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June 13, 1968: Lena Horne discusses her return to Hollywood after 12 years for “Patch,” which was apparently released as “Death of a Gunfighter.” "I left because I got sick and tired of being a Negro woman leaning against a pillar and singing, and I'm back because I don't have to do any of those things," she tells The Times’ Wayne Warga. |
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May 10, 1960: Jeane Hoffman does a nice profile of the Dodger’s Nobe (Nobu in this story) Kawano with a shout-out to his brother Yosh. |
OK, people, let's swash some buckles; I finally got around to Zorro this week. (And this will probably be my last 1920 film for a while. Larry advises he's moving on from there. Upcoming reviews will focus on films from 1940, 1960 and possibly even — 1980?) Before Iron Man, before Batman, before all your "I'm a playboy by day and fight for justice at night" masked heroes that keep our blogging colleague Geoff so busy over at Hero Complex, there was Zorro. (Really Larry should be writing this post, having been honored recently for Zorro-like heroics, but, well, he's not.)
The character first appears in a 1919 short story called "The Curse of Capistrano," and in bringing him to the big screen, Douglas Fairbanks created something huge. Not only did he launch a massive film, TV and pop culture franchise in Zorro, he created a swashbuckling superstar persona for himself. After this, he went on to star in "Robin Hood," "The Three Musketeers," "The Thief of Bagdad" and many other hero-in-tights roles. 1920 was also the year he married Mary Pickford, so it was a good year to be Fairbanks.
This was my first Douglas Fairbanks movie and I have to say I was pretty surprised at first. I was expecting another stone cold fox like John Barrymore, and Fairbanks is one goofy-looking guy. He's not bad-looking at all, but I just kept thinking, "wait, THIS is Zorro? He doesn't even stand up straight." This Zorro is not about being all Antonio Banderas and pouty and beautiful. He's really kind of a goofball. I mean, look at the poster here… Zorro's more interested in having a good laugh than looking good, as long as said laugh comes at the expense of oppressors. But then Fairbanks starts springing around with his rapier, jumping onto mantels and balconies, showing off his signature athletic ability. He's pretty impressive!
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May 10, 1910: Jack Johnson starts training for his Fourth of July fight with Jim Jeffries by going 12 miles in the morning and an additional five in the afternoon. “Newspaper men present at the taking of pictures of Jack Johnson today had their first opportunity of seeing the champion stripped to his fighting trunks and there were no adverse criticisms of his condition. If anything, sporting experts thought Johnson might safely carry more weight than he possesses in view of the time he has in which to train. Naturally, there is some extra weight about the stomach, but not as much as expected,” The Times says. |
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May 9, 1960: Paul Coates plays with the announcement of special TV news for children, and imagines what it would be like as delivered by Sheriff John. (Beverly Aadland has been a naughty girl again) … And Matt Weinstock takes another critical look at Cynthia Lindsay’s article about Los Angeles in Harper’s (subscribers only), the precursor of her “The Natives Are Restless.” More about “Natives” on Wednesday. |
| I’ve been laughing about this all weekend and wanted to share it. |
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May 9, 1940: “Paulette Goddard gifted makeup man Wally Westmore with a 10-foot fishing launch on the completing of ‘The Ghost Breakers,’ ” Jimmie Fidler says. |
| Los Angeles Times file photo
Here’s our mystery guest with two mystery companions. Please congratulate Dennis Morgan, James Curtis, Lou Zogby, Angus, LA Morgue Files, Zabadu and Rick Scott for identifying him. |
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May 9, 1980: Times’ Pulitzer winner Howard Rosenberg, in top form, interviews Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Caesar talks about Mel Brooks … and “Saturday Night Live.” |
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May 9, 1910: “The first automobile purchased by the Police Department was an electric patrol wagon. This proved to be a failure, was used but little, and is now stored in the basement of the jail. Then a gearless machine for the University Station was purchased. It has been used some but is not dependable and has cost a small fortune for repairs,” The Times says. |
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May 8, 1940: “When the Flo Ziegfeld estate was auctioned a plaster bust of Billie Burke went for $3.50,” Jimmie Fidler says. |
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May 8, 1980: “Many times Reagan has told his staff and his supporters that the vice presidential nominee must be someone who would carry on the Reagan philosophy if anything should happen to him,” The Times’ Richard Bergholz says. |
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May 8, 1960: The headline would make any Dodger fan shudder: "Vince Scully Turns Back Pages to Worst Moments Before Mike." The story by The Times' Jeane Hoffman actually was an entertaining |
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May 8, 1910: A London tattoo artist says, “Not long ago, too, a lady came to me to have a cat's head tattooed on her arm. It was a portrait of a pet animal which she recently had lost. Well, I preserved the animal's outline in colors and it cost her 5 guineas.” Also on the Daily Mirror: Councilman Seeks to Regulate Tattoo Shops, Sept. 3, 1943. |
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May 7, 1960: Shades of 1953 -– Pink shirts for men are back. They go with those charcoal gray suits. |
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May 7, 1940: “Walter Pidgeon and John Carroll are packing tackle for a fishing trek to Texas Gulf resorts,” Jimmie Fidler says. |
| Los Angeles Times file photo I am always amazed by the Daily Mirror’s “brain trust,” which is my nickname for our readers. I never fail to be impressed by how much people know – or can find out. These mystery guests are a perfect example because I was starting to think I’d stumped everybody and Evelyn Tremble came along Thursday and identified them. Please congratulate her. (She says it was easy, thanks to Google).
In selecting the mystery photos, I always look for a set of five pictures with at least one especially interesting image. In this case, the first photo of these dancers – as children – was the reason. As Arye (Leslie) Michael Bender pointed out in a comment, these is a certain JonBenet Ramsey quality to the way the young girl is made up like an adult. Update: a reader comments: This week's entry is ridiculous. You violate the your concept of Movie Here's your answer: You raise an interesting question. I suppose The mystery photos are actually all This dance team performed under a variety of names. Here’s a video of them. They’re best known as Billy and Beverly Bemis, although they also performed as Edith and Bill Wilshire. This Times item from June 10, 1927, gave their names as Billie Bevans and Vivian Mitchell. I'm not entirely certain they were even brother and sister. The back of the photo gives one address for Billy and another for Beverly, who is listed as Vivian Mitchell, but has the same phone number. Billy decided to give up dancing and get married about 1938 and Beverly tried to build a career on her own, although she evidently didn’t have much success. I can’t find anything further about them in The Times. These were mystery guests who really were mystery guests! |
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| May 7, 1910: Messages from the great beyond are causing trouble in Los Angeles! The last time Lee Yew Yee was charged with telling fortunes, he got 60 days on the chain gang, but this time he received a suspended sentence of 30 days. Mrs. Jennie S. Hadsell got sued for $50 plus legal fees after decided she had misconstrued a divine message about opening a grocery store. |
| An EBay vendor has listed this Aug. 12, 1948, wire photo of Hollywood Madam Brenda Allen with defense lawyer Max Solomon, right, and Deputy City Atty. Lindsay Dickey examining a "little black box" of clients’ names seized during a vice raid. Bidding starts at $9.99. |
