Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Black Dahlia: Steve Hodel’s Lies, Some Old, Some New

Posted on October 26, 2021 by lmharnisch

  To the Oct. 26, 2021, audience at the Council Bluffs, Iowa, Public Library who attended Duffy Hudson’s performance delivering the words of Steve Hodel: You should know that virtually everything you heard was a lie. The fault is not … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on October 25, 2021 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1951 Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger production of Jacques Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann, with Moira Shearer, by permission of the Covent Garden Opera Trust, Ludmilla Tcherina, Ann Ayars, Pamela Brown, Leonide Massine, Robert Helpmann, Frederick … Continue reading →

Posted in 1951, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , | 25 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Einar Petersen, Forgotten Artist

Posted on October 25, 2021 by lmharnisch

Image: Lobby of the New Rosslyn Hotel, showing murals by Einar Petersen. Note: This is an encore post from 2011. Fame is an odd thing. An artist might be successful and popular in his lifetime and forgotten with the decades, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1915, Architecture, Art & Artists, Downtown, Food and Drink, Hollywood Heights, Interior Design, Mary Mallory, Obituaries, Photography, San Francisco | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Einar Petersen, Forgotten Artist

Movieland Mystery Crossword Puzzle

Posted on October 19, 2021 by lmharnisch

If you’re missing the mystery movie, here’s something to occupy your time. It’s a movie crossword puzzle. From 1933! If the clues are too small, here’s a link to the original. Good solving to you!

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Movieland Mystery Crossword Puzzle

Movieland Mystery Photo – Red Car Edition (Updated +)

Posted on October 18, 2021 by lmharnisch

I was going to take the mystery photos dark this week as I’ve been traveling and unable to preview a mystery movie. But I decided to run this historic photo for the week. Brain Trust roll call: Mary Mallory has … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Henry Armetta, Excitable Support

Posted on October 18, 2021 by lmharnisch

Henry Armetta, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. In many films of the 1930s and 1940s, what audiences remember most are the one-of-a-kind supporting players, with vibrant personalities, colorful ways of talking, recognizable tics … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Henry Armetta, Excitable Support

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood Pioneer Eugene Plummer and His Park

Posted on October 12, 2021 by lmharnisch

Eugene Plummer holds what he claimed was Joaquin Murrieta’s 12-shot pistol, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 5, 1938. Virtually forgotten today, Hollywood pioneer Eugene R. Plummer preserved many romantic traditions of old Los Angeles throughout his 91 years. Generous to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Parks and Recreation, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + +)

Posted on October 11, 2021 by lmharnisch

For Monday, we have a dapper mystery gent. Note: Many responses went into the spam folder this week, my apologies.

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

Movieland Mystery Photo – Jury Duty Edition No. 5 (Updated)

Posted on October 8, 2021 by lmharnisch

And no, not all the judges on Perry Mason were men, so I’m closing out a week of jury duty with a mystery woman judge. Update: This is Lillian Bronson from The Case of the Shattered Dream. She was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Television | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo – Jury Duty Edition No. 4 (Updated)

Posted on October 7, 2021 by lmharnisch

I’m on jury duty this week, so in that theme I’m posting mystery judges from Perry Mason. Update: This is Frank Wilcox from The Case of the Treacherous Toupee, as seen in the Mystery Movie ’Til We Meet Again. Brain … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Television | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo — Jury Duty Edition No. 3 (Updated)

Posted on October 6, 2021 by lmharnisch

I’m on jury duty this week, so in that theme I’m posting mystery judges from Perry Mason. Update: This is Jason Johnson from The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife. Brain Trust roll call: Beach Gal (Wednesday’s mysterious jurist), Michael Ryerson … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo – Jury Duty Edition No. 2 (Updated)

Posted on October 5, 2021 by lmharnisch

I’m on jury duty this week, so in that theme I’m posting mystery judges from Perry Mason. Update: This is Grandon Rhodes from The Case of the Restless Redhead. Brain Trust roll call: Michael Ryerson (Tuesday’s mystery judge), Howard Mandelbaum … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Television | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo — Jury Duty Edition No. 1 (Updated)

Posted on October 4, 2021 by lmharnisch

I’m on jury duty this week, so in that theme I’m posting mystery judges from Perry Mason (yes, another TV show). Update: This is S. John Launer from The Case of the Golden Fraud, starring Mystery Movie veteran Arthur Franz … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 28 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Olvera Street, Salute to Los Angeles’ Spanish Past

Posted on October 4, 2021 by lmharnisch

A postcard of the Avila Adobe, listed on EBay for $1.89. “A people that has lost touch with its historical past, forgotten its traditions and wasted its heritage is as unfortunate as a man who has lost his memory. Without … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory/ Hollywood Heights: First Permanent Film Studio Was an Abandoned Roadhouse

Posted on September 29, 2021 by lmharnisch

When early moving picture companies set down roots in the farming community of Hollywood, they employed simple structures like barns, warehouses, and even an abandoned roadhouse as studios. These early production entities ventured west in 1909 and 1910 to escape … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: Halloween and Why Murder Victim Cosplay Is Wrong

Posted on September 29, 2021 by lmharnisch

Halloween is coming up, so I’ll issue my annual warning: Don’t dress up like “The Black Dahlia.” It’s not honoring the memory of Elizabeth Short. It’s not “Justice for Beth,” however you might define it. Just don’t do it.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood’s Long Struggle for a Movie Museum

Posted on September 28, 2021 by lmharnisch

The Motion Picture Museum and Hall of Fame, about 1932. Photo courtesy of Marc Wanamaker, Bison Archives. On September 30, 2021, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures finally opens to the public. Long a dream of many in the Hollywood … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Museums, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on September 27, 2021 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery entry was The Last Letter, Season 5, Episode 7 of Death Valley Days from 1956, with William Pullen, Clint Eastwood, Forrest Stanley, George Pembroke, Russ Todd, John Sargent, Gregg Barton and Robert Sherman. Directed by Stuart E. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1956, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Television | Tagged , , , | 32 Comments

Found on EBay: A. Victor Segno, L.A.’s Greatest Charlatan

Posted on September 27, 2021 by lmharnisch

A. Victor Segno is my favorite Los Angeles charlatan and I’ve written about him several times. His scam was to have people send money to him at his HQ in Echo Park and in return he would send out a … Continue reading →

Posted in Found on EBay | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on September 20, 2021 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1957 RKO film The Girl Most Likely, with Jane Powell, Cliff Robertson, Keith Andes, Kaye Ballard, Tommy Noonan, Una Merkel, Kelly Brown, Judy Nugent and Frank Cady. Screenplay by Devery Freeman.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , | 62 Comments