Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 28, 1959

Posted on April 28, 2009 by lmharnisch

CONFIDENTIAL FILE

A Fellow to Whom We Should Subscribe

Normally, I don't go around hawking newspapers.

Especially other people's newspapers.

But today, I make an exception.

Right now, this minute, I'm hustling sheets. At no commission.

Like I say, it's not The Mirror News I have tucked under my arm.

It's
smaller. Only a four-page weekly. It's put out in the little
Mississippi town of Petal. (If you've heard of Petal, you're a well
traveled individual.)

The paper, appropriately, is called "The Petal Paper."

It's a one-man operation — written, edited and printed by 37-year-old native Mississippian by name of P.D. East.

Not so appropriate is the fact that the paper's readership in Petal is, according to today's Audit Bureau of Circulation, zero.

Five years ago, it was 2,300.

But it was shortly after that, that Mr. East began writing the news as he saw it — not as his advertisers wanted him to see it.

News that included some pretty shocking copy about the "rights" of Negroes in his home state.

With naive honesty, he reported the facts. All of them.

And,
when he felt that his fellow townspeople were becoming overly emotional
to the point of mob violence about certain race issues, he told them
so, editorially.

That's how he fell out of favor.

He was branded a traitor, damnyankee and a few other things not quite so genteel.

But
P.D. East kept on cranking his printing press. And, gradually, he built
up a circulation outside of Mississippi. It's back to the 2,000 mark
now.

Yesterday, I met P.D. East for the first time, and if you
want my first impression of the man, the folks down in Petal have
mislabeled him, Badly.

Yet, I made a similar misjudgment. I called him a crusader.

"I'm not a crusader," he informed me indignantly.

"I'm not an integrationist, either," he added. "I'm simply against discrimination."

East
told me that his troubles began in 1954, right after the United States
Supreme Court ruled on integration in the public schools and he began
using his paper in the battle against racial hatred.

"And why the fight?" I wanted to know.

"Well,"
he began, "it was mainly a matter of conscience. I couldn't keep still
and let people tear down this country's constitutional government.

East
didn't make any home town friends when he published a picture of a
Mississippi school for white children alongside one for young Negroes
and asked his readers to guess which was which.

The answer was all too obvious. One was a bright new facility; the other little more than a dilapidated shack.

"What kind of social life have you led since you make your views public?" I asked East.

"On Christmas Day of 1956, my wife and I were invited out. That was the last time," he answered bitterly.

I asked him about old friends.

"There
are several people," he explained, "People I went to school with. They
won't even say hello when we meet on the street. "And I sure wish they
would," he added, "because I'd like the privilege of ignoring them."

Living Always Takes Eating

There are some who wonder how East has managed to stay alive. Why some rebel hothead hasn't mowed him down.

"I wonder myself sometimes," he confesses, but adds that he hasn't much time to consider threats of physical violence.

"But what about your wife?" I said.

"She just wishes the whole thing were over and done with. That everybody, including me, would shut up."

But P.D. has refused to be stilled. He wants to continue shouting in print. And he wants, most of all, your help.

He
wants you to join the other 2,000 subscribers. It'll cost you five
bucks a year, which seems a small price to pay for somebody else's courage.

Posted in #gays and lesbians, Columnists, Paul Coates | 1 Comment

Bob Oates on O.J. Simpson, October 12, 1973

Posted on April 28, 2009 by lmharnisch

Oct. 12, 1973, Bob Oates on O.J. Simpson

Oct. 12, 1973: The late Times sportswriter Bob Oates interviews O.J. Simpson, who was playing for Buffalo.

Oates: You say ball carrying can't be taught. Do you mean this literally?

Simpson: You never hear a great running back say, "I'm going out to work on this or that." All he says is, "I'm going out to work out" or "I've been working out."

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In the Theaters — April 28, 1980

Posted on April 28, 2009 by lmharnisch

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Comments Off

Celtics Defeat Lakers, April 28, 1969

Posted on April 28, 2009 by lmharnisch

The Celtics returned home to Boston Garden for Game 3 of the NBA finals against the Lakers and the change of scenery seemed to help the home team and tire the visitors. Boston won, 111-105, to trail 2-1.

Laker fans could point to bad shooting nights by Jerry West (24 points after 53 and 41 in the first two games) and Elgin Baylor (11 points) but the Celtics were the aggressors.

Larry Siegfried, a tough guard who had 24 points for Boston and helped supply more pressure on West, talked openly after the game about his image.

"I know there are rumors that I'm a dirty player but I think the fans confuse a hard player with a fearless competitor. Jerry West is a great player and I admire him and I wouldn't do anything to hurt him," Siegfried told The Times' Mal Florence. "But I can't play like he does. I have to dig out there all the time. Shots don't come easy for me.

"I'm sorry that people boo me in other cities. But I can accept that as long as they accept me as a human off the court."

Siegfried must have anticipated Fred Schaus' comments after Game 4 about the Celtics' physical play. Schaus, the Lakers general manager, was fuming over how his team was treated.

"It's the same thing every damn year. [The Celtics] are hacking, slashing and knocking people down," he said. "Look at [Larry] Siegfried. He's always shoving and pushing and gets away with it because they do it so consistently. It's a shame the way they permit them to play. … There are two sets of standards in the NBA: The Celtic system and the rest of the league."

Game on.

–Keith Thursby

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Hitler Reviews Nazi Troops, Hollywood Celebrates Barrymore’s Birthday, April 28, 1939

Posted on April 28, 2009 by lmharnisch

Sending photos in the old days: By ship.

At left, you're wondering what a statue of a naked babe has to do with freedom of the press? According to news accounts, it represented "the unadorned truth." It was part of a group of statues at the World's Fair representing "The Four Freedoms," which also included Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly. There's supposed to be a figure of a child reading a newspaper, too.

Lionel Barrymore turns 61.

"Her emotions surged in alternating torrents. She loved this man; yet she hated him for the injury he had done her pride. She could kiss him or kill him, with equal delight." Gosh, "Tarzan" has some purple prose.

The Angels beat Sacramento 2-1: "A storybook finish that had Johnny Moore cast in the role of Frank Merriwell enabled our Angels to pull what looked like a certain defeat out of the fire after two were out in the ninth inning yesterday."

Posted in #courts, art and artists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Sports | 1 Comment

Nuestro Pueblo

Posted on April 28, 2009 by lmharnisch

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

Found on EBay — 1958 Dodger Tickets

Posted on April 27, 2009 by lmharnisch

These 1958 Dodger tickets have been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at 99 cents.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

Matt Weinstock — April 27, 1959

Posted on April 27, 2009 by lmharnisch

Goleta's Great Day

In the
twilight of Monday, Feb. 23, 1942, a Japanese submarine a mile offshore
fired 25 shells from its 5-in. deck guns at the Elwood oil field inGoleta, a few miles north of Santa Barbara.

The
attack, which lasted 20 minutes, was reported in an atmosphere of
hysteria. There was wild, panicky talk that the firing was the prelude
to an invasion attempt.

A coast alert was sounded and the air-raid sirens didn't give the all clear until 12:20 a.m. Tuesday.

At
the time, it must be remembered, the Japanese had overrun the Pacific
islands. It was only a little more than two months after the holocaust
at Pearl Harbor.

HOWEVER, THE SHELLS did little damage.
Only one oil derrick was struck, causing about $500 damage. A refinery
was missed and most of the shells merely dug up sand or fell into the
sea. One whistled three miles inland and exploded harmlessly on theTecolete ranch. Another gouged a 5-foot. crater on the Staniff ranch. Some were duds.

Several
persons saw the submarine through binoculars. An oil-field worker said
it looked so big he thought it was a destroyer or cruiser.

That was 17 years ago but when I visited Joe Cavaletto, a family relative, in Goleta
a few days ago and strolled through his lush avocado and citrus groves,
the conversation naturally turned to the historic event.

One of
Joe's neighbors saw the Japanese sailors on the deck of the sub and to
this day swears he could have picked them off with a rifle. But hardly
anyone realized what was happening until they started shooting.

Joe
and his husky son, Mike, grow avocados and grapefruit as big as
cantaloupes on a farm that has been in the family for 150 years and
goes back to mission and land grant days.

On his property there
is an old adobe barn that would make antiquarians drool. And like all
farmers he is concerned about rising taxes and encroaching subdivisions.

But Goleta
is submerged in the expanse of Santa Barbara. Not much happens and the
submarine incident of 17 years ago is cherished as if it had happened
17 months ago. It was the only timeGoleta ever got into the headlines importantly.

NOT LONG AGO it was mentioned here that writer Charlotte Armstrong started a novel while down with the flu. D. McAllister of KRCA-TV
apparently was subconsciously impressed. On his bedside writing pad
after a six-day siege with the bug he found the following:

"I am the Loch Ness monster, you think I don't exist. I don't think you do either, isn't that a twist?"

"Had Genghis Khan gone on and on, the end result is clear. He would have marched around the world and pounced upon his rear."

"In Xanadu did Kubla
Khan a stately Disneyland decree. They built to scale in great detail,
a lovely sight to see. And when in place were all the things, the
ducks, the mice, the crickets, there came, alas, a great impasse, no
one could print the tickets."

Concludes Mac: "Guess I had the wrong kind of flu."

WHILE WE'RE in the nonsense league, this "Open letter to taxpayers" is circulating among city employees:

"Occasionally
a friend asks what I do all day at City Hall. I reply that my work
frequently takes me to poorer sections. One day I rang the bell at an
old shack. A woman's voice answered and I told her the reason for my
call. 'Wait a minute,' she said, 'I want to slip on something cool.'
There was a loud crash. 'What happened?' I cried. 'I just slipped on
something cool, she said, 'an ice cube.' When she came to the door I
said, "This is certainly a tough neighborhood." I nodded toward the
pack of vicious dogs, cats and children waiting for me to come out into
the open. 'You said it,' she said, 'even our assessments are
delinquent.'"

LOOSE ENDS — That poisonous cliche, "But darling, I did it for you!" was on TV again the other night for the 372nd time …The Italian grocery store at Sepulveda Blvd. and Lassen has a sign, "If you can't smell it we haven't got it."

Posted in Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 27, 1959

Posted on April 27, 2009 by lmharnisch

Confidential File

American Friends Service Committee

You just never know where you'll find a bunch of pioneers.

On wind-swept sand hills at Kitty Hawk, under the polar ice cap or in a quiet Los Angeles residential district.

I visited a rather remarkable "we're doing it first" group in the latter locale yesterday.

Its
members are former California prison inmates. Ex-cons, if you will. And
all are on parole. But unlike others of their number, they're living an
experiment conducted by the American Friends Service Committee.

Their
pioneering venture is built around a boarding house whose only
residents outside of the director, his wife and 16-year-old son — are
men who've made a mistake or more, paid behind bars and now want a
chance to prove they're fully capable of taking a productive place in
our society.

And every man pays his own way. Eighteen bucks a
week for room and two home-cooked meals a day. If a man falls behind in
his rent, he's asked to move.

"We feel a man is more likely to
find himself when he assumes responsibility," explained Tom Nelson,
who, with his wife, runs the boarding house.

"How many former convicts live here?" I asked him.

"We have six now," he replied. "We have another due tomorrow and one on the 30th. Our total capacity is nine.

"But since the project began a year ago, we've had about 25 guests," he added.

"And how many," I wanted to know, "have failed you?"

"Well," he began, "we've only had one man go back to prison in the year."

"That seems to be a pretty substantial statistic," I suggested.

"Oh, it's much too early to tell yet," Mr. Nelson said. "But we are certainly encouraged."

It
would be difficult to say just now many paroled convicts across the
nation return to prison during their first year of freedom, but some
penologists and law enforcement officers place the estimate as high as
70%.

But even if it's half that number, it seems clear that the Friends have made a good beginning.

"Do you exclude men from the program because of any particular offense?" I asked Tom Nelson.

"No"
he said. "The Friends make no distinction in men. Whatever a man has
done — murder, narcotics, armed robbery — he's still a man. We don't
pin any labels on those who come here."

"How did your neighbors
react to the boarding home?" I wanted to know. "I mean, did they object
to the fact that they'd be living next door to ex-convicts?"

"Not
at all," he told me. "That was one of the big worries int he beginning
though. Members of the Friends Committee went to every house around
here before we got started.

Just to Break the News

"Not
to ask permission, you understand. Just to break the news. Instead of
objections, we found that people wanted to make us feel at home.

"The
fellow next door, for instance. He's a former Army cook and mighty
proud of some of his menus. Came over one night and fixed spaghetti for
the boys. His wife played the piano."

"And do you consider that sort of help important?" I asked.

"We
certainly do. We are trying to provide a homelike atmosphere. If
there's one thing all of these men have in common, it's the lack of a
background which included a loving home."

The Friends are the first to point out that what they've done so far proves little.

Unless, that is, that you've got to start somewhere.

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off

Los Angeles Fights the Flu, October 13, 1918

Posted on April 27, 2009 by lmharnisch

The Times takes a lighthearted look at the flu.

Schools, movie theaters and churches are closed to avoid spreading the flu.

The only crowds in Los Angeles are at the drugstores.

Posted in Front Pages, health | 1 Comment

In the Theaters — April 27, 1978

Posted on April 27, 2009 by lmharnisch

Posted in Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Death by the Numbers, 1948

Posted on April 27, 2009 by lmharnisch

1948: Knives are almost as popular as guns as a murder weapon.

On Sunday, I was part of a Festival of Books panel on California crime, and the final question dealt with gun control. I said I was surprised that weapons other than guns figured so prominently in the historical record. Here's a breakdown from the 1948 LAPD statistical report. The LAPD has kept extensive crime statistics for decades. There's an untold story in all those numbers for whoever transfers the data to spreadsheets and analyses it.

Posted in Homicide, LAPD | Comments Off

British Plane Missing Over Turkey, Dodgers vs. Camping, April 27, 1959

Posted on April 27, 2009 by lmharnisch

The debut of the majestic new Cadillac.

A small civilian plane crashes into the mountains near Pasadena, touching off fears that an airliner had gone down.

A British cargo plane with a crew of 12 disappears over eastern Turkey. A team was sent to examine the wreckage, look for the crews' remains and the secret equipment the plane was carrying. Read more here>>>

The Times writes a banner headline from an Associated Press story that makes it sound as if Mao Tse-tung is on his way out in favor of Liu Shao-chi. Not quite. Liu was purged in 1968 during the Cultural Revolution. A magazine reported in in 1979 that he died in 1971.

The jump of a follow-up story on Mack Charles Parker, minus the beginning.

A typical editorial cartoon of the era–this grim bit of artwork evidently has something to do with driving safely on freeways.

Miss Los Angeles Teacher gets a modest kiss from actor Jon Hall. Joyce Matsukas was chosen "on the basis of teacher experience, community and professional service as well as beauty and poise."

Jack Smith writes about an opera singer who wants to do comedy.

Dina Caesar "runs the scales and vocalizes to keep her voice fit, but it doesn't bother the other tenants," Smith says.

"The neighbors are wonderful!" she exclaimed. "The men are always beating their wives. They don't hear a thing. I'm telling you, they kill each other in this building. It's fantastic!"

"If there's anyone slim, sleek and 'Mainbocher,' it is Mary Martin."

"Veronica Lake was a girl who actually wore tweeds, flat heels, bulky sweaters, her hair pulled back into a hairnet."

How Ginger Rogers transformed her outfit in "The Major and the Minor."

5 p.m., "Amos 'n' Andy."

The library of the future, as envisioned in 1959.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were no match for the Angeles National Forest.

More than 3 million people visited the forest in 1958. That was far more than the Dodgers' attendance of 1,845,556 or the Rams' 1,053,798.

Forest Service officials said the statistic didn't include people who drove through the forest, probably because they were late for a Dodger or Ram game.

I've done my share of camping and been to more than my share of baseball and football games. They all certainly have their strong points, but especially in 1958, I would have preferred baseball. The Coliseum might not have been perfect, but you didn't have to stay overnight there. Or worry about bears.

— Keith Thursby

Posted in broadcasting, Dodgers, Film, Freeways, Front Pages, Hollywood, Sports, Television, Transportation | 1 Comment

Nuestro Pueblo

Posted on April 27, 2009 by lmharnisch

Posted in Architecture, Downtown, Nuestro Pueblo | 1 Comment

James Ellroy at the Festival of Books

Posted on April 26, 2009 by lmharnisch

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef01156f5e4264970c-pi

Photograph by Leslie Anne Wiggins / Los Angeles Times

Leslie Anne Wiggins writes: The L.A. Times’ Patt Morrison gave the audience appropriate warning
before James Ellroy’s loud and expletive-filled speech at the Book
Festival Sunday: “Seat belts fastened low and tight? All right, you’re
gonna need 'em.”

Ellroy didn't disappoint. The crime writer, whom Morrison called a
“snazzy and dapper fellow,” thanked the audience for coming out, rather
than staying home to tend to their “sex lives and drug habits.” He
opened with his trademark crowd welcome to the “peepers, prowlers,
pederasts, panty-sniffers, punks and pimps.”

And then he exploded with a rather hard-to-follow speech, calling
his forthcoming book "Blood's a Rover" “the greatest novel since the
Holy Bible.”

In the Theaters — April 26, 1976

Posted on April 26, 2009 by lmharnisch

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Comments Off

Lakers Lead 2-0 Against Celtics in Championships, April 26, 1969

Posted on April 26, 2009 by lmharnisch

What's Jerry West have to do to be noticed in this town? He scored
41 points in the Lakers' 118-112 Game 2 victory over the Celtics, but
the headlines went to Elgin Baylor.

Granted, Baylor scored 32, including the team's final 12 points. And
West didn't do as well as in Game 1, when he scored 53 to lead L.A.

The Celtics had never trailed 2-0 in a playoff series — EVER — but
The Times' coverage wasn't guaranteeing a Lakers title just yet.

"It isn't over and it's too premature to order the champagne but the
Celtics, who have won 10 championships in the last 12 years, are in
trouble," Mal Florence wrote. The series headed from the Forum to
Boston, where "Bill Russell and his gallant old men will make their
next stand."

It was a physical game, typical of the era and the Lakers-Celtics
rivalry. "The Celtics' Don Nelson had six stitches taken in his head
after colliding with [Wilt] Chamberlain's jaw in the second half,"
Florence wrote. "Five stitches were required to close a wound on Bill
Hewitt's jaw."

"It's too bad my head didn't hit Wilt's chin. Then he would have to shave off that beard," Nelson said, laughing.

— Keith Thursby

Posted in Dodgers, Sports | 1 Comment

Masked Mob Seizes Black Rape Suspect From Mississippi Jail, April 26, 1959

Posted on April 26, 2009 by lmharnisch

April 26, 1959, Dominguez Hills Aviation Festival, 1910

The Times takes a look at the 1910 Aviation Week at Dominguez Hills. Here's a post from last year about J.S. Zerbe.

Gunmen wearing masks and gloves raided the jail in Poplarville, Miss., and seized Mack Charles Parker, 23, who was accused of raping a white woman.

"The raiders dragged Parker from the building by his heels, his head bumping from steel tread to steel tread of the stairs. Blood flicked about marked progress of the party, a bloody handprint on the doorstep giving the last trace of Parker, who screamed and struggled as the getaway cars sped away," the Associated Press said.

FBI file on Mack Charles Parker: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

The Times bought Hawley Pulp and Paper of Oregon in 1948 and renamed it Publishers' Paper Co. We sold it in 1986 to Jefferson Smurfit Corp. At the time, analysts said the newsprint dvision was a drag on operations and held down the price of Times Mirror stock. In 1985, we reported that the newsprint and forest products, the second-largest source of revenue for The Times after newspapers, had sustained losses for the previous four years.

A visit to the ranch in Newhall that provides rodeo bulls.

Lynching story, cont'd.

Fifty years ago, America celebrated the birthday of Samuel F.B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph.

In the future, doctors will use miracle plastic cement to bond broken bones.

Mel Torme says he hates being called "the Velvet Fog."

The Times' Robert Kirsch gives a scathing review to Ben Hecht's latest book. Grove Press says it will ship copies of "Lady Chatterley's Lover" to Los Angeles after all.

Cardinal pitcher Jim Brosnan is injured when he crashes into catcher John Roseboro at the plate.

Posted in #courts, art and artists, books, Comics, Countdown to Watts, Dodgers, Film, health, Hollywood, Homicide, Music, Politics, Richard Nixon, Science, Stage, Transportation | Comments Off

Matt Weinstock — April 25, 1959

Posted on April 25, 2009 by lmharnisch

Taken for a Ride

The question before the house today is, "Does the MTA hold secret meetings?"

Ralph P. Merritt, MTA executive director, says no. Carter Barber of this newspaper says yes.

"What's the difference?" you may ask. The answer is that the MTA,
a legislatively constituted body, handles matters vital to the public
interest. Bus passengers particularly are entitled to know what's in
store for them.

It is reporter Barber's contention that the MTA
meetings held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month since
last October have been secret and that in them the board formulated
agenda for the public meetings held on the first and third Tuesdays.

THE MTA'S REASON for excluding reporters was that confidential personnel matters were discussed.

On April 14 MTA's
policy board met from 9 until 10:20 a.m. Reporter Barber, denied
admission, crashed the meeting at 9:35 and, during the 20 minutes he
was permitted to remain, only his presence was discussed. What the
board discussed during the other 60 minutes was later disclosed by
individuals.

Time and again, Barber charges, the MTA has
secretly discussed travel patterns, labor, legislation, policies,
purchases and construction work — all of public interest. These have
been reported by the press only after the public meetings when they
werefait accompli.

"So what?" you may ask again. Possibly you
read that a major concern of the American Newspaper Publishers Assn. in
New York this week was the increasing trend of government officials to
deny newsmen access to public information.

If reporters can't cover meetings, the public can't know what's going on.

TOMORROW the
choir of the First Presbyterian Church of Sherman Oaks will sing "As
Torrents in Summer" — from the poem by H.W Longfellow, music by Edward
Elgar.

Jack Halloran, the director, makes no claim to being a
rain maker, but the choir rehearsed "Torrents" April 16 and the first
sprinkle in 55 days fell April 17.

He recalls that for four straight years on the spring Sunday his choir in Evanston, Ill., sang the song it rained.

It's worth a try. Besides, it's a nice song.

ON ONE OF his Treasure series on TV recently, Bill Burrud
presented a visual report on buried gold in Haiti. In it was a genial
beachcomber named Charlie, who said he hoped to come home to the United
States but didn't have the money.

Since then, dollar bills have been trickling in to Burrud to bring Charlie home.

Burrud has sent Charlie the first remittance, but has asked him to reconsider.

"As
a symbol of man's dream to get away from it all," he wrote, "you have
an obligation. Besides, maybe you don't know when you're well off."

ONLY IN Eagle
Rock — Rob Brooks believes he has discovered the secret of the
Occidental College track team's success. Two girls, students or wives,
were jogging around the track the other day with the athletes —
jackrabbits, so to speak, pacing the greyhounds.

The Shady Years
Reduced to lesser living.
Restrained from earning more.
Existing on fixed income.
You're a year past sixty-four.
You find your forced retirement seems a somewhat sinful plot –
Despite how far you may have climbed, you must backslide a lot.
– MATTIE RAE

FOOTNOTES —
A postal card water bill returned to the Dept. of Water and Power mail
room had "Deceased" written on it. Also, ironically, the stamp
cancellation imprint, "Live Better. Go all Electric" … Joe Weston
believes he encountered the so-called living end. A couple were riding
a mechanized golf cart on a Palm Springs pitch-and-putt course … No
matter what anyone says, that is not me playing bass in the Doris Van
trio at Harris' in Garden Grove. Fellow named Frank Wylie, apparently a
near double … In the event the S.F Giants run short of gimmicks to
lure the customers into Candlestick Park. JackBalley suggests they hire Liberace to bat for Willie Mays.

Posted in Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 25, 1959

Posted on April 25, 2009 by lmharnisch

CONFIDENTIAL FILE

Mash Notes and Comments

"Dear Mr. Coates,

"I am against smog and I understand a lot of other people, including Mayor Poulson, are against it too.

"Now you're for a lot of things and against a lot of things. And I've got to admit you aren't a bit bashful about saying so.

"But I've never heard you say anything pro or con about smog. Are you against it?" (signed) Rengam Blanco, El Monte.

–No, I believe what's good for General Motors is good for the country.

(Press release)

"Let's find a new star!

"Put
away the binoculars, stop gazing skyward and relax. It's not that kind
of star. We're going to discover a new motion picture and television
star, and we're leaving it all up to you. Isn't that an exciting
thought?

"All right now, Paul, feet up on the desk. Close your
eyes because we're going star hunting in a very unconventional way.
We've polled producers and directors on what qualifications they are
looking for in a newcomer.

"We've put all these qualifications
in a great big barrel which, with your imaginative permission, you'll
let us bring into your office. With the use of more imagination on your
part a tall, statuesque blond in an abbreviated spangled costume (like
those 'Girl Fridays' on TV quiz shows wear) stands beside it.

"Now, with a long, graceful, swan-like arm she begins spinning the container.

"Now
that our qualifications are mixed up really something good, let's begin
the drawing. It's time for you to go to work, Mr. Coates.

"Stick your hand in the barrel and pull out a slip. Okay, what's it say?

"Height 5 feet, 4 1/2 inches, you reply, trying to figure what vision of loveliness you are about to assemble.

"Draw again.

"And you do.

"What does this slip reveal about our mysterious star? 'Eyes hazel green.'

"So
now our new star is really beginning to take shape. Do you want to stop
or go on? Of course, you'll continue. Your imagination has been
stimulated.

"Another fateful draw and we now know our gal is 113
pounds of sheer delight. And last, but not least, you rummage around to
the bottom of the barrel and select a notation, which reads 38-22-36.

"How about those dimensions????

"Put
them all together, Paul, and what do they spell? Marlene Willis, of
course. Who, quite coincidentally, is a client we're pushing for
stardom.

"This has been a real fun game, hasn't it?

"I
hope you'll let us bring our barrel around again real soon for another
session of star hunting." (signed) Dodge-Heigh Public Relations.

–Why don't you take your barrel and go over Niagara Falls in it?

"Dear Paul,

"Two weeks ago I wrote you a letter explaining the plot of a Don Ameche soap opera. And you printed my letter.

"Now this week I can't find Don anywhere on the air.

"Paul, what have we done?" Mickee, P.O. Box 724, Sunland.

-I know how you feel, but someone had to do it.

Posted in Columnists, Countdown to Watts, Paul Coates | Comments Off

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 28, 1959

CONFIDENTIAL FILE

A Fellow to Whom We Should Subscribe

Bob Oates on O.J. Simpson, October 12, 1973

In the Theaters — April 28, 1980

Celtics Defeat Lakers, April 28, 1969

Hitler Reviews Nazi Troops, Hollywood Celebrates Barrymore’s Birthday, April 28, 1939

Nuestro Pueblo

Found on EBay — 1958 Dodger Tickets

Matt Weinstock — April 27, 1959

Goleta's Great Day

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 27, 1959

Confidential File

American Friends Service Committee

Los Angeles Fights the Flu, October 13, 1918

In the Theaters — April 27, 1978

Death by the Numbers, 1948

British Plane Missing Over Turkey, Dodgers vs. Camping, April 27, 1959

Nuestro Pueblo

James Ellroy at the Festival of Books

In the Theaters — April 26, 1976

Lakers Lead 2-0 Against Celtics in Championships, April 26, 1969

Masked Mob Seizes Black Rape Suspect From Mississippi Jail, April 26, 1959

Matt Weinstock — April 25, 1959

Taken for a Ride

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 25, 1959

CONFIDENTIAL FILE

Mash Notes and Comments

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Logo design: Ed Fuentes

CONFIDENTIAL FILE

A Fellow to Whom We Should Subscribe

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Goleta's Great Day

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Confidential File

American Friends Service Committee

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Taken for a Ride

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CONFIDENTIAL FILE

Mash Notes and Comments

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