Author Archives: lmharnisch

Unknown's avatar

About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Virgil Apger, MGM’S Classic Portrait Photographer

Posted on July 22, 2013 by lmharnisch

  Virgil Apger, photo courtesy of Mary Mallory Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios excelled in most areas of film production, including that of still portrait photography. Several of its head portrait photographers, like Ruth Harriet Louise, George Hurrell and Clarence Sinclair Bull, are … Continue reading →

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

Man Shoots Companion in Search for Prowler

Posted on July 19, 2013 by lmharnisch

   Nancy and Sluggo in all their vintage glory. July 19, 1943: The Times publishes a list of casualties from the Army and Navy. Francis Joseph Montclair was a motor machinist second class and is buried in Honolulu. Lt. Cmdr. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Columnists, Comics, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Arabella Huntington Marries Nephew in Paris

Posted on July 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

The Times takes a dim view of Mexican revolutionaries.   July 17, 1913: Arabella D. Huntington, widow of the late Collis P. Huntington, marries his nephew, Henry E. Huntington, in Paris at the American Church in the Rue de Berri.  … Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, Architecture, Art & Artists, Broadway, Downtown, History, Suicide | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Arabella Huntington Marries Nephew in Paris

Battle of Gettysburg — Exaggeration and Falsehood!

Posted on July 16, 2013 by lmharnisch

The entire July 11, 1863, issue of the Los Angeles Star is available from USC, scanned as jpgs from a copy at the Huntington. It is also available in pdf form at the California Digital Library. The link to the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, Animals, Civil War | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

A Night at the Florentine Gardens, 1943

Posted on July 15, 2013 by lmharnisch

Here’s another item from the Florentine Gardens: A 1943 photo of people that has been listed on EBay for 99 cents.

Posted in 1943, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Nightclubs, Photography, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on A Night at the Florentine Gardens, 1943

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated +++)

Posted on July 15, 2013 by lmharnisch

And for Monday, a mystery woman.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 56 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Glass Slides, Motion Pictures’ First Coming Attractions

Posted on July 15, 2013 by lmharnisch

A magic lantern slide for the Gloria Swanson film “Her Gilded Cage”  (1922), listed on EBay with bids starting at $89. Before movie studios employed trailers to raise audiences’ awareness and interest in attending films, they used lantern glass slides … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Pacoima Man Killed With Jack Handle in Gang Fight

Posted on July 15, 2013 by lmharnisch

Benito Mendivil Jr., 19, 10606 El Dorado Ave., had left his Pacoima gang for a rival one in San Fernando. On the night of Sunday, July 14, 1963, he had just driven away from his home in a car carrying … Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, LAPD, Latinos, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Pacoima Man Killed With Jack Handle in Gang Fight

The Florentine Gardens Meets Cecil B. De Mille

Posted on July 14, 2013 by lmharnisch

A copy of Nils T. Granlund’s “autobiography,” written with Sid Feder and Ralph Hancock, has been listed on EBay. What makes this copy somewhat unusual is that it was apparently owned by Cecil B. De Mille. Granlund was impresario at … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The Florentine Gardens Meets Cecil B. De Mille

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywoodland Sign Premieres November 1923

Posted on July 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 6, 1924: The Times publishes a photo of an Oakland car that was driven up to the Hollywood sign. Parade magazine claimed in its July 7, 2013, issue that the completed Hollywoodland sign premiered July 13, 1923, but provided … Continue reading →

Posted in 1923, 1924, Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Loew’s State Theater Under Construction

Posted on July 12, 2013 by lmharnisch

This 1921 architectural photo of Loew’s State Theater under construction at 7th Street and Broadway has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $24. Notice the signage for Bullock’s in the background.

Posted in 1921, Architecture, Broadway, Downtown, Found on EBay, Theaters | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Loew’s State Theater Under Construction

Anne Knudsen Memorial

Posted on July 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

A celebration of the life of Anne Baldwin Knudsen, the former Herald Examiner photographer who died of cancer in May, is being held at 10 a.m. July 28 at Huddart County Park, 1100 Kings Mountain Road in Woodside, Calif. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Obituaries, Photography | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

‘Dead Man’ Killed in Fight Over a Penny

Posted on July 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

July 12, 1963: Curtiss A. Adams, the only man to survive the Jan. 31, 1957, crash of an F-89J and a DC-7B over Pacoima, testifies in a lawsuit between Douglas, which made the transport, and Northrop, which built the F-89J. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Columnists, Comics, LAPD, San Fernando Valley | Comments Off on ‘Dead Man’ Killed in Fight Over a Penny

Police Smash Marihuana Ring

Posted on July 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

The Times publishes artist Charles H. Owen’s map of the Sicilian invasion. Owens’ artwork is featured in “Nuestro Pueblo,” one of my favorite books on Los Angeles. July 11, 1943: LAPD officers and state narcotics agents raid an apartment at … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, A Kinder, Simpler Time, LAPD, Music | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Getting L.A. Traffic Wrong

Posted on July 10, 2013 by lmharnisch

Zocalo repeats the old bromide that “once upon a time” the streets of Los Angeles were empty and getting around was simple. Nothing could be further from the truth. After years of reading old newspapers, I can say with authority … Continue reading →

Posted in A Kinder, Simpler Time, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Chicago Schools to Teach Sex Education; Work Crew Digs Up Skeleton

Posted on July 10, 2013 by lmharnisch

New straw hats at Mullen & Bluett, Broadway and 6th Street. Straw hats are “jaunty, clever, correct.” But we knew that, right? July 10, 1913: Sex “hygiene” will be taught in the Chicago high schools after a vote by the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, Downtown, Fashion, Film, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Chicago Schools to Teach Sex Education; Work Crew Digs Up Skeleton

Vice Cop Kills Robber in Botched Holdup at the Roost

Posted on July 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

June 26, 1953: A big, screamer headline in The Times. Glenn Elbert Kingsbury, shot in the chest by an LAPD vice officer, staggered backward into the Roost Cafe, which he had just robbed, and collapsed on the floor, moaning: “Oh … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, 1953, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated +++)

Posted on July 8, 2013 by lmharnisch

And for Monday, we have a mystery marksman.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 31 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Hamburger’s Department Store, Arrow Movie Theater

Posted on July 8, 2013 by lmharnisch

A postcard of Hamburger’s Department Store is listed on EBay as Buy It Now for $2.99. The classy, oversize May Co. Department Store located at 801 S. Broadway in downtown Los Angeles is up for sale. Today, the mostly empty … Continue reading →

Posted in 1908, Architecture, Broadway, Downtown, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

When Hollywood Tries to Get It Right

Posted on July 5, 2013 by lmharnisch

July 5, 1983: Calendar writer Judith Michaelson has a most enjoyable story about De Forest Research, founded in 1952 by Kellam de Forest and located on the Paramount lot in Hollywood. At that time, the company had seven researchers, 16,000 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1983, Film, Hollywood, Libraries, Television | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments