Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 26, 2016 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1938 Twentieth Century-Fox film “Mr. Moto Takes a Chance.” The film is available on DVD from Amazon.

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

Christmas 1966: No Bad News at the Tucson Citizen

Posted on December 25, 2016 by lmharnisch

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 the Citizen’s weather poem.

Posted in 1966 | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: ‘Heaven Is Here!’ Progress Report

Posted on December 22, 2016 by lmharnisch

A little over a year ago, on Dec. 18, 2015, I walked out the doors of the Los Angeles Times after 27 years, having asked a security guard to take this picture of my farewell. And yes, I’m wearing my … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 35 Comments

Eve Golden’s YouTube Theater: Who Knew Dick Shawn Could Sing?

Posted on December 20, 2016 by lmharnisch

  A still of Dick Shawn and Renee Taylor in “The Producers,” listed as Buy It Now on EBay for $10. Note: Eve has discontinued her YouTube Theater, but has consented to have me post the entries she has already … Continue reading →

Posted in Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Paramount Pictures’ School of Acting Trains Junior Stars

Posted on December 19, 2016 by lmharnisch

  An ad for “Fascinating Youth.” How do you make a movie star? Can you mold virgin and unproven talent into respected and popular screen performers, or is stardom just a result of some undefinable yet unique charm, personality, or … Continue reading →

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 19, 2016 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1956 film “The Wild Party,” with Anthony Quinn, Carol Ohmart, Arthur Franz, Jay Robinson, Kathryn Grant,  Nehemiah Persoff, Paul Stewart, Nestor Paiva, Maureen Stephenson, Michael Ross, James Bronte, William Phipps, Joe Green, Barbara Nichols … Continue reading →

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

Eve Golden’s YouTube Theater: Does 1971 Count As An ‘Old Movie?’

Posted on December 13, 2016 by lmharnisch

A scene from The Boy Friend. Note: Eve has discontinued her YouTube Theater, but has consented to have me post the entries she has already written. I hope so, because this is one of my half-dozen very favorite movie musical … Continue reading →

Posted in Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Eve Golden’s YouTube Theater: Does 1971 Count As An ‘Old Movie?’

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 12, 2016 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie – which turned out to be one of the most difficult I have ever posted – was the 1934 British musical “Evergreen.” The film stars Jessie Matthews, Sonnie Hale, Betty Balfour, Barry Mackay, Ivor Maclaren, Hartley … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 28 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Richfield Building Jazzes Up Los Angeles’ Skyline

Posted on December 12, 2016 by lmharnisch

  The Richfield Building in an undated postcard. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. After years of deprivation, darkness and worry during World War I and its aftermath, America was ready to look toward a shining future of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1928, Architecture, Downtown, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Richfield Building Jazzes Up Los Angeles’ Skyline

Black Dahlia: ‘Ghostland’ and Another Good Story Ruined (Updated)

Posted on December 9, 2016 by lmharnisch

“Ghostland” by Colin Dickey, Page 136. OK, who can spot the mistake in the highlighted passage? (And yes, Dickey is about to invoke the name of Kenneth Anger, who has caused more grief for historians than any other writer). This … Continue reading →

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

A Firsthand History Lesson on Pearl Harbor

Posted on December 7, 2016 by lmharnisch

In 1962, I was a seventh-grader at Washington Junior High School in Naperville, Ill. On Dec. 7, Mr. Humbert, our social studies teacher, put aside the regular curriculum to give his young pupils a firsthand account of Pearl Harbor. Many … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Education, History, World War II | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Eve Golden’s YouTube Theater: Any Movie Would Have Been Better if it Starred Jimmy Durante and Lupe Velez

Posted on December 6, 2016 by lmharnisch

Lupe Velez and Jimmy Durante in Hollywood Party. I’ve already written here about the great Lupe Velez, but my friend Stephen reminded me that we have a theory that any movie would have been better if it had starred Lupe … Continue reading →

Posted in Eve Golden, Film | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood National Bank Watches History Go By

Posted on December 5, 2016 by lmharnisch

  Carol Hughes as photographed by Schuyler Crail, with Hollywood and Cahuenga in the background, courtesy of Mary Mallory. One of the most important and busiest intersections in Hollywood has always been that of Hollywood and Cahuenga Boulevards. The location … Continue reading →

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 5, 2016 by lmharnisch

  This week’s mystery movie has been the 1957 RKO film “All Mine to Give,” with Glynis Johns, Cameron Mitchell, Rex Thompson, Patty McCormack, Ernest Truex, Hope Emerson, Alan Hale, Sylvia Field, Royal Dano, Reta Shaw, Stephen Wootton, Butch Bernard, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 63 Comments

1957 Club Mecca Firebombing in South L.A. Kills 6

Posted on December 4, 2016 by lmharnisch

5841 S. Normandie, the site of the Club Mecca bombing, as photographed in 2007. April 7, 1957, the Los Angeles Times publishes an extra on the Club Mecca firebombing.   The tragic warehouse fire in Oakland, which has killed at … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Fires, Food and Drink | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Daily Mirror Christmas Shopping Guide: Scaccomatto Chess Set

Posted on December 2, 2016 by lmharnisch

A Scaccomatto chess set has been listed on EBay. The set, designed by Franco Rocco, is one of the more unusual ones you may encounter. All the pieces fit together to make two cubes, one brass and the other chrome. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1970, Found on EBay | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Daily Mirror Christmas Buying Guide: Scary Clown Clock to Terrify Baby Boomers

Posted on November 29, 2016 by lmharnisch

Photo of the Abbotwares Bozo clock via EBay. If you are tired of misty-eyed Baby Boomer nostalgia, this may be for you. I have written before about Abbotwares radios (often rendered as Abbotware). You may recall “Atwater Kent’s Love Child … Continue reading →

Posted in Found on EBay, Television | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Eve Golden’s YouTube Theater: That Girl In The Satin Dress! She Kills Me!

Posted on November 29, 2016 by lmharnisch

  A poster for “Rufus Jones for President.”   Note: Eve has discontinued her YouTube Theater, but has consented to have me post the entries she has already written. Ever see Rufus Jones for President? Calling it “quite a pip” … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 28, 2016 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1933 Warner Bros. film “The Silk Express,” with Neil Hamilton, Sheila Terry, Arthur Byron, Guy Kibbee, Dudley Digges, Arthur Hohl, Allen Jenkins, Harold Huber, George Pat Collins, Robert Barrat, Vernon Steele and Ivan … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 64 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Celebrities’ Sons Become Photographers

Posted on November 28, 2016 by lmharnisch

Carlyle Blackwell Jr.,Bryant Washburn Jr., Elsie Ferguson II and Erich von Stroheim Jr. shown in Motion Picture Herald, 1933. When it comes to careers, many children follow in the footsteps of their parents, either through family tradition or because it … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments