Matt Weinstock, Jan. 5, 1960

Posted on January 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

Pity the Plants

Matt Weinstock All over town it's leotards for the ladies and old but wool-lined army and navy jackets for the men and shocked talk about the icy blasts.

A girl named Kathy, 14, on the way to school yesterday, said, "I think this is the coldest it has ever been."

A water hose froze and exploded in a gas station on Vanowen St.

Sunday the ushers in a west side church disappeared during the service. They were across the street in a store getting coffee.

A thin-blooded downtowner heading for a Mexican restaurant said, "This is real enchilada weather, con chili Colorado."

And pity the poor plants. They don't know whether they're coming or going. Only a week ago they were blooming far ahead of schedule because of the unseasonably warm weather. Yesterday many hardy specimens, particularly in San Fernando Valley, were blackened by frost.

It's awful what those people up in Squaw Valley will do for publicity.

Jan. 5, 1960, Rod Serling THAT LEGENDARY little old lady in Pasadena apparently has moved. Hanson Kellogg saw her put her foot on the running board of a shiny 1929, yes 1929, Chevrolet coupe in a Glendale parking lot and tell another woman, "Yes, we're going to trade it in next year, when my husband retires!"

A LITTLE GIRL named Cheri Helms was taken to the San Diego zoo and one of the first things that excited her was a peacock relaxing its tail.

"Look daddy," she cried, "living color!"

    NOISY TOO
Idle gossip — that's the
    phrase
That throws me in a tizzy,
For gossips have not idle
    ways.
Indeed, they're very busy.
        –PEARL ROWE

OTHERS, TOO, presumably are still sorting and rearranging their intentions for 1960. Yes, intentions. Resolution is much too strong a word at this stage of the game. And if this seems sneaky, at least it's realistic.

I am determined, momentarily at least, to make better use of my time. More reading and writing, less TV. I'll outwit that cyclops in the living room yet. It thinks it has me hypnotized and my hands tied behind me but I've been slowly working the ropes loose. I think I'll make it out of frustration at the next drama or commercial featuring a bratty youngster and his dog.

That's as far as I've gotten. Come to think of it, it's quite a ways.

A MAN IN A San Gabriel bar was toasting in the new year when he realized suddenly he'd forgotten to administer his eye drops. To fellow patrons' astonishment, he performed the operation at the bar, then rejoined the fun. Next morning he reached in his coat pocket for his eye drop kit and pulled out a shot glass. Now he vaguely comprehends his comrades' consternation at his self-administered eye treatment. He also wonders if the bartender served anyone a jigger of eye drops.

TOWARD THE START of a genuinely happy new year Ralph N. Schmidt, writing in the Toastmaster, deplores speakers who begin by greeting almost everyone in the room with some such spiel as "Mr. Chairman, Judge Black, Col. Brown, Rev. White, President Green, distinguished guests from Alpha chapter, distinguished guests from Omega chapter, ladies and gentlemen." Hurray for Ralph.

Jan. 5, 1960, Abby

AT RANDOM — Bill Richardson of the S.C. Gas News reports one serviceman left another this special instruction: "Oven not lit but customer is" . . . There's still hope for the short story. The Atlantic has a couple of minor classics by J.W. Dickson and Peter Ustinov . . . What happens to old proofreaders? Leon Clifton is turning in his eye shade at 72 for a lecture tour titled, "Crime Stories I Have Punctuated During 50 Years of Newspaper Editing" . . . Surely, thinks Marvin Press, someone could figure out a Finger Bowl game.

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Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Jan. 5, 1960

Posted on January 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

I spent an uncomfortable morning standing over the city room teletypes and watching the Holy Season dispatches pour out of Germany.

I read the bulletin from Cologne about the synagogue that had been desecrated on Christmas Eve. I saw copy that the Berlin police had found the slogan "Juden Raus" (Jews Get Out) in letters a foot high painted over commercial billboards. The cold, mechanical machinery typed out the grim news that Berlin cops had also broken up a demonstration of neo-Nazi students who met in a park, raised the swastika and sang the songs that hadn't been sung since 1945.

Or, at least, hadn't been publicly sung.

I read about smashed windows, threatening letters and the report — maybe just a report — from a London newspaper that 50,000 teen-age Germans are undergoing training in secret Nazi camps of West Germany to prepare for a fanatical purge of Jews.

It depressed me to read it. But it didn't come as too much of a surprise.
Jan. 5, 1960, Anti-Semitism
All it did was refresh my memory of two years ago, when I visited the post-Hitler Germany. The new Germany that we were told was riddled with guilt feelings for the horror it had allowed to happen to the world.

The Germany I saw was a remarkable place.

There was no indication, anywhere, that this was the same nation that had wreaked the greatest, most sadistic havoc in the history of the world. The people were smiling, well-dressed,Germanically plump and exceptionally considerate of American tourists. Their stores, restaurants and night clubs were jammed. We Americans were having a recession. But our very recent enemy was, with the benefit of our financing, enjoying a fantastic economic boom.

And nowhere was there a sign, a plaque, anything to recall that this wealthy, happy, vanquished country, had once supported the paranoidal whims of a madman dedicated to committing genocide on a whole race of people. A dedication he damn near fulfilled with what, realistically, had to be their silent approval, and, in most cases, their outright assistance.

There were, however, no Nazi sympathizers in this post-war Germany. It was almost as if they wanted you to believe that Hitler was at the head of an invading horde who occupied them against their will.

But if you looked closely, you couldn't quite believe that.

The latest outrages teletyped from Germany have refreshed my memories of other things I saw and heard.

I remember the blond young man who goes to college at night and works as a tourist guide during the day. He walked with a limp and his right arm hung uselessly from the effects of five years in a Russian prison camp. "Nazis?" he told me. "They will never come back. We know that Hitler was wrong. Besides, we like Americans too much.

"But," he added, "someday we could have trouble with the English. They're not like you Americans. They're too arrogant."

And I remember the U.S. Army major in intelligence who told me: "Nazis? Sure! They're starting up again. You'd have to be a fool not to see it. What are we doing about it? Nothing, pal. Not a thing."

And the Jewish waiter who said, "I was a purser on ocean liners before the war. Now I'm a waiter. When I go for a job here, there are none. I came back because, even though I'm a Jew, I'm a German first. But for the Jew, nothing is different. Nothing has changed. There is still no place for us in Germany."

Nazi Business as Usual

That was two years ago. And, I'm afraid, they were prophetic words.

There were 175,000 Jews in Berlin before World War II. There are only 7,000 there today. And most of them are the elderly. The "Germans" who came back to die in the fatherland that Hitler had denied them.

But the paint smearings, the street gangs and the smashed windows have started again. The smoldering, insane hate is bursting into flame again.

And again, I'm afraid we'll just sit by for a few years, and let it happen.

Posted in Columnists, Front Pages, Paul Coates, Religion | Comments Off

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on January 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

Sign a Bomb!

Jan. 5, 1943 — Hedda Hopper says: The first thing Bob Hope did when he heard that Bing Crosby's house had burned down was to phone from Arrowhead and ask the family to move in with them. But Bing's four boys are living with Bill Goodwin, a neighbor, and Dixie is at Larry Crosby's. Bing stays at a Hollywood apartment until his picture, "Dixie," is finished. It's a strange coincidence that in the picture, owing to Bing's carelessness, he starts five fires — burns down two houses, two theaters and a river boat … One of the first to reach the scene of the fire was Bette Davis. It was through the burning of a Christmas tree that she was all but marred for life.

Camarillo Street via Google maps’ street view.

Faulty wiring in Christmas tree lights was blamed for a fire that swept Crosby’s house at 10500 Camarillo on Jan. 3, 1943. The fire destroyed everything but the living room, kitchen and servants’ quarters, including a large collection of Crosby's recordings and sports trophies.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood, San Fernando Valley | 1 Comment

Nixon’s Role in Settling Steel Strike

Posted on January 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

Jan. 5, 1960, Kennedy

Jan. 5, 1960, Tony Perkins

Tony Perkins — Hollywood's mixed-up young movie star! And why does Jerry West go to pieces against a mediocre team?

Jan. 5, 1960: The Times publishes what’s known in the trade as a “tick tock” on Vice President Richard Nixon’s role in resolving the steel strike that had paralyzed American industry. And the editorial page lobs a few darts at Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy. An analysis of Nixon and the steel strike is far beyond the scope of this blog, but it’s interesting to note the newspaper’s tone toward Nixon and Kennedy. According to a March 23, 1960, analysis by James Reston, Nixon won little support from labor because of his intervention in the steel strike.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, JFK, Richard Nixon | Comments Off

Teachings of Mazdaznan Cult Exposed

Posted on January 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

“When a Feller Needs a Friend,” by Clare Briggs.

Jan. 5, 1920: The Times quotes the writings of Otoman Zar-Adusht Hanish: "To raise one's vibration and interest it is well to speak sentences on one breath, such as inhaling through the nostrils for four seconds and upon exhalation speaking slowly. Open, O Thou World-Sustaining Sun, the Entrance unto Truth, hidden by the vase of dazzling Light!" Of course, “Health and Breath Culture” has been reprinted and is widely available.

Posted in #courts, art and artists, books, Comics, Religion | 1 Comment

Food Poisoning Kills 9

Posted on January 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

Jan. 5, 1910: A manly man car, built for a Russian prince.

Jan. 5, 1910, Baker Electric

A clean, dainty electric for the ladies. “Any girl could learn to operate the Baker after 30 minutes’ instruction…. Moves like a drifting cloud.”

Jan. 5, 1910, Cover

Jan. 5, 1910: It was impossible to choose one story today.

First, there’s the deaths of nine people who were killed by ptomaine poisoning in some preserved pears at the Valdez home in Sawtelle … And the massive undertaking to build grandstands for Aviation Week at Dominguez Junction. Work continues around the clock with 400 men on the day shift and 100 men on the night shift, The Times says. The grandstands are 750 feet long, 250 feet wide and rise to a height of 40 feet and require 15 carloads of nails, The Times says … And finally, mining man George Mitchell buys a Panhard armored automobile built for Prince Orloff, who rejected the car out of concerns that it might not be sturdy enough to withstand an attack. The price is $17,000 [$388,112.31 USD 2008].

Posted in Food and Drink, Front Pages, Transportation | 1 Comment

Matt Weinstock, Jan. 4, 1960

Posted on January 4, 2010 by lmharnisch

Contest With Clam

A friend of a friend who had gone clamming near Pismo Beach asked Viola Swisher, "Would you like a clam?" Viola, who covers ballet for the drama department and loves steamed clams and clam chowder, said yes.

She realized instantly this was a mistake. The clam handed her was a fearsome six inches across and alive.

From that moment a desperate contest ensued. She wanted to be friends with the clam, which she named Charley, but she knew it would be unwise to coddle it lest it get the upper hand, or even the lower hand, when it snapped its shells together.

She put it in the refrigerator, then wondered if it would be too cold. She started to take it out, then decided the change of temperature might be harmful.

SHE BECAME AWARE also that Charley had a personality. When she tentatively tried to pry it apart it stuck out its tongue at her, or maybe it was part of his whole body, then withdrew it.

The next time she took it out of the refrigerator she swears Charley purred, but with bubbles.

image[27] Mustering her courage and closing her eyes, she opened it and dropped it in boiling water. Later she tasted it but that's all. Too rubbery.

Charley is gone now and Viola's glad. She never envisioned the day she'd be a clam sitter for two days.

A WOMAN inspecting an exhibit of violently abstract paintings in an L.A. art gallery found them repugnant and remarked, "I suppose I'm wrong to dislike them but I think this is self-expression at its most undisciplined." Her companion, a man who is an art authority, soothed, "Why not regard them simply as studies in color and composition?"

The lady took another look and said, "Let's call them studies in decomposition!"

    INSOMNIA
I lie on this side, then
    on that.
My mind whirls 'round on
    a mem'ry spree.
The arm I lie on goes
    to sleep.
Oh Morpheus: Why not
    take all of me!
        –GINNY LENZ

KID STUFF — When James Bell's daughter, 6, tried to find room for her Christmas toys she said she wanted to give her old but still good toys to poor children. "I think we better call the Celebration Army," she said . . . En route to Arrowhead, Katy, 6, described a sudden mountain hailstorm: "Look, Molly, it's raining little ice cubes!"

SAM PONTON, fish and game writer for the Antelope Leger-Gazette, is surprised I never heard of his solution to the surplus pigeon problem, as follows: After catching, pluck and clean, then refrigerate for two or three days and bake in a 325-deg. oven, breast side up. Baste occasionally with wine, preferably white. Serve with fried hominy and cranberry jelly.

THE MYSTERY of the scaffolding — unused for six months — on the County Engineering Building, 108 W 2nd St., deepens. A spy reports the new scaffolding put up last Tuesday was not the same as that taken down, for reasons that are inscrutable, the day before. It appears we may have a first-class boondoggle here.

TWO TV EXECUTIVES were discussing what to do with a performer with a reputation as an adult delinquent and one said, "If we could only find a spot for him that we could be sure no one ever listened to!" Without realizing it, he may have voiced the solution to one of the great problems of the day.

MISCELLANY — Part of the E on the "Eat Here" neon sign on a Sepulveda Blvd. hamburger place is blacked out, Jerry Custis reports, and it seems to state, "Fat Here" . . . And Scotty Rosenberg saw a motorist trying to nudge onto Hollywood Freeway from the Gower St. ramp furiously biting his finger nails . . . Incidentally, the worried look on the faces of out-of-state drivers is genuine. They're terrified of L.A. traffic. Even those who come here every year say it's the worst they ever saw.

Posted in Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Jan. 4, 1960

Posted on January 4, 2010 by lmharnisch

'Blacklist' Charge Brings an Answer

Paul Coates The controversy over Hollywood's real or fancied "blacklist" has had more than a decade to smolder down to embers, but it's still burning.

The issue is kept alive by extremists. But occasionally, it's fed by innocent by-standers who have been, or feel they have been, badly damaged by the industry's so-called secret ban on actors, writers, directors and producers suspected of, or guilty of,un-American activities.

The cry on one side is "Commie." The other, "witch hunt."

A couple of weeks ago, Louis Pollock, writer of "The Jackie Robinson Story" and many other motion picture and television scripts, charged that the secret blacklist cost him five productive years of his life.

Hollywood, he insisted, banned him after mistaking him for a man with a similar name (Louis Pollack), who had invoked the Fifth Amendment in refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Pollock wasn't the first to cry out. Many others have. All claimed that they were up against an "unseen enemy, impossible to fight."

Industry representatives always, in recent years, have been ready for their denials, but never, until today, have I heard a key industry figure explain satisfactorily his "side" of the blacklist controversy.

Jan. 4, 1960, Anti-Semitism I got it today in a letter from B.B. Kahane, vice president of Columbia Pictures. His letter, in part:

"First, let me state emphatically and definitely that so far as Columbia is concerned, there is no so-called 'blacklist.'

"We at Columbia check on writers, actors and others before employing them. We started doing so in 1947 when the 'Unfriendly Ten' appeared before the House Un -American Committee and shocked the country with the attitude they took and the intemperate statements they made which resulted in prison sentences for contempt of Congress . . .

"With a desire to protect our large financial investment in films and yet to avoid doing anyone an injustice, we decided to engage a reputable firm of public relations men who could investigate cases that arose and report to us all facts and available information . . .

"I at Columbia as the vice president personally handled practically all cases . . .

"If we checked on a writer or actor, the report we received was not that he was on a blacklist or any kind of list, but a report setting forth the facts and information our public relations firm was able to collate. Such a report, for example, would state that there was no information that was found which linked him with the Communist Party or any 'front organization' designated by the U.S. Attorney General as subversive.

"In other instances, the report would state that the person was identified as a member of the party or was involved in some way with suspect organizations. They would specify full details in the report.

"We would then examine the reports.

"In most instances we would discuss the report with the person's agent, who would in turn discuss the matter with his client. In the majority of cases, we would receive a letter or affidavit negativing or explaining the alleged connection with the party or party front organizations . . .

"We have kept a file of all . . . reports. If that can be considered a 'blacklist' we are guilty. Such files are not given out to other companies. We have not exchanged information with any of the other companies, but have proceeded entirely on our own. And when there has been any lapse of time we have re-checked to make sure that there has been no change in status . . .

Some Bitter Battles

"We at Columbia and executives of other studios have cleared a very large number of alleged Communist sympathizers and we have had some rather bitter battles with so-called anti-Communist groups who saw a Commie behind every tree and at times were extremely narrow and unfair in their appraisal of a situation.

"The climate has now changed and only rarely do we find it necessary to check on persons so far as theatrical pictures are concerned.

"With our knowledge and the files we have developed we know who the Communist Party members are and the persons who have not recanted or changed their position . . ."

It's the first answer I've ever heard to the charges of blacklisting. And it's an answer that, to me, certainly sounds reasonable.

Jan. 4, 1960, Abby

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A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on January 4, 2010 by lmharnisch

Jan. 4, 1942: Hedda Hopper says Irving Berlin is working on a patriotic song, “We’ll Remember Pearl Harbor.” The tune should not be confused with “Remember Pearl Harbor” by Sammy Kaye and Don Reid.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off

Nixon Flight Sets Record

Posted on January 4, 2010 by lmharnisch

Aided by a strong tailwind, the American Airlines 707 carrying Vice President Nixon makes the trip from Los Angeles to Washington-Baltimore Friendship Airport in 3 hours, 39 minutes, a new record for a commercial aircraft.

Jan. 4, 1960, Nixon.

Jan. 4, 1960, In Cold Blood

Jan. 4, 1960: Richard Hickock collapses after admitting that he and Perry Smith killed the Clutter family in the murders that will be recounted in Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood.”

Posted in #courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Richard Nixon | Comments Off

Police Raid Cult Headquarters

Posted on January 4, 2010 by lmharnisch

“When Doc Rides and When He Walks.”

Jan. 4, 1920, Mazdaznan

March 14, 1927, Peter the Hermit learns some dance steps.

Jan. 4, 1920: During a police raid on the Mazdaznan temple, "an old, queer looking man, attired in blonde whiskers, long frock coat and white tennis shoes shuffled into the place and attempted to eject them. He gave his name as 'Peter,' admitted he was a soapbox orator from Los Angeles Street and stated that he had 'blown into the temple' to receive a lesson on 'Truth.' He was held as a witness while the search was being conducted and later released,” The Times says.

This sounds like Peter the Hermit, shown at right in a Sept. 30, 1923, photo, who was one of the more colorful street characters of Los Angeles from the 1920s to the 1960s. His real name was Peter Howard, though it is sometimes listed as Herman Mangold. He died in 1969 at the age of 90.

March 15, 1969, Peter the Hermit
March 15, 1969: Peter the Hermit dies.

Posted in #courts, Comics, Obituaries, Religion | 1 Comment

Aviator Not Worried About Wright Brothers’ Suit

Posted on January 4, 2010 by lmharnisch

Warren and Frank Eaton work on the Eaton-Twining monoplane at Chutes Park as Edgar S. Smith watches.

Jan. 4, 1910, Aviation Meet

Hillery Beachey and an assistant look over the Gill-Dosh biplane at the official Aviation Week garage, 7th and Los Angeles streets.

Jan. 4, 1910: The Times profiles aviator Louis Paulhan and his wife, Celeste, who will take part in the Aviation Week events as part of a U.S. tour.

The French liner carrying the Paulhans was met in New York by an attorney for the Wright Bros. who served Louis Paulhan with notice of a suit for using a Farman aircraft, which the Wrights said infringed on one of their patents.

"Paulhan said he was not altogether surprised over the Wright suit and added that he would go on flying just the same. He said that he could easily remove the wing tips which the Wright Bros. assert are covered by their invention," The Times says.

Posted in Front Pages, Transportation | Comments Off

On the Radio Dial

Posted on January 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

Jan. 3, 1960: Don Page, The Times' longtime radio critic, compiled end of the year lists that ran at the start of the next year about the bests in L.A. radio. So I compared the columns from 1960 and 1970 to see how his view changed from 1959 to 1969.

Let's look at three categories awarded by Page — best disc jockey, best newscaster and best sportscaster.

Newscaster: Hugh Brundage of KMPC in '59, Ben Chandler of KMPC in '69.

Sportscaster: Vin Scully in '59, Dick Enberg in '69. Wonder how many years Scully won it in between.

Disc jockey: Dick Whittinghill of KMPC in '59, Jimmy Rabbit of KRLA and Paul Compton of KGIL in '69.

Page said the biggest development in 1959 was "the return of good music and the diminution of that terrible musical cancer known as rock 'n' roll." Ten years later, he wrote that radio was "still alive … but the state of its health is questionable."

Any Daily Mirror readers out there remember any of these folks not named Scully or Enberg? And any guesses what Rabbit's real name was?

–Keith Thursby

Posted in broadcasting, Rock 'n' Roll | 5 Comments

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on January 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

Jan. 3, 1941: Hedda Hopper quotes predictions for the year from her “old friend Dareos.” Sample: “America will make terrific strides in all kinds of war machinery, especially radio-controlled airplanes and the death ray. And around the middle of June, Florida should look for a magnetic storm, with great loss of life.”

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off

Kennedy Makes It Official

Posted on January 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

If elected, Sen. John F. Kennedy (D-Mass.) , 42, would be the second-youngest president (after Theodore Roosevelt) and the first Roman Catholic in the White House, The Times says.

Jan. 3, 1960, Nixon

Vice President Nixon has no comment on Sen. Kennedy’s announcement.

Jan. 3, 1960, Nixon

Jan. 3, 1960: “Kennedy said the current budget for national defense is 'too low by a substantial percentage' and said he would not hesitate to call for higher taxes, deficit spending, reshuffling of available appropriations or a combination of these methods to close the 'missile gap,' which he charged the Eisenhower administration will leave to its successor,” The Times says.

Posted in Front Pages, JFK, Richard Nixon | Comments Off

Pasadena Jazz Hall a Nuisance, Neighbors Say

Posted on January 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

“Wonder What a 20 Months Old Baby Baby Thinks About?” by Clare Briggs.

Jan. 3, 1920, Jazz

333 Summit Ave., Pasadena, via Google maps' street view.

Jan. 3, 1920, Walking on Water

Jan. 3, 1920: Capt. Jack, 85, walks on water and says anybody can do it if they practice … And neighbors complain about the jazz music coming from the Mark Hall Social Club, 333 Summit Ave., Pasadena.

Posted in #Jazz, Comics, Nightclubs | Comments Off

San Gabriel Man Found Naked, Slashed to Death; Couple Held

Posted on January 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

Jan. 3, 1910: The slashed, naked body of Morgan Shiveley, a streetcar conductor, is found face-down in the mud several hundred yards from his home at Broadway and San Gabriel Boulevard in San Gabriel. George A. and Clara Stone, who shared the home with Shiveley, give different versions of what happened, and The Times’ disorganized account makes the story even more baffling.

