Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: John Decker – Painter to the Stars

Posted on October 23, 2023 by lmharnisch

Chester Conklin by John Decker, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. “To sing, to laugh, to dream, to walk in my own way and be alone…” A recording of John Decker’s voice recited this … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + +)

Posted on October 16, 2023 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have a mystery fellow.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 39 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Spooky, Ooky Witch’s House Haunts Beverly Hills

Posted on October 16, 2023 by lmharnisch

A sketch of the “The Witch’s House” by Charles Owens from “Nuestro Pueblo,” courtesy of Mary Mallory Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Once upon a time, home design and architecture saluted fantasy and make-believe, and not just … Continue reading →

Posted in 1921, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Spooky, Ooky Witch’s House Haunts Beverly Hills

George Hodel: Ask Me Anything, October 2023 / The Trial of George Hodel

Posted on October 10, 2023 by lmharnisch

Boxy and I did an Ask Me Anything on the trial of George Hodel. If all you know is what Steve Hodel claims, this will sound quite a bit different.

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‘Ask Me Anything’ on George Hodel — October 10

Posted on October 9, 2023 by lmharnisch

Boxy and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” about Dr. George Hodel on Tuesday, Oct. 10, at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Have you read Steve Hodel’s books? Watched the TV interviews? Listened to the podcasts? Maybe you’re … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on October 9, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1955 Warner Bros. film Young at Heart, with Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, Gig Young, Ethel Barrymore, Dorothy Malone, Robert Keith, Elisabeth Fraser, Alan Hale Jr., Lonny Chapman and Frank Ferguson.

Posted in 1954, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 38 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Landmark Vista Theatre Turns 100

Posted on October 9, 2023 by lmharnisch

The Vista Theatre in 1951, via Water and Power Associates. The Vista Theatre opened October 9, 1923. Built as an upscale house for smaller studio releases, it remains viable even today, as director Quentin Tarantino restores it. One of the … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, October 2023

Posted on October 3, 2023 by lmharnisch

Here is this month’s Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case. I discuss the “suspect of the month” (Mark Hansen) and talk about the gap in Elizabeth Short’s life from Jan. 9, 1947, when Red Manley left her at … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Casa La Golondrina Cafe, L.A.’s Oldest Brick Building

Posted on October 2, 2023 by lmharnisch

La Golondrina in Screenland magazine, 1930. News came this week that current owners of historic La Golondrina Cafe could soon be foreclosed on by the city of Los Angeles. La Golondrina is the oldest brick building in Los Angeles, possibly … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on October 2, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1938 Warner Bros. picture Four Daughters, with Priscilla Lane, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane, Gale Page, Claude Rains, John Garfield, Jeffrey Lynn, Dick Foran, Frank McHugh and May Robson.

Posted in 1938, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 33 Comments

Reminder: Don’t Dress Up Like the Black Dahlia for Halloween!

Posted on October 1, 2023 by lmharnisch

Annual reminder: Don’t dress up like the Black Dahlia for Halloween. It’s not the lewk you want. Don’t do it.

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Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is Oct. 3

Posted on September 29, 2023 by lmharnisch

Reminder: Boxy and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on the Black Dahlia case Tuesday, Oct. 3, at 10 a.m. Pacific time, on YouTube and on Instagram. I’ll give an update on the book and talk about … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Myrtle Gonzalez – Early Latina Movie Star

Posted on September 25, 2023 by lmharnisch

An autographed photo of Myrtle Gonzalez by the Martel-Carruthers studio, inscribed to Jean Herscholt, listed on EBay at $250 Note: This is an encore post from 2021.  Mostly forgotten today because of her untimely death in the 1918 influenza epidemic, … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on September 25, 2023 by lmharnisch

I picked a mystery movie for this week, but upon previewing the film I decided that the print wasn’t good enough to use, and that there were other issues that sent it back to the vault. While I’m picking a … Continue reading →

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

Black Dahlia: George Hodel, Ask Me Anything, September 2023

Posted on September 23, 2023 by lmharnisch

Boxy and I did another Ask Me Anything on Dr. George Hodel on Tuesday. I covered the history of the Sowden House and who lived there in the 1930s and ‘40s. I also gave an overview of the life of … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Two Pioneering Women Photographers

Posted on September 18, 2023 by lmharnisch

Just a few years after Susan B. Anthony and others organized the first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, NY in 1848, women began working as photographers in the United States. While many took over their father’s or husband’s photography … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated) + + + +

Posted on September 18, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1953 United Artists film The Magnetic Monster, with Richard Carlson, King Donovan, Jean Byron, Harry Ellerbe, Leo Britt, Leonard Mudie, Byron Foulger, Michael Fox, John Zarimba, Lee Phelps, Watson Downs, Roy Engle, Frank Gerstle, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Brian De Palma’s ‘The Black Dahlia’

Posted on September 17, 2023 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.  I’m running it again because I’m seeing a fair number of comments on social media about De Palma’s Black Dahlia being “Well, OK, not *that* bad.” Yes, yes it was *that* bad. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Ask Me Anything’ on George Hodel — September 19

Posted on September 12, 2023 by lmharnisch

Boxy and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” about Dr. George Hodel on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Have you read Steve Hodel’s books? Watched the TV interviews? Listened to the podcasts? Maybe you’re … Continue reading →

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Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on September 11, 2023 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1925 MGM picture Zander the Great, with Marion Davies, Holbrook Blinn, Harrison Ford, Harry Watson, Harry Myers, George Seigman, Emily Fitzroy, Hobart Bosworth, Richard Carle, Hedda Hopper, Olin Howland and Master John Huff.

Posted in 1925, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 24 Comments