Real Estate Is Dislocation, Dislocation, Dislocation

Posted on November 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Nov. 10, 1907 South Pasadena What sort of monument do we leave for real estate developers? For John B. Althouse, who built hundreds of homes in the Wilshire district, as well as … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1914, Architecture, Real Estate | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

November 1947: A Mysterious Shooting at the Biltmore

Posted on November 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

    Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.. Every now and then, research presents you with a story that doesn’t make any sense. Further readings, rather than clarifying anything, only make the … Continue reading →

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Nov. 9, 1907: ‘We Are Revolutionists!’ Supporters Call for Release of Ricardo Flores Magon

Posted on November 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Nov. 9, 1907 Los Angeles Local sympathizers, anarchists and socialists are organizing a mass meeting to protest the imprisonment of Ricardo Flores Magon, Librado Rivera, Antonio Villareal and L. Gutierrez De Lara, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Nov. 8, 1947: Tokyo Rose Seeks to Return to U.S.

Posted on November 8, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Her name was Iva and she was born in Watts on the Fourth of July, attended high school in Compton and graduated from UCLA with a … Continue reading →

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Nov. 7, 1947: Santa Makes Second Appearance in Downtown L.A.

Posted on November 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.. You might want to clip and save this for the next time someone complains that the Christmas season comes earlier every year. Santa was a well-traveled … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Comics, Downtown | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Black L.A. 1947: Sentinel Offers $100 for Proof That LAPD has Black Motorcycle Officer

Posted on November 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Nov. 6, 1947: LAPD motorcycle officers received a pay differential, so these were desirable jobs. The photograph is fairly dim, but this looks like a three-wheeled Harley-Davidson Servi-Car.

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