Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on September 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1993 picture “The Joy Luck Club.”  This is much more recent than the usual mystery movie, but I decided to do it after reading an essay by Los Angeles Times movie critic Justin … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 39 Comments

Sept. 24, 1947: Young Men Say ‘I Love You’ With a Buick Hood Ornament

Posted on September 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. And how do the young men of Los Angeles indicate their interest in a young woman? Do they court her with roses or candy or mash … Continue reading →

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Sept. 24, 1907: A Poem on the First Day in L.A.

Posted on September 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Sept. 24, 1907 Los Angeles A First Day in Los Angeles Roving, roving, ever restless, drifting On from strand to strand. Have I seen the years slip by me, Seeking for the … Continue reading →

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Sept. 23, 1947: Janet Flanner, The New Yorker’s ‘Genet,’ Visits L.A .

Posted on September 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Janet Flanner, during her many years in Paris as European correspondent for the New Yorker magazine, picked up the French love of epigrams. Genet, as she … Continue reading →

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Sept. 23, 1907: Rev. J.L. Griffin Baptizes 5 in Echo Park Lake

Posted on September 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Sept. 23, 1907 Los Angeles A crowd of 2,000—the faithful and the doubters—gathered at Echo Park Lake as black evangelist the Rev. J.L. Griffin prepared to baptize five believers in the cold … Continue reading →

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Sept. 22, 1947: Avak the Healer Comes to Los Angeles

Posted on September 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. And then he was gone as if he had never been here at all. The hundreds of people who threw themselves at his feet to kiss … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Religion | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Sept. 22, 1907: No Divorce, Judge Says, You Knew He Was a Bellboy When You Married Him!

Posted on September 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Sept. 22, 1907 Los Angeles She was 34 and a successful businesswoman. He was a 19-year-old bellboy at the Hollenbeck Hotel. Emma and George Lloyd were married and for a time were … Continue reading →

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Sept. 21, 1947: Los Angeles Leads U.S. in Burglaries, Ranks 3rd in Killings After New York, Chicago

Posted on September 21, 2018 by lmharnisch
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Sept. 21, 1907: 26 Men Deported to China

Posted on September 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Sept. 21, 1907 Los Angeles It is one thing to know in the abstract about racial intolerance at the turn of the 20th century and quite another to have to read it … Continue reading →

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Sept. 20, 1947: Marie ‘The Body’ McDonald Marries Karl the Shoe Man

Posted on September 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Marie (The Body) McDonald, 23-year-old film actress, last night was married to Harry Karl, 33, shoe merchant, in a quiet civil ceremony at the home of … Continue reading →

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Sept. 20, 1907: Suicide Note — ‘Everything Is Boiling’

Posted on September 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Sept. 20, 1907 Los Angeles For weeks, Colorado mining investor John Geisel, 57, had confided in his diary as he felt his mind and his life coming unraveled “Good God,” he wrote, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1883, 1907, 1950, Architecture, Downtown, Suicide | 2 Comments

Black L.A. 1947: Herb Jeffries Cast in All-Black Production of ‘Camille’

Posted on September 19, 2018 by lmharnisch

Sept. 18, 1947: The Sentinel reports the intriguing production of an all-black, musical version of “Camille,” produced by Thomas Hammond with a score by Serge Walter, lyrics by Rene Du Plessis, starring Herb Jeffries.  A previous commitment prevented Lena Horne … Continue reading →

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Sept. 19, 1947: L.A. OKs Right Turn on Red Light!

Posted on September 19, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Adopted across the country and lampooned by Woody Allen, Los Angeles’ right turn on a red light was born in obscurity. Although the city used traffic … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Annual Halloween Reminder

Posted on September 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

Somewhere, somebody is already thinking about a Black Dahlia costume for Halloween, so here is my annual reminder: Dressing up like the victim of a grotesque murder is not the look you want. Please rethink your choices. Thanks.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, LAPD | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

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

Posted on September 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

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Sept. 18, 1947: Navajo Teenagers Arrive at Sherman Institute

Posted on September 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. RIVERSIDE—A contingent of 369 Navajo Indian boys and girls from New Mexico and Arizona has arrived at Riverside’s famed Sherman Institute. Many of the youngsters, who … Continue reading →

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Sept. 17:1907: L.A. Celebrates Mexican Independence Day

Posted on September 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Sept. 17, 1907 Los Angeles Mexican Independence Day was celebrated in a grand program sponsored by the Club Porfiro Diaz of Los Angeles at Turner Hall, 325 S. Main (demolished 1951), which … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on September 17, 2018 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1944 MGM picture “Barbary Coast Gent,” with Wallace Beery, Binnie Barnes, John Carradine, Bruce Kellogg, Frances Rafferty, Chill Wills, Noah Beery Sr., Henry O’Neill and Ray Collins. It was produced by Orville O. Dull, … Continue reading →

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Hamburger’s Department Store, Arrow Movie Theater

Posted on September 17, 2018 by lmharnisch

A postcard of Hamburger’s Department Store is listed on EBay as Buy It Now for $2.99. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. The classy, oversize May Co. Department Store located at 801 S. Broadway in downtown Los Angeles … Continue reading →

Posted in 1908, Architecture, Broadway, Downtown, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sept. 16, 1907: Occidental Upperclassmen Enforce Fashion Law — No Cords for Freshmen!

Posted on September 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Sept. 16, 1907 Los Angeles Occidental’s fall semester has gotten underway with a boisterous gathering in the Hall of Letters. The first order of business was to punish underclassmen who dared to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Education, Fashion | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments