Category Archives: Books and Authors

Dec, 7, 2006: Note to "Dahlia Avenger" Fans

Posted on December 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Here’s a publicity still of “Maddy” Comfort from “Kiss Me Deadly” for sale on EBay. Her name is also spelled “Mattie” and “Mady.” Comfort is referred to in the Los Angeles County … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2013. Glen Creason’s book on maps of Los Angeles shows the many ways people have viewed the city over the years. I interviewed him for The Times in 2012 and fortunately for all concerned, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2010, Books and Authors, Libraries | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2017. Mary Mallory’s posts are one of the L.A. Daily Mirror’s most popular features, so we are happy to recommend “Hollywoodland”; “Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays,” written with Karie Bible; “Hollywood at Play,” written … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a repost from 2013. Whenever I’m asked about my favorite books on Los Angeles, my first recommendation is “Nuestro Pueblo,” a selection of features by Times artist Charles Owens and writer Joseph Seewerker that appeared in The … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 3, 2018 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 True style never goes out of date, after all.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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December 1, 1907: L.A. Author Writes of Life in the Hollow Earth (No Sign of Lizard People)

Posted on December 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. December 1, 1907 Los Angeles The Times runs a small blurb on writer Willis George Emerson, noting that the National Magazine has begun serializing a new story, “The Smoky God.” The Times … Continue reading →

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Nov. 21, 1947: Judge Tells Joel Thorne to Quit ‘Fooling Around’ With Racecars, Nightclubs

Posted on November 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Joel Thorne apparently ignored the warning and on Oct. 17, 1955, the millionaire playboy race-car driver plunged his Beachcraft Bonanza into an apartment building at 11948 … Continue reading →

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1423 S. Van Ness

Posted on November 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

As promised, here are views of the home of Mrs. E.N. Eskey, featured in The Times in 1907. Note the damaged chimney, presumably the victim of seismic Darwinism. And as a bonus, here’s the home of Igor Stravinsky, which I … Continue reading →

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Nov. 15, 1907: Charles Mulford Robinson Drafts a Los Angeles of the Future

Posted on November 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Nov. 15, 1907 Los Angeles Architect Charles Mulford Robinson has drafted a proposal for downtown Los Angeles that is stunning in its ambition. One portion calls for broad boulevard leading from a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Books and Authors, City Hall, Downtown, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Nov. 15, 1907: Charles Mulford Robinson Drafts a Los Angeles of the Future

Another Good Story Ruined: Karina Longworth’s ‘Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes’s Hollywood’

Posted on November 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Here’s a “fun” challenge. How many mistakes can you spot on the first page of “Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes’s Hollywood?”   A friend who has written many distinguished books on Hollywood emailed me over the weekend … Continue reading →

Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Nov. 9, 1907: ‘We Are Revolutionists!’ Supporters Call for Release of Ricardo Flores Magon

Posted on November 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Nov. 9, 1907 Los Angeles Local sympathizers, anarchists and socialists are organizing a mass meeting to protest the imprisonment of Ricardo Flores Magon, Librado Rivera, Antonio Villareal and L. Gutierrez De Lara, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: 1949 Letter Proves Nothing About Dr. George Hodel

Posted on November 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Sorry, no. If you are familiar with Steve Hodel’s elevator pitch (“retired LAPD homicide cop discovers evil genius dad was maniacal serial killer”) you can skip all of this in the South Pasadenan. It’s more of the same old exaggerated … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

On the Comics Page

Posted on October 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Oct. 27, 1907 Los Angeles Along with “Little Nemo,” “Buster Brown” was a popular feature of the Sunday comics. Like other cartoons of the era, such as “The Katzenjammer Kids” and “Foxy … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Books and Authors, Comics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

October 20, 1907: Winsor McCay, ‘Little Nemo’ and The Imp

Posted on October 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. October 20, 1907 Los Angeles Winsor McCay and his cartoons never completely go out of fashion and are periodically rediscovered—as in the current Taschen anthology. He was a fabulous artist and his … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Books and Authors, Comics | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: Sydney Morning Herald Discovers New Elmore Leonard Novel: ‘Get Dahlia’ (Oops)

Posted on October 19, 2018 by lmharnisch

Who needs editors? Certainly not the Sydney Morning Herald and Scott Ellis. ps. This is “sponsored content for Stan,” an Australian streaming video service. Mistakes like this make Mr. Laurel, who will always be the real Stan to us, very … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Oct. 18, 1907: Newspaper Cartoonist Ted Gale Makes His Point

Posted on October 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Oct. 18, 1907 Los Angeles For the last month, the pages of The Times have been peppered with pen-and-ink cartoons signed Gale—in fact some of them have already appeared in the blog, … Continue reading →

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To George Hodel From Man Ray, 1949: Yours for Only $9,775

Posted on October 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. The Detroit News has published an article (Note: The link is broken) on book dealer John K. King, who is offering “Man Ray: Photographs 1920-1934 Paris” inscribed by Man Ray to Dr. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, 2006, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — A. L. “Whitey” Schafer Simplifies Portraits

Posted on October 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

“Thou Shalt Not,” “Whitey” Schafer’s most famous image. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. In the very early days of the motion picture industry, stills photographers meant nothing to the moving picture companies. They asked their feature cameramen … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Oct. 13, 1907: 2 Die in Tong War

Posted on October 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Oct. 13, 1907 Los Angeles Gunmen imported from out of town by the Hop Sing Tong entered the tailor shop of Lem Sing at 806 Juan St. in Chinatown and under the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Education, Food and Drink, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off on Oct. 13, 1907: 2 Die in Tong War

L.A. Noir: Will Someone Please Get the New York Times a Map of Los Angeles?

Posted on October 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

The New York Times has published a “guide” to “Where Noir Lives in the City of Angels.” With text by Gal Beckerman. And take a good look at the graphic by Ross MacDonald (no, not that Ross MacDonald; he’s dead). … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, New York | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment