Category Archives: Columnists

Jan. 19, 1959: Matt Weinstock and Practical Jokes in Beverly Hills

Posted on January 19, 2019 by

Jan. 19, 1959: Practical jokes in mid-century America. Matt Weinstock has the details.. The column originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and was republished in 2009 on latimes.com. It is available via Archive.org.

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Jan. 19, 1959: Paul Coates Talks to ‘The Head of the Hair Dept.’ at Max Factor

Posted on January 19, 2019 by

Jan. 19, 1959: After Paul Coates column about the man who stole toupees – a new meaning for “hair loss,” he received a call from “the head of the hair department at Max Factor.” (Really).. The column originally in the … Continue reading →

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January 1959: Butch Harris’ Fight to Join the Cub Scouts

Posted on January 19, 2019 by

Ten years ago, when we were doing the Daily Mirror blog at latimes.com, several of us wondered what became of Butch Harris and his attempt to join the Cub Scouts. Fortunately, the L.A. Sentinel is online and we have an … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, African Americans, Columnists, Education, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dec. 10, 1958: Paul Coates – Mothers Seek to Bar Black Boy From Cub Scouts

Posted on January 17, 2019 by

Dec. 10, 1958: Here’s Paul Coates’ earlier column about Butch Harris, the young African American boy who was denied admission to the Cub Scouts.. The column originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1958 and was republished on latimes.com in … Continue reading →

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Jan. 17, 1959: Paul Coates Dips Into the Letters File

Posted on January 17, 2019 by

Jan. 17, 1959: It was Saturday in 1959, so Paul Coates ends his week with a letters column. Pretty standard for those guys who wrote six columns a week. (In case you don’t know, afternoon papers did not publish on … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, 2009, Columnists, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Jan. 16, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘Saved by the Knell’

Posted on January 16, 2019 by

Jan. 16, 1959: Puns, poems, jokes, little stories. Ending the day with a smile courtesy of Matt Weinstock. This column originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and was republished on latimes.com in 2009. Via Archive.org.

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Jan. 16, 1959: Paul Coates – Cub Scouts Bar Butch H. Because He Is Black

Posted on January 16, 2019 by

Jan. 16, 1959: The Cub Scouts don’t want to admit 9-year-old Butch because he’s black. This is one of my favorite Paul Coates columns and well worth the read. The column originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, African Americans, Columnists, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

January 1939: Vivien Leigh Cast in ‘Gone With the Wind’ (Hedda Hopper Does Not Approve)

Posted on January 16, 2019 by

January 1939: Vivien Leigh is cast as Scarlett O’Hara. Hedda Hopper does not approve. Boy does she not approve. Frankly, was there anybody who was ever worse at casting than Hedda Hopper? She would shamelessly use her column to campaign … Continue reading →

Posted in 1939, Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jan. 14, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘Capricious Electron’

Posted on January 14, 2019 by

Jan 14, 1959: Matt Weinstock has an eccentric visitor with a theory about the electron. Funny things that kids say, a poem and some bullet items. Weinstock ends the day with a light touch. The column originally appeared in the … Continue reading →

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Jan. 14, 1959: Paul Coates on Three Boys Who Killed Their Father as He Slept

Posted on January 14, 2019 by

Jan. 14, 1959: Paul Coates has the amazing story of three boys, ages 7, 9 and 10, who shot their father to death as he slept. Coates says that the mother (and the boys planned to kill her as well … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jan. 13, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on January 13, 2019 by

Jan. 13, 1959: Horseracing, Al Capone, a poem, a couple of funny stories, and we have another Matt Weinstock column. Weinstock perfected the art of the light touch. Rarely anything controversial and he never swung for the fence, like Coates … Continue reading →

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Jan. 13, 1959: Paul Coates Interviews Soviet Leader Mikoyan

Posted on January 13, 2019 by

Jan. 13, 1959: Paul Coates worked himself into an early grave. In addition to writing six columns a week for the L.A. Mirror, he also had a show on KTTV-TV Channel 11. It was definitely another era. In this piece, … Continue reading →

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Jan. 13, 1969: Jets and Broadway Joe Namath Win Super Bowl

Posted on January 13, 2019 by

    Jan. 13, 1969: The first Super Bowl – and it doesn’t make Page 1 of the Los Angeles Times. Kicked back to sports. I would love to have been sitting in the news meeting that day… Jim Murray … Continue reading →

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Jan. 12, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘Taxing Times’

Posted on January 12, 2019 by

Jan. 12, 1959: Matt Weinstock offers a light way to end the day. A little story about a taxpayer’s travails with the IRS, a poem, an honest panhandler asking for a dime for a bottle of wine. And yes, he … Continue reading →

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Jan. 12, 1959: Paul Coates Confidential File — East L.A. War Hero Plotted to Kill Batista

Posted on January 12, 2019 by

Jan. 12, 1959: Paul Coates has the story of Guy Louis Gabaldon, a war hero raised in East L.A. who claimed to have plotted to assassinate Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista. Gabaldon was raised by the parents of a Japanese American … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Paul Coates, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Jan. 10, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘Chinese Puzzle’

Posted on January 10, 2019 by

Jan. 10, 1959: And we close the day with a lighthearted column from Matt Weinstock. A bit of poetry, an amusing story. Maybe one sentimental yarn. That’s what afternoon papers were all about. Features, news updates, late stock market reports … Continue reading →

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Jan. 10, 1959: Paul Coates Confidential File – Mash Notes and Comments

Posted on January 10, 2019 by

Jan. 10, 1959: Paul Coates runs a letters column – and has an interesting item about Herman Hover’s efforts to reopen Ciro’s (Coates covered L.A. nightlife and restaurants before he became a columnist).. The entire column appeared in the L.A. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Food and Drink, Nightclubs, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jan. 9, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘Rugged Fisherman’

Posted on January 9, 2019 by

Jan. 9, 1959: Boats in Santa Monica harbor break from their moorings under high winds and Weinstock has a story. Also poems. Weinstock loved to run little poems. And Sports Illustrated holds a dinner to honor UCLA’s Rafer Johnson.. One … Continue reading →

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Jan. 9, 1959: Confidential File ‘Madame Guillotine,’ Alias Pierre Coates

Posted on January 9, 2019 by

Jan. 9, 1959: Paul Coates helps his daughter with her homework. Make that “help.”. This column originally appeared in the L.A. Mirror in 1959 and was republished on latimes.com in 2009. It’s available via Archive.org.

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Jan. 8, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘Dogs, Diapers, Taxes’

Posted on January 8, 2019 by

Comes now that hiatus between cries, when the feverish race begins to clear away Christmas bets in time to pay for auto license renewals by Feb. 4 and then face up to income taxes in April. “Any changes in the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Matt Weinstock, Radio | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments