Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Eve Golden: The Amazing Life of Allan Gould

Posted on April 14, 2023 by lmharnisch

Ruth Tester and Allan Gould perform Manhattan in the 1929 Paramount short Makers of Melody. Longtime readers may recall that way back in 2013, Larry and I pondered the career of Allan Gould, whom I had seen in a 1929 … Continue reading →

Posted in Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Music, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + +)

Posted on April 10, 2023 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have a mysterious fellow. Back of the Head Guy has been cropped out due to insufficient mysteriousness and will appear later in the week. Update: For Friday, here’s Back of the Head Guy.

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

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights, ‘Hollywood’

Posted on April 10, 2023 by lmharnisch

Aug. 26, 1923: “Hollywood” plays at Grauman’s Rialto. Note: This is an encore post from 2011. More than a decade before the release of HOLLYWOOD BLVD., Paramount Pictures also released a film looking at the behind-the-scenes industry that was also … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything on YouTube for April 2023

Posted on April 4, 2023 by lmharnisch

Here’s my latest “ask me anything” on the Black Dahlia case. I talked about John Gilmore, Steve Hodel, Piu Eatwell, the crime scene and the LAPD investigation, among many other Dahlia-related subjects.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything on YouTube for April 2023

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on April 3, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1985 TV movie The Hearst and Davies Affair, with Robert Mitchum, Virginia Madsen, Fritz Weaver, Doris Belack, Laura Henry, Francis Hyland, Caroline Yeager, Lorne Kennedy, George Touliatos, Wayne Best, Donna Goodhand, David Daldorisi and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1985, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , | 38 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights–TCM Classic Film Festival Marks 13 Years of Celebrating Movies

Posted on April 3, 2023 by lmharnisch

Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones, screening at the TCM Classic Film Festival. For the 13th year, the TCM Classic Film Festival celebrates the love of film by screening movies on the big screen the way they were meant to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights–TCM Classic Film Festival Marks 13 Years of Celebrating Movies

Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything

Posted on March 28, 2023 by lmharnisch

Coming next week: Ask me anything about the Black Dahlia case, Tuesday, April 4, at 10 a.m. Can’t make the live session? Email me your questions and I’ll answer them!

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on March 27, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1957 Twentieth Century-Fox picture China Gate, with Gene Barry, Angie Dickinson, Nat “King” Cole, Paul Dubov, Lee Van Cleef, Georg Givot, Gerald Milton, Neyle Morrow, Marcel Dalio, Maurice Marsac, Warren Hsieh, Paul Busch, Sasha … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywoodland Opens March 31, 1923

Posted on March 27, 2023 by lmharnisch

An ad for Hollywoodland, October 1923. Note: This is an encore post from 2022. On March 31, 1923, owners of a new hillside development in the Hollywood Hills called Hollywoodland announced the opening of their elaborate new tract in stories … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on March 20, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1946 International Pictures film Temptation, with Merle Oberon, George Brent, Charles Korvin, Paul Lukas, Leonore Ulric, Arnold Moss, Robert Capa, Aubrey Mather, Ludwig Stossel, Andre Charlot, Suzanne Cloutier and Gloria Lloyd.

Posted in 1946, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 40 Comments

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

Posted on March 20, 2023 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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on March 13, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1946 Twentieth Century-Fox movie Shock, with Vincent Price, Lynn Bari, Frank Latimore, Anabel Shaw, Michael Dunne, Reed Hadley, Renee Carson and Charles Trowbridge.

Posted in 1946, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Peggy Hamilton, Hollywood Fashion Influencer

Posted on March 13, 2023 by lmharnisch

Peggy Hamilton in an RKO publicity photo by Bachrach, 1931. Besotted with fashion from a young age, Peggy Hamilton turned her passion into a career in 1920s Los Angeles, becoming Hollywood’s first fashion influencer. The first to promote Hollywood and … Continue reading →

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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)

Posted in Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: Larry Harnisch–Ask Me Anything!

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