Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – 1938 Floods Wreak Havoc on Los Angeles Area

Posted on March 6, 2023 by lmharnisch

  Flooding in North Hollywood, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Seventy-five years ago, a deluge of rain hit Los Angeles and the surrounding area, leading to massive floods and causing millions of dollars … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on March 6, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1948 Twentieth Century-Fox film Deep Waters, with Dana Andrews, Jean Peters, Cesar Romero, Dean Stockwell, Anne Revere and Ed Begley.

Posted in 1948, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Master of Electric Lights Had Hollywoodland Sign Beaming

Posted on March 1, 2023 by lmharnisch

Unknown today, Paul D. Howse was a pioneer in early entertainment and ballyhoo promotional methods. Thanks to his company’s domination of the electrical sign market and his prowess with promotion, Howse would help electrify the Hollywoodland Sign in 1923, helping … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Larry Harnisch–Ask Me Anything!

Posted on February 28, 2023 by lmharnisch

Here’s my first Ask Me Anything. Also on my YouTube channel! (YouTube.com/LMHarnisch)

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + + +)

Posted on February 27, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1932 MGM picture Strange Interlude, with Norma Shearer, Clark Gable, Alexander Kirkland, Ralph Morgan, Robert Young, May Robson, Maureen O’Sullivan, Henry B. Walthall, Mary Alden and Tad Alexander.

Posted in 1932, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Rose McClendon, First Lady of Black Theater

Posted on February 23, 2023 by lmharnisch

Rose McClendon, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, via the New York Public Library. The first lady of the early Black stage, largely forgotten today, Rose McClendon set a blazing example of how talent could offer opportunity, even in difficult, discriminatory … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Stage | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on February 20, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1957 film Time Limit, with Richard Widmark, Richard Basehart, Dolores Michaels, June Lockhart, Carl Benton Reid, Martin Balsam, Rip Torn, Yale Wexler, Alan Dexter, Kaie Deei, Manning Ross and Joe Di Rida.

Posted in 1957, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 51 Comments

Black Dahlia: Steve Hodel vs. His Mom – Dorothy Hodel Interview Exposes Son’s Lies

Posted on February 19, 2023 by lmharnisch

I, in the persona of NOT Dr. Alan Campbell with “Boxy,” posted a brief video on Dorothy Hodel’s statement to Dist. Atty’s Lt. Frank Jemison. For those who aren’t up for my dramatic reading, here are a few key points … Continue reading →

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on February 13, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1933 Universal picture Secret of the Blue Room, with Lionel Atwill, Gloria Stuart, Paul Lukas, Edward Arnold, Onslow Stevens, William Janney, Robert Barrat, Muriel Kirkland, Russell Hopton and Elizabeth Patterson.

Posted in 1933, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Crazylegs’ Salutes Elroy Hirsch and the Los Angeles Rams

Posted on February 13, 2023 by lmharnisch

An image of Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch, scanned from a negative listed on EBay at $24.99. Note: This is an encore post from 2016. Los Angeles is currently experiencing the second coming of its professional football team, the Los Angeles Rams, … Continue reading →

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Gustavo Dudamel: Tinseltown’s Gift to New York

Posted on February 8, 2023 by lmharnisch

Headline in The New York Times. I am celebrating the announced departure of Gustavo Dudamel (though not until 2026) – without the jubilation of New Yorkers, but certainly not in mourning as Los Angeles may be. If I were more … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: May Whitney Emerson, Founded Women’s Film Company

Posted on February 8, 2023 by lmharnisch

A feminist ahead of her time, author May Whitney Emerson advocated equal opportunities and rights for women in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Brash, fearless, and determined, she blazed a trail through the arts and journalism as she traveled … Continue reading →

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on February 6, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1940 Twentieth Century-Fox picture Brigham Young, by Louis Bromfield. With Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Brian Donlevy, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Mary Astor, Vincent Price, Jean Rogers, Ann Todd and Dean Jagger as Brigham Young.

Posted in 1940, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 43 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 30, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1940 MGM picture The Earl of Chicago, with Robert Montgomery, Edward Arnold, Reginald Owen, Edmund Gwenn, E.E. Clive, Ronald Sinclair, Norma Varden, Halliwell Hobbes, Ian Wulf, Peter Godfrey and Billy Bevan.

Posted in 1940, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Magic Castle

Posted on January 30, 2023 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2012. Sitting gracefully below Yamashiro restaurant just above Franklin Avenue, the Magic Castle stands as a glorious reminder of the beauty and elegance of old Hollywood.  Almost like magic it appeared on the … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 23, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1931 Columbia picture Ten Cents a Dance, with Barbara Stanwyck, Ricardo Cortez, Monroe Owsley, Sally Blane, Blanche Friderici, Martha Sleeper, David Newell, Victor Potel and Sidney Bracey.

Posted in 1931, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 31 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights — ‘The Film Parade’

Posted on January 23, 2023 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2012. Beginning his career as a journalist in the late 1880s, J. Stuart Blackton is today recognized as one of the American film industry’s first pioneers.   He founded Vitagraph in 1896 along with … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 16, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1926 film Up in Mabel’s Room, with Marie Prevost, Harrison Ford, Phyllis Haver, Harry Myers, Sylvia Breamer, Paul Nicholson, Maude Truax, Carl Gerard, William Orlamond and Arthur Hoyt.

Posted in 1926, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Marion Davies, an Actress With a Heart to Help Children

Posted on January 16, 2023 by lmharnisch

Hollywood Heritage will celebrate Marion Davies’ birthday with a celebration Sunday, Jan. 22., at 2 p.m.  featuring Lara Gabrielle, author of Marion Davies: Captain of Her Soul, and a showing of Zander the Great. Tickets are $10 for members, $20 … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: How to Read a Story on the Murder of Elizabeth Short, and the Traps That Await Unwary Writers

Posted on January 14, 2023 by lmharnisch

Oxygen posted a story for the anniversary of Elizabeth Short’s murder, so I thought I would go through it and point out the sorts of errors that writers usually make. Christina Coulter falls into many of the traps that await … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments