Matt Weinstock

Jan. 28, 1958

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T.J. Flournoy,
who makes pianos look and sound like they’re supposed to, went to a
customer’s home for a tune-up job and found him busily putting his
record collection in order by discarding unwanted platters.

The
householder is a former disc jockey who was recently displaced at an
L.A. radio station because he was not sufficiently in sympathy with the
new policy of strict rock-and-roll music.

He was fiercely
building tall piles of records he had amassed while a deejay when, with
sudden inspiration, he asked, "Hey do you want these things? I’m
getting rid of them."

FLOURNOY SAID NO,
he didn’t but he belonged to a service organization which could find
use for them. So he and the householder started carrying them out to Flournoy’s car an armload at a time, for there were about 2,000 of them.

Just
then the combustible rubbish truck came by on its weekly mission and
the young man who does the lifting asked what all the records were. The
householder said they were just a bunch of Presley-type stuff he was
getting rid of. Then he asked, "Do you want some of them?"

The young man inspected a few and remarked, "No, thanks. I’ve got better garbage than that on the truck."

Perhaps the madness is abating. [Note: I can hear the groans among you vintage record collectors–I know, I know–lrh]

ONLY IN L.A.–A woman phoned the smog control office yesterday and reported a dead cat in the street on Redondo Boulevard. She was told this was a matter for the city, not the Air Pollution Control District.

"Well, it’s pollutin‘ the air!" she said triumphantly.

Recognizing defeat, the smog man himself called the number–MI 5211, Station 751–and reported it.

IN SPITE OF Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Agua Caliente, not everyone is as horse-minded as you might think.

Take
the case of the police officer who, after eight years on the Central
Auto Theft Detail, was transferred recently to the West Valley
Detective Bureau.

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Last week he landed his first stolen horse
report. The owner described the missing steed as a "gelded palomino,
standing about 15 hands." The officer, a whiz at recovering stolen
cars, asked its color and height. The owner patiently explained about a
palomino’s color. He explained a horse’s height was measured in
"hands"–4 inches per hand.

Then the detective asked THE question–was the gelding a male or a female?

A
pained expression came over the owner’s face and he explained the facts
of horse life to the city-bred guardian of the law. He’ll know better
next time. Meanwhile, his mates are making his life miserable.

A NEIGHBOR phoned a lady named Nell, renowned for her fine martinis and asked, "How much do your martini glasses hold?"

"Hold
on, I’ll go and measure," she replied. She came back on the line a
moment later and said, with unintended naivete, "Gosh I don’t
know–we’re out of gin."

AT RANDOM–An
ad in a suburban newspaper offering for sale shares of stock in a
business enterprise had a coupon attached with an embarrassing typo.
Persons wishing additional information were asked to send in their
name, address and phone–with was spelled "Phonee" … Steve Alexrod
[Axlerod?–lrh] got an F in English on his report card and told his
teacher he didn’t think he deserved it. The teacher agreed but said
there was nothing lower … The bulletin board at Crossroads Market in
Pomona had a card stuck in it stating a Doug Robinson wished to buy
"Female, 18-21, blond, 5-6, 35-23-35." My, my, those brash boys in
Pomona … Jerry Hoffman wonders if the trend in movies and TV toward
romantic involvement of Americans and Asiatics will affect insurance
rates in Japan. So many Orientals meeting Occidents, he means. Oh,
well, yesterday was blue Monday.

   
   

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Paul Coates

Jan. 28, 1958

Paul_coates
His name is Richard.

He’s an addict.

He took his first fix at the age of 16 on the grounds of Jackson High School.

Since
then–in the past seven years–he’s done two short stretches for using.
Once, he turned himself in, the other time he was caught in a raid.

He’s been married since he was 17, and today he’s got five kids. But lately, the kids have been pretty hungry.

They have, because Richard’s habit has been eating up all of the money his wife could borrow and he could steal.

Richard cracks his knuckles as he tells you about it.

"I’ll tell you everything. I won’t lie to you," he says.

"Last August, my first day out of stir, I kept telling myself all the way home, ‘I ain’t going to fix, I ain’t going to fix.’

"But I didn’t even make it home before I ran into a friend–"

Richard has lots of friends. They’re in and out of jail like it was a revolving door.

You ask Richard how much his habit costs.

He guesses maybe $30, $35 a day.

Where does he get the money, you ask.

"I
do anything. I steal, I pawn. I take it from my wife. There’s a worm in
the back of my head, in my brain. When you’re sick you’ll sell the rags
you got on."

Who do you steal from, Richard?

"I don’t steal from people," he says. His logic blurs. "I just steal things. Only when I’m sick though."

What do you usually steal?

"Tires. Usually tires. Lots of tires. It takes two guys three minutes to take off a set."

What else?

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"Anything. Whisky, Cigarettes. Sewing machines. Cameras. Blankets."

Anything else?

Richard thinks. His eyes water. He needs a fix. He points to an air-conditioning unit in the window of my office.

"That," he says. "I could steal that."

But you’ve never been caught?

"No. Both times was for marks." He takes off his jacket and shows you the veins in his arms.

"They look like hell," he says.

But no violence, you ask. No armed robbery.

He shakes his head no. You look at him hard and he knows you don’t believe him.

"Purses,
maybe," he confesses. "But usually we just follow funerals. We get in
the procession and go right on into the cemetery. When they get out,
they leave their purses in the cars."

You wait. "You said you weren’t going to lie," you remind him.

"I’ve
snatched purses," he finally says. "Once I ran and grabbed one from an
old lady but she wouldn’t let go. She yanked it back. She wouldn’t let
go."

The memory brought pain to Richard’s face. "So I ran away. With nothing, absolutely nothing."

You like your kids, Richard?

"I
like my kids. I love my kids. It’s like my wife says, for them–if for
nobody else–I got to get rid of the worm in my brain."

How do you treat your kids?

"They’re hungry, man. I don’t give them nothing. My mother comes over with a dozen eggs and a loaf of bread."

Do you treat them nice?

"I play with them. When I’m loaded I play with them."

And when you’re sick?

"I guess I hit them a little harder when I’m sick."

Then
Richard tells you that he’s only been back on "H" for a month. "Before
that I worked two months solid. Eighty bucks a week and I never stole a
thing. I never do when I’m not sick."

You suggest that maybe you can get Richard in somewhere where he can kick the habit.

"They
don’t do anything for you," he snorts. "I been on the honor farm. They
just make you clean up after other people who messed on themselves.
They don’t talk to you about the worm."

Again, his eyes are full
of water. "I’m a man. I can stand pain. I can kick it. That part of
it–kicking it physically–I can do that.

"But the worm?" Richard pleads. "Doesn’t it ever die?"   
   

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Roy Campanella

 

Mystery_photo_080128
Los Angeles Times file photo

OK, what is our mystery photo?

  • Montgomery Clift’s Chevrolet (wrecked in 1956 during the filming of "Raintree County")? Interesting guess. But no.
  • Ernie Kovacs’ fatal wreck? (Two people). He was driving a Corvair station wagon.   
  • Judy Tyler (Elvis Presley’s co-star in "Jailhouse Rock")? Good guess. But no.
  • Carl Perkins? Interesting guess. But no.
  • Is it Roy Campanella’s Chevrolet? (Ken Odessky, Jerry Sondler) Absolutely. This is the car Dodger catcher Roy Campanella was driving when he was in an accident that left him partially paralyzed, Jan. 28, 1958. 

 

Roy_campanella_undated_file

Los Angeles Times file photo

Dodger catcher Roy Campanella in an undated picture.

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Los Angeles Times file photo

Roy Campanella tags Richie Ashburn of the Phillies, May 30, 1955.

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Los Angeles Times file photo

Campanella visits Hollywood in late 1957. Can you identify the other people in the picture?
Charles Boyer, Yul Brynner, Roy Campanella and Anthony Quinn on the set of "The Buccaneer." (Pamela Sowers, Alexa Foreman and Mike Ryerson).

Roy_campanella_1959_0507_alston_ste

Los Angeles Times file photo

Campanella, Walter Alston and Casey Stengel at a benefit game at the Coliseum, May 7, 1959, that raised about $60,000 for Campanella. The crowd of 93,103 people was the largest in the history of baseball, news stories said.

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Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times

Gene Autry and Roy Campanella, Oct. 6, 1959.

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Photograph by Jerry Gay / Los Angeles Times

Campanella watches the Dodgers play the Yankees in the World Series, Oct. 16, 1977.

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Photograph by Robert Gabriel / Los Angeles Times

Campanella and his wife, Roxie, at their home in Woodland Hills, Jan. 27, 1988. She said: "Tell everybody that Roy is still fighting. If nothing else, I think he wants people to know that."

Roy_campanella_1959_0507_coliseum_f

Los Angeles Times file photo

The Coliseum goes dark so the crowd can light matches to pay tribute to Campanella, May 7, 1959.

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Jan. 28, 1958

A cultural exchange program between the U.S. and the Soviets … In a meeting with Mideast allies, the U.S. warns the Soviets against any aggression in the region … Roberto Rossellini seeks to annul his marriage to Ingrid Bergman … An El Monte mother revives her baby boy … And a Gardena High School girl is in a coma after overdosing on narcotics.

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Raymond bombing

 

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Police Capt. Earle Kynette surrenders to authorities … a Japanese sentry slaps a U.S. envoy in Nanking … Mussolini does the goosestep! … And wedding bells for King Zog of Albania … On the jump, the Assembly vice inquiry gains momentum. The ad for Florsheim shoes makes me think of a line in "Chinatown" … And there’s an ad for Tareyton cigarettes–isn’t Mr. Tareyton a debonair fellow?

1938_0128_cover

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Jan. 28, 1908

If you’re going to check the level of oil in a tank, do not use an oil lamp with a flame … The explosion cuts off streetcar service in Los Angeles … And one of my favorite nefarious officials of this era, former Coroner Roy Lanterman, is indicted. 

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Double homicide

Jan. 25-26, 1958

Atlanta

 

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We don’t know.

We don’t know what became of all the jewelry, antique furniture and oil paintings in the home.

We don’t know who killed the dog.

We don’t know who bound her hands and mouth with adhesive tape.

We don’t know who set fire to the house.

We don’t know if she was killed in the basement or if her body fell
there when the floor collapsed from the weight of the water used to put
out the blaze.

We aren’t even sure if the charred remains in the bedroom are her husband.

And we do not know why the papers apparently never wrote another word about this case.

Dr. Benjamin L. Camp, 58, was born in Whitesburg, Ga., and after graduating with a medical degree from Northwestern University, began a practice in Ellijay, Ga.
He returned to the U.S. after serving in World War I and was recalled
to active duty in World War II, serving as military surgeon in Rome for
American forces.

While overseas, he married Dallas Irene Graham, a major in the Army
Nurse Corps, in 1946. After they were discharged in 1948, they returned
to Rome and practiced medicine until 1954. In October 1957, the Camps
rented a two-bedroom home on the outskirts of Atlanta in Cobb County
overlooking the Chattahoochee River. The secluded home was on a hill and
obscured by tall pine trees, news stories say.

On the night of the crime, Dr. Camp helped deliver a baby at an Atlanta
hospital and left the hospital a little before 10 p.m. Neighbors
noticed the home engulfed in flames about 20 minutes later, news
stories say.

Investigators exploring the ruins of the home found the Camps’ Kerry
Blue terrier in the flooded basement. The dog, which was reportedly
quite protective of Dallas Camp, had been stabbed in the neck. Dallas’
body was also found in the flooded basement, her hands bound behind her
with adhesive tape. She had been gagged with more tape, news stories
say.

Another body was found in a bedroom, but the remains were so badly
burned that identification was expected to be impossible, authorities
said. "Charred bones are all we have to work with," said Dr. Herman
Jones, head of the state crime lab.

Amos Bates
of the Cobb County Police Department said investigators believed
someone overpowered Dallas Camp and waited for Dr. Camp to come home.

"Just what the motive was, we are not sure," Bates said. "We think it
could have been robbery but with everything burned it is hard to tell
what is missing."

We have what appears to be a terrible double homicide, no readily
obvious motive and an intense fire that destroyed a great deal of
evidence.

And even more baffling: Not another word was written about this case in
any newspaper that I can find. I have read about many peculiar old
cases in the last dozen years–but this is one of the most peculiar I
have ever encountered.

We just don’t know.

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Black elite

April 16, 1972
Los Angeles

I have been meaning to post this story for months and finally decided today was the day. It’s a long story (jumping four times!) but an interesting read. Enjoy!

 

1972_0416_part1

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Jan. 27, 1958

A storm drops more than an inch and a half of rain on Los Angeles … A terrorist bomb explodes outside a U.S. Embassy in the Middle East … Note that America is giving arms and money to Iraq, Iran and Pakistan to keep Mideast oil supplies secure from incursions by the Soviets … Uninterrupted access to Mideast oil is "vital to the Western world," The Times’ Waldo Drake says… And retired Gen. Douglas MacArthur turns 78.

 

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Raymond bombing

Dist. Atty. Buron Fitts charges Police Capt. Earle Kynette* with attempted murder … An Assembly committee issues more than 100 subpoenas in an investigation of vice, graft and corruption in Los Angeles … Caltech engineers discuss the possibility of sending a rocket into space. On the jump: Wedding bells for King Zog of Albania?

* Some Times stories misspell Kynette’s first name–Earle–as Earl and I have repeated that error.

 

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Jan. 27, 1908

Women prove themselves to be good shots during a target match in the Cahuenga Pass … A.C. Freeman scores 22 out of a possible 25 at 50 yards with his rifle upside-down and the stock resting against his forehead … An attorney attempts suicide … A waitress is injured when she steps between two men who are fighting over her … Chamberlain’s Cough Remedy contains no opium, chloroform or any other harmful ingredient!

 

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Best sellers

Jan. 26, 1958
Los Angeles

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Jan. 26, 1958

Sepulveda and Centinela is flooded after a heavy rain … Officials reveal that cattle and milk in the British countryside were contaminated by radioactive material unleashed when an Oct. 10, 1957, fire destroyed a plutonium pile … And the chairman of the New York Central Railroad commits suicide in the billiard parlor of his 25-room mansion.

 

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Raymond bombing

This is getting complicated. Police Capt. Earle Kynette has been cleared by Police Chief Davis and has promised to capture whoever attached a bomb to Harry Raymond’s car. Kynette has already been charged with wiretapping Raymond’s phone. Now he’s in hiding because Dist. Atty. Buron Fitts wants to charge him with attempted murder … I have never head of the Wives of Spanking Husbands Club, but I can’t believe it was on the front page of the Los Angeles Times, never mind the Daughters of Spanking Parents … And the buffalo nickel is doomed!

On the jump, a judge halts formation of a grand jury in the Raymond case … And the Los Angeles Fire and Police Protective League accuses Kynette of trying to wreck the union. I can’t help but think 1938 must have been a fabulous year to be a reporter in Los Angeles.

 

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Jan. 26, 1908

Newspapering a century ago: The Times blasts the City Council’s spending in caustic language that is unimaginable today–and so much fun … Eight newsboys and messengers are arrested for–what’s this?–selling tips on the
horses … And complicated lawsuits in the courts. Note: A car that cost $4,200 in 1908 would be $87,639.37 USD 2006.

 

1908_0126_cover

 

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Man kills himself

1958_0122_delmer

Jan. 22-Feb. 22, 1958

Los Angeles

Bonnie saw him standing on the sidewalk in a crowd of people across the street from the theater. He was holding a gun.

His name was Delmer.  Delmer Dean Dobbs, 23.

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A month before, in the late afternoon, he had gone to the roof of the
Rosslyn Annex at 5th and Main. More than 100 police officers and
firefighters tried to control the thousands of people who gathered 14
stories below and yelled: "Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump, you coward, jump!
Chicken, chicken, chicken!"

As twilight fell, Delmer teetered on the edge of the roof, clinging to a metal railing.

