Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Found on Craigslist: Oviatt Display Case (With Alterations)

Posted on December 3, 2017 by lmharnisch

A vendor on Craigslist has listed what is claimed to be a display case from the Oviatt Building for $12,500. Note this disclaimer: “Updated glass shelves and lighting have been added.” So it’s not in original condition.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Howard Greer Inc., Maison of Haute Couture

Posted on November 27, 2017 by lmharnisch

Howard Greer in Modern Screen, 1933. Long before Adrian left MGM to set up his own couture house, Paramount Pictures’ costume designer Howard Greer established a tony modiste shop on Sunset Boulevard catering to the needs and desires of many … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 27, 2017 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1945 Paramount film “Two Years Before the Mast,” with Alan Ladd, Brian Donlevy, William Bendix, Barry Fitzgerald, Howard da Silva, Esther Fernandez, Albert Dekker, Luis Van Rooten, Darryl Hickman, Roman Bohnen, Ray Collins, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 41 Comments

L.A. Celebrates a Wartime Thanksgiving, 1943

Posted on November 23, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post from 2013. Happy Thanksgiving! 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 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Food and Drink, World War II | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

An 1890s Thanksgiving in the Kitchen

Posted on November 23, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2011. Happy Thanksgiving! 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 … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: T.L. Tally – L.A.’s Pioneer Film Exhibitor, Part 2

Posted on November 20, 2017 by lmharnisch

  “The Great Corbett Fight” at Tally’s theater.   Former Texan T. L. (Thomas) Tally pioneered early film exhibition practices in the film metropolis of Los Angeles, catering to the needs of his audiences. Always enamored with technology, he seemed … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Broadway, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: T.L. Tally – L.A.’s Pioneer Film Exhibitor, Part 2

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 20, 2017 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been MGM’s 1929 film “The Kiss,” which was the studio’s (and Greta Garbo’s) last silent film. It stars Garbo, Conrad Nagel and Holmes Herbert. From the story by George M. Saville, scenario by Hans Kraly, … Continue reading →

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 13, 2017 by lmharnisch

    This week’s mystery movie has been the 1936 RKO film “Two in the Dark,” with Walter Abel, Margo Grahame, Wallace Ford, Gail Patrick, Alan Hale, Leslie Fenton, Eric Blore, Erin O’Brien-Moore, Erik Rhodes, J. Carroll Naish and Addison … Continue reading →

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood Studio Club Provides Home For Movie-Struck Girls

Posted on November 13, 2017 by lmharnisch

The Studio Club in Photoplay, 1917. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. T he advent of the 20th century offered the possibility of more freedom and opportunity for women. For decades, women had advocated for the right to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1916, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 6, 2017 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1948 British film “No Orchids for Miss Blandish,” from the novel by James Hadley Chase, with Jack La Rue, Hugh McDermott, Linden Travers, Walter Crisham, Leslie Bradley, Zoe Gail, Jack Durant, Charles Goldner, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 23 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – The Cahuenga Building

Posted on November 6, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2012. From its days as an elegant bank building to its abandoned and forgotten existence in the 1980s and 1990s, the former Security Trust and Savings Bank at Hollywood Boulevard and Cahuenga Boulevard … Continue reading →

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

A Reminder From the Daily Mirror

Posted on November 5, 2017 by lmharnisch

Pier Angeli and friend remind the Daily Mirror readers to turn the clock back one hour.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Photography | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: The Biltmore Hotel, Ghost Hunting and Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on October 31, 2017 by lmharnisch

I think we have found one presumably young and aspiring reporter who apparently believes in doing absolutely no research whatsoever.

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on October 30, 2017 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1945 Paramount film “The Stork Club,” with Betty Hutton, Barry Fitzgerald, Don DeFore, Robert Benchley, Bill Goodwin, Iris Adrian, Mikail Rasumny, Mary Young and Andy Russell. It was written by B.G. DeSylva and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 49 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Organist C. Sharp Minor, Major Talent

Posted on October 30, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Music was an integral part of silent films, giving emotional texture or humorous voice to the films’ precious images. Different types of music and musicians accompanied them: orchestras, bands, photoplayers, pianists and … Continue reading →

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Chinese Massacre – Oct 24, 1871

Posted on October 24, 2017 by lmharnisch

At top, an account of the massacre in the Daily Southern Cross of Auckland, New Zealand, Dec. 9, 1871, Above, a detail of a Los Angeles map displayed in the Globe Lobby of the Los Angeles Times Building showing the … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: YouTube Makeup Tutorials for Halloween – Seriously?

Posted on October 23, 2017 by lmharnisch

Apparently YouTube tutorials on Black Dahlia makeup are a thing. Please reconsider your choices. We think Harley Quinn or Mad Moxxi are much better Halloween costume options rather than dressing up like the victim of a gruesome murder.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on October 23, 2017 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1962 film “Carnival of Souls,” with Candace Hilligoss, Frances Feist, Sidney Berger, Art Ellison, Stan Levitt, Tom McGinnis, Forbes Caldwell, Dan Palmquist, Bill de Jarnette, Steve Boozer, Pamela Ballard, Larry Sneegas, Cari Conboy, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood Reporter Building Highlights Golden Age Hollywood

Posted on October 23, 2017 by lmharnisch

The Hollywood Reporter Building at 6715 Sunset Blvd., in 2015, via Google Street View. The venerable Hollywood Reporter building on Sunset Boulevard offers a striking salute to Golden Age Hollywood with its patina of class and sophistication. Designed by architect … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood Reporter Building Highlights Golden Age Hollywood

Black Dahlia: ‘Horror at the Cecil Hotel’

Posted on October 17, 2017 by lmharnisch

Just a quick reminder, since Investigation Discovery aired the first episode of “Horror at the Cecil Hotel” last night. There is nothing to show that Elizabeth Short (“the Black Dahlia”) ever set foot in the Cecil Hotel. She was last … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Downtown, LAPD, Main Street, Television | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments