May 4, 1938

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Above, Myrna Loy, co-star of "Test Pilot." Below, vegetable peddler George Sakalis tells of police intimidation in the trial of Capt. Earle Kynette … In Rome, throngs of Italians cheer a smiling Adolf Hitler, yelling "Viva!" and "Heil!" … The National Confectioners’ Assn. brings a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox over a scene in Shirley Temple’s "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" that implies candy bars are unhealthy. On the jump, Domino cigarettes are mild on your throat and your pocketbook.

Quote of the Day:

"Uncle Henry bought me a candy bar."

"A candy bar! Take the child to the kitchen and give her something decent to eat!"

–"Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm"

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May 4, 1908

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Above, the Lincoln Day Club meets. Below, fighting in the Khyber Pass … A fire at the New Avelina Hotel kills at least 10 in Fort Wayne, Ind. … San Francisco prepares to welcome the Great White Fleet, which is hit by a gale at Monterey … Wedding bells ring for Prince Wilhelm of Sweden and Russia’s Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna. 

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Matt Weinstock


May 3, 1958

 

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May 3, 1958

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A crazy chase–just to beat a traffic ticket? And below, the Headdress Ball!

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May 3, 1938

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Note that William Grant Still took part in the rehearsals for these performances of "Lennox Avenue."

 

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Here’s a link to more information from Duke University about William Grant Still.

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Home of the week


May 3, 1908

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Look what I found! Another 100-year-old home, as shown on Google maps street view:


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According to The Times, the Los Angeles Investment Co. developed a portion of what was known as the College Tract. The development consisted of 80 acres divided into 450 lots. The Times gave the boundaries as Gramercy, 48th Street, Wilton Place and Arlington Avenue, which don’t form a rectangle, unfortunately. Houses ranged from modest bungalows to large, two-story homes. Home buyers were given two years’ use of adjoining lots, which the company left vacant, The Times said. The builders also created small, landscaped parks throughout the development.

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Note: If you cannot see the Google image, you may need to install Adobe Flash Player as a browser plug-in. You may also need to switch to Firefox.

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Matt Weinstock


May 2, 1958


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Paul Coates


May 2, 1958

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May 2, 1958

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Above, gentlemen, save your marriage and get your hands in the dishpan! Below, 20 are arrested in an East L.A. gang fight … Two bandits hold up a Beverly Hills jewelry store … A 17-year-old mother reaching across the car seat to grab her fallen baby loses control of the car and kills her child in a spectacular crash … and the Pirates win.

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October 3, 1907: The Mystery of Felt Lake


October 3, 1907
Stanford University

October 3, 1907: Chester SilentChester Silent was among the most promising young men of Delta Tau Delta at Stanford. The son of Judge Charles Silent and prominent in Los Angeles social circles, Silent, 22, had excelled in his studies and upon graduating with a law degree in the Class of 1907 had begun graduate work at Stanford and was expected to head to Harvard.

His fraternity brothers described him as being fairly quiet and reserved—at least among strangers. He didn’t drink or smoke and had little to do with women. His only health problem seemed to be his eyesight, which was so weak that his father wondered whether to let him return to Stanford. But after a summer of tramping around the family ranch in Glendora, Silent found that his vision was well enough that his father allowed him to go back.

A studious young man, Silent usually locked himself in his room to pore over his books and was always eager to help his fraternity brothers with their classes. At the same time, he could be boisterous and was the leader of the Deltas’ roughhousing.
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May 2, 1938

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Above, a waitress from the Red Parrot Cafe is thrown from a speeding car at Sunset Boulevard and Spring Street … Below, engineers are working on ways to prevent flood damage by the Los Angeles River. In addition to experiments in forest areas to learn more about debris from mountain watersheds, workmen at Soto Street are excavating the river bed and lining the channel with concrete …  The trial of Police Capt. Earle Kynette resumes after a weekend break … The court begins examining prospective jurors to determine if they can read and write and whether they know enough English to understand legal proceedings. 

Quote of the Day: "For instance, a prospective juror is given the word ‘larceny’ and then requested to say which of the following terms has a like meaning: large opening, theft, Swedish and market."

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May 2, 1908

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Above, the daring "ladder thief" strikes at the Doheny residence on Chester Place (apparently named for Stanford student Chester Silent) … Below, a fascinating tale of legal intrigue, tangled relationships and greed told in the story of a land baron’s love child–and 3,000 acres in Santa Barbara County where oil was discovered … Beulah Hawkins awakens after 85 days … Six Navy destroyers arrive in San Pedro … Mounted police pursue several cars after the drivers attempt to drive the Arrowhead road in San Bernardino that is restricted to horses … Someone sabotages the streetcar tracks at 9th Street and Channing and nearly causes a bad accident … And the Chamber of Commerce is asking for auto owners to loan their vehicles so visiting sailors can get a tour of Los Angeles. 

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Buzzie Bavasi, RIP


March 31, 1966

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Buzzie Bavasi, center, with Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax after they ended their holdouts on new contracts.

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May 1, 1958

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Above, what’s on the cover of the Mirror? The Cold War? The space race? The Dodgers? No! It’s Gary Cooper’s face lift!

 

So let’s go into the archives and get a better look.

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Here are the before and after shots from 1958.

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Here’s "Coop" in 1956.

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A 1959 shot from "They Came to Cordura."

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Another shot from "Cordura," 1959.

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Here’s a still, probably taken in late 1960, from "The Naked Edge," Cooper’s last film.

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Isn’t this an amazing discovery? Gary Cooper’s co-star in "Good Sam" was painted out of the picture! Is it Ann Sheridan under all that goop?  This is the most excessive example of retouching I’ve found … so far.

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May 1, 1938

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Above, Arnold Schoenberg’s orchestration of Brahms’ quartet for piano and strings receives its U.S. premiere. I once listened to a recording of a talk by Schoenberg and was surprised to hear him pronounce his name "Shane-berg" as in "Bei Mir Bist du Schoen." Below, Nazi teachers (the National Socialist Teachers Assn.) burn books, starting with "Three Times Austria" (Dreimal Oesterreich) by Kurt von Schuschnigg. This bonfire of 2,000 books was largely ceremonial, The Times said. The Nazis planned an even bigger fire for 30,000 volumes collected from libraries and universities to purge "objectionable literature" forced on the people. 

Quote of the Day: " ‘Books by Emil Ludwig, Stefan Zweig, Vicki Baum’ and  ‘clerical monarchist literature’ must disappear from German homes." 

 

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The comics


May 1, 1938

 

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Dick Tracy cautions angry Chinese against vigilante justice. He agrees to let them see the arch-criminal one more time if they put down their weapons. Alas, Tracy is outwitted by someone with a miniature blowgun. Who killed the fiend? We will never know! 

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Home of the week


May 1, 1938

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Above, here we are in 1938 in Leimert Park. Below, a current street view, courtesy of Google.

Why am I showing a home from Leimert Park? Because this neighborhood is in what is all too often described as "gang-infested South L.A." I was unfamiliar with the area until I began looking into the Black Dahlia murder (the body of Elizabeth Short was found several blocks from this duplex).

The homes in Leimert Park have a great deal of charm and wonderful architectural details like stained-glass windows and tile roofs. This neighborhood is, according to propertyshark.com, 78.5% African American, 14.3% Hispanic, 8% Asian American, 6.1% white, 0.5% Native American or Alaskan and 0.1% Native Islander (the figures add up to more than 100% because some people choose more than one ethnic category–welcome to L.A.). The duplex sold in 2004 for $600,000, according to propertyshark.

Note: If you can’t see the current map, you are probably using some version of Internet Explorer and need to install Adobe Flash Player. You can either do that or switch to Firefox, which works fine. 

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May 1, 1908: Husband Accuses Wife of Affair With Coachman

 

May 1, 1908: Merry Widow hats are stylish

Above, the latest style in women’s hats, the Merry Widow. Below, the scandalous divorce of Emanuel Augustine Lord of Bridgeport, Conn. Henry Lord accuses his wife of an affair with Harry Cameron, the African American coachman.

Quote of the Day: “Lord testified that when he told his wife the coachman must be discharged she threatened to leave if Cameron went. He said that Cameron threatened him with assault.”

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Matt Weinstock


April 30, 1958

 

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Paul Coates


April 30, 1958

 

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