Category Archives: Books and Authors

Coming Attractions: Denise Hamilton

Posted on March 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

Author and former Times reporter Denise Hamilton will be speaking about her book “The Last Embrace,” on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Hollywood Heritage Museum, 2100 N. Highland Ave. Hamilton will also talk about Los Angeles’ influence on her … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Coming Attractions, Hollywood | Tagged books, Denise Hamilton, hollywood, Noir | Comments Off

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Douglas Fairbanks, Author

Posted on February 18, 2013 by lmharnisch

Douglas Fairbanks: “Teaching his dog to smile.” Douglas Fairbanks exploded onto the filmmaking scene in 1915 after a successful career on Broadway as a dashing leading man. His jaunty joie de vivre and flashy acrobatics wowed audiences on stage and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1918, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged books, film, hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, movies | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: Publicity Hounds Wag the Dog Over Purported Death Scene

Posted on February 5, 2013 by lmharnisch

It’s been interesting to watch the news media’s reaction to Buster the cadaver dog’s cavorting at the Sowden House. Most of the coverage is single-source or two-source reporting with no counterbalance. I haven’t seen any reaction from the LAPD or … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, film, George Hodel, hollywood, movies | 17 Comments

‘Gangster Squad’ a Thumbnail Review

Posted on January 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

“Gangster Squad” is bad. It’s very bad. It’s even very, very bad. I laughed several times in fact, despite my best efforts not to. I’ll write more later but here’s a start: I should say something about a spoiler alert … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged film, Gangster Squad, hollywood, lapd, Mickey Cohen, movies | 6 Comments

Los Angeles Editor Was Ahead of His Time

Posted on January 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

My latest column is about Paul Bryan Gray and his new book “A Clamor for Equality,” the biography of Francisco P. Ramirez, the youthful editor of El Clamor Público, the first entirely Spanish-language newspaper published in Los Angeles. The entire … Continue reading →

Posted in 1855, Books and Authors, Downtown, History, Latinos | Tagged #DTLA, 213, Books and Authors, Latinos, Newspapers | 1 Comment

Coming Attractions: January – February 2013

Posted on January 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

The March 1936 issue of Black Mask magazine includes Raymond Chandler’s “The Man Who Liked Dogs.” Jan. 19: “The Tall T,” part of the Autry museum’s What Is a Western? film series. $11/$7/$5 1:30 p.m. Jan. 23: The Simple Art … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Coming Attractions, Film, Libraries, Stage | Comments Off

Eve Golden / Queen of the Dead: Mae Murray

Posted on January 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

I hope you don’t mind if I use my column to plug a friend’s book, Michael Ankerich’s new Mae Murray biography, The Girl With the Bee Stung Lips (OK, so he did dedicate it to me. But you needn’t dedicate … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead | Tagged Eve Golden, film, hollywood, movies, obituaries, Queen of the Dead | 8 Comments

Union Forces Massacred at Fredericksburg, December 1862

Posted on December 27, 2012 by lmharnisch

I recently had lunch with Paul Bryan Gray, the author of a terrific new book “A Clamor for Equality,” a biography of Francisco P. Ramirez, who edited the Los Angeles Spanish-language weekly El Clamor Publico (1855-1859). Gray is the subject … Continue reading →

Posted in 1862, Books and Authors, Civil War | Tagged #Civil War, 1862, Fredericksburg, Los Angeles | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – The Cahuenga Building

Posted on November 12, 2012 by lmharnisch

From its days as an elegant bank building to its abandoned and forgotten existence in the 1980s and 1990s, the former Security Trust and Savings Bank at Hollywood Boulevard and Cahuenga Boulevard has served as both a local institution and … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged film, High Window, hollywood, Mary Mallory, movies, Philip Marlow, Raymond Chandler | 8 Comments

Lon Chaney’s Ghost Haunts Hollywood and Vine!

Posted on October 26, 2012 by lmharnisch

Oct. 26, 1942: Rosetta (D. 1958) and Vivian (D. 1986) Duncan appear in “Topsy and Eva,” a musical version of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” a musical comedy in which they first appeared in San Francisco in the 1920s. The Duncan sisters … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, African Americans, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged film, Gangs, ghosts, haunting, hollywood, lapd, Lon Chaney, Riot | 1 Comment

Found on EBay – 1880 History of Los Angeles County

Posted on October 14, 2012 by lmharnisch

A copy of the 1959 reprint of the 1880 “History of Los Angeles County” has been listed on EBay. The book was compiled over five months from newspapers, books, magazines public records and interviews, producing “three large grain sacks” filled … Continue reading →

Posted in 1880, Books and Authors, Found on EBay, History | Tagged #EBay, books, L.A. History, W.W. Robinson | Comments Off

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Erich von Stroheim’s ‘Paprika’

Posted on October 8, 2012 by lmharnisch

A copy of Erich von Stroheim’s “Paprika” inscribed to Hugo Ballin has been listed on EBay as Buy It Now for $1,250. Famed director/actor Erich von Stroheim faced financial disaster in the mid-1930s. After directing such visual powerhouses as “Foolish … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged #EBay, Erich von Stroheim, films, hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, movies | 2 Comments

Victor Segno: Success Wave!

Posted on October 2, 2012 by lmharnisch

Prof. A. Victor Segno and a success wave (artist’s concept). My latest column for The Times deals with my favorite L.A. con man, Prof. A Victor Segno.

Posted in Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, History | Tagged #Victor Segno, Mentalism, Success | 5 Comments

Reading Los Angeles: Glen Creason

Posted on September 26, 2012 by lmharnisch

Photo: “Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon” by Eduardo Obregón Pagán. In interviewing Los Angeles Public Library map librarian Glen Creason, I asked about his favorite books on Los Angeles. There wasn’t space to include the list with the story, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, History, Libraries, Zoot Suit | Tagged #history, #reading, books, Libraries, Los Angeles | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Gypsy Rose Lee and ‘The G-String Murders’

Posted on September 24, 2012 by lmharnisch

Photo: Barbara Stanwyck in “Lady of Burlesque.” This post has been corrected. See note below for details. While being tops in your field can be exciting, an ambitious or intellectually curious person always looks for new ways to grow. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged #striptease, Barbara Stanwyck, burlesque, film, G-String Murders, Gypsy Rose Lee, hollywood, Lady of Burlesque, Mary Mallory, movies | 6 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Bert Longworth and ‘Hold Still, Hollywood’

Posted on September 17, 2012 by lmharnisch

In the last forty years, movie collectors and photography connoisseurs have recognized the art and value of Hollywood still photography, most particularly in the gloriously lit and composed portraits of glamorous stars. For decades, however, many people, including industryites, failed … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography | 8 Comments

Playwright Clifford Odets Held for DUI

Posted on September 8, 2012 by lmharnisch

Sept. 8, 1942:Playwright Clifford Odets of 8729 Lookout Mountain Ave. is arrested on charges of drunk driving and speeding on Roosevelt Highway (Pacific Coast Highway) at Topanga Canyon. CHP officers say Odets refused to stop until they forced him off … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Stage, World War II | Tagged comics, dui, film, hollywood, movies | 1 Comment

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on August 20, 2012 by lmharnisch

This horse-drawn hearse has been listed on EBay at Buy It Now for $2,500 . Queen of the Dead – dateline August 20, 2012 • Cosmo Girl Helen Gurley Brown—who died at 90 on August 13—was not a heroine of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Eve Golden, Film, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead | Tagged Helen Gurley Brown, Joan Roberts, Phyllis Thaxter, Ron "Arnold Horshack" Pallilo" | 3 Comments

Talking About the Onion Field

Posted on August 15, 2012 by lmharnisch

I was in a video chat yesterday with Joseph Wambaugh and Times City Editor Shelby Grad to talk about the the Onion Field case and the recent death of Gregory Powell.

Posted in 1963, Books and Authors, LAPD | 2 Comments

Mary Holland Kinkaid – Early Newspaperwoman

Posted on August 14, 2012 by lmharnisch

“The Man of Yesterday” by Mary Holland Kinkaid, has been listed on EBay. Kinkaid, who died in 1948, is forgotten today, but was city editor of the Herald and is probably the first woman city editor of a Los Angeles … Continue reading →

Posted in 1948, Books and Authors, Found on EBay | Tagged #women's history, Aggie Underwood, authors, books | 2 Comments