June 7, 1947: Kenneth Hahn Sworn in as L.A. Councilman

L.A. Times, 1947

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

Hahn retired from public service in 1992, after being elected 10 times to the county Board of Supervisors, beginning in 1952.

Source: Los Angeles Times, June 7, 1947.

 

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Black L.A. 1947: USC Film Student Refuses ‘Uncle Tom’ Role in Radio Play

June 5, 1947, William Grant Still

June 5, 1947: USC film student James C. Johnson, a member of the Delta Kappa Alpha cinema fraternity, said he would not play a role in a student’s radio play because it depicted “the Negro as stereotype,” the Sentinel said.

According to the Sentinel, Johnson said the story was degrading and had no moral value. Johnson said that many writers are unable to accurately portray African Americans “because they are not exposed to the proper environment of the Negro in order to characterize his stories.”

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June 7, 1907: Judge Wins Black Eye in Pasadena’s First Dog Show

 

June 7, 1907, L.A. Time

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

June 7, 1907
Pasadena

After a hard day of judging Boston terriers, English bulldogs and foxhounds, John Bradshaw went to a local restaurant with two exhibitors, William J. Morris and James Ewins.

Over dinner, and apparently many drinks, Bradshaw told Ewins at great length what was wrong with his prize bulldog, Moston Barnone. Although Ewins had owned several great bulldogs, including one named Moston Monarch, he took Bradshaw’s remarks in stride.

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Shout Out

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

General Motors [ISP Redacted] Windows 2000? Upgrade!

The Netherlands [ISP Redacted]

E! Entertainment [ISP Redacted] “E! Mysteries and Scandals,” my first TV interview, by the guy who did “Real Chases of the Highway Patrol.”

Department of Veterans Affairs [ISP Redacted]

My pal in Kerkira, Greece [ISP Redacted]

Simpson Thacher and Bartlett llp [ISP Redacted]

And no, I still haven’t heard from Donald H. Wolfe about his bogus document. Something tells me I’m not going to.

Here’s a factoid for you: Olga Rutterschmidt, who is being held on suspicion of an insurance fraud scheme involving the deaths of two homeless men, lives at 1776 N. Sycamore in Hollywood, the site of Bobby Fuller’s mysterious death in 1966. A building with seriously bad mojo!

Hurry back!

Posted in 1947, 2006, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments Off on Shout Out

Movieland Mystery Photo

Movieland Mystery Photo

For Wednesday, we have another mystery guest from the Library of Congress. The print is stamped Dec. 15, 1936, with the pencil notation “The Bulgarian Phesant”

The back of the photo is on the jump.

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June 6, 1947: American POW Recognizes Sadistic Japanese Prison Camp Guard in L.A. Store

Los Angeles Times, 1947

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

On D-Day plus three years, Los Angeles was torn between the past and the future. And in one instance, the past and its aftermath were the future.

On its photo page, The Times ran a picture of a young French girl romping in the water at Omaha beach. In another, Maj. Robert Crisson poses on a rusting operations boat and gazes across Normandy beach, where he led an infantry company in the first wave of invading troops June 6, 1944. Of those 600 men, only seven survived the war, Crisson says.

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Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, World War II | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Black L.A. 1947: 5 LAPD Officers Injured in 3 Fights

June 5, 1947, Barber dies
June 5, 1947: Christopher W. Bankhead, who was injured in a plane crash during World War II, dies of a heart “ailment” while cutting a customer’s hair at William McKinney’s barbershop, 4012 S. Central Ave.

June 5, 1947, LAPD fight

LAPD Officers S. Goldman and E.R. Nelson were questioning two men at Pico Boulevard and Georgia Street when a crowd gathered and someone yelled “Let’s beat the hell out of those XXX cops.”

Officer Orville Frederickson, coming to the aid of his fellow officers, was injured when he was knocked down and kicked in the face. Police responding to a radio call for help arrested Norman Charles Bale, 29, of 1302 W. Pico Blvd.

According to the Sentinel, Bale said: “I hate cops and when I get a chance, I’ll get myself one.”

Frederickson was taken to Los Angeles County General Hospital with facial fractures while Goldman and Nelson were taken to the Georgia Street Receiving Hospital for cuts and bruises.

1001 E. 29th St., Los Angeles, CA

1001 E. 29th St., via Google Street View.


The Sentinel also reported that Officer M.J. Lee of the Newton Division was helping two other officers arrest “two Negro youths dressed in women’s clothing” at 1001 3/4 E. 29th St.  when he was struck in the shoulder with a 2 by 4 studded with nails.

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Posted in 1947, African Americans, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

June 6, 1907: Miner Sues Tenderfoot Prospector for Shooting Pet Horse


Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

June 6, 1907
San Bernardino

The miners of the Silver Lake camp out in San Bernardino didn’t take the tenderfoot too seriously. His name was Fred Myton and he presented himself as the son of a wealthy Salt Lake City family, come fully outfitted to strike it rich in the gold fields.

One of the miners’ amusements in the remote desert was Bobbie, a horse owned by contractor Sidney Barber but belonging to almost everyone in the camp as he was treated like a pet. Allowed to roam untethered, Bobbie would forage from one miner to the next looking for some kind words, maybe a pat or two and whatever the men could spare from their meals.

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 23rd Annual S.F. Silent Film Festival Celebrates World Cinema

Kevin Brownlow’s 80th birthday was celebrated with a showing of “Mare Nostrum.” Image courtesy of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.


Coming at a time when walls and words separate more people than ever, the 23rd Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival broke down barriers to salute the humanity that unites us in their moving selection of titles. Featuring motion pictures from Germany, Japan, India, Russia, France, Sweden, Italy, and even the United States, the festival’s unplanned theme revolved around individuals on a quest, working to unite rather than divide.

