Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Greenacres Is the Place to Be

Posted on November 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

Harold Lloyd and Greenacres in New Movie Magazine. At the beginning of the fledgling motion picture industry, actors and other creative types earned adequate salaries, in line with middle-class jobs. They lived in modest bungalows, residential hotels, apartments or rented … Continue reading →

Posted in 1927, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files — Mysterious PC Numbers

Posted on November 10, 2013 by lmharnisch

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. This anonymous fellow was captured by a bank security camera and the photo is marked PC 45080. Often in these cases, the PC number will be rendered PC 450 (80), in which … Continue reading →

Posted in 1976, 1980, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files — A Research Question on LAPD Case Numbering

Posted on November 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

While I’m on the subject of the LAPD Cop Shop Files, let me see if there’s anyone among the Daily Mirror Brain Trust who is familiar with LAPD case numbers. It seems that after many years of following the protocol … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files – Starting Next Week

Posted on November 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

The “Remorseful Rapist” from 1965, one of the items from the Cop Shop Files. Several weeks ago, I was given a box of material that was cleaned out of the old press room at the LAPD’s Parker Center headquarters, sometimes … Continue reading →

Posted in 1965, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

We Are Revolutionists!

Posted on November 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. Nov. 9, 1907: Local sympathizers, anarchists and socialists are organizing a mass meeting to protest the imprisonment of Ricardo Flores Magon, Librado Rivera, Antonio Villareal and L. Gutierrez … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, History | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photos — Suggestions, Please

Posted on November 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

Another once-famous  face, now forgotten. Gary Martin recently wrote: I am amused by the reader’s comment that this week’s mystery is “too easy” and I guess it is as all the usual suspects have written in with the correct cast … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

‘Love Child’ Abandoned in Movie Theater as Parents Die in Suicide Pact

Posted on November 8, 2013 by lmharnisch

Nov. 8, 1933: Los Angeles history is so rich that all you need to strike gold is to poke a stick in the ground, and today is a perfect example. We have the story of Jack Bodin Sr., 41, who … Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, 1936, Art & Artists, Broadway, Comics, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Suicide, Theaters | 4 Comments

Hartsook Photographs Jack Pickford

Posted on November 7, 2013 by lmharnisch

This Fred Hartsook portrait of Jack Pickford, the brother of actress Mary Pickford, has been listed on EBay. Hartsook (d. 1930) was one of the leading photographers in the silent era. There is more about him in Mary Mallory’s “Hollywoodland: … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Photography | Comments Off on Hartsook Photographs Jack Pickford

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ – Part 12

Posted on November 7, 2013 by lmharnisch

The 1942 marriage of Greta Keller and David G.G. Bacon, Albany Times-Union, Sept. 14, 1943, courtesy of Steven Bibb.  I have spent far more time than I intended on the “Masked Marvel Murder” and not just because it’s an intriguing, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

L.A. Becomes N.Y.

Posted on November 6, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dear New Yorkers: You love to make fun of us, but here we are at Spring and 5th last night, watering down the street for yet another production set in your fair city but filmed in downtown Los Angeles. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Location Sleuth, New York, Spring Street | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ — Part 11

Posted on November 6, 2013 by lmharnisch

David G.G. Bacon, far right, in “The Masked Marvel,” courtesy of Steven Bibb. So far, the David G.G. Bacon killing is relatively pristine, at least compared to the Black Dahlia case; the killing doesn’t appear in “Hollywood Babylon” or any … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Lou Costello’s Son Drowns in Swimming Pool

Posted on November 5, 2013 by lmharnisch

Nov. 5, 1943: Lou Costello Jr. drowns in the swimming pool of the family home at 4124 Longridge Ave., Van Nuys. Here’s a post I wrote about the tragedy in 2007.

Posted in 1943, Film, Hollywood, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Rediscovering Los Angeles — Pershing Square

Posted on November 5, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 23, 1935: For this installment of Rediscovering Los Angeles, Times artist Charles Owens and columnist Timothy Turner visit Pershing Square. Not the concrete moonscape we know today, designed to repel the homeless, but a lushly landscaped park with a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Art & Artists, Columnists, Downtown, Hill Street, Nuestro Pueblo, Olive, Parks | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + +)

Posted on November 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

And for Monday, a mystery lad.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 58 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — A. L. “Whitey” Schafer Simplifies Portraits

Posted on November 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

“Thou Shalt Not,” “Whitey” Schafer’s most famous image. In the very early days of the motion picture industry, stills photographers meant nothing to the moving picture companies. They asked their feature cameramen to work double duty, shooting scene stills after … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Time to Turn the Clocks Back

Posted on November 2, 2013 by lmharnisch

On behalf of the L.A. Daily Mirror, Pier Angeli and friend remind you that Daylight Saving Time is o-ver. Or as William Safire used to say: “Fall is the time of year that conservatives like best because they get to … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Photography | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Roll On, Ugly River

Posted on November 2, 2013 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I originally wrote in 2006 for the 1907 project. Nov. 2, 1907: As part of a new city beautification campaign, Boyle Heights residents have suggested turning the Los Angeles River into a garden spot. The … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Parks | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The ‘Decline’ of Wikipedia

Posted on November 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

A world without Wikipedia? Sounds good to me. Tom Simonite in the MIT Technology Review looks at the “decline” of Wikipedia (that would, of course, assume that it was ever worth anything). Yet Wikipedia and its stated ambition to “compile … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Wikipedia | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ — Part 10

Posted on November 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

David Bacon, center, in a still from “The Masked Marvel,” photo courtesy of Steven Bibb. In case you just tuned in, we are looking at the “Masked Marvel Murder” of actor David G.G. Bacon, who was stabbed to death Sept. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ – Part 9

Posted on October 31, 2013 by lmharnisch

Note: This post has been corrected. See details below. In case you just tuned in, we have been going through the case of actor David G.G. Bacon, who was stabbed to death Sept. 12, 1943, in a case that remains … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Cold Cases, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments