Category Archives: Columnists

Jim Murray, June 8, 1961

            June 8, 1961: Danny Murtaugh is like the Pirates. Tough, blue-bearded, underslung jaw, he looks like a sulfurous-tempered truck driver. Actually, he is shy and modest and the kind of worrier whose biggest fear … Continue reading →

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Tip Poff, July 17, 1932

July 17, 1932: I’ve been meaning to post some of the Tip Poff  gossip columns that The Times used to run in the movie/drama pages of the 1930s. The Times experimented with the column and by 1939 was calling it … Continue reading →

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North American Aviation Strike

  June 7, 1941: The strike at the North American Aviation plant, in which Army troops dispersed union activists and took over an essential American defense facility,  is one of the landmark events in Los Angeles history. Because of its … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | 1 Comment

Jim Murray, June 7, 1961

        June 7, 1961: Gene Tunney's chief claim to fame is he licked an over-aged Jack Dempsey twice. It won him respect but not affection. A peculiar thing about the public is it resents a man who … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, boxing, Columnists | 1 Comment

Police Chief on His Way Out

           June 6, 1941: Police Chief Arthur Hohmann and Deputy Chief C.B. “Jack” Horrall are about to trade jobs.  Horrall will remain chief through World War II and into the postwar period, finally retiring during the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, City Hall, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | 1 Comment

Jim Murray, June 6, 1961

            June 6, 1961: Track and field is still a wholesome LIVING sport, not bound down to tradition like, say, baseball. A trophy for everything and everything for a trophy. I don't know whether you … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, Columnists, Comics, Track and Field | 2 Comments

Jim Murray, June 5, 1961

        June 5, 1961: It is always a source of wonder to me that a sport as savage and cruel as prizefighting doesn't brutalize its practitioners. Yet, it doesn't. A ballplayer after losing a game is a … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, boxing, Columnists, Comics | 1 Comment

June 4, 1941: Burbank Man Invents Death Ray!

June 4, 1941: I’ll admit I’m a sucker for stories about death rays. Evidently The Times’ editors were too since they put this item on Page 1. Promoter Kurt Van Zuyle credited L.E. Riley of Burbank as the inventor. It … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1941, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Death Rays, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on June 4, 1941: Burbank Man Invents Death Ray!

Jim Murray, June 4, 1961

          June 4, 1961: Jim Murray puts in a call to Casey Stengel and says: "I realized I was listening to the Voice of Baseball again. And what it is doing in a bank vault in … Continue reading →

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, June 2, 1941

           June 2, 1941: The pajama-clad body of Hungarian-born danseuse Jenny Dolly, who with her sister Rosie was the toast of two continents two decades ago, was found dangling from a wrought-iron curtain rod in her … Continue reading →

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

Jim Murray, June 2, 1961

            June 2, 1961: Parry O’Brien at the age of 29 will be a chief drawing card at the Compton Invitational tonight. He is one of the most durable and remarkable athletes of our time. … Continue reading →

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, June 1, 1941

                     June 1, 1941: LONDON, May 31. (AP)– German airmen who went belatedly to Iraq to bolster the Axis-inspired war against Britain were reported fleeing the country tonight as Iraqi resistance … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Music, Tom Treanor, Transportation | 2 Comments

Audie Murphy Dies in Plane Crash, June 1, 1971

June 1, 1971: World War II hero Audie Murphy, whose record as the Army’s most decorated soldier launched a movie career, dies in a plane crash with five other people.Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor, two Silver Stars, a … Continue reading →

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Jim Murray, June 1, 1961

           June 1, 1961: Among those celebrating the convictions of Blinky Palermo and Frankie Carbo is a Boyle Heights prizefight manager named Harry Shall. Harry gave the government a chance to throw the book at Blinky … Continue reading →

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Jim Murray, ‘Gentlemen, Start Your Coffins!’

        June 29, 1966: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the  50th annual Memorial Day Safety Contest, the world's fastest traffic jam. This year, in order to more nearly approximate road conditions on our nation's highways and test … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1966, Columnists, Motor Sports | 1 Comment

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 31, 1941

        May 31, 1941 – Arthur Hohmann, the LAPD’s reform police chief, will step down in June, citing the deaths of his son and his mother. He was replaced by Clemence C.B. “Jack” Horrall, who served as … Continue reading →

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Jim Murray, May 31, 1961

            May 31, 1961: Emile Griffith is a slashing boxer from the Virgin Islands whose waist is so narrow and shoulders so wide that he would have to go to a tailor for his suits … Continue reading →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, boxing, Columnists, Sports | 2 Comments

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 28, 1941

        May 28, 1941: LONDON, May 27 (AP) — The 35,000-ton German battleship Bismarck, one of the newest and most powerful in the world, was smashed and sunk today by British warships and aerial bombers on the … Continue reading →

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Jim Murray, May 28, 1961

          May 28, 1961: On the battlefields of baseball this year it has become quite evident that the Los Angeles Angels are the Serbs of the American League. They do not have the firepower to win … Continue reading →

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 27, 1941

             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