After missing opening night, I arrived for the full first day of films, showing individuals searching out treasure, be it a restored household, job, or just good times. The Annual free Amazing Tales from the Archives films reveals the behind-the-scenes detective stories in movie restoration, locating elements, scripts, stills, and titles to reconstruct lost or damaged films to as close as release form as possible.

Mary Mallory’s latest book, “Living With Grace: Life Lessons from America’s Princess,” will be released June 30.

 

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Movieland Mystery Photo

Mystery woman

For Tuesday, we have another mystery woman from the Library of Congress. Anybody recognize her?

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Celebrity Politicians: Hollywood’s Honorary Mayors, Part I

Hugh Herbert
Photo: Hugh Herbert, honorary mayor of Studio City, courtesy of Mary Mallory.


Note: This is an encore post from 2012.

Tomorrow is election day. Elections and politics are important to everyone, be they Joe Citizen or Joseph Kennedy. Over the years, celebrities have entered the political arena, some to support candidates, some to raise their fading glory, and others because they truly hoped to provide public service. In the 1930s and 1940s, many Hollywood stars served as honorary mayors in their communities, bringing recognition to their local neighborhoods and advocating for public services, roads and parks to better people’s lives.

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Movieland Mystery Photo

Movieland Mystery Photo

Eve Golden sends along this picture to see if anybody in the Brain Trust can help the Library of Congress identify our mystery woman.

Posted in Mystery Photo | Tagged | 6 Comments

June 4, 1947: Television Comes to Los Angeles

June 6, 1947, Television

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

Those curious metal arrays being installed with great ceremony on the city’s rooftops are antennas, for this is the year of the one-eyed wonder: Television.

In 1947, merely watching TV was newsworthy, as when the convalescing Babe Ruth tuned in for a double-header between the Giants and the Dodgers, and Pius XII made history as the first pope to have a television.

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June 4, 1907: ‘Tiger Fat’ and ‘Nerve Balls’: State Medical Board Charges Chinese Herbalists


Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

June 4, 1907
Los Angeles

After months of inquiries that involved undercover investigators posing as patients, the State Board of Medical Examiners has taken action against Chinese herbalists in Los Angeles. In addition to arresting the doctors in question, authorities charged everyone involved as investors in the companies, issuing warrants for some of the most prominent members of the Chinese community.

“It is alleged that in one case a patient who was charged high prices for Chinese treatment received a bottle that contained simply the juice boiled from alfalfa,” The Times said. “It was contained in a fancy bottle that looked as if anything it held might be good for what was the matter with almost anybody. It was a fine piece of glass with Chinese hieroglyphics up and down the sides and there was an odor about the fluid different from … anything else sold in a pharmacy or doled out by the ordinary physician.”

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June 3, 1947: Soldiers Fight Army’s Ban on Japanese Brides

 Note: This is an encore post from 2005 that originally appeared on the 1947project.

It was a tough problem for the armed services. In March, an Air Forces lieutenant at Tachikawa Air Base and “a beautiful Japanese girl” killed themselves in a former geisha house at Hinomachi, and the week before, another couple committed suicide at a Shinto shrine because they were going to be separated.

Also in June, a former soldier who renounced his U.S. citizenship to marry a Japanese woman was sentenced to six months in prison for illegally buying merchandise using his American ration card.

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June 3, 1907: Runaway Couple, Aided by Minister, Leave Parents at the Altar

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

June 3, 1907
Los Angeles

It was to be one of the grandest society weddings of the season: An orchestra was hired, a caterer had been selected after lengthy interviews, gowns for the bride and bridesmaids had been sewn and the Hotel Lankershim had been hired for the occasion.

In preparation for the grand event, Dr. Harris C. Garcelon and his fiancee, Genevieve Smith, attended the wedding rehearsal at Christ Episcopal Church performed by the Rev. Baker P. Lee.

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June 2, 1947: Erwin Walker Pleads Insanity in ‘He Walked by Night’ Killing of CHP Officer

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.

The Erwin Walker case is the crossroads of several important stories. The victim was Loren Roosevelt, fired in the 1930s as Arcadia’s police chief in an ugly political fight that included an attempt to recall the mayor and allegations of bookie joints near Santa Anita.

The detectives included two famous names from the Black Dahlia case: Capt. Jack Donahoe, head of homicide, and Detective Marty Wynn, who became friends with actor Jack Webb while serving as a technical advisor on “He Walked by Night,” a 1948 film based on the Roosevelt murder.

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A Theater Rises on Broadway



Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

June 2, 1907
Los Angeles

The Hamburger Department Store announces plans for a theater just south of its new building on South Broadway at 8th Street, designed by the architecture firm of Edelman and Barnett.

According to plans, the horseshoe-shaped theater is to seat 1,600 people, with a balcony and a gallery. The stage is to be 40 feet by 80 feet, with a proscenium 36 feet wide and 32 feet high.

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June 1, 1947: Sea Monster Overpowers Troops, Destroys Tokyo! L.A. Men Celebrate Armed Forces Radio’s 5th Anniversary With Hoax

godzilla
Was “Godzilla” inspired by a 1947 radio hoax?

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Posted in 1947, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

June 1, 1907: Former L.A. Councilman Charged With Running Bordello



Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

June 1, 1907
Los Angeles

Voir dire, in which lawyers question prospective jurors, is a rough and tumble affair, especially when the case involves prostitution.

The matter at hand involves Tom Savage, boss of the 8th Ward, known as the “Bloody Eighth,” on charges of running a disorderly house, the Arlington Hotel, in the Tenderloin.

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