Police Detectives L.W. Lane and Joe La Monica tried to talk to him, but he warned them away.

Then the Rev. D. St. Sure, a priest from Loyola University, approached.
"Don’t you want to talk with me a little bit about this, son?" he
asked.

Delmer cursed at the priest. Then he took off his wristwatch and threw it to the chanting crowd.

"I’m going to follow that unless you call Bonnie," he said.

Police rushed to the Rialto at 8th and Broadway and brought Bonnie La Ross, a 15-year-old cashier, to the roof of the hotel.

Detectives warned her to stay at least 15 feet away. Otherwise, Delmer might grab her and jump off the building, they said.

But Bonnie ignored them and walked to the railing, touching Delmer’s sleeve.

"You don’t want to die," she said.

"You’re right, I don’t," he said. "But I’m afraid to back down and quit now."

He looked down at the chanting mob. "I hate to disappoint that crowd."

Across the street in another hotel, a man pulled an overstuffed
chair to the window and sat, puffing on a pipe as he calmly watched the
drama of life and death.

 

1958_0222_delmer

Delmer slumped and Bonnie put her arms around him. Two detectives
rushed forward and grabbed the couple. Concealed on the roof in the
darkness, officers swarmed from their hiding places and grabbed all
four of them.  Delmer fought until the detectives dismissed the
officers and assured Delmer that they would not handcuff him. Then he
went downstairs and got into an ambulance.

Bonnie told police: "He had threatened to take his life before and I
finally got tired of that talk. He said he was going to get a gun and
try again and I told him to save the trouble and just go jump off a
building. So that is what he was going to do, I guess."

While Delmer was being treated in the psychiatric ward at General
Hospital, the city asked itself what made the crowd so bloodthirsty
that evening. Martin Grotjahn, an associate professor of clinical
psychiatry at USC, told The Times that the crowd’s reaction showed that
mobs are "no more than an inch higher than they were in the days of the
Roman circus, when the audience would laugh at the expression of people
being devoured by lions."

Delmer was released after two days in the psychiatric ward and began
threatening newspapers and reporters for publishing stories about his
suicide attempt.

And then, on that afternoon in February, Bonnie saw him on the sidewalk
across the street from the Rialto. Delmer had finally gotten a gun.

She called detectives. Before they arrived, Officer Joseph F. Scanlon,
who was walking the beat, saw Delmer and approached him. Delmer pointed
the gun at Scanlon and said: "Stay away."

Then, in the distance, police sirens.

Delmer Dean Dobbs, 23, pointed the gun at his abdomen and pulled the trigger. He died a few hours later at General Hospital.

The Times never reported anything further of Bonnie LaRoss.

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Found on EBay

 

1908_spring_street_ebay

The Hotel Alexandria in the background identifies the location as Spring Street south of 6th Street. Note the early design of the streetlights and the streetcar tracks.

Here’s a nice little trove of historic Los Angeles images that I stumbled across on EBay. The same vendor is selling some photos of firefighters, like this one:

 

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There are also some shots of firefighters here and here.

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Jan. 25, 1958

 

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Raymond bombing

 

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The February 1938 issue of Vogue–delayed because of antisemitic words hidden in a cartoon.

A big news day: Japanese soldiers brutalize Nanking, China, while Japanese authorities apologize and eventually issue an edict that malicious cables discrediting the Japanese army will not be allowed to circulate abroad …  A grand jury is impaneled in the Harry Raymond bombing …  Antisemitic words hidden in a Cecil Beaton cartoon force Vogue to delay its February issue so a corrected page can be printed … And a battle between union leaders Harry Bridges and Dave Beck over West Coast ports.

 

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Jan. 25, 1908

Abbot Kinney is the target of 150 complaints about a tent city in Venice … Los Angeles County collects nearly a quarter-million dollars in taxes in one day, its highest record to date … Secondhand dealers — mostly Jews, The Times notes — are furious over items they bought at a warehouse sale of unclaimed boxes … Residents drink 40,000 quarts of milk a day — and use 16 tons of butter … The marital travails of a wandering barber … And someone has stolen a 250-pound cannon from 222 E. 29th.

 

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