West Hits 53 in Lakers’ Triumph, April 24, 1969

Posted on April 24, 2009 by lmharnisch

Jerry West scored 53 points to lead the Lakers past the Celtics,
120-118, in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. It's hard to imagine any one
player on a team with West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain scoring
that many points in a single game. It's even more difficult to
comprehend a game where the winning team needed all those 53 points to
squeak by.

West had been double-teamed in the Western Division finals against
the Atlanta Hawks but was the benefit of man-to-man coverage in Game 1.
West ate it up. He hit 21 of 41 shots (remember, no three-pointers) and
added 11 of 13 free throws.

"It was an incredible game, really a classic," West told The Times'
Mal Florence. "There weren't many turnovers or bad spots. … As for
me, it was just one of those nights where everything happened to work."

This was the seventh time West had scored 50 or more points. His
teammate, Baylor, held the playoff scoring record at that point with 61
against the Celtics in 1962.

Bill Russell, the Celtics' player-coach, didn't seem too worried.
"When we score 118 points it usually is enough for us to win," he said.
"We aren't going to panic or get upset because we lost by two points."

–Keith Thursby

Posted in Front Pages, Lakers | Comments Off

Changing the Pledge of Allegiance, April 24, 1939

Posted on April 24, 2009 by lmharnisch

Above, the Merced Theater in 1939 and, below, courtesy of Wikipedia.

You may recall this photo from April 10, 1938. It shows newsboys giving the Pledge of Allegiance with their arms outstretched.

April 24, 1939: David Cheverton shows the new style of the pledge, in which the right hand is place over the heart.

At left, Yugoslavia aligns itself with Germany and Italy … Avenal, Calif., battles an invasion of grasshoppers with poison and flames. "Another great horde of grasshoppers covering an area 10 miles long and give miles wide was reported moving down from the foothills near Los Banos," The Times says.

James E. Bassett covers the marriage of "two of filmdom's brightest luminaries," Tyrone Power, 24, Suzanne Georgette Charpentier.

And the peculiar tale of an 87-year-old New Jersey man who burns to death when his whiskers catch fire.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Johnson Wax Building opens to great acclaim.

Nazi Field Marshal Hermann Goerring reviews Italian tanks in Tripoli.

A 70-year-old solution to immigration: repatriate thousands of Mexicans.

A British look at the issue of unwelcome war refugees, primarily Jews.

Ona Munson is cast as Belle Watling in "Gone With the Wind."

Is a "she-devil" setting a trap for Tarzan?!

What do you get when you run an eight-column photo? Lots of head bumps, sometimes called "tombstoning." Even with big art, they crammed 14 stories on the cover. And the section header is reversed out of the picture (a "reverse" is white type on a black background).

Posted in Comics, Film, Hollywood, Sports, Stage | 1 Comment

Neil Clemans — RIP

Posted on April 23, 2009 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Neil Clemans

She likes Ike!

Former Mirror photographer Neil Clemans, whose book was featured in a recent post, died on Monday at his home in Los Angeles. A private memorial is planned.

Posted in Obituaries | Comments Off

Found on EBay — Haggarty’s

Posted on April 23, 2009 by lmharnisch

This outfit from Haggarty's has been listed on EBay. I would call this a period piece but that really doesn't do it justice. Bidding starts at $159.99.

Posted in Fashion | Comments Off

Matt Weinstock — April 23, 1959

Posted on April 23, 2009 by lmharnisch

What Goes Up…

For some
reason, perhaps a power failure, all four elevators in the 12-story
Equitable Building at Hollywood Blvd. and Vine St. Stopped between
floors Monday and remained stalled about an hour.

The remarkable
thing was that there were no passengers in any of the cars, only the
girl operators, who, according to an observer, remained calm and
patient. After all, what else could they do?

And so the
questions is, on what did these four spirited young ladies meditate
during this lost hour? On the ups and downs of life? On the ultimate
outcome of man's fight against machinery? On what they would have for
dinner?

Apparently not. One of them said later. "I just wondered when the heck I was going to get out of there."

AS ANY DOTING grandfather,
publicist Jerry Hoffman was eager to see his granddaughter Lisa, 3, on
a morning TV program which features birthday observances. However, no
set was available near his office, so shortly before 10 a.m. he went
into a nearby bar, ordered a drink he didn't want and asked, "Would you
mind turning on TV?"

"What show?" the bartender asked.

"Chucko the Clown," Jerry replied. The bartender winced all the way up his ears.

SPRING PREENING
In spring a woman's fancy turns
To summer styles they're showing
And how to cover up the hips
She's been all winter growing.
-PEARL ROWE

LITERARY researchers
are continually turning up new stuff about famous authors, and now Lou
Huston of North Hollywood claims to have uncovered a hither to unknown
anecdote about Henry James.

For weeks James tried to find a name
for a new novel, but none satisfied him. In desperation he consulted
his brother, the noted psychologist William James. William made several
suggestions, but Henry irritably rejected them. Finally William said,
"Henry, you have let this problem unnerve you. Look at you! You're
positively shaggy. Forget the book a while and tidy up."

Taking
his brother's advice, Henry went to a barbershop and sat on a bench
next to a guard from the nearby penitentiary. Lost in reverie, the
novelist heard the barber call "Next!" and leaped to his feet. The
barber pointed to the prison guard and said, "I'm sorry, Mr.James, but
this man is ahead of you. It's the turn of the screw."

Elated, the famous writer ran out of the shop and dashed to his publisher and gasped out the title of his new novel.

EAVESDROPPINGS —
A lady who maintains a crowded schedule of meetings and luncheons
exclaimed to a friend, "You know, I'm so busy I never have time to
enjoy myself any more." Rather profound … And a man known as The
Squire, reflecting on his misspent life, got off this one: "I am a man
of many talents, none of which has ever brought in a nickel."

IF HE CAN only
figure out a suitable melody, Bill Bates, Laurel Canyon lyricist,
thinks he has a hit torch tune. The title: "Is It Better to Be Wanted
by the FBI Than Not to Be Wanted at All?"

ANYONE ELSE
notice that in "Cheyenne" Tuesday, when a boy had to choose between his
Indian mother and the white woman who had raised him and he turned to
Ty Hardin for guidance, Ty said, "That's something you'll have to
decide for yourself." Almost turned a grippingdraymah of the Old West into a cigarette commercial.

Miscellany — One night recently R.K. Llyde
and his wife went to the Baldwin Theater and shortly after returning
home received a call informing him his wallet containing about $250 had
been found by an usher, AbeZide. Lloyde hadn't missed it until the call. And so, a typographical posy to Zide
, who refused a reward but accepted $15 for college expenses … A
young man of about 22 was marching solemnly on Hill St. near 5th with a large cardboard placard on his chest stating "I'm a good boy. Hire me."

Posted in Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 23, 1959

Posted on April 23, 2009 by lmharnisch

CONFIDENTIAL FILE

Underworld Eyes Bounty on a Killer

As
one who, from time to time, chronicles the grim game of cops and
robbers, I have always believed implicitly that the underworld has a
First Commandment:

"Never kill a cop."

And I have
believed, too, that if the commandment is broken, law enforcement
officers everywhere become relentless, dedicated avengers.

They never rest until the transgressor gets his.

Twenty-one months ago yesterday, a couple of El Segundo police officers were shot down in cold blood by a psychopathic killer.

Both victims were married and had families.

The twin slayings ignited one of the biggest manhunts in local history. All of California was outraged.

Within days, hundreds of suspects were picked up, questioned and released.

The newspaper played it big. For a couple of weeks, anyway.

But nobody got his.

And, as time passed, I wondered if I'd been wrong.

Maybe, after all, the avengers had short memories.

Tuesday, Sheriff Pete Pitchess and El Segundo Police Chief Tom DeBerry announced the posting of a $5,000 reward for the killer.

And I knew I'd been right the first time.

In addition to the reward, Pitchess and DeBerry said they are sending 15,000 wanted circulars to enforcement agencies in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Hawaii.

They feel confident that someone, somewhere knows the killer and knows about his crime.

They hope the $5,000 buys this knowledge.

Yesterday, I talked to Lt. Tom Farrell of the Sheriff's Department.

"That's a pretty big reward," I said.

"We meant it to be," he replied.

"Where's the money coming from?" I wanted to know.

Hughes
Aircraft in El Segundo put up $2,000, the Los Angeles Peace Officers
Protective Assn. put up $1,000, Hughes Tool of El Segundo donated $550,
the El Segundo Peace Officers Assn. pledged $500, the Peace Officers
Assn. of Los Angeles County put up $500, Standard Oil in El Segundo
donated $250, and North American Aviation in El Segundo added another
$200.

"The reward," he added, "will stand for at least one year."

And I hope someone collects it.

A lot of policemen and the wives of the dead officers hope so, too.

With them, it's probably pretty much of a personal thing.

And perfectly understandable.

Hunt the Man Down

But there's another side.

The guy who shoots a policeman is a deadly, dangerous menace.

Quite obviously he'd have no compunction about killing an ordinary, unarmed citizen.

And it's a frightening thing to know that a man like that is running around loose.

That's why I'm glad their fellow officers remember Richard A. Philips and Milton Curtis, the two dead policemen.

I hope they never forget.

Posted in Columnists, Homicide, Paul Coates, Politics | 2 Comments

In the Theaters — April 23, 1966

Posted on April 23, 2009 by lmharnisch

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Comments Off

Daily Mirror at the Festival of Books

Posted on April 23, 2009 by lmharnisch

I planned to not say very much about appearing at the Festival of
Books, but people have been asking about "History: The Underbelly of
California," which will be presented at 2 p.m. Sunday at Haines 39. The
panel will feature Richard Rayner, author of the forthcoming book "A
Bright and Guilty Place"; David Ward, author of "Alcatraz: The Gangster
Years" and be moderated by author and former Times reporter Miles
Corwin.

Naturally, I'm quite flattered to be included in this company. Keith
Thursby, the other half of the Daily Mirror, will be available too in
case there are any questions about the Daily Mirror's sports coverage.
Keith tells me tickets are "sold out," although people may be able to
get in on a standby basis.

Posted in books, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Weblogs | 1 Comment

Irish Firebrand Takes Seat in Parliament, Lakers Showdown With the Celtics, April 23, 1969

Posted on April 23, 2009 by lmharnisch

April 23, 1969: In case you don't recognize this building, it is the former Earl Carroll theater, now the Nickelodeon building, on Sunset Boulevard. The concrete slabs with movie stars' signatures were removed to make room for this huge mural, The Times says.

Notice that the one-column photo of sailor Robin Knox-Johnston doesn't square off with the story or even come close to it!

At left, a nine-story front page. It's a big day for the foreign desk with reports from Jerusalem (Israel turns 21); London (Irish radical Bernadette Devlin, then 22, is seated in Parliament); and the lead story from Paris, speculating that Charles de Gaulle might resign, with a sidebar on the economic impact.

National has a SCOTUS story (Supreme Court of the United States); a feature on the first man to sail by himself around the world; a wire story out of Houston on the first human eye transplant and a story with the lead art on flooding in the Midwest.

The only Metro story is the nondupe on "cleaner" if not actually "clean" lobbying in Sacramento.

Art Seidenbaum writes about high school dress codes. I guess the page designers didn't worry about head bumps in those days. (That's running two headlines next to one another).

Check out the authentic 1960s hippie jibberish: "The Aquarian Age is, well the Next Coming, the Everlasting Age .. an acceleration of life in which eventual good shall prevail."

Above, Paul Conrad and at right, Frank Interlandi on black militants.

"Peanuts" briefly featured an African American character, Franklin.

Above left, "Elvira Mdigan" and "Goodbye, Columbus." Englebert Humperdinck opens in Las Vegas and the Pussycat Theatre chain promises "a high level of excellence in adult entertainment." At left, not to belabor the point, but "The Flintstones" must be the unfunniest strip ever based on an animated cartoon. And check out "Dick Tracy."

One of the key plays for the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals against the Lakers would come at the end of Game 4. With time running out and the Celtics trailing by a point, Sam Jones' desperation shot — even he called it "very lucky" — went in and the Celtics evened the series at 2-2 instead of going back to Los Angeles with the Lakers needing only one more victory to take the title.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

Before the series started, The Times' Mal Florence talked to Wilt Chamberlain about the Celtics and why they had dominated the league. Boston had won 10 titles in the past 12 seasons. Chamberlain, Florence noted, was on his fourth team and had only one title.

"They are a very, very talented team and a very lucky team," Wilt said. "Remember, luck plays an important part in these games. … Boston doesn't sweep all those playoff games it is in. A lot of them go right down to the final seconds of the seventh game…. When you lose or win by one or two points, there is a certain amount of luck involved."

Think the Celtics saw those quotes before the series started?

Don Drysdale lost again and was worried whether he had a future with the Dodgers.

"I can't get the arm up. Maybe something can be done with it, but right now it's very simple: I don't have it and I'm not throwing hard," he told The Times' John Wiebusch.

The previous season, Drysdale was one of baseball's biggest stories as he broke Walter Johnson's record for consecutive scoreless innings. He hurt his shoulder in August, rested but came into spring training optimistic.

Drysdale talked candidly about his doubts, including whether it was possible for a pitcher his age — 32 –to bounce back from injury. "I'm going to do some soul searching in the next few hours and then I'm going to talk to Mr. O'Malley and to Al [Campanis]. I owe that much to this team, to Walt [Alston] and to the fans of Los Angeles."

The Giants won, 6-0, with a two-run home run off Drysdale by Bobby Bonds.

— Keith Thursby

Posted in Comics, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Music, Nightclubs, Stage | 2 Comments

Found on EBay — 1954 Thomas Bros. Guide

Posted on April 22, 2009 by lmharnisch

This 1954 Thomas Bros. guide has been listed on EBay. Notice that it's the narrow format. Bidding starts at $5.99.

A 1953 Thomas Bros. guide has also been listed. Bidding starts at $14.99.

Posted in books | 1 Comment

Matt Weinstock — April 22, 1959

Posted on April 22, 2009 by lmharnisch

Talk Is Cheaper

At this
moment of drought there is much talk of water. At a meeting in
Sacramento a few days ago John E. Hunt, financial consultant of the
California Department of Water Resources, outlined to interested
persons from all over the state the cost of bringing water from
Northern California, where there is too much, to Southern California,
where there is not enough.

He used astronomical figures — $1 billion for this, $800 million for that, $30 million annually for something else, and so on.

As
he stopped for a drink of water, almost symbolically it seemed, Henry
Green, manager of the Feather River Project Assn., announced that the
waitress who had served the lunch was $10 short and asked if anyone had
neglected to pay.

And the discussion of casual billions was help up while the boys dug in their wallets to make up their shortage.

A YOUNG MAN named
Frank received a call the other day from a scholarly but somewhat
unworldly friend who asked Frank to look up a word in his French
dictionary. "I think it is derived from the work 'beatitudes,'" he
said, "but I can't find it in any of my dictionaries." And he spelled
out the word "be-AT-nik."

CAMPUS CROWDING
University housing
Certainly worsens
If seven-foot beds
Are for 3 1/2 persons.
–RICHARD ARMOUR

THE UNDERSTATEMENT of
the week has to do with a doctor who kept sending bills to a woman
patient but received no response. Finally, a few day ago, he received a
note stating, "My husband will take care of this as soon as he gets out
of a slight difficulty."

The secretary checked and learned that three days before the husband had been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

IT IS CLEAR that
there will always be motorists who will never solve the traffic maze
called the interchange. At the last moment they realize they are in the
wrong lane to go where they want to go and suddenly cut sharply in the
front of the other cars. The miracle is that there aren't 50 accidents
a day there.

Discussing the hazardous situation with a colleague, Rob Wade, head preparator of exhibits at the County Museum, came up with this picturesque description: "Yes, that's where the traffic really gets braided."

EVERY MOTHER has her own definition of the moment her child grew up.

With
Irene Grimes, it was the time her son Jim went into the second grade.
As he departed on the second day of school and she started to kiss him
goodbye, as she had always done, he pulled away and said, "Couldn't we
just shake hands?"

WITH Helen
Ernest, it was the other night when her son Bob, 17, a sailor home on
leave, went out on a date. "Be in by 12," she admonished. "Mom," he
said importantly, "I'm government property now." "I don't care if
you're government property or not," she retorted, "get that car back by
midnight!"

AROUND TOWN — Have
you noticed the toy stuffed tigers inside the rear windows of cars?
Looks like this may be the fad to replace Hula-Hoops… The man behind
the scenes on one of the late late shows the other night committed this
weird sequence: the title, "When the Poppies Bloom Again," then the
line, "Dedicated to those who remember," followed by "Wisconsin
cheese"… Then, Frank Barron reminds, there's this little foreign car
that goes forward and Borgward … Fun-loving admen in Pacific Palisades
have formed a club called Palisades Advertising People — Pap for
short. Purely social … A girl named Liz, who already owns two other
cats, found a stray and, after deep pondering, has decided to call it Purry Como.

Posted in Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 22, 1959

Posted on April 22, 2009 by lmharnisch

Confidential File

So Wyatt Outdrawed Him With a Potater

Stay a moment and consider with me the potato. Or, if you prefer, Solanum tuberosum, a perennial plant of the nightshade family.

(You
can be damn sure I didn't put all that dough into a set of
encyclopedias just to impress my neighbors with the size of my library.)

The potato is a vegetable with a stormy past and an uncertain future.

Since its earliest cultivation, it has been plagued by the Colorado beetle and, for a brief period in history, by a band of 18th
century food faddists called the SPUDS (Society for the Prevention of
Unclean Diet), who were convinced that potatoes contained a drug that
weakened the will.

They claimed it was being foisted on an unsuspecting public by subversives who were plotting to take over the nation.

In fact, though, the potato has served us well. We owe it much.

Without it, for example, Laura Scudder
would have been just another housewife. And Pat O'Brien would be just
another next-to-closing clog dancer at the County Down Fair, if his
ancestors hadn't lammed to escape the Great Potato Famine of '46.

This
vegetable has also made a deep impact on my life. As a child, I was
force-fed it almost every meal by a doting mother who believed that
without this daily staple I would fall dead of beriberi. Or, at least,
run a high fever from la grippe.

When the sure signs of nausea
would warn me that one more gulp of milk-soaked mashed potato would
result in catastrophe, my mother would invariably admonish:

"Look at what you left on your plate. Think of the poor, starving Chinese. What wouldn't they give for that!"

Consequently, I cannot shake the vague feeling that somehow I, and not Mao Tsetung, am responsible for the poor, starving Chinese. I also came to manhood with an almost irrational respect for the potato.

That's why I was shocked recently when a lovely lady from the Cossman Toy Co. stopped by with a couple of samples of her firm's newest product-the Spud Gun.

"You just dig the barrel into a potato, pull it out and fire," she explained. "It shoots little potato pellets up to 50 feet.

"It's not just a toy, either. It's a public service. There's a very serious surplus this year.

"We've
already sold almost a million guns," she went on happily. "We estimate
that if every child shoots up to 12 pounds, it'll move 12 million
pounds out of the surplus warehouses and get the economy back in shape.

Fraught With Economicalties

There's
another purpose," she concluded. "Potato consumption is down 50% under
last year. There's a desperate need to make America potato conscious
again. We feel the Spud Gun will do it."

And I feel she's right. You can hardly be unconscious of the potato when some kid is firing one at you from ambush.

Anyway, I dutifully took the Spud Guns home to my youngsters.

They're having a ball with them. But I'm not happy.

Every
time they take careful aim and shoot each other right between the eyes,
I find myself thinking, with the same old guilty feeling, about the
poor, starving Chinese.

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off

A Jewish Pioneer Who Helped Build L.A.

Posted on April 22, 2009 by lmharnisch

Frances Dinkelspiel

Frances Dinkelspiel, whose biography of her great-great-grandfather Isaias Hellman has received good notices, is one of the many writers who will be at The Times Festival of Books. For those not venturing to UCLA on Sunday, she will present a reading from her book, "Towers of Gold," at 3 p.m. at the Famers and Merchants Bank, 4th and Main, which Hellman founded.

Read Tim Rutten's review of "Towers of Gold" >>>

Posted in books, Downtown, Religion | Comments Off

Cary Grant — Part 3, April 22, 1959

Posted on April 22, 2009 by lmharnisch

Finally, at the end of Part 3, The Times publishes comments from Joe Hyams defending his series. It appears that Hyams got permission from Grant to use quotes that appeared in another story — although it's unclear if he got permission from the writer, Lionel Crane of the London Daily Mirror.

Nov. 29, 1973: Robert Kirsch deftly dissects Joe Hyams' work.

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Comments Off

In the Theaters — April 22, 1963

Posted on April 22, 2009 by lmharnisch

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Comments Off

Second Takes — Billy Wilder

Posted on April 22, 2009 by lmharnisch

Sept. 22, 1954: "Sabrina" opens in Los Angeles.

May 27, 1953: David Knight is cast in "Sabrina Fair."

June 20, 1953: More about Knight, who vanished from the final cast.

Aug. 22, 1953: The leads are cast: Audrey Hepburn, William Holden and Humphrey Bogart.

Sept. 30, 1953: Casting continues.

Oct. 3, 1953

Oct. 9, 1953: Filming is in progress in New York.

Oct. 24, 1953: Although the film is in black and white, Holden dyes his hair red. And another plug for Cy Howard! He must have been one of Hedda Hopper's favorites.

Oct. 26, 1953: Holden talks about a movie he'd like to make.

Sept. 23, 1954: Edwin Schallert reviews "Sabrina." "Constantly through the cleverness of individual situations 'Sabrina' seems to override what is wrong with its plot and even its motivation. It is strictly movie in its essential values which all too often, according to all-too-well established Hollywood tradition, completely disregard the issue of being convincing."

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Second Takes | Comments Off

Court Upholds Deal on Chavez Ravine; Moratorium on Death Penalty Fails, April 22, 1959

Posted on April 22, 2009 by lmharnisch

Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times

People cluster between homes on Malvina Avenue in Chavez Ravine
for word on being evicted.

The battle over Chavez Ravine reads like the same story after a while — a long court fight with no end in sight.

This time, the state Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of
the city's deal with the Dodgers to eventually build the team a new
ballpark. The decision was deemed "the last outstanding legal landmark"
in the case. But any careful reader must have known there were more
steps ahead, more twists and turns.

There were other familiar elements to the story. Dodgers owner
Walter O'Malley was quoted as still hoping the new stadium would be
ready by opening day of 1960. Attorneys for residents fighting the
Dodger deal planned their next moves — again.

City Council members were polled for reaction. Given The Times' long
campaign in favor of the ballpark, it should not have been a surprise
that Rosalind Wyman was quoted extensively but the opposition didn't
exactly get equal treatment.

John Holland, a longtime opponent of the Dodger Stadium deal, said
he would comment once he had read the Supreme Court's decision. There
was no one else to ask? Just the previous day, The Times ran a short
story about Councilman Earle D. Baker's unsuccessful attempt to have
the eviction notices delayed for five families still living in the
Chavez Ravine area. My guess is Baker or some of the six other council
members who voted with him — including Edward R. Roybal and Gordon R.
Hahn — might have been willing to go on the record.

— Keith Thursby

The ills of suburban life and the intellectual benefits of cities.

More women are going to movies–at least "femme" tearjerkers like "Imitation of Life," Philip K. Scheuer says.

Drinking problems in "Judge Parker," compulsive gambling in "Moon Mullins" and food issues in "Nancy."

Posted in #courts, City Hall, Comics, Dodgers, Downtown, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Minister Vows to Fight Morals Charge, April 22, 1939

Posted on April 22, 2009 by lmharnisch

April 19, 1939: Joseph Jeffers and his wife, Zella Joy, are accused of committing "unnatural acts" in the privacy of their home. The Los Angeles County district attorney's office used a hidden dictograph to get evidence.

Posted in #courts, Religion | Comments Off

Found on EBay — Bullock’s Wilshire

Posted on April 21, 2009 by lmharnisch

This doll from Bullock's Wilshire has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $239.
Technorati Profile

Posted in Fashion | Comments Off

Matt Weinstock — April 21, 1959

Posted on April 21, 2009 by lmharnisch

No Deal

This corner's continuing seminar on the subject "Do Mr. Parker's boys hand out too many traffic citations?" is at a stalemate.

The
deadlock has to do with a case recently presented here in which a
motorist who lives in a suburb and is not familiar with one-way streets
received two citations in five minutes.

Driving west on 5th Street, this naive outlander
turned left on Olive Street from the middle instead of the extreme left
lane. It was 1 a.m. and he insisted he created no hazard, but got the
ticket anyway. Then he turned west on 6th Street, one-way eastbound, and got the second.