Further investigation added seamy details about the relationship between Shiveley and the Stones and bizarre theories (Shiveley was a notorious sleepwalker—maybe he wounded himself in his sleep; perhaps he was killed by Mexicans in revenge for throwing them off a streetcar) and although the Stones were charged in the killing, the case was eventually dropped.

Posted in #courts, Homicide | 1 Comment

Matt Weinstock, Jan. 2, 1960

Posted on January 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

More Quaint Quotes

Matt Weinstock The quaint quotes of former S.F. County Supervisor James McSheehy ("The handwriting on the wall is as clear as a bell") were uncorked here recently with the comment that no such language mangler has been uncovered in L.A. I was wrong. There is one. He is an executive of a public service organization and his picturesque speech has been carefully jotted down over the years by the spies. However, I had to promise not to reveal his identity in order to glom onto these gems:

"If we can be of help, let us know. We're as close as your nearest telephone pole."

"Let's ask him directly. That way we get the information right from the horse."

"It hit me like a blue bolt."

"He made a bee dive for the door."

"After the election the skulls will be flying thick and fast."

Don't wait for them — they're asleep at the ball."

"Put it in your pipe and chew it around awhile."

"That way we'll kill two bird seeds with one throw."

"Keep your eye on him. Some day he'll be in the horse's saddle."

"He's not worth a roll of beans."

"We don't hear from them all year and then they call on us when their back is against the firing wall."

THE LADIES under the dryers in a west side beauty parlor were gabbing about their Christmas gifts and parties and general Yuletide behavior and one said vehemently, "I could kill that husband of mine!" Another added savagely, "I'd like to murder mine, too!" A weary-looking young mother in a corner called out softly, "Will you please include my husband in your killing — I'm too tired!"

DID YOU NOTICE?
A statesman — and his name
    is legion,
From any party, group or
    region,
When asked, "Are you
    a candidate?"
Will never give an answer
    straight.
He'll tell you, "I'm not
    running, sir."
But man! His feet are
    just a blur.
    –F. MENDELSOHN JR.

THE DAY before Christmas a group of ladies came into Wadsworth VA hospital in Sawtelle and handed each of the 335 patients a modest greeting card with a $5 bill enclosed. That's $1,675, quite a sum, but the ladies do it every year without publicity or regard for racial or religious beliefs of the recipients.

Jan. 2, 1960, Abby

They are 200 members of the Breakfast Bridge Club, founded in 1932, of which Mrs. Harold Link is board chairman. They meet monthly at the L.A. Breakfast Club, for bridge and philanthropy. The big chunk of money is raised each year at lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel early in December at which all sorts of articles are auctioned. The ladies have considered other gifts but decided the patients could best make use of the cash.

One of them, Cy Silver, thought they should know the boys appreciate it.

CY RICE, who wrote the Ted Husing book, "My Eyes Are in My Heart," reports the famous announcer, crippled and almost sightless, can now walk a little through the use of a brace. Previously he had to lean heavily on someone. And if those who sat near him when he attended several recent sports lunches wondered why he didn't eat, Cy confides that he couldn't cut his meat but wouldn't say anything. Ted hopes to live the rest of his allotted time, in New York, from the proceeds of the book.

FOOTNOTES — Dave Orr made his annual pilgrimage to the Rose Parade yesterday just to hear the Salvation Army band, which he considers unparalleled . . . The Red Cross has a $2.25 head start on its 1960 fund campaign, thanks to five boys aged 8 to 11 on N. McCadden Pl. They picked up the swag from neighbors when, lighted candles in hand, they went caroling Dec. 23 . . . This is to report that Burroughs Direct Mail Advertising, of which I was inadvertently made an executive vice president by its fun-loving bosses, Eric Smith and Bob Hemmings, has come through with a Christmas dividend check — for 24 cents. The payola on this job is like crazy.

