Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

1970s VHS Nostalgia — ‘Saturday Night Live,’ 1978

Posted on April 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

I recently watched an episode of “Saturday Night Live” (guest star Jill Clayburgh) that I taped in 1978, and I found rather sad. Out of the four people in this skit, only Bill Murray is still alive. John Belushi, Clayburgh … Continue reading →

Posted in 1978, Television | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

1944 in Print — Life Magazine, April 10, 1944

Posted on April 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

April 10, 1944 Life’s cover story is Air Chief Marshal Arthur T. Harris, who backed the theory of mass bombing. The movie of the weeks is “Buffalo Bill,” starring Joel McCrea. Life visits the home “in the majestic setting of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

1944 on the Radio — ‘The Lone Ranger’

Posted on April 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

April 10, 1944: Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear! “The Lone Ranger.” Courtesy of otronmp3.com.

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Books From the Slush Pile: ‘Kitty Genovese’ by Catherine Pelonero

Posted on April 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

The reject pile! Aspiring authors, avert thine eyes! This is a sample of review copies that are cast aside in bins to be rummaged through by the staff. Usually they are contemporary genre fiction (“50 Shades of Stealing Maps for … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

1944 in Print — Hollywood Gossip by Louella Parsons, April 10, 1944

Posted on April 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

Here’s another political cartoon by Edmund Waller “Ted” Gale, formerly of The Times, who moved to the Examiner. “There’s a Burma Girl a-Settin’ ” refers to the poem “Mandalay” by Rudyard Kipling. April 10, 1944 JUST THE DAY BEFORE JOAN … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Art & Artists, Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

1944 in Print — Hollywood by Sidney Skolsky, April 9, 1944

Posted on April 9, 2014 by lmharnisch

April 9, 1944 Sidney Skolsky says: In “Objective Burma,” there is a soldier named Cesar Negulesco who is described as being “very concerned about his lack of experience with women,” which is a rib directed at wolf Jean Negulesco. From … Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — Hollywood Gossip by Louella Parsons, April 9, 1944

Posted on April 9, 2014 by lmharnisch

April 9, 1944 “A man is downstairs with a black eye,” announced Collins, my butler, who in the nine years he has been with me has seen many stars come through that front door. From the Milwaukee Sentinel.

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LAPD Scrapbook: Rodger Young Village

Posted on April 9, 2014 by lmharnisch

I stumbled across this photo in going through the LAPD scrapbooks at the city archives. This is Rodger Young Village, built for returning veterans due to the acute housing shortage in Los Angeles. This site is now occupied by the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1946, LAPD, Parks | Tagged , , , | 42 Comments

LAPD Scrapbook: L.A. Crime Wave, March 8, 1946

Posted on April 9, 2014 by lmharnisch

I recently visited the city archives and thanks to archivist Michael Holland, I learned that the LAPD kept scrapbooks in the 1940s. This is an editorial from the California Grocers Journal, which says: At one time police brutality was common … Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — Hollywood Gossip by Louella Parsons, April 8, 1944

Posted on April 8, 2014 by lmharnisch

Why look! It’s our old friend cartoonist Edmund Waller “Ted” Gale, who left The Times to go to the Los Angeles Examiner. In 1944, April 8 was Holy Saturday and the papers are full of stories and ads for Easter. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Art & Artists, Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

LAPD Parker Center Cop Shop Files

Posted on April 8, 2014 by lmharnisch

In 2013, I was given a box of material that was cleaned out of the old press room at the LAPD’s Parker Center headquarters, sometimes called “the cop shop.” The box was a jumble of press releases, photographs, artists’ sketches … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Mickey Rooney: Death Claims Andy Hardy

Posted on April 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

As readers remember (some fondly, others not so much) the late Mickey Rooney, here’s a post I wrote about the fifth Mrs. Mickey Rooney (Barbara Thomason) in 2008.

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo ( Updated + + + + )

Posted on April 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

This is “While the City Sleeps,” and although we did Lon Chaney’s “Mr. Wu” recently, I thought it was worth looking at “While the City Sleeps” because a rooftop shootout and another scene provide early glimpses of Los Angeles City … Continue reading →

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — The Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood Party Central

Posted on April 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Once movie studios moved into Hollywood, life changed in the sleepy, little farming community. Easygoing small town life gave way to the jazzy bustle of a moviemaking metropolis. Office towers, theaters and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1927, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

1944 on the Radio — ‘The Lone Ranger’

Posted on April 5, 2014 by lmharnisch

April 5, 1944: Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear! “The Lone Ranger.” Courtesy of otronmp3.com.

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Black Dahlia: Bevo Means Did Not Name the Black Dahlia Case

Posted on April 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

I recently heard from someone who had taken a bus tour of Los Angeles and wondered why the tour guide said that Bevo Means had named the Black Dahlia case. The answer, of course, is no, if the tour guide … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Ramona Shines a Light On Early California

Posted on April 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

A poster for “Ramona” featured on the program for the premiere of the restored film. Only 86 years after it originally opened in Los Angeles, the newly restored motion picture “Ramona” premiered March 29, 2014 at UCLA’s Billy Wilder Theatre. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1928, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

1944 in Print — Hollywood by Sidney Skolsky, April 4, 1944

Posted on April 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

April 4, 1944 Billy Wilder’s handwriting, though it looks neat, is almost undecipherable. He sent a memo on “Double Indemnity” to Buddy De Silva which was returned because it was too difficult to read. Wilder answered, “I know what I … Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — Hollywood Gossip by Louella Parsons, April 4, 1944

Posted on April 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

April 4, 1944 A day after Lana Turner told Louella Parsons that she and Stephen Crane weren’t separating, Crane says they are. From the Milwaukee Sentinel.

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

Children Pray for Safety of Dad Lost in Pacific

Posted on April 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

  April 4, 1944 The original caption reads:  Mrs. Edward Healy and her eight children kneel in St. Mary’s church, Des Plaines, Iowa, to pray for the safety of their husband and father, an aerial gunner reported missing in the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, World War II | Tagged , | 1 Comment