Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 25, 2017 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been Warner Bros. 1946 heartwarming holiday classic “The Beast With Five Fingers,” with Robert Alda, Andrea King, Peter Lorre, Victor Francen, J. Carrol Naish, Charles Dingle, John Alvin, David Hoffman, Barbara Brown, Patricia White and … Continue reading →

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Posted on December 25, 2017 by lmharnisch

Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale in “Holiday Inn.” Note: This is an encore post from 2015. Recognized today as one of the top selling singles and pieces of sheet music of all time, Irving Berlin’s “White … Continue reading →

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Christmas Past: A Cincinnati Family Celebrates the Holidays 100 Years Ago

Posted on December 24, 2017 by lmharnisch

I picked up these photos in a Pasadena thrift store years ago. There is no information on them except the stamp on the back: Moser & Son, Cin’ti, O. Aside from the tree (seen below) and what seem to be … Continue reading →

Posted in 1916, Photography | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Christmas 1966: No Bad News at the Tucson Citizen

Posted on December 24, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2016. I finally tracked down the front page from the Tucson Citizen for Dec. 24, 1966, in which it followed the tradition of no bad news on Page 1. And a sample of … Continue reading →

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In Memoriam — Johnny Fox | Sword Swallower (1953 — 2017)

Posted on December 23, 2017 by lmharnisch

We were saddened to read an obituary in the New York Times this week about sword swallower Johnny Fox, who died of cancer in Maryland at the age of 64. We snapped this picture of Fox, about to swallow a … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: 5 Reasons Leslie Dillon Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short

Posted on December 22, 2017 by lmharnisch

Leslie Dillon in an undated photo, probably taken in the late 1940s.   My inbox is exploding with alerts about Piu Eatwell “solving” the Black Dahlia case by attributing it to Leslie Duane Dillon. Here are five simple reasons that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2017, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 21, 2017 by lmharnisch

Paul Bryan Gray was recently mentioned in the Los Angeles Times as the author of “A Clamor for Equality,” the biography of Francisco Ramirez, who published Los Angeles’ first entirely Spanish-language newspaper, “El Clamor Publico.” Gray also wrote “Forster vs. … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: The Formosa Cafe and Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on December 20, 2017 by lmharnisch

My inbox exploded this morning with alerts about the Black Dahlia and links leading to an essay in the Los Angeles Times by David Ulin, writing about the Formosa Cafe (which he calls “the Formosa” – a gaffe nobody bothered … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Food and Drink, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: The Formosa Cafe and Another Good Story Ruined

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 20, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. I picked up “The Big Picture,” Melba Levick and Stanley Young’s 1988 book about Los Angeles murals, not realizing what a terribly sad book it would be. As Young notes: “Most artists … Continue reading →

Posted in 1988, Architecture, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Downtown, From the Stacks, Hollywood, Latinos, Photography, Preservation, San Fernando Valley, Sports, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 18, 2017 by lmharnisch

“Angel’s Flight” by Leo Politi. Note: This is an encore post from 2014. Another of my favorite books about Los Angeles is Leo Politi’s “Bunker Hill Los Angeles: Reminiscences of Bygone Days,” published in 1964. Copies are listed on Bookfinder … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 18, 2017 by lmharnisch

This week’s movie has been MGM’s saucy Pre-Code film “Flying High” (1931), with Bert Lahr, Charlotte Greenwood, Pat O’Brien, Kathryn Crawford, Charles Winninger, Hedda Hopper, Guy Kibbee and Herbert Braggiotti, with Gus Arnheim and his orchestra. Book, lyrics and music … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 34 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Eaton’s Rancho

Posted on December 18, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2012. The area of Los Angeles now known as Studio City was mainly farm and ranch land up into the late 1920s, when investors founded the Studio City Business District and decided to … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 14, 2017 by lmharnisch

Virtually everyone who writes about Raymond Chandler cites this book by Philip Durham, but very few people seem to have read it. Writing in 1963, four years after Chandler’s death, Durham produced a biography of Chandler as a writer rather … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 13, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2014. “The Los Angeles Book,” with text by Lee Shippey and photos by Max Yavno is one of my favorite books on Los Angeles – but only for Yavno’s photographs. The text is … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 11, 2017 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1978 film “Fedora,” with William Holden, Marthe Keller, Jose Ferrer, Frances Sternhagen, Mario Adorf, Stephen Collins, Hans Jaray, Arlene Francis Gottfried John, Jacques Maury, Christine Mueller, Ellen Schwiers, Ferdy Mayne, Henry Fonda, Hildegard … Continue reading →

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywoodland Survives 1961 Fire

Posted on December 11, 2017 by lmharnisch

California is suffering its worst fire fall season in decades, after the huge Santa Rosa-Sonoma conflagration a few months ago, and the blazes surrounding the Los Angeles area over the past week. The Skirball fire itself, which has burned around … Continue reading →

Posted in 1961, Film, Fires, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywoodland Survives 1961 Fire

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 8, 2017 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 →

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L.A. Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 7, 2017 by lmharnisch

  Mary Mallory’s posts are one of the L.A. Daily Mirror’s most popular features, so we are happy to recommend two books: “Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays,” written with Karie Bible, and “Hollywood at Play,” written with Donovan Brandt and Stephen … Continue reading →

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

L.A.’s Views on Pearl Harbor Attack

Posted on December 7, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. Dec. 8, 1941: The Times interviewed average Angelenos (if there is such a thing) for their opinions about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Many, like Horace Goodrich, thought the U.S. would … Continue reading →

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

Navy Releases Accounts of Pearl Harbor

Posted on December 7, 2017 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. Dec. 22, 1941: The Navy releases three personal accounts of the Pearl Harbor attack. Many acts of heroism are described, and these few lines shed more light on the presence of African … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, African Americans, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Navy Releases Accounts of Pearl Harbor