Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — The Three Lives Of Villa Aurora

Posted on July 23, 2024 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Cats have nine lives. People often experience second or third acts in their lives or careers. Some homes have multiple lives as well, like Villa Aurora, which has experienced three diverse lives, … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: For Elizabeth Short’s 100th Birthday, a Brief Glimpse at My Book, Heaven Is HERE!

Posted on July 23, 2024 by lmharnisch

Folks…. On Monday, July 29, 2024, for Elizabeth Short’s 100th birthday, I will be posting very brief excerpts from my book. Two pages from various chapters to show that, yes, I’m working on a book, and no, I don’t have … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 22, 2024 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery TV show was Happy Birthday Marvin, a 1973 episode of Insight, a Paulist Production, with Bob Newhart, Anne Francis, Harold Gould, Clint Howard and Ivor Francis. Insight aired in syndication from 1960 to 1983.

Posted in 1973, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 36 Comments

George Hodel: Ask Me Anything, July 2024

Posted on July 17, 2024 by lmharnisch

Here’s Boxie (formerly Boxy) and I with this month’s “Ask Me Anything” on George Hodel. In this session, I discuss the flurry of interest in rumors that the creators of the hit video game L.A. Noire were releasing a sequel … Continue reading →

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Drag Comes to Hollywood at B.B.B.’s Cellar

Posted on July 16, 2024 by lmharnisch

Long before Silver Lake’s Black Cat Cafe or the first LBGT parade down Hollywood Boulevard in the 1960s, Hollywood highlighted female impersonators and the gay community in a popular, energetic nightclub called B. B. B.’s Cellar and led by host … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Mary Mallory, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 15, 2024 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1948 Allied Artists movie The Hunted, with Preston Foster, Belita, Pierre Watkin, Larry Blake, Russell Hicks, Frank Ferguson, Cathy Carter, Joseph Crehan, Edna Holland, Carole Donne, Robert Earle and Tristram Coffin.

Posted in 1948, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

‘Ask Me Anything’ on George Hodel – July 16

Posted on July 10, 2024 by lmharnisch

Reminder: Boxie (formerly Boxy) and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on George Hodel and Steve Hodel on Tuesday, July 16, at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube and Instagram. Can’t make the live session? Email me … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Douglas Fairbanks, Author

Posted on July 8, 2024 by lmharnisch

Douglas Fairbanks: “Teaching his dog to smile.” Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Douglas Fairbanks exploded onto the filmmaking scene in 1915 after a successful career on Broadway as a dashing leading man. His jaunty joie de vivre … Continue reading →

Posted in 1918, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Douglas Fairbanks, Author

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 8, 2024 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1941 Columbia picture Ladies in Retirement, with Ida Lupino, Louis Hayward, Evelyn Keyes, Elsa Lanchester, Edith Barrett, Isobel Elsom, Emma Dunn, Clyde Cook and Queenie Leonard.

Posted in 1941, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

L.A. Celebrates the Fourth of July 1889 – 1960

Posted on July 4, 2024 by lmharnisch

July 4, 1944: Uncle Sam in a cartoon by Edmund Waller “Ted” Gale for the Los Angeles Examiner and republished in the Milwaukee Sentinel. Note: This is an encore post from 2014. Broken links: FIXED! Here’s a look at how … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, 1907, 1910, 1947, 1957, 1960 | Tagged | Comments Off on L.A. Celebrates the Fourth of July 1889 – 1960

Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, July 2024

Posted on July 3, 2024 by lmharnisch

In the July 2024 Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case, I talk about some of the most influential websites dealing with the murder of Elizabeth Short.

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Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is July 2

Posted on July 1, 2024 by lmharnisch

Reminder: Boxie (formerly Boxy) and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on the Black Dahlia case Tuesday, July 2, at 10 a.m. Pacific time, on YouTube and on Instagram. I’ll give an update on the book and … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Emma Lazarus’ ‘The New Colossus’ Calls to All Immigrants

Posted on July 1, 2024 by lmharnisch

Construction of the Statue of Liberty, artwork by John Durkin, Harper’s Weekly, Jan. 19, 1884. Note: This is an encore post from 2018. Written in 1883 to help raise money for building the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on July 1, 2024 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1975 film Murph the Surf, with Robert Conrad, Don Stroud, Donna Mills, Robyn Millan, Ben Frank, Pepper Martin, Morgan Paull, Paul Stewart, Burt Young and Luther Adler.

Posted in 1975, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 18 Comments

George Hodel: Ask Me Anything, June 2024

Posted on June 29, 2024 by lmharnisch

Here’s Boxie (formerly Boxy) and I with this month’s “Ask Me Anything” on George Hodel. In this session, I discussed people who “find hidden messages” in the postcards and letters written to the police and the newspapers in the Black … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 24, 2024 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery film was Escape Route, an episode of the British TV series The Saint, with Roger Moore, John Gregson, Wanda Ventham, Ivor Dean, Donald Sutherland, Jean Marsh, Jeremy Burnham, Terry Yorke, Romo Gorrara, Vicki Wolf, Tony Doonan, Eric … Continue reading →

Posted in 1968, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Don’t Be a Sucker’ Promotes American Values

Posted on June 24, 2024 by lmharnisch

“Don’t Be a Sucker” is on YouTube. Note: This is an encore post from 2017. Still as relevant today as when it was first produced over 70 years ago, the United States Army Signal Corps’ short “Don’t Be a Sucker” … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hale’s Tours Offer Virtual Reality in 1906

Posted on June 17, 2024 by lmharnisch

George C. Hale in the Salt Lake City Herald, Oct. 20, 1905. Note: This is an encore post from 2016. Technology changes often move with the speed of lightning, upending life as it moves hurly burly into a brave new … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on June 17, 2024 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1952 MGM film Lovely to Look At, with Kathryn Grayson, Red Skelton, Howard Keel, Marge and Gower Champion, Ann Miller, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Kurt Kaszmar and Marcel Dalio.

Posted in 1952, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 44 Comments

‘Ask Me Anything’ on George Hodel – June 18

Posted on June 16, 2024 by lmharnisch

Reminder: Boxie (formerly Boxy) and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on George Hodel and Steve Hodel on Tuesday, June 18, at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube and Instagram. Can’t make the live session? Email me … Continue reading →

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