Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Erich von Stroheim’s ‘Paprika’

Posted on December 8, 2014 by lmharnisch

A copy of Erich von Stroheim’s “Paprika” inscribed to Hugo Ballin has been listed on EBay as Buy It Now for $875. Note: This is a post that originally appeared in 2012. Famed director/actor Erich von Stroheim faced financial disaster … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Firsthand History Lesson on Pearl Harbor

Posted on December 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

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

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

1944 on the Radio — Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge

Posted on December 6, 2014 by lmharnisch

Dec. 6, 1944: Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge. Courtesy of otronmp3.com.

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 5, 2014 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 →

Posted in 2010, Books and Authors, Libraries | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Campo de Cahuenga, California’s Birthplace

Posted on December 5, 2014 by lmharnisch

The 2014 luminaria festival will be held at Campo de Cahuenga Dec. 7 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is free. Note: This is a repost from 2012. This year’s luminaria festival will be held Sunday. Driving south down … Continue reading →

Posted in 1847, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Campo de Cahuenga, California’s Birthplace

Coming Attractions: Hollywood Time Machine

Posted on December 5, 2014 by lmharnisch

I will be among the guests on Saturday’s broadcast of “Hollywood Time Machine” with Alicia Mayer. The program will air live at http://www.LATalkRadio.com (channel 2) at 6 p.m. EST and will available later as a podcast. I’m one of several … Continue reading →

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

The Great TCM Experiment

Posted on December 5, 2014 by lmharnisch

A portion of the bounty from the Great TCM Experiment of 2014. From mid-August to early November, I conducted the “Great TCM Experiment,” in which I recorded everything on TCM. Yes, everything as in everything.

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , | 20 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2013. You might have to hunt a bit for Don Normark’s 1999 book “Chavez Ravine, 1949,” but your search will be rewarded. The photos are terrific and the residents’ recollections make the book even … Continue reading →

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Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 31

Posted on December 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

Georgette Bauerdorf, National Police Gazette, August 1946. At long last, we finish our examination of the Georgette Bauerdorf case with many questions unanswered. Without more information, we can only speculate about many aspects of the killing. For that matter, we … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Coming Attractions: Afternoon With the Authors

Posted on December 3, 2014 by lmharnisch

Hollywood Heritage Museum, 2100 N. Highland Ave., will be hosting an Afternoon With the Authors on Saturday, Dec. 6, from noon to 4 p.m. Scheduled guests include: Julia Adams, John Bengtson, Bob Birchard, Jon Boorstin, Angela Cartwright and Tom McClaren, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 3, 2014 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 , , , , | Comments Off on L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 30

Posted on December 3, 2014 by lmharnisch

Oct. 21, 1944: Fred Atwood, left, Los Angeles Times. Lulu Atwood, in a photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library. In this series of posts on the Georgette Bauerdorf case, we have looked at the history of El Palacio … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

1944 on the Radio — NBC Symphony Orchestra

Posted on December 3, 2014 by lmharnisch

Dec. 3, 1944: Arturo Toscanini conducts the NBC Symphony Orchestra in three movements of the Beethoven Septet in E flat and the Symphony No. 2. Courtesy of otronmp3.com.

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 2, 2014 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2013. If you enjoy Mary Mallory’s columns (and our survey shows that readers do) you might like this anthology of Hollywood Heights called “Hollywoodland: Tales Lost and Found.” It’s available for the Kindle, but … Continue reading →

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

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 29

Posted on December 2, 2014 by lmharnisch

Oct. 15, 1944: A handout photo of Georgette Bauerdorf, Oakland Tribune. We have been examining the behavior of Georgette Bauerdorf’s killer to see if we could distill something about him, going from least speculative to most speculative rather than chronological … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2013. True style never goes out of date, after all. We are being bombarded by stories about Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with videos of long lines at stores and the attendant consumer frenzy. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Art & Artists, Books and Authors | Tagged , , | Comments Off on L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

This is the Metro “Golwyn” Mayer production of “Penthouse,” with Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy, Charles Butterworth, Mae Clarke, Phillips Holmes and C. Henry Gordon, directed by W.W. Van Dyke. Screenplay by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett from a story by … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 94 Comments

Hollywood Celebrates Christmas With a Parade

Posted on December 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

The view down Hollywood Boulevard in 2014. Photograph by Mary Mallory. Photo: Santa Claus Lane, shown in a postcard on EBay, listed as Buy It Now for $8.50. Note: This is a post from 2011, with an update from 2014  … Continue reading →

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

The New Rapper: Li’l Fatty Alias DJ Roscoe

Posted on November 29, 2014 by lmharnisch

Dear ProQuest: No, I did not. Perhaps you are thinking of Nipsey Hussle.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Libraries, Music | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Black Friday Special — An Aluminum Christmas Tree From 1959!

Posted on November 28, 2014 by lmharnisch

To all who long for a “kinder simpler time” and say that today’s retailers start their Christmas sales too early, here is the May Co. ad for aluminum Christmas trees, which was published Oct. 11, 1959, well before Halloween. (You … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959 | Tagged , | 2 Comments