Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 9, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1957 Twentieth Century-Fox picture The Deerslayer, with Lex Barker, Rita Moreno, Forrest Tucker, Cathy O’Donnell, Jay C. Flippen and Carlos Rivas. (The original credits have been replaced in the German release I used for … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 52 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Clock Tower Enters Its Second Century

Posted on January 2, 2023 by lmharnisch

A landmark both as one of the first buildings in the original Cahuenga Valley area known as Colegrove and for its dramatic appearance looming over the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Cahuenga Avenue, what is now the L.A. Security … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 2, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1934 MGM picture Fugitive Lovers, with Robert Montgomery, Madge Evans, Ted Healy, Nat Pendleton, C. Henry Gordon, Ruth Selwyn, Larry Fine, Moe Howard and Jerry Howard.

Posted in 1934, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 38 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on January 2, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1956 film The Scarlet Hour, with Carol Ohmart, Tom Tryon, Jody Lawrance, James Gregory, Elaine Stritch, E.G. Marshall, Edward Binns, David Lewis, Billy Gray, Jacques Aubuchon, Scott Marlowe, Johnstone White, James F. Stone, Maureen … Continue reading →

Posted in 1956, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 41 Comments

Black Dahlia–Why I Don’t Give Black Dahlia Interviews and a Progress Report on My Book

Posted on January 1, 2023 by lmharnisch

I decided to start the year with something different — a video update.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, LAPD, Television | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Chop Suey Comes to Hollywood

Posted on December 27, 2022 by lmharnisch

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 6, 1884. Chinese food has long been popular in the United States, particularly chop suey, and for many it is a Christmas Day tradition. Although stories claimed that chop suey was a special dish created in … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Silent Film Actress Margaret Whistler Found True Vocation in Costuming

Posted on December 19, 2022 by lmharnisch

Margaret Whistler in Motion Picture News. Many women made contributions to silent film, often in more than one field. Then as now, some found a job gaining them entry to the profession before moving on toward what they loved or … Continue reading →

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 19, 2022 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1932 picture No More Orchids, with Carole Lombard, Walter Connolly, Louise Closser Hale, Lyle Talbot, C. Aubrey Smith, Allen Vincent, Ruthelma Stevens, Arthur Houseman, William V. Mong and Jameson Thomas.

Posted in 1932, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 33 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 12, 2022 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1934 RKO picture The Age of Innocence, with Irene Dunne, John Boles, Lionel Atwill, Helen Westley, Laura Hope Crews, Julie Haydon, Herbert Yost, Theresa Maxwell Conover, Edith Van Cleve and Leonard Carey.

Posted in 1934, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

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

Posted on December 12, 2022 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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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 5, 2022 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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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on December 5, 2022 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1947 Universal picture Ivy, with Joan Fontaine, Patric Knowles, Herbert Marshall, Richard Ney, Sir Cedric Hardwick, Lucile Watson, Sara Allgood, Henry Stephenson, Rosalind Ivan, Lilian Fontaine, Molly Lamont, Una O’Connor, Isobel Elsom and Alan … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 36 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood and Poinsettias

Posted on December 5, 2022 by lmharnisch

A postcard c. 1908 of poinsettias, “California’s Christmas flower,” listed on EBay. Note: This is an encore post from 2020. Euphorba Pulcherrima, better known as the poinsettia plant, has been popular in Los Angeles since the late 1800s. Some call … Continue reading →

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Found on EBay: 1930 Los Angeles Junior League Cookbook

Posted on December 2, 2022 by lmharnisch

A vendor has listed a rare copy of the 1930 Los Angeles Junior League Cookbook. For $1,760. No really.

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on November 28, 2022 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1938 Warner Bros. film Gold Is Where You Find It, with George Brent, Olivia de Havilland, Claude Rains, Margaret Lindsay, John Litel, Marcia Ralston, Barton MacLane, Tim Holt, Sidney Toler, Henry O’Neill, Willie Best, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1938, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 50 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Christmas House Offers Simple Family Joys of Holiday Season

Posted on November 28, 2022 by lmharnisch

The Christmas House in Boyle Heights, courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library. Note: This is an encore post from 2019. Long before the inauguration of Instagram and trying to win social media by posting the most elaborate or flashy … Continue reading →

Posted in 1938, Architecture, Film, Fire Department, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Christmas House Offers Simple Family Joys of Holiday Season

L.A. Celebrates a Wartime Thanksgiving, 1943

Posted on November 24, 2022 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. A wartime Thanksgiving in Los Angeles, with many service personnel welcomed into people’s homes for a holiday meal. The Times published cooking tips for war workers, advising cooks who were otherwise engaged … Continue reading →

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An 1890s Thanksgiving in the Kitchen

Posted on November 24, 2022 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. Here’s a traditional roast turkey recipe from the “Every-Day Cook-Book and Family Compendium,” written about 1890 by Miss E. Neill. Be sure your fire is bright and clear and watch out for … Continue reading →

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