Posted in art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Jan. 2, 1960

Posted on January 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

Mash Notes and Comments

Paul Coates "Dec. 22, 1959
"to Paul Coats,

"Paul I am enclosing a sixty dollar money order I wrote out to myself which I want you to hold for me. My old girl friend of 20 years ago gave it to me toward getting my book published.

"She said Parkey, get that book in print and you might be a rich man.

"She gave me seventy five dollars cash but I kept $15 for expences.

"If I keep the sixty Paul it will burn a hole in my pocket. Please hold it until I am ready to get my book published.

"You don't have to donate anything to it but if I can raise $85 more I can make a deal with a printer on the Pennisula up here. I will try and tap the Perfesser if his wife isn't around.

"Hold my sixty dollars, Paul. Don't let go of it until I am ready to publish my book. You know what will happen if I get a hold of it before I am ready to publish my book.

Jan. 2, 1960, Vandalism "P.S. Paul don't let me down!"

(signed) Parkey Sharkey, 2077 Bay Road, East Palo Alto.

–-Okay.

"Dec. 24, Christmas Eve

    "Paul did you get my money order for sixty dollars???

"Hang on to it, keep it in a safe place. I just need $85 more and I will finally become a author.

"Paul if I get drunk and call you up for the money don't listen to me. This is my big change.
I hope it got to you all right Paul and take care of it."

(signed) Parkey Sharkey, 2077 Bay Road, East Palo Alto.

–Okay.

"Dec. 26, 1959

    "to Paul,

"Don't lose my sixty bucks Paul hang on to it for me.

"When I get my book published you can put me on your TV program and I can tell about how many years I took to write it and get it published.

"Remember Paul, if I ask you for the sixty bucks before I am ready to get my book published, don't send it to me.

"Hang on to it."

(signed) Parkey Sharkey, 2077 Bay Road, East Palo Alto.

–-Okay.

"Dec. 27, 1959

    "to Paul Coats,

"Paul I haven't heard from you about my sixty bucks, I hope you have it in a safe place.

"I will make a deal with the publisher this week. My book will be a dollar a copy and should sell like hot cakes Paul.

"Things are really looking good for me now. Pretty soon I will be a author.

""Paul don't lose my sixty bucks or everything will fall through.

"Don't forget, if I get loaded on beer and ask for the money don't you send it to me. Guard it with your life."

(signed) Parkey Sharkey. 2077 Bay Road, East Palo Alto.

–Okay.

(Collect telegram) "PALO ALTO CALIF 29 DEC 59 10:56 AMP

"PAUL COATS SEND ME MY MONEY ORDER $60.00 RIGHT AWAY. IMPORTANT. I HAVE A TRAFFIC TICKET TO PAY OFF."

(signed) PARKEY SHARKEY.

–Okay, Parkey.

Posted in books, Columnists, Countdown to Watts, Paul Coates, Politics | 1 Comment

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on January 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

Jan. 2, 1940: Hedda Hopper on what makes Clark Gable an enduring movie star.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off

Matt Weinstock, Jan. 5, 1960

Pity the Plants

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Jan. 5, 1960

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Nixon’s Role in Settling Steel Strike

Teachings of Mazdaznan Cult Exposed

Food Poisoning Kills 9

Matt Weinstock, Jan. 4, 1960

Contest With Clam

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Jan. 4, 1960

'Blacklist' Charge Brings an Answer

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Nixon Flight Sets Record

Police Raid Cult Headquarters

Aviator Not Worried About Wright Brothers’ Suit

On the Radio Dial

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Kennedy Makes It Official

Pasadena Jazz Hall a Nuisance, Neighbors Say

San Gabriel Man Found Naked, Slashed to Death; Couple Held

Matt Weinstock, Jan. 2, 1960

More Quaint Quotes

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Jan. 2, 1960

Mash Notes and Comments

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

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Pity the Plants

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Contest With Clam

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'Blacklist' Charge Brings an Answer

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