Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

George Hodel: Ask Me Anything, January 2024

Posted on January 17, 2024 by lmharnisch

Here’s Boxie (formerly Boxy) and I with this month’s “Ask Me Anything” on George Hodel. I responded to a Steve Hodel supporter who challenged my credentials and asked for my “substantiation.”

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + +)

Posted on January 16, 2024 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1944 Republic picture The Lady and the Monster, with Vera Hruba Ralston, Richard Arlen, Erich von Stroheim, Helen Vinson, Mary Nash, Sidney Blackmer, Janet Martin, Bill Henry, Charles Cane, Juanita Quigley, Josephine Dillon and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – James Montgomery Flagg

Posted on January 16, 2024 by lmharnisch

Photo: What is advertised as an original copy of James Montgomery Flagg’s “Tell That to the Marines!” is listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $361.66. Note: This is an encore post from 2011. Illustrator James Montgomery Flagg is best remembered … Continue reading →

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

Black Dahlia: Trim Your Roses on Jan. 15 to Remember Elizabeth Short

Posted on January 15, 2024 by lmharnisch

Today is Jan. 15, the anniversary of Elizabeth Short’s death. As is the custom, the Daily Mirror will be dark. Trim your roses in her memory.

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

‘Ask Me Anything’ on George Hodel – Jan. 16

Posted on January 9, 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 Jan. 16 at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube and Instagram. Note: Today marks the beginning of Elizabeth … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 8, 2024 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1954 MGM picture Tennessee Champ, with Shelley Winters, Keenan Wynn, Dewey Martin, Earl Holliman, Dave O’Brien, Charles Buchinsky (Bronson) and Yvette Dugay (Duguay).

Posted in 1954, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 2178 High Tower Drive, L.A.’s First Community Elevator

Posted on January 8, 2024 by lmharnisch

The Tower appeared in the March 24, 1939, installment of Nuestro Pueblo by Joseph Seewerker and Charles Owens of the Los Angeles Times. Note: This is an encore post from 2020. Both marketing gimmick and necessity, the elevator shaft that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1922, Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 2178 High Tower Drive, L.A.’s First Community Elevator

Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, January 2024

Posted on January 3, 2024 by lmharnisch

In the January 2024 Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case, I talk about Elizabeth Short’s so-called missing week and whether it’s real. I also covered Leslie Dillon; Frank Jemison’s attitude toward Elizabeth Short; Los Angeles newspapers of the … Continue reading →

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

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Columbia Picture’s Centennial and Early Film ‘Mary of the Movies’

Posted on January 1, 2024 by lmharnisch

Hollywood grew from a small rural community into a city of massive movie studios in the early 1920s, as tens of thousands arrived hoping to become part of the entertainment bonanza. Cashing in on the city and industry’s popularity, studios … Continue reading →

Posted in 1923, 1924, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 1, 2024 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1933 Twentieth Century picture Blood Money, with George Bancroft, Judith Anderson, Frances Dee, Chick Chandler, Blossom Seeley, Etienne Girardot and George Regas.

Posted in 1933, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 50 Comments

Mary Astor’s Lost Film ‘New Year’s Eve’

Posted on December 30, 2023 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from January 2020. Since TCM is featuring Mary Astor, here’s a brief post on her lost movie “New Year’s Eve.” (A tip of the hat to Lou Lumenick, who tweeted about the movie on … Continue reading →

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

Posted on December 29, 2023 by lmharnisch

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

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 25, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1931 Chesterfield Motion Picture film The Devil Plays, with Jameson Thomas, Florence Britton, Thomas Jackson, Richard Tucker, Robert Ellis, Lillian Rich, Edmund Burns, Dorothy Christy, Lew Kelly, Carmelita Geraghty, Jack Trent and Murdock McQuarrie.

Posted in 1931, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 22 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: A 1940s Christmas Story in ‘Star in the Night’

Posted on December 25, 2023 by lmharnisch

An updated version of the Nativity in Warner Bros. Star in the Night. Note: This is an encore post from 2021. Made as a twenty-minute film to complete a program slate for movie theaters, the 1945 Warner Bros. two-reel short … Continue reading →

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George Hodel: Ask Me Anything, December 2023 / The George Hodel Bugging Transcripts

Posted on December 19, 2023 by lmharnisch

Here’s Boxy and I with this month’s “Ask Me Anything” on George Hodel. I talked about Steve Hodel’s bizarre new book “Black Dahlia Avenger IV” and one of his staunchest enablers, Luigi Warren. Then I reviewed the LAPD guidelines for … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Agnes Grew, Pioneering Paramount Executive

Posted on December 18, 2023 by lmharnisch

Agnes Grew with a map showing the results from a survey of women movie-goers, 1945. A leader in almost everything she tried, Agnes Grew is mostly forgotten like many other women working in the motion picture industry during the 1920s-1930s. … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 18, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1945 Paramount picture Love Letters, with Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ann Richards, Cecil Kellaway, Gladys Cooper, Anita Louise, Robert Sully, Reginald Denny, Ernest Cossart and Byron Barr.

Posted in 1945, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

‘Ask Me Anything’ on George Hodel – December 19

Posted on December 17, 2023 by lmharnisch

Reminder: Boxy and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on George Hodel and Steve Hodel Tuesday Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube and Instagram. We’ll take a look at what’s going on in Steve … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 11, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1941 Paramount picture The Road to Zanzibar, with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Una Merkel, Eric Blore, Douglass Dumbrille, Iris Adrian and Lionel Royce.

Posted in 1941, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 57 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Lighting the Way on Santa Claus Lane

Posted on December 11, 2023 by lmharnisch

Hollywood Boulevard decorated for Christmas in the 1950s. Note: This is an encore post from 2021. Starting in the late 1920s, Hollywood Boulevard’s Christmas decorations dazzled shoppers and tourists with their thousands of twinkling lights, a spectacular backdrop for holiday … Continue reading →

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