Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mulholland Skyline Drive – The World’s Most Wonderful Highway

Posted on April 11, 2016 by lmharnisch

A postcard showing Mulholland Drive is listed on EBay with bids starting at 99 cents. Spanning 21 miles from Hollywood to Calabasas, Mulholland Drive provides a dramatic dividing line between Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, providing both residents … Continue reading →

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

Black Dahlia: BuzzFeed Goes ‘Drunk History’ on an Unsolved Murder

Posted on April 7, 2016 by lmharnisch

Since “Drunk History” debuted, I have been waiting for the show to do a version of the Black Dahlia case. But BuzzFeed Videos beat them to it. Our hosts Ryan and Brent cruised L.A. and free-associated about the murder of … Continue reading →

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 4, 2016 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been “Die Buchse der Pandora” or “Pandora’s Box,”  the 1929 Nero film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst from a screenplay by Ladislaus Vajda, photographed by Gunther Krampf, with Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, Franz Lederer, Carl … Continue reading →

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Ahoy Mateys! Guests Walk Plank at Pirate’s Den.

Posted on April 4, 2016 by lmharnisch

The Pirate’s Den, Radio Television Mirror. During the height of Hollywood’s Golden Age, colorful and elaborate restaurants and nightclubs filled the scene. In the 1920s, programmatic architecture flourished in California, providing automobile passengers giant iconic representations of the foodstuffs available … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Ahoy Mateys! Guests Walk Plank at Pirate’s Den.

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Babe Comes Home’ Ushers in Baseball Season

Posted on March 28, 2016 by lmharnisch

Babe Ruth in “Babe Comes Home,” Motion Picture News. Play ball! This week sees the start of another baseball season in the United States, once the most popular pastime of average Americans and considered as American as motherhood and apple … Continue reading →

Posted in 1927, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Sports | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Can You Identify This Mystery Sink? (Updated)

Posted on March 28, 2016 by lmharnisch

And just for fun, who can identify the location of this extremely unusual mystery sink? Hint: This is a sink that half the population living in the Pasadena area might be able to identify. No, not a hospital. This odd … Continue reading →

Posted in Mystery Photo | Tagged , | 8 Comments

The History of Journalism in Southern California, Conference April 16.

Posted on March 26, 2016 by lmharnisch

  The Los Angeles Times Building No. 3 at First Street and Broadway in the 1920s, courtesy of Water and Power Associates. The Historical Society of Southern California will offer a daylong conference on “Journalism in Southern California,” from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming Attractions, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How I Almost Killed Garry Shandling

Posted on March 24, 2016 by lmharnisch

This would be a much funnier story if Garry Shandling were still alive, but if he were, I wouldn’t be telling it. I was partially responsible — in a roundabout way — for nearly killing Garry back in the 1970s. … Continue reading →

Posted in Obituaries, Television | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on How I Almost Killed Garry Shandling

Garry Shandling: A Tour of L.A. Comedy Clubs in 1981

Posted on March 24, 2016 by lmharnisch

I rarely dig into my old clips, but here is my feature on Garry Shandling, who died today at the age of 66, from the Arizona Daily Star, Nov. 24, 1981. The ending isn’t exactly mine; it was altered  by … Continue reading →

Posted in 1981, Nightclubs, Obituaries, Television | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Garry Shandling: A Tour of L.A. Comedy Clubs in 1981

Harry Houdini: An Interview by Marcet Haldeman-Julius, October 1925

Posted on March 24, 2016 by lmharnisch

Note: In honor of Harry Houdini’s birthday, we are reposting this interview from 1925. We have been collecting issues of Haldeman-Julius Monthly for several years, but one issue was particularly elusive: The October 1925 number featuring an interview with Harry … Continue reading →

Posted in 1925, Another Good Story Ruined, From the Stacks | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Harry Houdini: An Interview by Marcet Haldeman-Julius, October 1925

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + + +)

Posted on March 21, 2016 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1952 Hammer Films picture “Wings of Danger” alias “Dead on Course,” with Zachary Scott, Robert Beatty, Naomi Chance, Kay Kendall, Colin Tapley, Arthur Lane, Harold Lang and Diane Cilento. The screenplay was by … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 29 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: H.N. Zahn Building Pushes L.A.’s Zoning Laws

Posted on March 21, 2016 by lmharnisch

Ida Lupino promotes Easter in 1934, with the Zahn building in the background. What was intended strictly as a publicity photo promoting young actress Ida Lupino celebrating the Easter season on a large rabbit outside Desmond’s Department Store leads to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1934, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: H.N. Zahn Building Pushes L.A.’s Zoning Laws

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on March 14, 2016 by lmharnisch

  This week’s mystery movie has been the 1932 Fox picture “Call Her Savage,” directed by John Francis Dillon, with a screenplay by Edwin Burke from the bestselling novel by Tiffany Thayer.  With Clara Bow, Gilbert Roland, Thelma Todd, Monroe … Continue reading →

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 100-Year-Old Grocery Stores Still Serve the Public

Posted on March 14, 2016 by lmharnisch

Las Palmas Market, 1259 N. Las Palmas Ave., via Google Street View. While architectural styles have changed over the centuries, the use of buildings has remained virtually unchanged, meaning an older bank building can still function as a bank, a … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photos

Posted on March 12, 2016 by lmharnisch

It was a tough week for the mystery photos and here’s why: All of these mystery movies are unidentified films listed on the Nitrate Film Interest Group page – and if you ever feel like testing your mystery movie skills, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Preservation | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on March 11, 2016 by lmharnisch

And for Friday, we have a mystery comedy in which a billboard for Ben-Hur Coffee inspires some mystery young people to stage a chariot race. This is the final entry in this week’s mystery movies and there haven’t been any … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on March 10, 2016 by lmharnisch

Several members of the Brain Trust have noted that this week’s photos are unusually tough, which is quite true. The reason for their difficulty will become clear in good time. For Thursday, we have a mystery movie starring a mystery … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on March 9, 2016 by lmharnisch

This week, I am running five mystery movies, one per day with multiple images. And today, we have a mystery samurai movie! Update: This is indeed a toughie. Benito has identified the mystery gent in images No. 4 and 8. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on March 8, 2016 by lmharnisch

As I noted yesterday, I’m doing the mystery movie posts a bit differently this week. For reasons that will become clear at a future date, I’m posting multiple images from a mystery movie each day, rather than stringing them out … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Little Brown Church in the Valley

Posted on March 7, 2016 by lmharnisch

Photo: Republic Studios President Herbert Yates marries Vera Hruba Ralston in 1952. Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: The death of former First Lady Nancy Reagan has renewed interest in the Little Brown Church, where she and Ronald Reagan were married … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Religion, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment