Category Archives: books

Matt Weinstock, July 30, 1959

Posted on July 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

July 30, 1959: Matt Weinstock writes about Lawrence Lipton, the “Boswell of beatniks.” Also Venice declares war on beatniks! Continue reading →

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Ron Chernow’s ‘Mark Twain’: Brushstrokes Instead of a Portrait of America’s Favorite Humorist

Posted on March 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

Ron Chernow’s forthcoming biography of American humorist Mark Twain: Brushstrokes Instead of a Grand Portrait Continue reading →

Posted in books, Books and Authors | Tagged , | 1 Comment

End of Watch: Joseph Wambaugh, 1937-2025

Posted on February 28, 2025 by lmharnisch

Remembering author Joseph Wambaugh (1937-2025) with a 2013 video interview for the L.A. Times and articles about the Onion Field, the 1963 kidnapping of two LAPD officers in which one was killed and the other survived. Continue reading →

Posted in books, Books and Authors, Film, LAPD, Obituaries | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 4, 2024 by lmharnisch

Photo by John Engstead / Courtesy of Doyle Auctions. Speaking of Raymond Chandler, Doyle Auctions is offering material from the the Jean Vounder-Davis Collection of Raymond Chandler to be sold Friday (Dec. 6).

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Black Dahlia: Michael Connelly and ‘The Waiting’ (Spoiler Alert)

Posted on October 15, 2024 by lmharnisch

Executive summary: Michael Connelly’s latest novel, The Waiting, uses the Black Dahlia case as a device in his secondary plot involving Maddie Bosch. The treatment in the novel perpetuates mistakes and contributes to the folklore about the case, doubly unfortunate … Continue reading →

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Found on EBay: ‘What Actors Eat (When They Eat!)’

Posted on December 30, 2021 by lmharnisch

A copy of What Actors Eat (When They Eat!), a collection of celebrities’ recipes by Kenneth Harlan and Rex Lease, has been listed on EBay for $14.99. Copies are fairly rare an in good condition can sell for hundreds of … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Food and Drink, Found on EBay, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: Steve Hodel’s Many Lies About His Father, Dr. George Hodel

Posted on December 24, 2021 by lmharnisch

Someone asked me to write a one-paragraph rebuttal to Steve Hodel’s claims about his father, Dr. George Hodel. My reply: Steve Hodel has been lying about his father and the Black Dahlia for nearly 20 years, so it’s impossible to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, books, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Coming Events: Hollywood Heritage Afternoon With the Authors

Posted on December 1, 2021 by lmharnisch

On Saturday (Dec. 4), from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Hollywood Heritage will host its annual Afternoon With the Authors. Writers scheduled to attend include Leonard Maltin, James Curtis, Allen Ellenberger, Cari Beauchamp, Marc Wanamaker and Mary Mallory. Hollywood Heritage … Continue reading →

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George Hodel: ‘Wings of Evil’

Posted on November 4, 2021 by lmharnisch

I’m told that Steve Hodel has published the last two volumes in his life’s work of accusing his father, George Hodel, of every unsolved killing between 1907 and 1999. The Black Dahlia Avenger has gone through countless revisions and updates … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Dahlia, books | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Found on EBay: ‘What Actors Eat (When They Eat!)’

Posted on September 10, 2021 by lmharnisch

A copy of the Lymanhouse cookbook “What Actors Eat (When They Eat!)” by Kenneth Harlan and Rex Lease has been listed on EBay as Buy It Now for $79.88. This book, by the L.A.-based publishing house, features recipes by movie … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Books and Authors, Food and Drink, Found on EBay, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Coming Attractions: Nathan Marsak Discusses Bunker Hill With Mary Mallory and Brian Judd

Posted on November 9, 2020 by lmharnisch

My old Crime Buddy Nathan Marsak has written a book on Bunker Hill in his informed yet freewheeling style and will be appearing Wednesday at 7 p.m. PST in a virtual event hosted by Hollywood Heritage in its “Evening @ … Continue reading →

Posted in 2020, books, Coming Attractions, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo (Updated + + + +)

Posted on August 31, 2020 by lmharnisch

This week’s mystery movie was the 1953 Twentieth Century-Fox film “Treasure of the Golden Condor,” with Cornel Wilde, Constance Smith, Finlay Currie, Walter Hampden, Anne Bancroft, George Macready, Fay Wray, Leo G. Carroll and Konstantin Shayne. Screenplay by Delmer Daves … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, books, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

Book Review: ‘Cary Grant – A Brilliant Disguise’

Posted on July 8, 2020 by lmharnisch

Executive summary: “Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise,” the latest in Scott Eyman’s long series of Class-A Hollywood biographies, opens strong with the last day of the acclaimed actor’s life and quickly declines to a tedious slog in a book more … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Black Dahlia: Fox News Unearths Leslie Dillon Fiasco in the Black Dahlia Case

Posted on December 20, 2019 by lmharnisch

And Fox News gets it wrong on the Black Dahlia case in this story by Stephanie Nolasco. Let’s go over this once more. The so-called Gangster Squad conducted a rogue, off-the-books and unsanctioned investigation of the Black Dahlia case that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, books, Cold Cases, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Coming Attractions – ‘Hollywoodland’

Posted on June 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory, a key member of the Daily Mirror’s “brain trust,”  will be signing copies of her new book “Hollywoodland” from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, at Chevalier’s Books, 126 N. Larchmont Blvd. More information is … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Coming Attractions, Film, Hollywood, Real Estate | 3 Comments

From the Stacks – ‘In the Wrong Rain’ (1959)

Posted on June 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

Hope died in the opening lines of “In the Wrong Rain,” and optimism succumbed a few pages later. Duty ground stubbornly ahead for a chapter or two before collapsing as well. Curiosity thumbed randomly through the book and then tossed … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, books, Columnists, From the Stacks | 1 Comment

Times Woman of the Year – Anais Nin

Posted on June 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

          I stumbled across this article while searching for something else (research is like that) and was stunned. When I started at The Times in the late 1980s, the Women of the Year Awards were viewed … Continue reading →

Posted in 1976, books | Comments Off on Times Woman of the Year – Anais Nin

From the Stacks – ‘Facts You Should Know About California’

Posted on June 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

    Since March, when I examined Louis Adamic’s “The Truth About Los Angeles,” I have been hunting the other pamphlets he wrote for E. Haldeman-Julius. A box of a dozen musty tracts arrived Friday, courtesy of EBay, and I … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1927, 1928, books, Crime and Courts, From the Stacks, Hollywood, Zombie Reading List | 3 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 27, 1941

Posted on May 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

             LONDON, May 27 (Tuesday.) (AP) — British warships apparently were engaged in a mighty duel with a German battle squadron, including the 35,000-ton Bismarck, in the North Atlantic early today after a British naval … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, books, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 27, 1941

From the Stacks: ‘Bookmen and Their Brothels’

Posted on May 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

  “Bookmen and Their Brothels: Recollections of Los Angeles in the 1930s” by Ward Ritchie recently showed up on EBay for too much money, so I borrowed a copy through interlibrary loan and spent a happy hour or so reading … Continue reading →

Posted in 1970, art and artists, books, From the Stacks, Pages of History, Zombie Reading List | 2 Comments