November 13, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on November 13, 2009 by lmharnisch

November 13, 1959: Comic panel: "You know what makes people tick -- Artists always seem more sensitive than hardboiled business stiffs like me. Help me, Ames!

The End Is in Sight

Matt WeinstockBravely ignoring the tear-inducing smog which was seeping in through the woodwork, the gentlemen of the copy desk yesterday, between, editions, went into their daily seminar titled “Whither Drifteth?”  Their despondent conclusion, delivered to my desk, is as follows:

“Meteorological trends indicate it will never rain again in Los Angeles.  If this becomes fact, it is safe to predict that by 1975 there will be no one left except perhaps a few standby guards.  Their job will be to keep an eye on public buildings to see if they dry up and blow away or disintegrate in the smog.  Their reports will be of value, of course, when examined in some future era by scientists seeking to determine wha hoppen.  You are welcome to this information free.” Continue reading →

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Nov. 13, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on November 13, 2009 by lmharnisch

November 13, 1959: Dear Abby

 

Hucksters of Horror Tell How to Succeed

Paul Coates, in coat and tieI listened in on a trilogy of success stories this week.

They were about three local-boys-who-made-good.  Their ages averaged 25.  Each was married, with two to four children.  None had any special educational advantages.  In fact, two never finished high school.

Yet, today, they’re earning between $25,000 and $50,000 a year apiece.  Tax free.

They live in good neighborhoods, drive good cars, wear good clothes.  Their neighbors respect them, and apparently the police do, too.  Because none of them has so much as one arrest to mar his record.

Continue reading →

Posted in #gays and lesbians, Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Nov. 13, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on November 13, 2009 by lmharnisch

 Nov. 13, 1950, Hedda Hopper 
 
Nov. 13, 1950: Ginger Rogers has friends over to watch three hours of dance excerpts from her movies with Fred Astaire.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Movie Star Mystery Photo

Posted on November 13, 2009 by lmharnisch

Nov. 9, 1959, Mystery Photo
Los Angeles Times file photo

Update: This week’s mystery star is Jane Frazee, above, in “Kansas City Kitty,” June 19, 1945. 

Sept. 8, 1985, Jane Frazee

Sept.8, 1985: The Times reports the death of Jane Frazee at the age of 67.

Just a reminder on how this works: I post the mystery photo on Monday and reveal the answer on Friday … or on Saturday if I have a hard time picking only five pictures; sometimes it's difficult to choose. To keep the mystery photo from getting lost in the other entries, I move it from Monday to Tuesday to Wednesday, etc., adding a photo every day.

I have to approve all comments, so if your guess is posted immediately, that means you're wrong. (And if a wrong guess has already been submitted by someone else, there's no point in submitting it again).

If you're right, you will have to wait until Friday. There's no need to submit your guess five times. Once is enough. The only reward is bragging rights. 

The answer to last week's mystery star: Lili Gentle!

Nov. 10, 1959, Mystery Photo Los Angeles Times file photo
Update: “Introducing Mr. Timmy – more formally known as Timothy Glenn Tryon, son of Republic’s beautifully young star, Jane Frazee, and Glenn Tryon.” 

Here’s another photo of our mystery guest with what I believe is a first for the Daily Mirror – a mystery baby! Please congratulate Don Danard, Jeff Hanna, Carmen and John C. Marshall for identifying her.

Nov. 11, 2009, Mystery Photo Los Angeles Times file photo
Update: “Marjorie Montgomery makes a cholo coat of Guatemalan cotton, worn by Jane Frazee, at the left. Vera Ralston models a Western Fashions casual,” Jan. 2, 1947.

Here's another photo of our mystery woman with a mystery companion (how about those shoes?). Please congratulate Kylie for identifying her!

Please congratulate Jeff Hanna, Carmen, Mary Mallory and Mike Hawks for recognizing Ralston.

Nov. 12, 2009, Mystery Photo Los Angeles Times file photo
Update: Jane Frazee in “Gay Ranchero.” Presumably that’s Roy Rogers under all the paint.  I think just about everybody recognized him!

Here’s our mystery gal with a mystery companion. Please congratulate Nick Santa Maria for identifying her and Jeff Hanna, Carmen and Dewey Webb for identifying yesterday’s mystery companion.

2009_1113_mystery_photo_02 Los Angeles Times file photo
Jane Frazee in a 1975 handout photo. Please congratulate Megan, Lee and Thom; Brent Walker, Mike Hawks, 

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | 34 Comments

Reporters Walk Out on Rockefeller

Posted on November 13, 2009 by lmharnisch

 

Nov. 13, 1959, Times Cover
 
New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller’s plan for separate news conferences for print and broadcast reporters backfires when the TV and radio crews in Los Angeles walk out on him.

Nov. 13, 1959, Lovers 

Louie Malle’s New Wave film “Lovers” is just plain immoral, Philip K. Scheuer says.

Nov. 13, 1959, Sports “Bruins Tiff Wolfpack?” Keith, can you translate that for me?

 
Nov. 13, 1959: Smog clouds the view on Broadway, looking south from 1st Street … And a temporary employee with the U.S. Forest Services admits setting the Angeles Crest fire that burned 14,000 acres and killed two firefighters.

Posted in Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Richard Nixon, Sports | 3 Comments

Hard Cider Is a Soft Drink

Posted on November 13, 2009 by lmharnisch
Nov. 13, 1919, Horse Meat 
 
Someone had fun writing this story. But “Remember the Mane"?

Nov. 13, 1919, Cider

Cider, even hard cider, is a soft drink.

Nov. 13, 1919, Doughnuts

 
Nov. 13, 1919: Pastry was flying at the Lewis Bakery, 448 S. Hill St., after Thomas H. Whitfield complained that he was being charged too much for three doughnuts. He says a "ferocious woman" hit him with six cupcakes and a plate, but that he couldn’t escape because his face was covered with sticky pastry.

Posted in #courts, Food and Drink | Comments Off on Hard Cider Is a Soft Drink

Few Killers Are Executed, Reports Show

Posted on November 13, 2009 by lmharnisch

Nov. 13, 1909, Death Penalty 

Nov. 13, 1909, Thumb
 
Nov. 13, 1909: More than 100 murders were committed in the 30 years since the capital punishment law was passed, but only five killers from Los Angeles County have been executed, The Times says. A convicted killer has a 1-in-20 chance of being executed, statistics show.

A severed thumb is the key evidence in the trial of Burt Thornburg on charges of trying to burglarize the store of Yee Sam, 515 N. Main St. … And a judge drops charges against a motorcyclist accused of going more than 30 mph. (He said his motorcycle wouldn’t do 20 mph).

Posted in #courts, Homicide, Transportation | Comments Off on Few Killers Are Executed, Reports Show

November 12, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on November 12, 2009 by lmharnisch

Serious Slapstick

Matt WeinstockAs you may have read, that was quite a comedy of errors the other night in the little city of Cypress in Orange County.

On a tip that Louis Ross Lord, 35, road camp escapee, was there, two Norwalk deputies, D.W. Llewelyn and D.J. Hawkins, went to a house on Sumner Pl.

When Lord opened the door and saw them, he struck Llewelyn, knocking him down.  Llewelyn got out his gun and shot at Lord and he went down.  As Llewelyn bent over to see if Lord was wounded, Lord jumped up and knocked him down again.  He hadn’t been shot, he’d fainted. Continue reading →

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November 12, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on November 12, 2009 by lmharnisch

Nov. 12, 1959: Mirror CoverThe Mirror follows the Lillian Lenorak story. Below, Paul Weeks profiles suspect Tord Ove Zeppen-Field. Continue reading →

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A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on November 12, 2009 by lmharnisch
Nov. 12, 1949, Hedda Hopper 
 
Nov. 12, 1949: "I wish Metro would find a good dressmaker for Judy Garland instead of making her rip off those much-needed pounds. What if she is fat? A clever dressmaker can hide the bumps.”

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Former Nixon Aide Kills Family, Self

Posted on November 12, 2009 by lmharnisch
Nov. 12, 1959, Times Cover  

Lifeguard Duffie Fryling pries his arm out of a shark's jaws while swimming near Paradise Cove. Fryling, who was treated for cuts on his wrist, says he eluded several other sharks in rushing to the beach.

Nov. 12, 1959, The Lovers

“The Lovers” is opening at the Beverly Canon.

Nov. 12, 1959, Jeane Hoffman

Jeane Hoffman takes a look at Rocky Marciano’s future. 

Nov. 12, 1959: Charles Richard Gardner, 38, is found dead at his Pebble Peach home next to the bodies of his wife and two children in an apparent triple murder and suicide. Unfortunately, we don’t have the rest of the story, so there’s no explanation of Gardner’s connection to Richard Nixon.

Posted in Richard Nixon, Suicide | 1 Comment

IWW Official Lynched After Shots Are Fired at Armistice Day Parade

Posted on November 12, 2009 by lmharnisch
 Nov. 12, 1919

Nov. 12, 1919, Centralia, Wash.
 
Nov. 12, 1919: An AP dispatch says a mob in Centralia, Wash., hanged an IWW official –originally believed to be Britt Smith and later identified as Wesley Everest – for allegedly being one of the union members who fired on an Armistice Day parade and killed a former serviceman in the resulting riot. Three other men were killed and two more were wounded, the AP said.

Posted in Homicide | Comments Off on IWW Official Lynched After Shots Are Fired at Armistice Day Parade

Illinois Mob Lynches Two Men

Posted on November 12, 2009 by lmharnisch
Nov. 12, 1909, Lynching 
 
Nov. 12, 1909: A mob in Cairo, Ill., goes on a murderous rampage, lynching a Will “Froggy” James, an African American, and Henry Salzner, who was white. Sheriff Frank Davis tells Illinois Gov. Charles S. Deneen: "The streets are filled with people and they are crazy. They are storming the jail now and are trying to batter down the doors. I called for volunteers to help suppress the rioting and not a soul would help me. I must have troops."

Posted in #courts, Countdown to Watts, Homicide | Comments Off on Illinois Mob Lynches Two Men

November 11, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on November 11, 2009 by lmharnisch

A Dog’s Life

Matt WeinstockSeveral weeks ago Glen Shahan’s miniature schnauzer, Henry, developed a cough.  When it persisted, the veterinarian recommended that Henry’s tonsils come out.  This was done but poor Henry continued to wheeze, and the other day Glenn, ABC TV publicist, took him back to the vet for examination.

“There’s nothing more I can do,” the vet said.  “The only thing now is to send him to Palm Springs for a week.  That ought to clear it up.”

“You’re kidding,” Glenn said.

“Oh no,” was the reply, “you just put him on the bus and I’ll arrange to have him met and picked up in a station wagon and he’ll stay in a nice, sunny place.” Continue reading →

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Nov. 11, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on November 11, 2009 by lmharnisch

November 11, 1959: Mirror cover: Crazed Killer Hunted in Palm Springs Case

John Law Gets Sort of Rough Now and Then

Paul Coates, in coat and tieFor a minute.  Talk to him for just a minute and you know that he’s not the man who looks for trouble.

He’s a quiet man.  Everything about him is quiet.  His voice.  His manner of dress.  The way he walks into your office.  He makes no noise.

Age:  Mid-40’s.  Distinguishing characteristics: None.

He’s just one of the 2 1/2 million people in this city.

What sets him apart from the rest — for today, at least — is his story.

“I manage a cafe,” he starts.  “It’s a nice place.  Family type.

“When my partner and I took it over seven years ago, it had a bad name.  We worked hard to make it clean and respectable and that’s what it is now. Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Nov. 11, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Posted on November 11, 2009 by lmharnisch
 
Nov. 11, 1948, Hedda Hopper 
Nov. 11, 1948: Edgar “Slow Burn” Kennedy dies of throat cancer at the Motion Picture Country Hospital. “He had been ill quite a long time and suffered untold agonies,” Hedda Hopper says. 

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movie Columnist

Pro Hockey for L.A.

Posted on November 11, 2009 by lmharnisch
 
Nov. 11, 1959, Sports

 

Nov. 11, 1959

Would L.A. warm up to ice hockey?

Bob Hannam apparently thought so. Described in The Times as a Pasadena insurance man and president of a local amateur league, he was the front man for an International Hockey League team that would start playing in the Sports Arena in 1960.

The plan, if approved by the Coliseum Commission, would be to expand the league into Los Angeles and San Francisco. If the Cow Palace (perhaps the weirdest name ever for a sports arena) didn't add an ice rink, the league would add a second L.A. team for one season to play under a Hollywood name.

There's so much about this I find puzzling. Didn't L.A. have an eye on bigger fish than a minor league hockey team? Seems strange to me that given the Dodgers' incredible success, the city didn't work on getting better tenants for the new Sports Arena. Maybe the Lakers were already quietly talking to L.A.

And the idea of putting two teams in L.A. and naming one Hollywood, that sounds strangely familiar. Anyone for the Los Angeles Kings of Hollywood?

— Keith Thursby

Posted in Downtown, Sports | 3 Comments

Beating Victim Identified

Posted on November 11, 2009 by lmharnisch
 Nov. 11, 1959, Times Cover

A Senate subcommittee hears testimony about drug traffic from Mexico.

Nov. 11, 1959, Desert Slaying

Nov. 11, 1959, Reading
Reading may become a lost art!
 
Nov. 11, 1959: Here’s a name that may sound familiar to people who follow the Black Dahlia case: Lillian Lenorak. You may recall that Mary Unkefer, a jail matron from Santa Barbara who befriended Elizabeth Short in 1943,  wrote a letter to the district attorney’s office in 1950 about transporting Lenorak from the home of Dr. George Hodel to the psychiatric ward at Santa Barbara General Hospital. Unkefer’s letter is one of the most disturbing items in the district attorney’s files on the Black Dahlia case.

I would caution that accounts of Lenorak’s death describe her as extremely volatile and mentally unstable, with a history of stormy romances. Reports of her death say that she was threatening to jump out of a moving car during an argument with Frank Back over why he wouldn’t give her a key to his house. Keep in mind as you read these letters that this lady is not a typical, well-grounded, middle-class suburban housewife but a chronic patient of mental hospitals and adjust your skepticism accordingly.    

Jan. 30, 1950, Mary Unkefer
Note: The above page was too long for my scanner so I had to scan it in two pieces and paste it together 

Jan. 30, 1950, Mary Unkefer   To be sure, this is a vivid account. The question anyone should have is to what degree it's reliable.

Feb 24, 1950, Bentley Sgt. Bill Bentley also wrote a letter to district attorney's investigator Walter Sullivan about Lenorak.

Feb. 24, 1950, Bentley
Bentley's version isn't nearly as dramatic but perhaps more reliable.

 

Posted in books, Front Pages, Homicide | 1 Comment

Nuestro Pueblo

Posted on November 11, 2009 by lmharnisch
Aug. 12, 1938, Nuestro Pueblo 
Aug. 12, 1938: Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens visit a produce stand on Atlantic Boulevard run by a man “who looked as though he had seven kids and lumbago.” At least we learn that Owens did the driving and picked the sites.

Note: The original run of Nuestro Pueblo concluded in 1939. I’m going back and picking up the entries that I missed the first time.

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Nation Observes Armistice Day

Posted on November 11, 2009 by lmharnisch
 
Nov. 11, 1919, Times Cover 

 
Nov. 11, 1919: Among the activities planned in Los Angeles for the first anniversary of the end of World War I is a "war pageant showing a night battle scene in all its phases." Interestingly enough, a similar re-creation of combat was staged at the Coliseum after World War II.

Posted in Front Pages | 1 Comment