Category Archives: Books and Authors

1944 in Print — Walter Winchell on Broadway, March 11, 1944

Posted on March 11, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 11, 1944 Lint From a Blue Serge Suit Dinah Shore’s headache: Her great arranger has been drafted … Barbara Stanwyck’s next film will be her 50th. Just finished Warners’ “My Reputation.” All those long-distance calls for starlet Gail Russell … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Columnists, Film, History, New York, Nightclubs, Stage | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

‘The Fountainhead’ Comics

Posted on March 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

Here’s a little sample of what I found while going through the Police Commission and Police Department materials from the 1940s at the city archives. Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead”  was serialized and accompanied by these illustrations by Frank Godwin.

Posted in 1949, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

1944 in Print — ‘Amazing Stories,’ March 1944

Posted on March 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 1944: “Amazing Stories,” featuring “It’s a Small World” by Robert Bloch. courtesy of Archive.org.

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

James Curtis: L.A. Voices — David Lewis, Part 3

Posted on February 19, 2014 by lmharnisch

There was one wonderful scene, not in the book, that Casey wrote. It contained scraps of things from the book, but it became one of the finest love scenes l ever saw in any film. It takes place on a … Continue reading →

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James Curtis: L.A. Voices — David Lewis, Part 2

Posted on February 18, 2014 by lmharnisch

When we were ready to start the script, Casey, his wife Audrey, and I went to the Phoenix Biltmore to get away for a few days and start conferences on the script. But we had only been there three or … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, James Curtis, L.A. Voices | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

James Curtis: L.A. Voices — David Lewis, Part 1

Posted on February 17, 2014 by lmharnisch

David Lewis, courtesy of James Curtis. Editor’s note: The Daily Mirror is pleased to present an excerpt from James Curtis’ 1993 book “The Creative Producer,” a fascinating memoir by David Lewis, edited by Curtis.  It seemed timely to run the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, James Curtis | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Black Dahlia Files and Donald Wolfe

Posted on February 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

While we are on the subject of nonsense in the Black Dahlia case, the Sky Valley Chronicle posted a story yesterday based on Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files.” As many of you may know, this book is so … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Donald Wolfe, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: ‘I Killed the Black Dahlia’

Posted on February 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

Just when I thought I had seen every sort of lunacy that’s possible about the Black Dahlia case, I found this in my local paper yesterday. Did someone finally confess to the “grusome” murder? Look! It’s a saga of “explotation!” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

1944 in Print — Walter Winchell on Broadway, March 7, 1944

Posted on February 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 7, 1944 Notes of an Innocent Bystander The Magic Lantern: Danny Kaye, who knocked off B’way in his first start, put Hollywood in his pocket the same way. His starter, “Up in Arms,” makes him a Milquetoast in khaki … Continue reading →

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No Carole Lombard Death Photos Here or Anywhere Else!

Posted on February 3, 2014 by lmharnisch

No Google search drives more traffic to the L.A. Daily Mirror than some permutation of “Carole Lombard Death Scene” or “Carole Lombard’s Head” or “Carole Lombard Decapitated” or “Did They Ever Find Carole Lombard’s Wedding Ring?” And as I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Fact-Checking ‘City of Nets’ — Uh-Oh

Posted on January 16, 2014 by lmharnisch

Back in the 1990s, when I began scrounging and scouring for everything I could find on Los Angeles in the 1940s in my research on the Black Dahlia case, I got a copy of Otto Friedrich’s 1986 book “City of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Books and Authors, Music | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

1944 in Print — Daily Mirror Newsstand, Jan. 15, 1944

Posted on January 15, 2014 by lmharnisch

Top songs on the Hit Parade. No wonder all the radio shows are talking about “Paper Doll” and “Shoo-Shoo, Baby.” Via Billboard. Jan. 15, 1944 It’s Saturday in 1944 and therefore we have a new issue of the Saturday Review … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Music, Radio, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘The Key to Hollywood’ Promotes Tourism

Posted on January 13, 2014 by lmharnisch

Sightseeing has long been the lifeblood of Hollywood and Los Angeles. Long before Gray Line Tours or even any of its poorer knockoffs came along, companies offered sightseeing around these areas, particularly those neighborhoods where movie stars or celebrities were … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

1944 in Print — The Daily Mirror Newsstand, Jan. 8, 1944

Posted on January 8, 2014 by lmharnisch

Jan. 8, 1944: This issue has reviews of Gene Fowler’s biography of John Barrymore, “Good Night Sweet Prince” and James Thurber’s “Men, Women and Dogs.”  Also: Collier’s Weekly, Jan. 8, 1944 Courtesy of Unz.org

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Coming Attractions — Mark A. Vieira on Hollywood Photographer George Hurrell

Posted on January 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

I had the great good fortune of spending several hours Saturday with Mark A. Vieira, a regular commenter on the mystery photos and author of several books, including the current release “George Hurrell’s Hollywood.” I will post more about our … Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — The L.A. Daily Mirror Newsstand, January 1944

Posted on January 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

January 1944 Weird Tales, for sale on EBay at $49.99. I had so much fun adding radio broadcasts for Christmas 1943 that I thought I would add radio shows throughout the year, on the days that they aired in 1944 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Nothing Says ‘I Love You’ Like Hollywood Deaths and Scandals

Posted on December 24, 2013 by lmharnisch

I found this inscription last night at the Last Book Store in a copy of “Hollywood Death and Scandal Sites” by our old nonsense-slinging friend E.J. Fleming of “Wallace Beery beat Ted Healy to death in the parking lot of … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 20, 2013 by lmharnisch

For someone interested in the earlier history of Los Angeles, that is, outside the traditional Raymond Chandler/noir era that draws the most interest, you might consider Paul Bryan Gray’s “A Clamor for Equality,” another example, like Christina Rice’s “Ann Dvorak” … Continue reading →

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Los Angeles Prepares to Celebrate a Wartime Christmas

Posted on December 19, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 19, 1943: Los Angeles prepares to celebrate Christmas with a focus on service members, while U.S. troops fight the Nazis in hand-to-hand combat for the Italian town of San Pietro.  The Times story by James Warnack (d. 1958) begins:  … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 18, 2013 by lmharnisch

Several people have suggested that “Never Built Los Angeles,” which has yet to be added to the Daily Mirror library, would be an excellent holiday gift. The book by Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin with a forward by Thom Mayne … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books and Authors, Futurism | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment