Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

L.A. Daily Mirror Holiday Gift Guide

Posted on December 7, 2015 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2013. Whenever I’m asked about my favorite books on Los Angeles, my first recommendation is “Nuestro Pueblo,” a selection of features by Times artist Charles Owens and writer Joseph Seewerker that appeared in The … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Movie Tie-Ins for the Holidays

Posted on December 7, 2015 by lmharnisch

Since almost the beginning of the motion picture industry, advertising tie-ups and promotions have stoked audience interest and desire in seeing certain moving pictures and movie stars. Studios quickly learned that partnering with another company or popular product cut the … Continue reading →

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Daily Mirror Holiday Gift Guide

Posted on December 4, 2015 by lmharnisch

Another book we are recommending for this year is “The 33” also known as “Deep Down Dark,” by my former Los Angeles Times colleague Hector Tobar. “The 33” is available at Book Soup, Skylight Books, Vroman’s, and online at Amazon.

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Daily Mirror Holiday Gift Guide

Posted on December 3, 2015 by lmharnisch

  Another book on our recommended list is the young adult novel “Dead to Me” by our friend and fellow Los Angeles history enthusiast Mary McCoy, reviewed here. “Dead to Me” is available from Amazon at $14.90 hardcover and $9.99 … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015, Books and Authors | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Daily Mirror Holiday Gift Guide

Daily Mirror Holiday Gift Guide

Posted on December 2, 2015 by lmharnisch

“Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays” by Karie Bible and Mary Mallory has been receiving lots of attention since it was released in October and we were quite pleased to add a copy to the Daily Mirror library. The book  is available … Continue reading →

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Vandalized Church Needs Help

Posted on December 1, 2015 by lmharnisch

Somewhere in Los Angeles, young men with too much testosterone and spray paint are spending what is apparently their abundant spare time vandalizing an abandoned church. Judging by my Instagram feed, abandoned classrooms, theaters, auditoriums and other unsecured sites in … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Photography, Preservation | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Vandalized Church Needs Help

Daily Mirror Holiday Gift Guide

Posted on December 1, 2015 by lmharnisch

December is upon us and as usual, we will be offering a few gift suggestions – some new, some retro — for the holiday season. And as is our tradition, we will be repost the retro drinking guide leading up … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, James Curtis | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 30, 2015 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery film has been the 1941 Alexander Korda film “Lydia,” released through United Artists, directed by Julien Duvivier, with Merle Oberon, Alan Marshal, Joseph Cotton, Hans Jaray (“Yaray” in the screen credits), John Halliday, George Reeves, Sara Allgood … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 38 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywoodland Sign Arises November 1923

Posted on November 30, 2015 by lmharnisch

When I began researching and writing my Arcadia Publishing book “Hollywoodland” almost five years ago, standard gossip stated that developers constructed the giant Hollywoodland sign in July 1923 as a billboard promoting the development, all with no documentation or backup. … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 23, 2015 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1949 MGM feature “The Great Sinner,” starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Melvyn Douglas, Walter Huston, Ethel Barrymore, Frank Morgan and Agnes Moorehead, with Ludwig Donath, Curt Bois and Ludwig Stossel. The screenplay was … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 52 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Weegee, Weegee, Tell Me Do’

Posted on November 23, 2015 by lmharnisch

“Weegee, Weegee, Tell Me Do,” courtesy of Mary Mallory.   What we know as the game of Ouija evolved out of spiritualism practices into a major fad of the early twentieth century. While some denounced it as a form of … Continue reading →

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

What’s Up at TCM?

Posted on November 21, 2015 by lmharnisch

TCM’s showing of “At Sword’s Point” on Friday, part of its tribute to the late Maureen O’Hara, was preceded by what may be the oddest Robert Osborne introduction I have ever seen. Bob was taped against a black background and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Television | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 16, 2015 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie has been the 1935 MGM picture “Kind Lady,” starring Aline MacMahon, Basil Rathbone, Mary Carlisle, Frank Albertson, Dudley Digges, Doris Lloyd, Nola Luxford, Murray Kinnell, Eily Malyon, Justine Chase, Barbara Shields, Donald Meek and Frank Reigher. … Continue reading →

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: The Case of the Clicking Heels, Part 2

Posted on November 16, 2015 by lmharnisch

  Hazel Glab In later life as Hazel Stoddard This is Part 2 of the story of Hazel Glab, flamboyant flapper, whose husband, John, died under mysterious circumstances June 18, 1928, at 12744 Ventura Blvd., in Studio City. Murder charges … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Biltmore Hotel Appears in 1931 Film

Posted on November 12, 2015 by lmharnisch

TCM recently aired several Wheeler and Woolsey films and we were happily surprised to see this establishing shot at the opening of the 1931 RKO picture “Cracked Nuts.” It is our old friend the Biltmore Hotel. Let us also recall … Continue reading →

Posted in 1931, Downtown, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Golfing in the Crenshaw District, 1940s

Posted on November 9, 2015 by lmharnisch

    A matchbook from Crenshaw Fairways, 3901 S. Crenshaw Blvd., has been listed on EBay as Buy It Now for $1.25.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 9, 2015 by lmharnisch

  This week’s mystery movie has been the 1949 RKO picture “The Woman on Pier 13” (originally released as “I Married a Communist”)  starring Laraine Day, Robert Ryan, John Agar, Thomas Gomez, Janis Carter, Richard Rober, William Talman, Paul E. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 69 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: The Case of the Clicking Heels, Part 1

Posted on November 9, 2015 by lmharnisch

Hazel Glab’s mug shot. This story arises from Linda Hammonds asking for further information regarding a 1920s Spanish home that sits at 12744 Ventura Blvd. on the Facebook page SoCal Historic Architecture. While I found virtually no information on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Karie Bible and Mary Mallory Book Signing

Posted on November 8, 2015 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory, left, and Karie Bible spent years tracking down photos for their project.     We stopped off at Larry Edmunds Bookshop on Hollywood Boulevard on Saturday afternoon for the authors’ presentation and book signing of “Hollywood Celebrates the … Continue reading →

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

Dalton Trumbo Praised by Hedda Hopper!

Posted on November 7, 2015 by lmharnisch

When I was doing the Daily Mirror at latimes.com, I wrote several posts on Dalton Trumbo, the subject of the new movie starring Bryan Cranston as the blacklisted screenwriter. Here are some links: Hedda Hopper praises Dalton Trumbo for “Kitty … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940, 1941, 1942, 1950, 1959, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments