Cleaning Up L.A.’s Dirty Air

Posted on October 22, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 22, 1959, Mirror Cover  
The Mirror has three Page 1 stories about smog.

Oct. 22, 1959, Smog

Oct. 22, 1959: Anti-smog devices are available for cars starting with the 1961 model year.

Posted in Environment, Front Pages | Comments Off on Cleaning Up L.A.’s Dirty Air

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movies

Posted on October 22, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 22, 1949, Pinky 

William Bendix in “Kill the Umpire!” What? Not on Netflix?

Oct. 22, 1949, Pinky

Oct. 22, 1949: “Pinky” gets a supportive review from Edwin Schallert. He calls the film a “fascinating, sometimes sentimental narrative with rare feeling.” It’s interesting how The Times indented the paragraph with the plot summary.

Posted in books, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Delay for Caryl Chessman

Posted on October 22, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 22, 1959, Times Cover

Oct. 22, 1959: President Eisenhower transfers German rocket scientists led by Wernher von Braun from Army jurisdiction to NASA.

Oct. 22, 1959, Sports Luau anyone?

The Dodgers submitted a map for their Chavez Ravine ballpark and some of the features were downright headline grabbers. Proposed were a sit-down restaurant, a quick service restaurant, a carwash and automotive center. And a group-luau restaurant.

The City Council quickly moved to delay the whole matter for further study. The city attorney said the automotive center was at the request of traffic and police officials who wanted something nearby to handle stalled cars and overheated engines.

"We know that the confusion about the map is very definitely our responsibility," Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley said in The Times Oct. 24. "The baseball stadium will be set in a tastefully landscaped park and of course will be completely without any shoddy atmosphere or commercialism. This is what we have pledged and what we have always intended to build."

Personally, I would have loved the luau. But the gas station certainly is part of the Dodger Stadium landscape and without it, there never would have been this classic commercial with Tom Lasorda taking Vin Scully out of the game.

–Keith Thursby

Posted in #courts, Caryl Chessman, City Hall, Dodgers, Downtown, Politics | 2 Comments

Jealousy Leads to Murder and Suicide

Posted on October 22, 2009 by lmharnisch

Oct. 22, 1919, Briggs

“Somebody Is Always Taking the Joy Out of Life” by Clare Briggs.

Oct. 22, 1919, Zola Schmidt

Oct. 22, 1919: Mrs. Zola Schmidt was  killed as she slept … while holding a letter from another man.

916 W. 9th, the scene of the crime.

Oct. 22, 1919, Zola Schmidt
“I am anxious to be married with as little delay as possible…”

Oct. 22, 1919, Murder Suicide

George S. Crosman, a one-armed man wearing nothing but a Japanese kimono, kills Mrs. Zola Schmidt, who has been estranged from her husband for about a year. Numerous love letters and rose petals are strewn around the apartment, where a canary sang joyously in its cage.  On the Victrola, “Mammy O’ Mine.”
Posted in art and artists, Comics, Homicide, Music, Suicide | 4 Comments

Plaza Festival Celebrates Columbus Day

Posted on October 22, 2009 by lmharnisch
 Oct. 22, 1909, J.W. Robinson

What the stalwart young lad is wearing.

Oct. 22, 1909, Columbus Day

Oct. 22, 1909: Columbus Day is celebrated at the Plaza with a surprising array of ethnic groups. I’ve seen postcards of the Indian Village at Eastlake Park, but have never found out too much about it. I’d be interested to know which band of Apaches was in Los Angeles. Notice that in addition to Spanish dances, the youngsters did Dutch and Greek dances. And somehow, in celebrating Columbus Day, people found a way to reconnect with “the early times and romance of California.”

Father John Caballeria says: "We should all encourage this glorious spirit of the past and the old mission days of Southern California should never be forgotten. The Indians and the dances all show what great work has been accomplished in the past and just as great a work will be done in the future. This old mission is the mother of the churches in Los Angeles, as all of the churches in the city started from her. The old mission is getting old, very old, and for this reason we want to preserve its walls. The old mission needs lots of help."

Posted in Downtown, Fashion, Religion | Comments Off on Plaza Festival Celebrates Columbus Day

Arkansas Democrats Seat Blacks at Separate Table for Harmony Dinner

Posted on October 21, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 21, 1959, Separate Tables 
Oct. 21, 1959: African Americans are invited to the Arkansas Democratic Harmony Dinner – but they must sit at their own table.

Posted in Countdown to Watts, Politics | Comments Off on Arkansas Democrats Seat Blacks at Separate Table for Harmony Dinner

October 21, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on October 21, 2009 by lmharnisch

Above and Beyond

Matt WeinstockFor sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty, a colleague asks a typographical paean for Jerry Leshay, associate director of the George Gobel TV program.  An associate director’s job is to make the show go.  Working from a booth, he co-ordinates all the action.  He signals performers to cut or stretch.  He cues the orchestra.  He alerts those who go on next.  He cuts in the commercials.  Everything is timed to the second.  Above all else, the show must end on time.

Last week, as the program finished on a high happy note — Gobel was in fine form — and the credits were being run off, Jerry saw he was a few seconds over.  Here was a crisis.  Credits may be a bore to watchers but they’re the lifeblood of a TV staff. Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Matt Weinstock, Transportation | Comments Off on October 21, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Oct. 21, 1959

Posted on October 21, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 21, 1959, Paul Coates

Paul is still on vacation…

Oct. 21, 1959, Abby

Oct. 21, 1959: A cleaning lady who steals … a grandmother who gets hungry when she’s babysitting … and foreigners who brag.

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Oct. 21, 1959

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movies

Posted on October 21, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 21, 1948, Walk a Crooked Mile 
Oct. 21, 1948: “Walk a Crooked Mile” is at the Pantages and the Hill Street.

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

Voices: Jack Nelson, 1929 – 2009

Posted on October 21, 2009 by lmharnisch
March 4, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr.
March 4, 1965: Jack Nelson covers a memorial for a civil rights demonstrator.
March 4, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr.

Nelson wrote: "Dr. King declared that 'the man who pulled the trigger is a sick, hate-filled man.' But he added that 'what killed Jimmie Lee Jackson' was more important than 'who killed him.'

"Jackson was killed, Dr. King said, 'by the indifference of every white minster of the Gospel who has remained silent behind the safe security of stained-glass windows.’ "

Posted in Obituaries, Religion | Comments Off on Voices: Jack Nelson, 1929 – 2009

As Undercover Agent, Housewife Spied on Communists

Posted on October 21, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 21, 1959, Times Cover
Oct. 21, 1959: Moiselle Clinger describes spying on Communists for the FBI.

Oct. 21, 1959, Bank Holdup
Truck driver Gordon Powell says he robbed a bank after losing work because of the steel strike.

Oct. 21, 1959, Caryl Chessman

A new appeal seeks to block the execution of Caryl Chessman.

Oct. 21, 1959, Communist Spy

Oct. 21, 1959, Sign of the Gladiator

“Sign of the Gladiator” in Colorscope. Not on Netflix!

Oct. 21, 1959, Times Sports  
Hey, Keith! It’s a tilt at the Coliseum! And a tiff with L.A. scribes!
Posted in #courts, Caryl Chessman, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Politics, Sports | 1 Comment

Nuestro Pueblo, Pasadena

Posted on October 21, 2009 by lmharnisch
July 27, 1938, Nuestro Pueblo  
July 27, 1938: Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens visit Pasadena for Nuestro Pueblo. Here’s a map of Japanese-owned businesses in Pasadena before World War II. 

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.

Posted in art and artists, books, Nuestro Pueblo | 1 Comment

Riot in Times Square Over Wagner Opera!

Posted on October 21, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 21, 1919, No Wagner!  
Oct. 21, 1919: Servicemen and civilians riot in Times Square over a production of Richard Wagner's "Die Meistersinger" staged at the Lexington Theater despite Mayor John Francis Hylan’s ban on German opera!

Posted in #opera, classical music, Music, Stage | 1 Comment

Who Can Be an American Citizen?

Posted on October 21, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 21, 1909, Woman Juror
Oct. 21, 1909: Johanna Engleman of Santa Monica still hopes to be a juror, but no attorney wants her on a case because the decision might be reversed. After all, she may not be qualified to serve as a juror!

Oct. 24, 1909, Women Jurors

Oct. 24, 1909: The police chief says he doesn’t want women jurors in police court because they are too weak to endure the foul language used in legal proceedings.

Police Chief Edward F. Dishman says: “Just picture a sensitive woman, with a sense of decency, sitting through some of the cases it is necessary to deal with. It is bad enough to force them to appear as witnesses in some instances. While I am chief of police I will not permit one of my officers to summon any venire or any part of a venire of women.”

Below: A Syrians banned from citizenship because they are Mongols?
Oct. 21, 1909, Immigration Cas

The legal system is grappling with the question of who can be an American citizen. The issue of whether Johnanna Engleman, a woman, can be seated as a juror focuses on whether she meets the requirements, including citizenship. One previous story said that under the laws in force in 1909, a woman didn’t become a citizen until she was married.

The other story involves a Syrian named George Shushine/Shushime/Shishim, and whether he is a “free, white person” or a Mongol who would be barred from citizenship.

The deputy U.S. attorney argued against admitting him.   The Times said: "Debating the proposition that the Syrians stood in the same light as the Jews, the speaker contended that the Jews were scattered all over the earth wherever white men lived, but that Syrians had only begun to come to this country within the last thirty years."

The attorney said: “America is for Americans, and those who come here asking for the rights of citizens must accept the terms we give them. It is all very well to talk about this being the asylum for the oppressed of all nations, but the question is, are those who desire to enter within the terms of the naturalization act of Congress?”

And yes, he was admitted. Nov. 5, 1909: 
Nov. 5, 1909, Syrian Nov. 5, 1909, Syrian

Posted in #courts, LAPD | 1 Comment

October 20, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on October 20, 2009 by lmharnisch

October 20, 1959: Ad for Ford cars.Memorable Speech

Matt WeinstockAlmost a week later, those who heard it are still tingling over H.C.(Chad) McClellan’s talk before the Rotary Club.

McClellan, 62, L.A. paint company executive and onetime NAM president, organized and managed the U.S. exhibit in Moscow, which 2,700,000 Russians visited in its six-week run last summer.

He represents capitalism, a hate word in Russia.  Yet in his five months there he earned the respect of the Russians by his blunt sincerity.  He spoke the same way to the Rotarians. Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Matt Weinstock, Transportation | Comments Off on October 20, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Oct. 20, 1959

Posted on October 20, 2009 by lmharnisch

 

Oct. 20, 1959, Paul Coates
Paul is still on vacation …
Oct. 20, 1959, Abby
Oct. 20, 1959: Well this is cryptic: “He who lives more lives than one more deaths than one shall die.”

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Oct. 20, 1959

Quints Born in Texas

Posted on October 20, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 20, 1959, Mirror Cover

Oct. 20, 1959: Former Secretary of State and Defense Gen. George C. Marshall is buried at Arlington. Former President Truman says: "I sincerely hope that when it comes my time to cross the great river, Gen. Marshall will place me on his staff so that I may try to do for him what he did for me."

Oct. 20, 1959, Caryl Chessman

Oct. 20, 1959: Caryl Chessman invites two women to witness his execution. They would be the first women to witness an execution in the state’s gas chamber.

Posted in #courts, Caryl Chessman, Front Pages | Comments Off on Quints Born in Texas

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movies

Posted on October 20, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 20, 1947, Forever Amber  
Oct. 20, 1947: “Forever Amber” is opening Oct. 29. With great music by David Raksin.

March 21, 1945: Author Kathleen Winsor tells veteran Times columnist Timothy G. Turner that she’s tired of people asking whether “Forever Amber” is autobiographical.
March 21, 1945, Kathleen Winsor

Posted in books, Film, Hollywood | Comments Off on A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movies

Caryl Chessman Wins Delay

Posted on October 20, 2009 by lmharnisch
Oct. 21, 1959, Mirror Cover  

Oct. 21, 1959, Caryl Chessman
Oct. 21, 1959, Rescue

Oct. 21, 1959: Caryl Chessman gets a stay of execution.

Posted in #courts, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood | Comments Off on Caryl Chessman Wins Delay

President Asks Court to Halt Steel Strike

Posted on October 20, 2009 by lmharnisch

Oct. 20, 1959, Times Cover

Oct. 20, 1959: No clemency for Caryl Chessman, governor says … Calling it a sad day for America, President Eisenhower tells the Justice Department to seek a federal injunction to halt a strike by the United Steelworkers of America. 

 
Oct. 20, 1959, Errol Flynn
“Created 2-Headed Dog” is perhaps the best kicker I have ever seen.

Security at Errol Flynn's funeral is so tight that film comedian Jack Oakie
is barred.  Flynn was buried next to a statue of a woman titled
"Flowers of Remembrance." One mourner says "Errol would have liked
having a beautiful woman watch over him night and day.

Oct. 20, 1959, Flynn

Hollywood is “a little too rough,” so Beverly Aadland, Errol Flynn’s
girlfriend, is staying with attorney Melvin Belli in San Francisco …

Oct. 20, 1959, Jack Smith Jack Smith on men's fashions.

Oct. 20, 1959, Sports The Dodgers won yet another legal round in their fight to build a new ballpark in Chavez Ravine as the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed three appeals on the legality of deeding the area to the ballclub.

But don't think the fighting was over.

John Holland, a City Councilman who had long opposed the Dodgers moving to Chavez Ravine, said the council "must respect this contract but in areas where we are allowed to use our own judgment, I may still register my opposition to these plans."

In other words, stay tuned.

The Times' Jeane Hoffman said construction crews hoped to finish leveling the dirt for the ballpark by January. The paper's coverage included a vision of what Dodger Stadium was expected to look like once completed and a photo of earth movers and bulldozers working in Chavez Ravine. One house can still be seen.

–Keith Thursby

Posted in #courts, Caryl Chessman, City Hall, Dodgers, Downtown, Fashion | Comments Off on President Asks Court to Halt Steel Strike