Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Wikipedia Strikes Again: Madison Bumgarner Edition

Posted on October 27, 2014 by lmharnisch

This entry on Madison Bumgarner has been fixed. But that it happened at all illustrates one of the main weaknesses of Wikipedia, which can be edited by anyone. Via Romenesko. The apparent vandal, 70.121.231.64, can be geolocated to either Kansas … Continue reading →

Posted in Sports, Wikipedia | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo ( Updated + + + + )

Posted on October 27, 2014 by lmharnisch

  This week’s mystery movie was the 1945 Monogram film “Allotment Wives” (catchy title, no?) starring Kay Francis, Paul Kelly and Otto Kruger. “Allotment Wives” was written by Harvey Gates and Sidney Sutherland, from a story by Sutherland. It was … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 66 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: El Portal Theatre Entertains San Fernando Valley

Posted on October 27, 2014 by lmharnisch

El Portal Theatre, courtesy of Mary Mallory. For the first couple of decades of the twentieth century, construction of a grand, elaborately decorated motion picture theatre in a small town suggested either that the burg was developing rapidly into an … Continue reading →

Posted in 1926, Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Black Dahlia: Don’t Dress Up Like This for Halloween

Posted on October 25, 2014 by lmharnisch

It really is not cool to dress up like the victim of a brutal murder whose sisters are still alive. Michelle Trachtenberg, please note. From Justjared.com

Posted in Black Dahlia, Cold Cases | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 14

Posted on October 24, 2014 by lmharnisch

Georgette Bauerdorf in an undated photo, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library. The life of a diligent researcher would be much easier if one of the Los Angeles newspapers had published details from the coroner’s inquest in the Georgette … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 19 Comments

MACARTHUR IN PHILIPPINES, Oct. 20, 1944

Posted on October 23, 2014 by lmharnisch

A moment in history from the Los Angeles Examiner.

Posted in 1944, World War II | Tagged , | Comments Off on MACARTHUR IN PHILIPPINES, Oct. 20, 1944

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 13

Posted on October 23, 2014 by lmharnisch

Georgette Bauerdorf at the wheel of a Jeep at Camp Pendleton in an undated photo, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library. The final hours of Georgette Bauerdorf’s life remain something of a mystery. On Oct. 11, 1944, Georgette departed … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 12

Posted on October 22, 2014 by lmharnisch

The Hollywood Canteen as portrayed in the 1944 film “Hollywood Canteen.” And being a movie, this is a set, not the actual canteen. For comparison, here’s an undated snapshot of the actual canteen. Notice that there’s no awning and no … Continue reading →

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

Antisocial Parking

Posted on October 21, 2014 by lmharnisch

Well-behaved women seldom make history, but they also don’t take two parking spaces.

Posted in Photography | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 11

Posted on October 21, 2014 by lmharnisch

Georgette Bauerdorf, left, George F. Bauerdorf and Constance Ann “Connie” Bauerdorf Dillon in an undated photo, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library. Although Georgette Bauerdorf, 20, was living by herself in the apartment at El Palacio, 8493 Fountain Ave., … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Architecture, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo — B.J. Merholz Edition (Updated + + + +)

Posted on October 20, 2014 by lmharnisch

  This week’s mystery movie has been the 1942 Paramount film “Lucky Jordan,” starring Alan Ladd, Helen Walker, future TV producer Sheldon Leonard, Mabel Paige, Marie McDonald and Russell Hoyt. Anthony Caruso, better known for Star Trek’s “A Piece of … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 32 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Nigel De Brulier — Soothsayer From the East?

Posted on October 20, 2014 by lmharnisch

Nigel de Brulier, courtesy of Mary Mallory. For decades, Hollywood typed actors for their looks, personality, temperament, a shorthand telling audiences what they could expect whenever the actor appeared. Some personalities like Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, Joan Crawford, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

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

Posted on October 20, 2014 by lmharnisch

Oct. 20, 1944: Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge. Courtesy of otronmp3.com.

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Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 10

Posted on October 17, 2014 by lmharnisch

Georgette Bauerdorf arm in arm with two servicemen, published in the Daily News, Oct. 16, 1944.  Georgette Bauerdorf, 20, had been living alone in an apartment at El Palacio, 8493 Fountain Ave., since Aug. 28, 1944, when her sister, father … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

To the (Anonymous) Author of This Editorial: I Dance on Your Grave

Posted on October 16, 2014 by lmharnisch

Oct. 16, 1944, in the Los Angeles Examiner.

Posted in 1944, World War II | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

1944 on the Radio – NBC Symphony With Marian Anderson, October 15, 1944

Posted on October 15, 2014 by lmharnisch

Oct. 15, 1944: The NBC Symphony Orchestra, with guest Marian Anderson, conducted by Frank Black. Courtesy of otronmp3.com.

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Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 9

Posted on October 15, 2014 by lmharnisch

A portrait of Georgette Bauerdorf published in the Daily News, Oct. 13, 1944. It’s unclear from news reports whether Georgette Bauerdorf was pursuing any further education after apparently graduating from the Westlake School for Girls. Several stories in the Los … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Georgette Bauerdorf, an Unsolved Murder, Part 8

Posted on October 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

The Herald-Examiner published a photo of Georgette Bauerdorf with a question mark, one of its visual cliches of the 1940s, Oct. 13, 1944. The investigation revealed that the young woman found face-down in the bathtub at 8493 Fountain Ave., was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, Oct. 14, 1944

Posted on October 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

Oct. 14, 1944: Danton Walker says: David Sarnoff, RCA president, predicts a television gadget that will be worn on the wrist but contains a practical television screen. Louella Parsons says: Constance Moore and Dennis O’Keefe report next week for “The … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on October 13, 2014 by lmharnisch

  This week’s mystery movie has been “Badlands” (1973), written and directed by Terrence Malick, starring Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek and Warren Oates. I generally avoid more recent films, figuring that they are too easy, but realized that 41 years … Continue reading →

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