Note: This is an encore post from 2014.
“Here’s a good spot to shoot, baby” are the probably the last words spoken by William B. Smith, 39, a dental technician (or a shipyard worker, depending on the story) who was confronted by his angry girlfriend, waitress Mildred Cook, 30, after he told her that he was reconciling with his wife, according to a Times story.
Press Release) “Jack Paar says in the current issue of Look magazine that his wife, Miriam, is sexy –‘in a Republican sort of way’.” (signed)
Publicity Dept., Look magazine, New York City.
—Well, you know how it is, Jack. Politics makes strange bedfellows.
::
“Dear Mr. Coates:” I know a teen-age girl who has trained a beautiful blue parakeet to talk
very plainly. This bird could make a wonderful show bird.
“The girl plays the accordion herself and has been on Mr. and Mrs. Bob Yeakel’s Rocket to Stardom. ” One day this parakeet flew out of the door, so her grandmother advertised
in the Pasadena paper, and it was returned by a couple who said the bird also spoke to them.
The Plaza in a 1940s postcard.
From El Pueblo’s beginnings, ethnic and cultural diversity has enriched the population of what became Los Angeles. Multiple immigrant communities searching for a better way of life put down roots, providing a rich tapestry of foods, arts, music, and ideas, the lifeblood of our community. This blending of languages and cultures gave Los Angeles heart, character, and roots. The Plaza at its heart became a city gathering place. It hosted speakers and musicians chronicling the city and its politics as the early community’s free speech area, and then later saw officials round up people to repatriate to Mexico. More than 90 years later, protests over the seizure of immigrants and resident citizens took place in and around El Pueblo, reechoing the past.
Forty four hardy pioneers – Spanish, Natives, Africans, and mixed race colonists – walked six miles from the San Gabriel Mission to establish El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula September 4, 1781 on land actually belonging to Tongva and Gabrielino tribes but under the control of Spain. These new settlers brought courage and determination into developing and growing a thriving settlement. Their successful cultivation of grapes and other crops demonstrated the richness of the land, eventually luring other adventurers westward. Little did this small band of pilgrims realize they were planting the seed out of which a mighty and culturally diverse city would grow. Continue reading
Two years ago, against the same backdrop of beauty and ballyhoo as emanates presently from Long Beach, Leona Gage, Miss Maryland, was acclaimed Miss U.S.A. At her moment of triumph, as she prepared to compete for the Miss Universe title, it was revealed she was married and the mother of two children. Her husband had talked in a bar in Baltimore.
Leona first denied, then admitted, it was true. There followed an unprecedented uproar in which horrified pageant officials gave off wild double talk. It was as though she had committed a capital crime. All she had done was reach for the big break a pretty girl knows she needs to get anywhere in the tough entertainment business. In the end she was
disqualified and sent packing.
But life was not too grim for tearful Leona. She virtually had to run from Ed Sullivan’s program to Steve Allen’s show one Sunday. Then there was the showgirl job in Las Vegas. After that, nothing. Continue reading
Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.
Her name was Vesta Belle and she was 17, an honor student at Jefferson High, a mile and a half from her home at 5320 Holmes Ave. You might think she got her name in the paper for earning a scholarship or receiving an academic award.
Instead, her 14-year-old brother, Carlisle, came home from a playground and found Vesta Belle Sapenter’s body in her bedroom. She was partially undressed and had been strangled with a thin hemp cord. With so many murders of women in Los Angeles, you might expect The Times to give it decent play, but Vesta Belle got two paragraphs on Page 8. Just enough to give a few details and that fact that she was black.
Note: This is an encore post from 2006.
July 24, 1907
Los Angeles
On a speaking tour of America, former Columbia professor James H. Hyslop is trying to raise interest in a scientific approach to psychic research while deflating the fabulous claims of mediums and other fakers.
“There is so much fraud in connection with the physical demonstrations, said Dr. Hyslop, that much time would be wasted in making the investigation,” The Times said. “To see a table get up and prance across the floor doesn’t prove anything in connection with a future life.”
Continue reading
On the final day of May, 1954, I had an appointment to meet a wiry little Italian immigrant by the name of Simon Rodia.
Rodia, then 76 years old, was to appear on my television program, to explain why he had devoted 33 years of his life to the construction of some fantastic towers on a small piece of property he owned in the Watts section of Los Angeles.
The reason he gave, on the rare occasions when he chose to speak, was: “All my life, I had in my mind to do something big. That’s why I did it.” He never, to my knowledge, elaborated very much on that statement. And I guess that — except to a nosy reporter or a probing psychiatrist — it was an adequate answer. Continue reading
Don’t get him wrong, writer Don Quinn loves the Hawaiian Islands. But during his latest visit — his 17th, by the way, from which he has just returned — be became painfully aware of the natives’ passionate regard for “The Wedding Song” or “Ke Kali Ne Au.”
It is played a dozen times an evening in some Honolulu night clubs and barroom jukeboxes, and has achieved the status of sacred music as if it were comparable to “Rock of Ages” or “Abide With Me.” Anyone who dares talk while it is played is glared at or shushed.
It isn’t a bad tune as such tunes go, but Don, an individualist, resents being brainwashed. And this is to alert our 50th state that he is working on a companion piece. Soon, when anyone gets weary of hearing “Ke Kali Ne Au” he will be able to put another dime in the slot and hear Don’s tune, “The Divorce Song” or “Pei Ali Mo Ni Nau.” Continue reading
Note: This is an encore post from 2014.
July 23, 1944
The conversation I had with Bing Crosby several days ago was not about the world-famous crooner, the man who is already mentioned for this year’s Oscar because of his performance in “Going My Way.” It was with Bing Crosby, the star-maker – the man who was courageous enough to select Greg McClure, an unknown, to play John L. Sullivan in “The Great John L.”
CANCER: Aspects similar to Gemini today, heed same cautions. Especially protect family interests. Don’t worry about what is coming, prepare as well as can, then take things in stride.
Note: This is an encore post from 2006.
July 23, 1907
Los Angeles
John Conroy, a career criminal, planned his work carefully: He would wait until 10 p.m., pry open the skylight of J.C. Fleming’s jewelry store at 531 S. Broadway, climb down a rope and help himself to whatever he wanted.
But Conroy didn’t know that along with putting alarms on the front and back doors, A.D.T. security service, 118 W. 3rd St., had put a sensor on the skylight as well. As soon as the circuit was broken, supervisor J.P. Quinn called police while he sent Herbert Johnson to watch the store.
Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.
First-prize winner at the inventors exposition was Stanley Hiller Jr., who developed a helicopter in which two blades on a single shaft rotated in opposite directions, eliminating the need for a tail rotor.
This week’s mystery movie was the 1946 MGM film Undercurrent, with Katharine Hepburn, Robert Taylor, Robert Mitchum, Edmund Gwenn, Marjorie Main, Jayne Meadows, Clinton Sundberg, Dan Tobin, Kathryn Card, Leigh Whipper and Charles Trowbridge. Continue reading
Here’s Boxie and I with this month’s “Ask Me Anything” on George Hodel.
In this session, I followed up on the hemicorporectomy, which George Hodel supposedly performed on Elizabeth Short — at least in the alternative reality that is the world of Steve Hodel.
I also discussed William J. Mann’s forthcoming book, Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood, at least as it pertains to George Hodel.
And paranormal “influencer” Dalen Spratt’s visit to Elizabeth Short’s grave with a “spirit box” and a Bluetooth speaker (TACKY!)
This week’s mystery movie was the 1945 Columbia film A Thousand and One Nights, with Evelyn Keyes, Phil Silvers, Adele Jergens, Cornel Wilde, Dusty Anderson, Dennis Hoey, Philip Van Zandt, Gus Schilling, Nestor Paiva, Rex Ingram, Richard Hale and John Abbott. Continue reading
Reminder: Boxie and I will be doing a live “Ask Me Anything” on George Hodel and Steve Hodel on Tuesday, July 15, at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube and Instagram.
Among other subjects, I will discuss William Mann’s forthcoming book on the Black Dahlia and what it says about George Hodel.
Can’t make the live session? Email me your questions and I’ll answer them! The video will be posted once the session ends so you can watch it later. Remember, this is ask me anything, so please remember to ask questions rather than make comments. Thanks!
Occidental Studios, photograph by Mary Mallory.
Film production in the mid-1910s quickly transformed Hollywood the farming community into the world’s film manufacturing hub. Originally employing simple buildings like barns, ex-saloons, and laundry yards as studio headquarters and stages, the industry quickly began constructing actual production facilities as they turned increasingly professional. Most were located adjacent or within blocks of others in such areas as central Hollywood and Edendale.
Los Angeles sportsman turned ferry owner Frank Garbutt and Selig Studio star Hobart Bosworth decided to construct their own state-of-the-art facility more than a mile from any other movie studio, isolating themselves from distractions or interruptions. Located at 201 N. Occidental Blvd. a block off Temple Street and distant from downtown Los Angeles, the new intimate film studio focused on quality, not quantity. Significant visionaries as diverse as Lois Weber, Mary Pickford, and Howard Hughes advanced the industry from this location. Continue reading
This week’s mystery movie was the 1940 MGM film Gallant Sons, with Jackie Cooper, Bonita Granville, Gene Reynolds, June Preisser, Leo Gorcey, William Tracy, Tommy Kelly, Edward Ashley and El Brendel. Continue reading
July 4, 1944: Uncle Sam in a cartoon by Edmund Waller “Ted” Gale for the Los Angeles Examiner and republished in the Milwaukee Sentinel.
Note: This is an encore post from 2014. Broken links: FIXED!
Here’s a look at how Los Angeles has celebrated Independence Day over the years. Continue reading
Construction of the Statue of Liberty, artwork by John Durkin, Harper’s Weekly, Jan. 19, 1884.
Note: This is an encore post from 2018.
Written in 1883 to help raise money for building the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty would stand, Emma Lazarus’ 14-line poem “The New Colossus” would take on a life of its own: becoming enshrined on the statue as a memorial to the poet and as a statement of welcome to those seeking refuge in our country. As we approach Independence Day, the meaning behind its words rings even clearer today.
Born July 22, 1849, in New York City as the fourth of seven children to wealthy merchant Moses Lazarus, Emma received a strong private education, learning to speak at least four languages and becoming an excellent writer, especially in poetry. Ralph Waldo Emerson mentored her. She translated works of literature as well as setting down her own odes, many based on romantic literature and others on troubling historic events regarding her fellow Jews, receiving much praise upon their publication. She also worked to alleviate the suffering of women and the poor.
Mary Mallory’s “Living With Grace” is now on sale.
In the July 2025 Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case, I talk about my work in progress, Heaven Is HERE!
I also discussed: Continue reading
ladailymirror.com 