All-Star Game in Seattle

Posted on July 18, 2009 by lmharnisch
July 17, 1979, All Star Game Ticket

The 1979 All-Star Game in Seattle.

July 18, 1979, Sports I'm not quite sure why I still have my ticket to the 1979 All-Star
game in Seattle. I'm not much of a saver and the game doesn't rank
among the most memorable. But I'm glad it managed to survive in a
little plastic bag with a few other old items, none very valuable but
all with memories attached.

The first thing I noticed is the price–all of $7. That is
ridiculous and impossible now, but back then a college student with a
free week could drive to Seattle, see the game and not have to rob a
bank somewhere in between.

The mere fact that my brother and I could buy tickets at any price
is also impossible now. We heard one day while watching an Angels game
that tickets were available. We checked the calendar, figured why not
try and sent off a check.

All-star games are now appointment viewing. My sons are making plans
for next year's game in Anaheim, hoping they'll be able to get into one
of the various events that surround the real game. They don't even
consider watching the actual game because those tickets are out of
reach for anyone with a budget or a sense of priorities.

But things were much, much simpler in 1979. The tickets arrived and
we drove to our eldest brother's house in Portland. After staying a few
days, we drove to Seattle straight for the Kingdome, the Mariners'
stadium that's long gone now.

We missed most of the game's top play when Dave Parker's throw from
right field got the Angels' Brian Downing at home. Parker was in right
field and our seats seemed about 1,000 feet above him. He went after a
ball in the corner, disappeared from our view and then a throw came out
of nowhere headed to the plate. We were probably more surprised than
Downing.

My younger son still has a shirt I bought at the game with my last
$5.  The players are retired now and I couldn't fit half my frame into
that shirt.

The memories of the trip linger, of course. Being at an event in a
strange city. Fun times with one of my brothers before we both went off
to more adult pursuits. The stupidity of driving home from Seattle
stopping only for food and gas.

I wish my kids could find adventures that cost so little but are worth so much.

—Keith Thursby

Posted in Sports | Comments Off on All-Star Game in Seattle

GM May Recall 60,000 Cars; Angels Miss Their Scoreboard

Posted on July 18, 2009 by lmharnisch
July 18, 1979, Cover

July 18, 1979: The meltdown of the U.S. auto industry foretold — GM may recall 60,000 X-Cars (that was the Chevy Citation, Buick Skylark, Oldsmobile Omega and Pontiac Phoenix). And what's in the news? Illegal immigrants on Page 1 and the Metro cover (below).

July 18, 1979, Metro The Angels had a rotten sense of timing, finally having a good
season just as their ballpark was being redeveloped to make the new
kids from Los Angeles happy.

Anaheim Stadium was a mess in 1979 as the stadium was transformed
during the season into one of those classically bad combination
stadiums. While the Angels played, the ballpark became something almost
unrecognizable so the Rams could begin playing there the next football
season.

How big was the change? They sent the stadium's landmark scoreboard packing.

Back in the stadium's quaint early days, the scoreboard looming over
the center field fence was the perfect centerpiece. But when the
renovations started, they unplugged the Big A and eventually moved it
out to the parking lot. Progress.

That was no easy feat in 1979. The first moving day ended early when once of the dollies under its base started to tilt.

The scoreboard wasn't much by today's standards, of course. But it seemed like a lot then.

"That big board was nice because when you're not pitching and just
sitting there for nine innings you get the trivia question of the day
and a few stats to keep your mind occupied," pitcher Dave Frost told
The Times in 1979.

Without the big board, the stadium's announcers had to talk more,
bringing back memories of the Dodgers' early days in the Coliseum.
Which wasn't exactly a good thing.

"They had a small board in the peristyle and it got to the point
where there were so many announcements that they were distracting
people from the game," Dennis Packer said.

–Keith Thursby

Posted in Architecture, Environment, Front Pages, Politics, Sports, Transportation | Comments Off on GM May Recall 60,000 Cars; Angels Miss Their Scoreboard

Officer Cracks Mysterious Case

Posted on July 18, 2009 by lmharnisch
 July 18, 1899, Butcher Boy

July 18, 1899: Officer C.L. Foster unravels a series of mysterious thefts. A deliveryman from the butcher shop is helping himself to whatever he can take.
Posted in #courts, LAPD | 1 Comment

Police Commission Ignores Mayor, Fires Police Chief

Posted on July 18, 2009 by lmharnisch
July 18, 1889, Police Chief

July 18, 1889: Don't be put off because this is an extremely gray page. It's loaded with wild stories. The Police Commission decides in executive session to replace the police chief against the mayor's wishes. The chief refuses to surrender his job unless his successor is qualified.

Posted in City Hall, LAPD, Politics | Comments Off on Police Commission Ignores Mayor, Fires Police Chief

Walter Cronkite Retires — And That’s the Way It Was

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch
March 7, 1981: Walter Cronkite Retires

March 7, 1981: "And that's the way it is. Friday, March 6, 1981. I'll be away on assignment and Dan Rather will be sitting in here for the next few years. Good night."

March 7, 1981: Walter Cronkite Retires

Posted in @news, broadcasting, Obituaries, Television, Walter Cronkite | Comments Off on Walter Cronkite Retires — And That’s the Way It Was

Walter Cronkite: Nixon Out to Destroy Press Credibility

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch
May 19, 1971, Walter Cronkite  

Walter
Cronkite, May 19, 1971: "Many of us see a clear indication on the part of this administration of a grand conspiracy to destroy the credibility of the press. No one doubts the right of anyone to seek to correct distortion, to right untruths … but the present campaign, spearheaded by Vice President Agnew and Republican National Chairman Sen. Robert Dole goes beyond that."

Posted in @news, broadcasting, Obituaries, Richard Nixon, Television, Walter Cronkite | Comments Off on Walter Cronkite: Nixon Out to Destroy Press Credibility

Walter Cronkite — TV’s Father Figure

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch
May 12, 1970, Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite, May 12, 1970: "As news disseminators, nobody can touch us. And we have the best informed society in the world's history." He smiled wryly: "That's what worries the Establishment. No Establishment likes the people to be too well informed."

Then with a sigh, he said: "Our glaring weakness is as news gatherers. We are distinctly third-rate. without the newspaper news services, we'd die."

Posted in @news, broadcasting, Obituaries, Television, Walter Cronkite | Comments Off on Walter Cronkite — TV’s Father Figure

Walter Cronkite Interviews LBJ on Kennedy Assassination

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch
May 3, 1970, Walter Cronkite, LBJ

May 3, 1970: Walter Cronkite interviews former President Johnson about the assassination of President Kennedy. Johnson said he was undermined by holdovers from the Kennedy administration.
May 3, 1970, Walter Cronkite, LBJ

Posted in @news, broadcasting, Obituaries, Politics, Television, Walter Cronkite | Comments Off on Walter Cronkite Interviews LBJ on Kennedy Assassination

Walter Cronkite on Nixon Era Attempt to Intimidate TV News

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch
Nov. 26, 1969, Walter Cronkite, Spiro Agnew

Nov. 26, 1969: "It's not reaction to a charge made against us that is the question that is at stake here. It's the reaction to an implied threat to freedom of speech in this country."

–Walter Cronkite, on Vice President Spiro Agnew's criticism of TV news. During his speech, Agnew noted that radio and TV stations are federally licensed.

Posted in @news, broadcasting, Obituaries, Richard Nixon, Television, Walter Cronkite | 1 Comment

Walter Cronkite — Covering Vietnam

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch
April 28, 1966, Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite, April 28, 1966: "I am annoyed though, when I see reviews of our specials on Vietnam criticizing us because, as they put it, we didn't clarify the issues. How can we clarify the issues? Washington itself hasn't, so why would we be expected to? All we can do is throw some light on the debate."

Posted in @news, broadcasting, Obituaries, Television, Walter Cronkite | 1 Comment

Walter Cronkite — JFK Dead

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch
Nov. 23, 1963, Walter Cronkite

Nov. 23, 1963: "[Walter] Cronkite's voice broke when he said that the official word had come that the president was dead. Chet Huntley's eyes brimmed. David Brinkley in Washington wore sorrow in his face. [ABC Vice President James] Hagerty held his head and signed."

Posted in @news, broadcasting, Obituaries, Television, Walter Cronkite | Comments Off on Walter Cronkite — JFK Dead

Walter Cronkite on TV News

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch
May 24, 1962, Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite, May 24, 1962: "A major problem is that TV is a pictorial medium and we must find what we can to illustrate hard news," Cronkite said. "We are trying to use the remote interview technique that Ed Murrow developed in 'Small World' — when it's called for. Do an interview filming the subject and talking to him via telephone."

Posted in broadcasting, Obituaries, Television, Walter Cronkite | 1 Comment

Walter Cronkite — Anchor Man

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch
June 19, 1960

June 19, 1960: …"A fast-moving, exciting convention — I love it. I wish we could have it every week; this is what television is made for," Walter Cronkite.

June 19, 1960, Cronkite

Posted in broadcasting, Obituaries, Television, Walter Cronkite | Comments Off on Walter Cronkite — Anchor Man

Walter Cronkite on the Suicide of Rommel

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch
March 24, 1946, Cronkite on Rommel's Suicide

By Walter Cronkite, March 24, 1946 on the death of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel: "As soon as he had taken his seat in the back one of the generals immediately handed him the cyanide capsule. He put it in his mouth in the same moment. Even before the chauffeur had started the car and put it in gear to drive away I could see that the field marshal was dying.
Posted in @news, broadcasting, Obituaries, Television, Walter Cronkite | Comments Off on Walter Cronkite on the Suicide of Rommel

Walter Cronkite in a Flying Fortress Over Germany, 1943

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch
Feb. 27, 1943, Walter Cronkite

"Bombs away." Walter Cronkite describes a bombing raid on Wilhelmshaven, Germany, Feb. 27, 1943.  

"This is a lot of fun but sometimes I think it ain't healthy," a flier says.

Feb. 27, 1943

Posted in @news, broadcasting, Obituaries, Television, Walter Cronkite | Comments Off on Walter Cronkite in a Flying Fortress Over Germany, 1943

Found on EBay — Chester Place

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

Chester Place EBay

A postcard showing a home in  Chester Place has been listed on EBay. Chester Place, near Adams and Figueroa, was developed by Judge Charles Silent. The development was named for Silent's  son Chester, a Stanford student who died in a peculiar accident with a shotgun in 1907.  Bidding starts at $3.25.
Posted in Architecture | Comments Off on Found on EBay — Chester Place

Matt Weinstock, July 17, 1959

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

Phony Phone

Matt Weinstock A red-hot report
came sizzling this way the other day. A gal named Elizabeth who lives
on Tiger Tail Rd., which should have been the tip-off that things were
somewhat twisted,breathlessly related she saw a boy talking on a telephone while riding a bicycle on Bundy Dr. in West L.A.

Bicyclists chatting as they pumped, if it became a trend, could immeasurably complicate society, so I dutifully ran the report through the grinder. The conclusion — highly unlikely.

Motorcycle
officers have them, of course, but the equipment for a portable phone
weighs around 40 lb. and requires a power unit. Dry batteries won't
work. Ted Schmidt of Pacific Telephone asked an engineer if it were
possible and he replied cagily, "Anything's possible."

But it was his guess that the boy was carrying on imaginary conversation with his toy telephone to impress a gullible gal named Elizabeth.

::

AS ANY old-timer who has passed up dozens of opportunities will tell you, the big money in Southern California is real estate, not shooting craps at Las Vegas or picking longshots at Hollywood Park, and many tales are told thereof.

Biggest bonanza story I've heard lately concerns a man who nearly 20 years ago bought a two-bedroom house in Reseda for $4,000. It's up for sale for $27,500 and it appears, from the action he's getting, that he'll score.

::

SUPPOSE
you are driving in the left lane on the freeway and you look in the
rear view mirror and see two fire trucks bearing down on you.

You
know you should pull to the right but you can't without creating a
hazard because you are in the midst of four solid lanes of traffic.
Meanwhile the fire trucks, red lights flashing, come closer, moving
from one lane to another as cars slow to let them through. What should
you do?

"The main thing is not to panic," says Lee Zitko of the LAFD.
"We know our rigs look ominous coming up from the rear, but they are
not. We use the freeways as little as possible and when we do we travel
at freeway speed. It's fine if drivers can get as far as possible to
the right but if they can't we want them to know we won't push them off
the road."

In the case cited, the fire trucks were responding to
a car which caught fire on the freeway after a crash. When they got to
it the fire was out.

::

FIRST THING
people in other parts of the country ask when they learn you're from
L.A., reports Don McDonald of U-I, just returned from a tour, is, "Is
the smog there as bad as the papers say?"

But he got a different reaction from Jack Guinn, city editor of the Denver Post. When he was here a year ago, Guinn
said, it was so hot he stayed in his air-conditioned hotel room and
turned on the radio. And you know what most fascinated him about the
city? The dramatic traffic bulletins about tie-ups on the freeways.

::

AROUND TOWN — Not long ago Barker Bros. moved its business office from downtown to the West Side and in the reorganization
gave notice of dismissal to seven employees. But more than sympathy
went with the notice. The boss got jobs for all seven elsewhere and
they're grateful . . . James K. Hyde saw a truck on Highway 101 with
the notice on the rear, "Please don't hug me. I'm going steady" . . . A
man picketing a building at 6th and Lucas Sts. wears shorts.

::

AT RANDOM —
Biting line by Lord Bertrand Russell in the S.E. Post in reference to
space travel by man: "As yet, our follies have been only terrestrial;
it would seem a doubtful victory to make them cosmic" . . . Doris
Hellman, who quivers like a leaf in the wind at misuse of the language,
is shaking over the cigar commercial which describes some cigars as
good, others as "ungood" . . . All the summer repeats, Phil Wolfson contends, are giving viewers "telaversion" . . . Gal named Sue likes to ponder over a sign at Venice and Main Sts. "No Parking by Permission Only."
Posted in Columnists | 1 Comment

Paul V. Coates — Confidential File, July 17, 1959

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

Confidential File

New Criterion for Beauty Contestants

Paul CoatesI see we're on the verge of conducting another Miss Universe Beauty contest. The ripest, most exotic representatives of international young womanhood are — at this very moment — clustered in Long Beach.

They are going to be clothed in skimpy bathing suits, measured by exacting mathematicians, and ogled by scores of professional beauty-oglers, and not a few amateurs.

And I would like to register a protest.

Don't misunderstand me. I'm not yet so old that I want to discourage promenades of beautiful women.

I think we should have beauty contests. They're kicks.

But
if I may, I'd like to insert a little phrase which I coined because it
makes my point so well. To wit: Beauty is only skin deep.

I
mean, selecting the most perfect specimen of womanhood in the world
isn't a task we should undertake with only casual surface study.

According
to the rules of the game as it's played now, all a girl has to do is
parade past some bald heads, be beautiful, a play a tune on the cello,
and make a two-minute talk on "The Wondrous Port of Long Beach."

If
she's reasonably proficient in these skills, she has a chance to walk
off the stage with the title of Miss Universe and the attendant
prestige as the world's most desirable woman.

But unless you're one of those way-outs who dig the cello, is she really?

To
be the world's most desirable girl, a young woman must have the full
potential for becoming the world's most desirable wife, since becoming
a wife is woman's destiny.

Omission Rectified

It seems to me that the judges at Long Beach ignore this fact completely.

As
a consequence, I have found it necessary to cover this glaring omission
by developing the Coates Marriage Quotient Test for all Miss Universe
contestants.

The quiz follows — and answer the questions honestly, young ladies. If you cheat, you're only cheating yourselves.

1 — Do you leave bobbypins in the bathroom sink?

2 — Do you think a wife should be content to live on her husband's income?

3 — Which of the following would you consider to be the ideal date: Tommy Sands, Gen. Charles de Gaulle, Sen. John McClellan, Charles Addams or C. Aubrey Smith?

4 — Do you realize that C. Aubrey Smith has been dead for almost 20 years?

5 — Do you shop for "specials" in the supermarket?

6 — Do you believe in double beds for married couples?

7 — Have you ever been arrested?

8 — Have you ever tossed a Stanley party?

9 — Do you belong to a Christmas Club? (A "no" answer from Buddhists will not be scored against them.)

10 — Do you think Jimmy Hoffa is "cute"?

11 — Do you agree with the philosophy that a woman's place is in the kitchen?

12 — When your checking account is overdrawn, do you blame (a) yourself, (b) the bank?

13 — You are traveling in the outside lane, approaching a busy intersection. You wish to make a right turn. Should you signal the traffic behind you with your right or left arm?

14 — And you say you've never been arrested?

Some Are Non-Americans

The
Coates Marriage Quotient Quiz, properly filled out, should give us an
accurate basis for selecting a winner. But it just occurs to me that
there's only one flaw in this whole thing. Many of the contestants
can't read or write English.

That however, isn't my fault. It's
the fault of the committee. Why do they have to allow foreigners in a
Miss Universe contest, anyway?
Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates — Confidential File, July 17, 1959

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept: Your Movies

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch
July 17, 1940, Movies

July 17, 1940: Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart in "The Mortal Storm."

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

Movie Star Mystery Photo

Posted on July 17, 2009 by lmharnisch
 

 July 13, 2009, Mystery Photo

 Los Angeles Times file photo

Update: As many people guessed, this is Annabella. Above, Feb. 14, 1937: "Wings of the Morning,

Annabella; French Actress Appeared in Gance's 'Napoleon'

September 20, 1996

Jan. 26, 1947, 13 Rue Madeleine

From Times Staff and Wire Reports

PARIS
— Suzanne Charpentier, the French actress better known by her screen
name Annabella for such films as "Napoleon" and "Hotel du Nord," has
died of a heart attack. She was 86.

Annabella, who was once
married to American actor Tyrone Power, died Wednesday at her home in
the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine while she was having her morning
tea, her friend Jose Sourillan said.

"She was just sitting there fine and was dead a second later," he said.

Annabella's
career began in 1926 with Abel Gance's silent epic-length "Napoleon,"
which was restored in the mid-1980s by American director Francis Ford
Coppola.

She also starred in a string of 1930s talkies that took
a sentimental view of working-class Paris, including the 1938 classic
"Hotel du Nord."

Among her other films were "Wings of the
Morning" with Henry Fonda in 1937, "Suez" with Power and Loretta Young
in 1938 and "13 Rue Madeleine" with James Cagney in 1946.

"Annabella
is the sparkle that makes 'Wings of the Morning' different," wrote
Times film critic Edwin Schallert. "Pretty and versatile, she displays
unrivaled naturalness in her work."

Annabella returned to France
after her divorce from Power in 1948. She made her final film, "Le Plus
Bel Amour de Don Juan" (The Most Beautiful Love of Don Juan), in 1952.

The actress is survived by a daughter, Anne Werner Power, who lives in Boston.

::

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 prize is bragging rights. 

The answer to last week's mystery star: Noreen Nash!

July 14, 2009, Mystery Photo

Los Angeles Times file photo

Update: June 15, 1939: Annabella in "Sacrifice d'Honneur."

Here's another picture of our mystery star. Please congratulate Steven Bibb and Dewey Webb for identifying her!

July 15, 2009, Mystery Photo

Los Angeles Times file photo

Update: Annabella, Oct. 23, 1937.

Here's another picture of our mystery woman. Please congratulate Jeff Hanna for identifying her!

July 16, 2009, Mystery Photo

Los Angeles Times file photo

Annabella and James Cagney in a publicity still for "13 Rue Madeleine," Feb. 19, 1947.

Here's our mystery woman with (not much of) a mystery companion. Please congratulate Jane Ellen Wayne, Mike Hawks, Anne Papineau, Claire Lockhart, Rance Ryan, Carmen, Cinnamon Carter, "Laura" fan Waldo Lydecker and Mary Mallory and co-worker Sue for identifying her.  (And Zabadu, whom I overlooked earlier!) 

July 17, 2009, Mystery Photo

Los Angeles Times file photo

Nov. 20, 1946: Annabella and husband Tyrone Power at the premiere of "The Razor's Edge" in New York.

Please congratulate Sonny King, William, Michael Ryerson, Sue, Annie Frye, Sam, Megan Bailey and Stacia for identifying her.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | 53 Comments