Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

This Week on the L.A. Daily Mirror

Photo: The Hollywoodland Sign. Credit:Hope Anderson @www.underthehollywoodsign.com  On Monday, we have Eve Golden’s roundup of unusual obituaries in Queen of the Dead and Mary Mallory looks at the history of the Hollywood Sign in Hollywood Heights. On Tuesday, join author … Continue reading

Posted in 1927, 1941, 1943, Cold Cases, Coming Attractions, Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, LAPD, Queen of the Dead | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated +]

[Update: This mystery gal is the victim of erroneous caption information – the right movie, but the wrong actress. She is Margaret Early. Please congratulate Bob Hansen for identifying her!] Here’s today’s mystery lady, courtesy of Steven Bibb!

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Found on EBay – Hotel Lankershim

This rather wonderful postcard showing an artist’s conception of what the future might look like has been listed on EBay. Built in 1902, the Hotel Lankershim was often described the city’s largest unreinforced building. After the 1971 Sylmar quake, the … Continue reading

Posted in 1902, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Found on EBay, Futurism, Preservation | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Odyssey of the Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers

Photo: Dorothy (Judy Garland) is wearing the ruby slippers. But which pair? Reuters is reporting that Profiles in History is auctioning off one of the pairs of ruby slippers used in “The Wizard of Oz.” Auction house owner Joe Maddalena … Continue reading

Posted in 1939, Fashion, Film, History, Hollywood, Preservation | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Silver Lake Hammer Murder – Part 3

Sept. 19, 1941: Valverda Booth visits her husband, Ernest Booth, while he is in custody in the Silver Lake Hammer Murder of heiress Florence Stricker. Is there anything more delightful to the heart of a research drudge than a notice … Continue reading

Posted in 1927, 1929, 1941, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Libraries | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Found on EBay – ‘Thicker’n Thieves’

Every so often, Charles Stoker’s “Thicker’n Thieves shows up on EBay for way too much money. There was a time when you could pick up a copy for $8 or $10 in almost any used book store in Los Angeles … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Found on EBay, LAPD | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Found on EBay – ‘Thicker’n Thieves’

British Library Digitizes Lewis Carroll’s Original ‘Alice’

Image: Page 37 of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures Under Ground,” digitized by the British Library. Henry Chu writes a nondupe in the Los Angeles Times about unsuccessful attempts to gain access to Scotland Yard’s records in the Jack the Ripper … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Immigration, Libraries, Museums | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Columnist’s Wife Stabs Errol Flynn With Fork in Nightclub Brawl!

Sept. 22, 1941: Oh look what I found! Our own Jimmie Fidler mixing it up with Errol Flynn at the Mocambo.  And Fidler’s wife, Bobbe, stabs Flynn with a fork!

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Coming Attractions: Lunch With the Daily Mirror

Photo: Monument to Eliza A. Otis, 1833 – 1904, wife of Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Credit: Larry Harnisch/LADailyMirror.com Karie Bible has agreed to give the Daily Mirror’s Brain Trust a tour of Hollywood Forever Cemetery on a … Continue reading

Posted in 1910, Brain Trust, Coming Attractions, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, Obituaries | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Keith Thursby: Dodgers Wrap It Up at the Coliseum

Sept. 21, 1961 The Dodgers ended their fourth and final season in the Coliseum with a 3-2, 13-inning victory over the Chicago Cubs. According to the Times’ coverage before and after the game, the Dodgers left their first Los Angeles … Continue reading

Posted in 1961, Baseball, Columnists, Dodgers, Keith Thursby | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Keith Thursby: Dodgers Wrap It Up at the Coliseum

Found on EBay – Wetherby Kayser Shoes

This pair of women’s shoes from Wetherby Kayser has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $49.99.

Posted in Fashion, Found on EBay | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Wetherby Kayser Shoes

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated ++]

May 12, 1924: “The Marriage Cheat” at Loew’s State and May 25, 1924, at Tallys. [Update: This is Laska Winter, seen in “The Marriage Cheat.”] Here’s our mystery gal! There’s a new photo on the jump!

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

Necklace Stolen From Titanic Exhibit

Writing in the New York Times, Roberta Smith pleads for the preservation of the American Folk Art Museum. Two posts in Lens, the New York Times’ photography blog, are worthwhile reading. The first is a question and answer with Pete … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Courts, Genealogy, Museums, New York | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Necklace Stolen From Titanic Exhibit

‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Part 9

Image: Isadore Bernstein’s name appears on a list of  undesirables.  Credit: The National Archives at Riverside. To recap briefly, I have been digging into the historical basis of the movie “Zoot Suit,” which I saw this summer in the Last … Continue reading

Posted in 1942, 1943, African Americans, Crime and Courts, Fashion, Film, History, Hollywood, Latinos, Libraries, Stage, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on ‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Part 9

Clifton’s Closing for $3-Million Renovation [Updated]

Photo: Clifton’s Brookdale Cafeteria. My Los Angeles Times colleague Roger Vincent reports that Clifton’s Brookdale cafeteria is closing Sept. 26 for an extended renovation. [If you haven’t read Mary Mallory’s post on Einar Petersen’s murals at Clifton’s and elsewhere downtown, … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Food and Drink | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Photo: 1962 Cadillac hearse listed for sale on Craigslist at $30,000. Queen of the Dead – dateline September 19, 2011 •  The 108-year-old Steuben Glass company has announced they are closing shop—specifically, their Corning, NY, factory, and their 1950s-chic Madison … Continue reading

Posted in Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead, Television | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated +]

[Update: This is Anne Heywood.] Here’s another mystery photo, courtesy of Steven Bibb!

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Shofar Flash Mob!

Photo: The Volute Krater, which is being  returned to Italy. Credit: Minneapolis Institute of Arts Adam Nagourney of the New York Times explores the different philosophies of treating history at the Reagan and Nixon presidential libraries. But another exhibition that … Continue reading

Posted in African Americans, Baseball, Crime and Courts, Libraries, Museums, Religion | Tagged | Comments Off on Shofar Flash Mob!

Daily Mirror Road Trip: Wavecrest 2011 [Updated]

Photo: Model A woodie. Credit: Larry Harnisch/LADailyMirror.com I haven’t been to Wavecrest, the annual gathering of woodies at Moonlight Beach, in more than a decade, so I drove down Saturday. Here’s what I saw:

Posted in Photography, Retro, San Diego, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Mystery Photo

Photograph by Larry Harnisch/L.A. Daily Mirror So … where was I when I took this?

Posted in Mystery Photo, Photography | Tagged , | 6 Comments