Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Movieland Mystery Photo

Posted on December 13, 2010 by lmharnisch

        Los Angeles Times file photo   Jan. 17-19 1936: The foreman of the Los Angeles County Grand Jury says the case of Thelma Todd is still open despite the autopsy surgeon's finding that death was caused … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Thelma Todd | 9 Comments

From the Vaults: ‘MASH’ (1970)

Posted on December 13, 2010 by lmharnisch

I loathe war movies. I also loathe hospital movies, and movies with predominantly male stars (really, who wants to sit and watch a bunch of men running around?) And I really loathe movies with long football scenes. Yet then we … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, From the Vaults, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Matt Weinstock, Dec. 12, 1960

Posted on December 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Dec. 12, 1960: Matt Weinstock has the story of identity theft as it was done 50 years ago. DEAR ABBY: I am a barber with 30 years' experience and that barber who wrote to you should be kicked … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, Dec. 12, 1960

Paul Coates, Dec. 12, 1960

Posted on December 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Dec. 12, 1960: Paul Coates updates the story of a Beverly Hills physician who had hit bottom and was in a mental hospital when he saved the life of an inmate.  Coates interviews the doctor, who has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul Coates, Dec. 12, 1960

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, Dec. 12, 1940

Posted on December 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

           Dec. 12, 1940: Nominated for the odd job championship: Brian Kilgore, former Chicago mortician, who bills himself as a technical director for gangster funerals, Jimmie Fidler says. 

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, Dec. 12, 1940

Movieland Mystery Photo — Updated

Posted on December 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   Update: This is Thelma Todd and Inez Courtney in a photo stamped Nov. 7, 1932.     Jan. 4-11, 1936: If you’re sick of the Thelma Todd case by now, you … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Thelma Todd | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo — Updated

Posted on December 11, 2010 by lmharnisch

         Los Angeles Times file photo   Update: Mrs. Wallace Ford and her brother George Baker arrive to testify about the Thelma Todd case. "Mrs. Ford said Miss Todd telephoned she was coming to a party at … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography, Thelma Todd | Comments Off on Movieland Mystery Photo — Updated

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, Dec. 11, 1940

Posted on December 11, 2010 by lmharnisch

           Test pilot Rudolph B. Lechner, 37, is killed when his  SBC-2 Navy bomber fails to come out of a test dive. Dec. 11, 1940: Eleanor Powell has invented a tap-dancing shoe that quadruples the number … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Transportation | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo — Update

Posted on December 11, 2010 by lmharnisch

        Los Angeles Times file photo   Update: This is Thelma Todd giving a surprise birthday party for Patsy Kelly on the set of "Sing, Sister, Sing." "Because of Patsy's particular fondness for condiments and sauces, Thelma … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography, Thelma Todd | 8 Comments

Found on EBay — ‘What Actors Eat’

Posted on December 10, 2010 by lmharnisch

A copy of the Lymanhouse book “What Actors Eat – When They Eat!” has been listed on EBay. This cookbook turns up once or twice a year on EBay, usually at a ridiculous price. Bidding on this one, however, starts … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on Found on EBay — ‘What Actors Eat’

Paul Coates and Matt Weinstock, Dec. 10, 1960

Posted on December 10, 2010 by lmharnisch

       Dec. 10, 1960: Matt Weinstock has the story of English instructor James Durbin, who  read poems to USC’s English Club without disclosing the poets' names. The works were written by Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso, Ezra Pound, e.e. … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul Coates and Matt Weinstock, Dec. 10, 1960

Police Battle Muslim Mob in Algiers , Dec. 10, 1960

Posted on December 10, 2010 by lmharnisch

         Dec. 10, 1960: “It costs a lot of money to look like Marilyn Monroe … I’ve got the bills to prove it.”

Posted in Film, Front Pages, Hollywood | Comments Off on Police Battle Muslim Mob in Algiers , Dec. 10, 1960

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, Dec. 10, 1940

Posted on December 10, 2010 by lmharnisch

        Dec. 10, 1940: That old rumor about Jackie Cooper being a midget should be thoroughly exploded by now, Jimmie Fidler says.  

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Tom Treanor | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo — Update

Posted on December 10, 2010 by lmharnisch

      Photograph by the Los Angeles Times   Update: Chauffeur Ernest Peters, left, talks to Sid Grauman. Please congratulate Mary Mallory and Mike Hawks for identifying Grauman!         Photograph by the Los Angeles Times   … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography, Thelma Todd | 3 Comments

Found on EBay – Oviatt’s

Posted on December 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

A box from Oviatt’s has been listed on EBay. As most Daily Mirror readers know, Oviatt’s was a men’s store but there was a woman’s hat in the box and the vendor has inferred that the hat is from Oviatt’s. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fashion | Comments Off on Found on EBay – Oviatt’s

Matt Weinstock, Dec. 9, 1960

Posted on December 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

       Dec. 9, 1960: "No truth to the ugly rumor that the reporters in the courthouse pressroom watch those synthetic courtroom cases on their TV set. When I dropped in to check, they were watching an old war … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, Dec. 9, 1960

Paul Coates, Dec. 9, 1960

Posted on December 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

         Dec. 9, 1960: Paul Coates has a curious tale about an aspiring actor making a sort of debut – in the Hollywood Christmas Parade. On the jump, more about the killing of LAPD Detective Richard Kent.

Posted in Columnists, Front Pages, LAPD, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul Coates, Dec. 9, 1960

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, Dec. 9, 1940

Posted on December 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

              Dec. 9, 1940:  Jimmie Fidler asks,  “How can actors who are such nice people on the way up and on the way down, be such insufferable asses while they're on top?” Note to … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, Dec. 9, 1940

Movieland Mystery Photo — Updated

Posted on December 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

        Los Angeles Times file photo   Update: This is Charley Chase and Thelma Todd in a photo by Agnes O'Malley. Please congratulate Mary Mallory, Mike Hawks, Cold in Phoenix and Brent Walker for identifying them!   … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography, Thelma Todd | 9 Comments

Found on EBay – Jean Spangler

Posted on December 8, 2010 by lmharnisch

An Oct. 12, 1949, edition of the Examiner, with a Page 1 story about the disappearance of Jean Spangler – drawing the usual parallels to the 1947 Black Dahlia case – has been listed on EBay. Old issues of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, LAPD | 1 Comment