Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 6, 2024 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2013. Whenever I’m asked about my favorite books on Los Angeles, my first recommendation is “Nuestro Pueblo,” a selection of features by Times artist Charles Owens and writer Joseph Seewerker that appeared in The … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 5, 2024 by lmharnisch

Today’s retro holiday shopping suggestion in Don Normark’s excellent book “Chavez Ravine, 1949.” Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 4, 2024 by lmharnisch

Photo by John Engstead / Courtesy of Doyle Auctions. Speaking of Raymond Chandler, Doyle Auctions is offering material from the the Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler to be sold Friday (Dec. 6).

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 3, 2024 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2020. Many years ago, the editor of the Los Angeles Times book review section (yes, the really, really odd one) insisted that publishers send him advance review copies and unbound galleys rather than … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 2, 2024 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2013. Glen Creason’s book on maps of Los Angeles shows the many ways people have viewed the city over the years. I interviewed him for The Times in 2012 and fortunately for all concerned, … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Posted on December 2, 2024 by lmharnisch

Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale in “Holiday Inn.” Note: This is an encore post from 2015. Recognized today as one of the top selling singles and pieces of sheet music of all time, Irving Berlin’s “White … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 2, 2024 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1937 Warner Bros. film Green Light, with Errol Flynn, Anita Louise, Margaret Lindsay, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Walter Abel.

Posted in 1937, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 42 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 1, 2024 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2013. True style never goes out of date, after all. We are being bombarded by stories about Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with videos of long lines at stores and the attendant consumer frenzy. … Continue reading →

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Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is December 3

Posted on November 30, 2024 by lmharnisch

Boxie and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on the Black Dahlia case Tuesday, December 3, at 10 a.m. Pacific time, on YouTube and on Instagram.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Tote DuCrow–Character Actor of the Silent Screen

Posted on November 25, 2024 by lmharnisch

Tote DuCrow in Camera, 1922. The early decades of cinema brought many enterprising, colorful character actors to the screen, those looking and appearing real on film. Not as physically attractive or full of charisma, they brought striking personas and authenticity … Continue reading →

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 25, 2024 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1937 Warner Bros. film Penrod and Sam, with Billy Mauch, Frank Craven, Spring Byington, Craig Reynolds, Jackie Morrow, Philip Hurlick, Charles Halton, Bernice Pilot and Kenneth Harlan.

Posted in 1937, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

George Hodel: Ask Me Anything, November 2024

Posted on November 19, 2024 by lmharnisch

Here’s Boxie and I with this month’s “Ask Me Anything” on George Hodel. In this session, I discussed Steve Hodel’s dismal attempt at handwriting analysis and bizarre claims that a woman named Romayne Goldsmith sold the Sowden House to George … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 18, 2024 by lmharnisch

Lobby card for Unknown Blonde listed on EBay. This week’s mystery movie was the 1934 film Unknown Blonde, with Edward Arnold, Barbara Barondess, Barry Norton, John Miljan, Dorothy Revier, Leila Bennett, Walter Catlett, Helen Jerome Eddy, Claude Gillingwater and Arletta … Continue reading →

Posted in 1934, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Lillian St. Cyr, ‘Indian Princess’ of Early Films

Posted on November 18, 2024 by lmharnisch

Lillian St. Cyr, who took the name Princess Red Wing (frequently rendered as Redwing), Moving Picture World, 1912. Note: This is an encore post from 2021. Throughout much of her life, Lillian Margaret St. Cyr felt caught between two worlds … Continue reading →

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‘Ask Me Anything’ on George Hodel – November 19

Posted on November 15, 2024 by lmharnisch

Reminder: Boxie and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on George Hodel and Steve Hodel on Tuesday, November 19, at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube and Instagram. Can’t make the live session? Email me your questions … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 11, 2024 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1953 Warner Bros. film Blowing Wild, with Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Ruth Roman, Anthony Quinn, Ward Bond, Ian MacDonald, Richard Karlan and Juan Garcia.

Posted in 1953, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Samuel Fuller’s ‘Power of the Press’

Posted on November 11, 2024 by lmharnisch

In an age when most of the mainstream media shills for ratings, spectacle, and train wrecks, taking a look back at vintage films can often provide a sad window into how little history changes unless a determined, freedom-loving press like … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, November 2024

Posted on November 5, 2024 by lmharnisch

In the November 2024 Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case, I talk about my work in progress, Heaven Is HERE! and my current focus on the coroner’s office. SPOILER ALERT: I devoted a fair amount of time to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Your Girl and Mine’ Promotes Women’s Suffrage

Posted on November 4, 2024 by lmharnisch

“Your Girl and Mine,” Moving Picture World. Note: This is an encore post from 2015. From the 1840s on, many women in the United States fought to vote. Considered merely chattel, like slaves, women were forced to endure horrible marriages, … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 4, 2024 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1940 Warner Bros. picture Torrid Zone, with James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Pat O’Brien, Andy Devine, Helen Vinson, Jerome Cowan and George Tobias.

Posted in 1940, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 33 Comments