I picked up the 1961 edition of “Just One More!” by the Los Angeles Press Photographers Assn. and I’ve been enjoying it more than I expected. It’s a time capsule of press photography as it was 50 years ago, so there are the posed shots, humorous animal pictures and gory traffic wrecks, all examples of things that we don’t see in newspapers anymore. Some of it is kitsch, but there are powerful images as well. These photogs did great work.
Best of all, there are photos of some of the lensmen (and they were all men) who earned their living capturing Los Angeles with flashbulbs and film. Here they are:
Loran Smith of the Mirror; Wayne Kelly of The Times; Jack Leppert, an independent newsreel photographer; Nelson Tiffany of the Mirror; Bud Gray of the Examiner; Harold “Hal” Filan of the Associated Press; Ray Graham of The Times; Russ Lapp of the Examiner; Ferdie Olmo of the Examiner; George O’Day of the Herald-Express; Lee Weber, a freelancer; and Bill Harvey from Rothschild News Photos.
“Carriage Trade,” by Ferdie Olmo
“Ferdie Olmo’s “Carriage Trade” is the kind of picture that used to appear regularly in Life magazine and some newspapers. The late Delmar Watson was another photographer who excelled in this kind of picture.
Untitled, by William Harvey
William Harvey’s untitled photos of a model (at least half of one) in fishnet stockings is another curio. I’m not sure whether this series was for pinup art or some sort of catalogue. But I find the concept a bit strange.
“Zealous Ump,” by Art Rogers
Of course, the real bread and butter work for photogs was – and is – sports. Here’s a shot by The Times’ Art Rogers of an unidentified umpire making a call in what appears to be Orlando Cepeda (No. 30) of the Giants taking a throw at first base.
“Bobo Olson – Sugar Ray,” by Carlos Schiebeck
An unidentified referee gives the count to Carl “Bobo” Olson (notice the “Mother” tattoo) in this undated photo by Carlos Schiebeck of United Press International. Olson and Sugar Ray Robinson fought several times, but I can’t locate anything around 1960. You can almost hear the ref counting over Olson, who has crumpled to the canvas.
“Wife Killer,” by Maurice Mitchell
“Wife Killer,” by Maurice Mitchell of the Examiner is the kind of photo newspapers rarely get anymore. Photographers and the police had a much closer relationship before the Watts Riots, which made some for some powerful images, especially when there was less competition from TV news.
“Coffeehouse Homicide,” by Robert O. Ritchie
“Coffeehouse Homicide” by The Times’ Robert O. Ritchie is another example of the crime photo that newspapers rarely get anymore. The handcuffed suspect looks at the camera while a police technician photographs the crime scene and a police officer watches, resting his foot on a chair.
“Broken Leg,” by Larry Miller
“Broken Leg” by Larry Miller of the Examiner won a prize from the Los Angeles Press Club and it’s a terrific spot news photo. The injured firefighter isn’t identified, but barely visible in the upper right corner is the name Mazzari written on the brim of a firefighter’s helmet. A Times story from 1969 shows there was a firefighter named Earl Mazzari. Maybe someone will recognize these men.
“JFK” by Leigh Wiener
“JFK” by Leigh Wiener (d. 1993), who operated his own studio, won an award from the Art Directors of Los Angeles. Most photos of John F. Kennedy show the exuberant crowds from the 1960 presidential campaign. Here’s a quiet, contemplative moment that makes wonderful use of a single light source and lots of black.
“Pan in the Can,” by Jack Wyman
I haven’t a clue what is going on in “Pan in the Can” by Jack Wyman of the Examiner except that this jail inmate was a free spirit. But as before, newspapers don’t get pictures like this anymore. Notice his jail outfit: A work shirt, jeans with no belt and sandals with no socks.
Other volumes in the “Just One More!” series are listed in World Cat.
ladailymirror.com 
Almost the whole Watson family were photographers.
That Wiener photo is gorgeous, I’ve seen some of his work at the library.
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@Mary: Yes, they were quite a dynasty. Delmar’s family still runs a big photo archive in town. There’s at least one book, “Quick Watson,” that’s also great. I think the L.A. papers (or at least The Times) had a rule against employing more than one of them at a time. They were pranksters.
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Howdy Larry,
I don’t know if you’ve heard of the 2010 book, “The Horror! The Horror! The Comic Books The Government Didn’t Want You Read!”, by Jim Trombetta. Well worth taking a look at. It includes a DVD with Paul Coates hosting a 1955 episode of Confidential File exploring the evils of comic books. Or, you see it on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI8IJA8kdkI
Regards,
Rob Barker aka Rotter
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@Rob: I bought a VHS cassette of Johnny Carson poking fun at Coates (very early in Carson’s career). Obviously E.C. warped all of us baby boomers!
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Where did you find that gem, Larry?
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@Barbara: EBay!
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Larry, correct me if I’m wrong but the cover of this annual appears to have been drawn by the late, great Karl Hubenthal! I’d recognize that style anywhere!
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@Kevin: Yes the signature got cut off in the scan.
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so exactly who was the “Wife Killer” pictured?
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There’s no further information.
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Great stuff, Larry. One of the thrills I got as a working reporter in L.A. from 1968 into the ’90’s was getting to work alongside some of the great photogs who came up through the dailies. I used to have a collection of the “Just One Mores.” They are true collectors items.
Mike Botula
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Wow and triple wow. I knew 90 percent of these cameramen (and they were mostly men in those days) and worked with quite a few. These were the days when you actually had to know what you were doing to take photos. No auto-everything. With a Speed Graphic you usually had one chance to get the big picture although some of them carried Rolleiflexes. And those cameras were hard to focus with a fast-moving subject, so you had to guess real good or get lucky. Wonderful stuff.
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@Fibber: As I told someone, there was no cracking off a dozen shots with a 35-mm Nikon and motor drive. These guys were good.
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The necessity of “getting the shot” in those halcyon days reminds me of the Marine sniper’s motto, “One Shot, One Kill.” No second place when you’re working that way. Ever see any other pictures of the Iwo Jima flag raising or MacArthur wading ashore in the Philippines? Being new to LA back then, it took me a while to catch on to the still guys skills. A lot of the best TV shooters came from daily papers as well as movie newsreels. Before TV news switched to endless reels of video and bottomless digital drives, there was film. My first editor told me that if I didn’t get the winning interview soundbite in the first 50 feet, everything else was going in the trash. He meant it. I hope Daily Mirror does more on the newspaper photogs.
Mike Botula
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@Mike: I hope to. These fellows are mostly forgotten except by a few of us who keep running into their names on the old prints (my favorite: Phil Bath). In most instances, The Times did not use their names when the photos were published, so the prints (if they exist) and the negs (at UCLA) are one of the few ways to link the photogs to their work. The Times’ Framework blog has much more….
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great candid photos. I have a book of photos of the Watts riots, probably taken by the same gentlemen.
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I know the firemen. I’m married to Earl Mazzari who is 81 years old now. Julian George is the other angel who saved Earl. God bless him he is not with us anymore. he will always be our HERO..
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Thanks for writing!
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Benito, could you give me the title of the Watt Riot book?
I’m a L.A.historian, especially the L.A.P.D.
Thanks!
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