Category Archives: Photography

Daily Mirror Readers — ‘The Brain Trust’

Posted on April 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo courtesy of Howard Decker Most Daily Mirror readers know him as Fibber. His real name is Howard Decker, and here’s a picture of him covering the Spade Cooley trial. He’s the fellow in the background on the right. Howard … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1961, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Photography | 3 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on April 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details [Update 3: This is Madeleine Carroll and her husband Philip/Phillip Astley in a photo published Nov. 7, 1936]. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 53 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on April 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update two: This is Mabel Todd (sometimes spelled Mable in The Times).] [Update: Please congratulate Dewey Webb, Mike Hawks, David Thompson and Eve Golden for identifying our mystery gal! NOTE: If … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 19 Comments

Daily Mirror Readers — The ‘Brain Trust’

Posted on April 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photos         The back of yesterday’s photo. Notice that there’s no publication date. Very annoying!   Here’s why I call the Daily Mirror’s readers “the brain trust.” You may recall … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 2 Comments

Spade Cooley: ‘I’m not sure, but I think Ella Mae is dead’

Posted on April 5, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   Oct. 15, 1949: Spade Cooley and his daughter Melody pose for a publicity photo aboard his yacht.     April 5, 1961: In a switch from its usual policy of keeping … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1961, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Music, Photography | 4 Comments

Kennedy Mystery Photo

Posted on March 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador, June 5, 1968, photo courtesy of Howard Decker Robert F. Kennedy in an undated photo by Paul Jacobs L.A. Observed recently posted a photo – from Chip Jacobs’ blog — of Robert F. Kennedy … Continue reading →

Posted in 1968, Mystery Photo, Photography, Politics, RFK | 4 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on March 28, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update: Yes, this is Portland Hoffa, the wife of radio comedian Fred Allen. I discovered Allen’s radio shows after his death in 1956 and always wondered about the women named Portland … Continue reading →

Posted in broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography, Stage | 32 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on March 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   Here’s this week’s mystery lady! Nobody identified our weekend mystery guest so I’m going to have to figure out how to proceed. Maybe I can find some more photos of her … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 36 Comments

Elizabeth Taylor’s Obituary — Outtakes From a Work in Progress

Posted on March 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

         Photograph by George R. Fry Jr./Los Angeles Times   Nov. 27, 1957: Michael Todd and Elizabeth Taylor. Elaine Woo has a nice post about writing the obituary on Elizabeth Taylor, including some items cut from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Photography | 1 Comment

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 22, 1941

Posted on March 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

              Los Angeles Times file photo   March 22, 1941: Lee Shippey writes about photographer Charles Chester “C.C.” Pierce (d. 1946), who has spent 55 years documenting Los Angeles. As Shippey notes, many of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Obituaries, Photography, Tom Treanor | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on March 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   Dec. 12, 1941: Crowds in Pershing Square joined in singing "America" and other patriotic songs during the entire period of the blackout last night. The sirens sounded for the lights out … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 43 Comments

Chicken Boy

Posted on March 15, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Bruce Cox/Los Angeles Times Feb. 5, 1970: Behold the wonder of Chicken Boy on the roof of a restaurant on Broadway near 5th Street in downtown Los Angeles. In 1977, Art Seidenbaum looked at oversized signs as part … Continue reading →

Posted in 1970, 1977, Architecture, art and artists, Art Seidenbaum, Downtown, Food and Drink, Photography | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo Fan — Eve Golden

Posted on March 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

  Eve Golden, a regular Daily Mirror reader and Mystery Photo fan, is a photo archivist in New York and has written several show business biographies, including “Vamp: The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara” and “Platinum Girl: The Life … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Mystery Photo, Photography | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on March 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo   [Update: This is Sally Marr, Lenny Bruce's mother. She is conferring with Frankie Ray ("Dracula's Dog") Perelli on the set of the film "Cinderella." Please congratulate RJ, Dewey Webb and Mary … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 5 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 7

Posted on March 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

        These days, many of The Times photos and negatives are held at UCLA. Here’s one of two negatives that Scott Harrison of our photo department got from the archives. As I said at the beginning, the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, Photography, UFOs | 4 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 6

Posted on March 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

        July 8, 1947: The first links between the searchlight photo, the Battle of Los Angeles and flying saucers seem to have emerged in the late 1940s.  A Times editorial dismissing UFOs compared them to the mystery … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, Photography, UFOs | Comments Off on Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 6

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated]

Posted on March 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

      Los Angeles Times file photo           [Update 2: Here’s our mystery stalker!] [Update: This is Francis X. Bushman Jr. and Alma Rayford in “Away in the Lead.” Evidently this is a lost film … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography | 27 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 5 [Updated]

Posted on March 11, 2011 by lmharnisch

    [Update: The Times published this photo with a story about the Battle of Los Angeles, but the photo was actually taken another time and used in error, according to Scott Harrison, who researched it for The Times'  Framework … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, Photography, UFOs | 1 Comment

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 3

Posted on March 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

        Photographs by Larry Harnisch/Los Angeles Times   The original 1942 print of searchlights over Los Angeles.     The back of the print, showing editors’ notations and the publication date Feb. 26, 1942.     Feb. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, Film, Hollywood, Photography, UFOs | 2 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined: Saucers Over L.A.! — Part 2

Posted on March 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

           Feb. 24-25, 1942: Two days before the so-called Battle of Los Angeles, a Japanese submarine shelled the Elwood oil fields,  12 miles north of Santa Barbara, according to The Times, which added that the attack … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Another Good Story Ruined, Film, Hollywood, Photography, UFOs | 4 Comments