Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Roger Ebert, Jerry Lewis and Me

Posted on April 7, 2013 by lmharnisch

My Rolodex card for Roger Ebert, c. 1982. In the outpouring of appreciations and reminiscences after the death of film critic Roger Ebert, my little tale is really not much. I am adding it because I believe that even a … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

Talking With Eve Golden About John Gilbert

Posted on April 5, 2013 by lmharnisch

Eve Golden has given a couple of interviews about her new book on John Gilbert: The first is with Michael G. Ankerich and the second is with Mel Neuhaus. Congrats, Eve!

Posted in Books and Authors, Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Human Fly Flees Hall of Justice

Posted on April 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

April 4, 1943: Col. Darryl F. Zanuck comes under criticism for trying to return to civilian life. (Zanuck said there wasn’t much chance that he would make more movies of combat.) Sen. Harry Truman (D-Mo.) of the Senate War Program … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Broadway, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Immigration, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

LAPD Chief Wants More Police; Terrible Traffic – 1913

Posted on April 3, 2013 by lmharnisch

April 3, 1913: That is author L. Frank Baum and composer Louis F. Gottschalk, the team behind “The Tik-Tok Man of Oz,” which was a blockbuster in Los Angeles. The Times said it “is the reigning sensation of the local … Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, Books and Authors, City Hall, LAPD, Stage, Streetcars, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Land Bargain in L.A.: 50 Cents an Acre!

Posted on April 2, 2013 by lmharnisch

Read the entire edition online at USC, scanned from a copy at the Huntington Library. March 28, 1863: The city of Los Angeles is selling 2,000 acres “within the eastern boundary of the city” at a minimum price of 50 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, City Hall, Civil War, Native Americans | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated ++++)

Posted on April 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

And for Monday, a mystery woman.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 55 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywoodland Opens

Posted on April 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

By the early 1920s, real estate development was booming all around Los Angeles. For decades, the city had boldly advertised itself as a mecca in which average citizens could earn their share of the American dream under glorious sunshine and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1923, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywoodland Opens

Black Dahlia: STILL Waiting for Soil Test Results From Dr. George ‘Evil Genius’ Hodel’s Purported Murder HQ

Posted on March 29, 2013 by lmharnisch

Oh those Brits! The Express has jumped all over the story about Zooey Deschanel and Jamie Linden visiting the Sowden House, Dr. George “Evil Genius” Hodel’s purported Murder HQ. Naturally, since it’s a better story, they dub it the “Black … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1950, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: STILL Waiting for Soil Test Results From Dr. George ‘Evil Genius’ Hodel’s Purported Murder HQ

When L.A. Becomes New York

Posted on March 29, 2013 by lmharnisch

Being in L.A. is like living on a huge movie set. The white trucks are everywhere. Because I work downtown, I’m accustomed to seeing it standing in for – yes – New York. All the time. Here are some recent … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Film, Hollywood, New York, Spring Street | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Mobs Storm Butchers Trying to Beat Ration Deadline

Posted on March 28, 2013 by lmharnisch

People line up outside a meat market at 2100 N. Broadway. 2100 N. Broadway via Google Street View. March 28, 1943: And did the “Greatest Generation” meekly, humbly and patriotically accept meat rationing for the war effort? They did not. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Books and Authors, Broadway, Comics, Downtown, Food and Drink, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mobs Storm Butchers Trying to Beat Ration Deadline

Bearthina Is Missing

Posted on March 27, 2013 by lmharnisch

March 27, 1913: Mrs. C.H. Hampton, 139 S. Olive St., is a woman with a stretch of bad luck. First her husband died, and then in December the former Mrs. Schwartz married a man named Hampton who talked her into … Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, LAPD, Olive | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Steamship Hits Rock off Point Fermin

Posted on March 26, 2013 by lmharnisch

March 21, 1863: Now that we’re done with the Black Dahlia/George Hodel transcripts we can return to Los Angeles in the pages of the Star, which was brimming with vitriol against the North in the Civil War. Even when one … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, African Americans, Animals, Civil War | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated +++)

Posted on March 25, 2013 by lmharnisch

And here is Monday’s mystery fellow.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 71 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: The Flapper Speaks to American Women

Posted on March 25, 2013 by lmharnisch

The Flapper – via Wikipedia. Life changed quickly in the United States post-World War I. Nowhere was this more evident than in the role and actions of young women emancipating themselves from the corseted way of life to more boldly … Continue reading →

Posted in 1922, Fashions, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Millennial Moment: Officer Kills Boy, 5, Holding Toy Gun

Posted on March 21, 2013 by lmharnisch

March 3, 1983: Patrick Andrew Mason was too sick to go to school, and his mother Patricia Ridge, 29, had no one to care for him while she went to her job charging car batteries at a Sears store in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1983, Crime and Courts, Millennial Moments | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

AFSCME Seeks to Organize LAPD

Posted on March 20, 2013 by lmharnisch

March 20, 1943: The AFSCME sets up a local for LAPD officers, an action opposed by Police Chief Clemence “C.B.” Horrall and Deputy Chief Joe Reed.  The Los Angeles Police Protective League, established in the 1920s, began bargaining on behalf … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Film, Hollywood, Labor, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on AFSCME Seeks to Organize LAPD

LAPD in Standoff With Mad Gunman

Posted on March 19, 2013 by lmharnisch

The 900 block of South Francisco Street via Google Street View. March 19, 1913: F.C. Fredericks presents the LAPD with a difficult situation in the days before tear gas and swat teams (or indeed before negotiations by telephone). Fredericks was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, Downtown, LAPD | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated +++)

Posted on March 18, 2013 by lmharnisch

And here is Monday’s mystery guest.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 48 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Earl Carroll’s Swanky Sunset Boulevard Theater

Posted on March 18, 2013 by lmharnisch

Photo: Earl Carroll at the groundbreaking for his nightclub, with Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor and W.C. Fields. Courtesy of James Curtis. In the late 1930s, Earl Carroll reigned as Broadway’s exotic showman, producing splashy musical revues featuring statuesque, sultry showgirls. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1938, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Earl Carroll’s Nightclub

Posted on March 16, 2013 by lmharnisch

Movie stars’ signatures in concrete on the exterior of Earl Carroll’s nightclub. I am occasionally asked what became of the concrete tablets with movie stars’ names that were installed on the old Earl Carroll nightclub. Some of The Times stories … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Found on EBay, History, Hollywood, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment