Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Clarence Brown Provides Quick Shave to King Gillette Ranch

Posted on March 11, 2019 by lmharnisch

King Camp Gillette dies at the age of 77 in 1932. He gave architect Wallace Neff free rein to built an expansive ranch in Calabasas, but only lived there for a few years before his death. Tennessean Clarence Brown reigned … Continue reading →

Posted in 1928, 1932, Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on March 11, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1951 Ealing Studios film “The Man in the White Suit,” with Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Michael Gough, Ernest Thesiger, Vida Hope, Howard Marion Crawford, Miles Malleson, Henry Mollison, Patric Doonan and Duncan … Continue reading →

Posted in 1951, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , | 34 Comments

Gentlemen, Your Wedding Photos Are Ready After 62 Years

Posted on March 11, 2019 by lmharnisch

Can you identify any of these men? In 1957, film with these images was left to be developed at a photo shop at Broad Street and Allegheny Avenue in North Philadelphia. According to Philadelphia Gay News, the shop manager had … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Philadelphia, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on March 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1916 New York Motion Picture Co./Triangle Film Corp. production “Hell’s Hinges,” with W.S. Hart, Clara Williams, Jack Standing, Alfred Hollingsworth, Robert McKim, J. Frank Burke and Louise Glaum. It can be streamed for free … Continue reading →

Posted in 1916, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Mary Pickford Day

Posted on March 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Los Angeles in 1923 was a bustling, growing, optimistic place.  The town recognized all sorts of interesting people and topics, saluting them with their own days.  There were Raisin Day, Prune Day, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1923, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Mary Pickford Day

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Noble Johnson Emancipates African Americans With Lincoln Film Co.

Posted on February 25, 2019 by lmharnisch

Recognized for playing Native Americans, Pacific Islanders and Latinos in “King Kong,” “The Mummy,” “The Ten Commandments” and many others throughout his long film career, African American Noble Johnson achieved greater renown for establishing Lincoln Motion Picture Company in 1916, … Continue reading →

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

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on February 24, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1932 Warner Bros. film “Lawyer Man” with William Powell, Joan Blondell, David Landau, Helen Vinson, Claire Dodd, Alan Dinehart and Allen Jenkins. Screenplay by Rian James and James Seymour, based on the novel “Lawyer … Continue reading →

Posted in 1932, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: UCLA Festival of Preservation Features Newly Restored Films

Posted on February 19, 2019 by lmharnisch

Continuing its long tradition, UCLA presented its popular Festival of Preservation condensed into a mini film festival over one weekend, unlike those in the past spread out over a month. The selection covered the gamut of entertainment, from film noir … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Preservation, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: UCLA Festival of Preservation Features Newly Restored Films

Black Dahlia: Caught in the Act – Steve Hodel Adds Lies to George Hodel’s Wikipedia Page

Posted on February 18, 2019 by lmharnisch

So I just caught Steve Hodel inserting a nice, fat lie in his dad’s Wikipedia page. Oh this is so much fun!

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Television, Wikipedia | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on February 18, 2019 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1940 20th Century-Fox film “Night Train to Munich,” with Margaret Lockwood, Rex Harrison, Paul von Henried (Henreid), Basil Radford, Maunton Wayne, James Harcourt, Felix Aylmer, Wyndham Goldie, Roland Culver, Eliot Makeham, Raymond Huntley, Austen … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , | 37 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — AMPAS Awards Stills Photographers

Posted on February 18, 2019 by lmharnisch

“A close second as the Best Production Still Out-of-Doors, is this beautifully composed and lighted scene from “Song of Bernadette,” 20th-Century-Fox production, by Stax Graves,” Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore of a post from 2014. Over … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Jan. 5, 1959: LAPD Suspends Officer for – Uh-Oh

Posted on February 16, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 5, 1959: Chief William Parker suspends Officer Charles Wolf serial No. 4115 for 15 days for … oh dear. Banging “a known prostitute and dissolute person” and letting her get possession of his firearm. This material is from the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, City Hall, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Libraries | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Feb. 14, 1959: Matt Weinstock (Almost) All Bets Are Off at Raided Bookie Joint

Posted on February 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 14, 1959: Matt Weinstock ends his week with an assortment of amusing stories, a poem and a bit of literature. Weinstock had an impressive number and variety of people feeding items to him. He made it look easy. Weinstock’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Books and Authors, Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Feb. 14, 1959: Paul Coates Gets Some Reader Feedback

Posted on February 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 14, 1959: It’s Saturday in 1959, and Paul Coates ends the week with some letters, a typical ploy in the days when columnists published six times a week, a punishing schedule. And there is a Parkey Sharkey alert! Also … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Mickey Cohen, Paul Coates, Television | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Feb. 14, 1882: Valentine’s Day Love and Jokes

Posted on February 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 14, 1882: Love and practical jokes flourish by the wagon load in Los Angeles. “More hearts are made sad by the villainous characters and miserable doggerel sent out broadcast, than can be cured before the next valentine day comes … Continue reading →

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Feb. 13, 1959: Matt Weinstock and Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 13, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 13, 1959: Matt Weinstock ends the day with a few thoughts about Valentine’s Day. Plus the usual assortment of short poems and amusing stories. The Mirror’s copy desk must have had some wags. I was about to say that … Continue reading →

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Feb. 13, 1959: Paul Coates — Behind Bars in a Mexican Jail

Posted on February 13, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 13, 1959: Paul Coates takes another look at Americans held in jail in Tijuana. Those who were arrested in a raid on a Rosarito Beach casino were the elite. A man who was being held for running a red … Continue reading →

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Feb. 12, 1959: Matt Weinstock and ‘The Last Days of Lincoln’

Posted on February 12, 2019 by lmharnisch

It’s a worthwhile experience to put down whatever you’re doing for half an hour today and read something about one of the world’s great men. It doesn’t matter which of the books about him you read. His wisdom and humor … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Cold Cases, History, Matt Weinstock | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Feb. 12, 1959: Matt Weinstock and ‘The Last Days of Lincoln’

Feb. 12, 1959: Paul Coates – When VD Was ‘Cured’

Posted on February 12, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 12, 1959: After World War II, many Americans assumed that penicillin had eliminated venereal disease (STDs to you youngsters). And, no, it was still around. This column originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and was republished on … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Medicine, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Feb. 12, 1959: Paul Coates – When VD Was ‘Cured’

‘Dear Los Angeles’: 1,000 Quotes in Search of a Book

Posted on February 11, 2019 by lmharnisch

We have Edwin Mims, long-forgotten teacher, author and head of the English Department at Vanderbilt University, to thank for what may be the most famous quip about Los Angeles. Mims, who died in 1959 at the age of 87, was … Continue reading →

Posted in 2018, Books and Authors, History | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments