Category Archives: Books and Authors

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — The Three Lives Of Villa Aurora

Posted on July 23, 2024 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Cats have nine lives. People often experience second or third acts in their lives or careers. Some homes have multiple lives as well, like Villa Aurora, which has experienced three diverse lives, … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Douglas Fairbanks, Author

Posted on July 8, 2024 by lmharnisch

Douglas Fairbanks: “Teaching his dog to smile.” Note: This is an encore post from 2013. 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 … Continue reading →

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

Posted on June 10, 2024 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2014. 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 … Continue reading →

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Brian De Palma’s ‘The Black Dahlia’

Posted on September 17, 2023 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.  I’m running it again because I’m seeing a fair number of comments on social media about De Palma’s Black Dahlia being “Well, OK, not *that* bad.” Yes, yes it was *that* bad. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

Posted on June 26, 2023 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2012. 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. … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Patience Abbe

Posted on May 22, 2023 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2012. Patience Abbe and her brothers John and Richard parlayed their adventures globetrotting with their famous photographer father James Abbe and mother Polly, a former Ziegfeld dancer, into three books in the 1930s. … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 5, 2022 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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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: New Books Examine Film Noir, the Mankiewicz Brothers and Women in the Movies

Posted on May 10, 2022 by lmharnisch

Over the last several months, a plethora of film books have been released, examining Golden Age Hollywood up close or at large, offering something for everyone from experienced cinephiles to new film fans. Some come from TCM hosts or others … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: A Brief History of the Tom and Jerry

Posted on December 26, 2021 by lmharnisch

A recipe for the Tom and Jerry from the San Francisco Call, June 30, 1912. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Over on Facebook, Christopher McPherson asked whether the Tom and Jerry was named for the MGM cartoon … Continue reading →

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Dec. 25, 1947: The Times Christmas Poem

Posted on December 25, 2021 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The Times’ front-page Christmas and Easter poems are as forgotten today as their author, James M. Warnack. I’ll leave it to my theological betters to parse … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 22, 2021 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2020. Many years ago, the editor of the Los Angeles Times book review section (yes, the really, really odd one) insisted that publishers send him advance review copies and unbound galleys rather than … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 22, 2021 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. I picked up “The Big Picture,” Melba Levick and Stanley Young’s 1988 book about Los Angeles murals, not realizing what a terribly sad book it would be. As Young notes: “Most artists … Continue reading →

Posted in 1988, Architecture, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Downtown, From the Stacks, Hollywood, Latinos, Photography, Preservation, San Fernando Valley, Sports, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Al Martinez, a Dying Boy and Some Peaches — A (Non) Christmas Story

Posted on December 20, 2021 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2015. Jim Romenesko, for those who aren’t in the news business, runs an essential blog that serves as a clearing house for information, gossip, bad headlines and assorted gaffes. A Jan. 6 post … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 18, 2021 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2018. I only recommend books that I have read, which is why I haven’t listed Susan Orlean’s “The Library Book” or Stephen Gee’s “Los Angeles City Hall: An American Icon.” I look forward … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 16, 2021 by lmharnisch

“Angel’s Flight” by Leo Politi. Note: This is an encore post from 2014. Another of my favorite books about Los Angeles is Leo Politi’s “Bunker Hill Los Angeles: Reminiscences of Bygone Days,” published in 1964. Copies are listed on Bookfinder … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 15, 2021 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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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 14, 2021 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2014. “The Los Angeles Book,” with text by Lee Shippey and photos by Max Yavno is one of my favorite books on Los Angeles – but only for Yavno’s photographs. The text is … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 13, 2021 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2014. In February, I ran a series of posts by James Curtis about producer David Lewis. This isn’t a new book but I found it remarkably insightful. “The Creative Producer” can be found … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 12, 2021 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2017. Paul Bryan Gray was recently mentioned in the Los Angeles Times as the author of “A Clamor for Equality,” the biography of Francisco Ramirez, who published Los Angeles’ first entirely Spanish-language newspaper, … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 11, 2021 by lmharnisch

Gladwin Hill’s “Dancing Bear: An Inside Look at California Politics,” published in 1968, is a new addition to my annual holiday gift suggestions. I’m generally cool toward books on California politics (the result of reading a zillion stories out of … Continue reading →

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