HE WAS technically guilty, of course, and paid his fines. But he resolved never to go downtown again.

After
this sordid tale was printed, a man from the LAPD called and said he'd
like to talk to the offender and perhaps show him the error of his
ways, if I would furnish his name.

"I wonder if he'd think as he does," the officer said, "if he had run head-on into another car when he made the illegal turn."

I
got hold of the motorist and said the LAPD would like to talk to him
about his criminal ways. He said he'd be happy to talk to someone as he
is still outraged by the two tickets. But he said he'd have to be given
amnesty and a guarantee of safe conduct before he ever came downtown
again. That, of course, is impossible. Let him fight his way as the
rest of us must do. So that's where we are, nowhere.

THIS IS TO report that a true innocent is running loose in our fair city. He phoned Paul Henninger of the radio and TV department the other day and asked how to got to Chavez Ravine to see the Dodgers play.

"You're kidding," Paul said, visualizing millions of wasted words over the controversy.

The man wasn't and Paul broke the news to him about the Coliseum.

Now,
on second thought, Paul wishes he had directed him to the Ravine. He
might have taken root and challenged the Griffith Park hermit to a
beard-growing contest.

ANXIETY NEUROSIS

In gross income reported
I forgot to figger
My six books of Green Stamps.
Should my tax have been bigger?

–M.L.G.

REPORTERS agree that the Elizabeth Duncan case had more surprises than any they had ever covered. The other day another one, hitherto unreported, was revealed.

When Luis Moya was first questioned, before he and Augustine Baldonado were revealed as the actual slayers of Olga Duncan, he was noncommittal. Deputy Sheriff Roy Higgins, knowing Moya
was religious and that his mother was dead, said to him, "When you die
and meet your mother, what are you going to tell her about your part in
this case?"

Moya didn't answer but asked for a Bible. None could
be found immediately and an attache was dispatched to a nearby hotel
for a Gideon.

Moya read for a while, then readily confessed his part in the crime.

ITEM WITH MORAL — April 20, Adolf Hitler's birthday, passed unnoticed. He lost. April 17, Nikita Khrushchev's birthday, was elaborately celebrated. He won.

AT RANDOM — Spring
continues to burst out all over. This chalked message was on a freight
car, one of a long train clanking along Pacific Coast Highway near
Oxnard: "Let's go to down, lovebirds, to see the girls" … People
handling the campaign for the Orthopaedic Hospital's proposed
$6.5-million children's center are grateful to the unidentified person
who sent them five $50 bills with an Easter card. Only clue was the
postmark, Highland, Cal. … Nice tribute in Holiday to Gene Fowler,
dubbed "the gilded pauper," by Ben Hecht — although Lucius Beebe has him living in Beverly Hills instead of Brentwood.

Posted in Columnists, LAPD, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

West Hits 53 in Lakers’ Triumph, April 24, 1969

Changing the Pledge of Allegiance, April 24, 1939

Neil Clemans — RIP

Found on EBay — Haggarty’s

Matt Weinstock — April 23, 1959

What Goes Up…

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 23, 1959

CONFIDENTIAL FILE

Underworld Eyes Bounty on a Killer

In the Theaters — April 23, 1966

Daily Mirror at the Festival of Books

Irish Firebrand Takes Seat in Parliament, Lakers Showdown With the Celtics, April 23, 1969

Found on EBay — 1954 Thomas Bros. Guide

Matt Weinstock — April 22, 1959

Talk Is Cheaper

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 22, 1959

Confidential File

So Wyatt Outdrawed Him With a Potater

A Jewish Pioneer Who Helped Build L.A.

Cary Grant — Part 3, April 22, 1959

In the Theaters — April 22, 1963

Second Takes — Billy Wilder

Court Upholds Deal on Chavez Ravine; Moratorium on Death Penalty Fails, April 22, 1959

Minister Vows to Fight Morals Charge, April 22, 1939

Found on EBay — Bullock’s Wilshire

Matt Weinstock — April 21, 1959

No Deal

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Logo design: Ed Fuentes

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What Goes Up…

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CONFIDENTIAL FILE

Underworld Eyes Bounty on a Killer

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Talk Is Cheaper

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Confidential File

So Wyatt Outdrawed Him With a Potater

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No Deal

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