US sub sails under polar ice cap, Dodgers win over Giants, August 9, 1958

 

he nuclear submarine Nautilus crosses beneath the polar ice cap and surfaces near Greenland ... The U.S. plans to withdrawn 2,000 Marines from Lebanon ... And U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold proposes a peace plan for the Middle East ...  On the runover, Cmdr. W.R. Anderson describes the ice cap: "At that point the ice, on the average, is in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 feet thick..... "During the summer months it will have wasted away on the average of 2 to 3 feet by this time of year. In the winter that amount will grow back. Now, ice in the Arctic Basin is in motion. Frequently it is under pressure due to winds and currents. It piles up on each other and forms pressure ridges. You see many, many pressure ridges from the projections down from the ice. Those will measure 50 feet in draft. On some occasions they will measure considerably more." Below, the Dodgers beat the Giants 6-3 in the Coliseum as umpire Shag (or "Swag" as we called him in this story) Crawford throws Walter Alston out of the game ... and the Rams play the Eagle Rock Athletic Club and the Orange County Rhinos in a benefit game at the Rose Bowl.

Hundreds die as planes attack Chinese church, Angels lead league, August 9, 1938

 

t left, Japanese planes bomb the Catholic cathedral in Canton, China ... Superior Court Judge Fletcher Bowron is selected to be a candidate in the recall election against Mayor Frank Shaw, but Bowron hasn't given his approval. In an interesting footnote, future Judge Stanley Mosk backs "left-wing Democrat" Sam Yorty as a candidate. On the jump, the Los Angles Public Library expands its reading program in Pershing Square--the library offers books and magazines withdrawn from the collection, The Times says. In sports, the Los Angeles Angeles meet the Hollywood Stars ... Henry Armstrong and Lou Ambers prepare for their lightweight title bout.

Thieves take memorial plaque, Nuestro Pueblo, August 8, 1938

 

Some things apparently do not change. Today, people steal copper wiring and manhole covers and sell them for scrap metal. In the 1930s, bronze plaques were apparently at risk.

View Larger Map The Fremont Gate to Elysian Park, 1549 N. Broadway, via Google Maps' street view.

A nice little feature by Tim Turner, Times columnist and author, March 3, 1937. Turner wrote "Bullets, Bottles and Gardenias" and "Turn Off the Sunshine" about Los Angeles.

US drops atomic bomb on Japan, August 6, 1945

 

he beginning of the Atomic Age. Note that the Associated Press story identifies Hiroshima as a Japanese army base. President Harry Truman says the Japanese "may expect a rain of ruin from the air the like of which has never been seen on this earth."  As far as I can tell, there isn't a word as to how many people were killed. Just the subhead that "Man's most destructive force, one equal to 2,000 B-29 loads, blasts Nips." Below, who are the "Pale Hose?" the White Sox. Oh those sports guys.

Police pose as reporters to evict woman, baseball players fight on airplane; August 6, 1958

 

Jazz legend Ziggy Elman vanishes from his Valley home after an argument with his wife ... over a chicken sandwich!

Robbers smash a jewelry store window and steal gems valued at up to $1 million ($7,287,702.23 USD 2007) after throwing a smoke bomb through the front door. The owner calls it a professional, well-planned job ... Five deputies disguised as reporters trick Mrs. Lomie Puckett into leaving her home, which is bulldozed immediately to make way for the Golden State Freeway ... Note: Ziggy Elman turned up playing at a Long Beach jazz club as if nothing was wrong--he just happened to be calling himself Red Nichols.

Dusty Rhodes and Joe Margoneri get into a fight aboard a Western Air Lines plane en route from Portland to Phoenix. The Phoenix Giants teammates were ordered off the plane during a stop in San Francisco. Both had been drinking heavily, a flight attendant said.  And the Cards beat the Dodgers, 13-3.

Circus pays man for elephant bite; Angels win in 12th, August 6, 1938

 

Jimmy Johnston gives boxer Bob Pastor some tips for his upcoming bout against Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom ... Jack Oakie and his wife are headed for divorce ... and the Angels -- the Los Angeles Angels -- win against the San Francisco Seals.

Here's a fun discovery. See if you can find the unknown movie star on this page ... Supervisor John Anson Ford withdraws from the recall election against Mayor Frank Shaw ... Superior Court Judge Fletcher Bowron is suggested as a replacement, but he is opposed by organized labor, The Times says ... And a jury decides an elephant bite is worth $4,500 ($64,347.92 USD 2007).

Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom and Bob Pastor fight to a draw at Gilmore Stadium. Buried way down in the type: Herbie Katz "New York Hebrew" defeats Chester Parks "Los Angeles Negro" in an "eight-round slugaroo" ... And Bob Feller walks 11 batters.

Los Angeles History: Nuestro Pueblo

 

Above, Eagle Rock as seen via Google Earth.

I don't recall reading anything about a cross at the base of Eagle Rock, but there it is. According to The Times archives, a cross of electric lights was placed on Eagle Rock at Easter sunrise services in the early 20th century, but that's all I could find.

Movie executive hurt in crash; Cards beat Dodgers, August 5, 1958

 

The Dodgers lose to the Cardinals, 3-2 ... Willie Mays hits a home run to help the Giants beat the Cubs ... Producer Jack L. Warner is badly hurt when his car hits a truck in France ... Syria seals its border with Jordan. Film executive Jack L. Warner, 66, is hospitalized in Cannes after his Alfa Romeo hits a truck ... King Hussein of Jordan breaks off relations with the United Arab Republic and seals Jordan's border with Syria ... Officials begin inquiries into a rise in crime ... And a Teamsters business agent who had been called to testify in a crime investigation is soaked with a flammable liquid and set on fire.

The Redskins scrimmage at Occidental ... Pittsburgh beats the Braves with a home run by Roberto Clemente ... The Floyd Patterson-Roy Harris fight won't be broadcast on radio or TV because the bout is being filmed for closed-circuit viewing in movie theaters.

Lila Leeds: Movie star mystery photo

 

Photograph by the Los Angeles Times To be fair, this week's mystery movie star is more of a starlet. But you knew that, right? Can you identify her and, better yet, where the mystery photo was taken? Gosh, people really know their pictures of Lila Leeds! Steven Bibb guessed almost immediately that this is Leeds at her home after the raid in which Robert Mitchum was arrested, showing that it's not a marijuana shack. Also guessing correctly were Alexa Foreman, Richard Heft, Mary McCoy, Alan K. Rode and Charlie O'Brien. Congrats!

About last week's mystery guest. Nobody guessed who he was, so he will return for another 15 minutes of fame later this year. There were some great guesses but, alas, none of them was right.

Los Angeles Times file photo It was interesting to go through Lila Leeds' photos. This is the earliest one, from December 1948, when she was fined $5 for stopping traffic.

Photograph by Bob Martin / The Mirror And this is Lila Leeds in 1961, 13 years later, showing newspaper clippings about her relationsip with Erwin "Bud" Arvey, the son of Illinois Democratic leader Jake Arvey. She was trying to get child support payments from the Erwin Arvey, saying that he was the father of her son.

Photograph by the Mirror An enterprising Mirror photographer took this picture through a window, showing two crime scene investigators at Lila Leeds' home, Jan. 8, 1949. Los Angeles Times file photo Deputy Marjorie Kellog, left, escorts Lila Leeds and Robert Mitchum to jail after their sentencing to 90 days for marijuana, Feb. 9, 1949.

Photograph by Delmar Watson / The Mirror Lila Leeds in a gag photo from the Los Angeles Press Club, Aug. 29, 1949. Front row, from left, Mirror reporter Roger Beck, Leeds and Mirror photographer Bob Martin. Back row, Mirror reporter Bob Buhr and Mirror photographer Loren Smith.

Los Angeles Times file photo Lila Leeds appears with her two unidentified attorneys after being charged in Chicago with soliciting, Jan. 25, 1956. She denied the charges, was convicted and fined $10.

By 1974, Leeds had become a minister with a Hollywood group called Spiritual Mission, Inc., Laymen's Evangelist or SMILE, which operated a church on Western Avenue. In 1976, she was making personal appearances to promote one of Richard Lamparski's "Whatever Became of..." books. According to imdb, she died in 1999. Apparently, neither The Times nor any other major newspaper published an obituary on her.

Dodgers win 8-6, August 4, 1958

The Dodgers split a double-header with the Reds, winning 8-6 and losing 3-1 ... the Braves win a double-header over the Giants ... and gunmen rob a Malibu restaurant. Two gunmen break into the living quarters above the Malibu Sea Lion Restaurant, 21150 Pacific Coast Highway, gag and bind the owner's wife and children and wait for him to come upstairs with the day's earnings ... Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and China's Mao Tse-tung call for a summit meeting on the Middle East crisis.

Elmer Valo's single scores Carl Furillo in the 10th ... Warren Spahn throws the 43rd shutout of his major league career ... Al Wolf profiles boxing manager Lou Viscusi.

Giants win over Cubs, August 4, 1938

 

The Giants beat the Cubs, 8-3 ... Pittsburgh wins against Boston ... Bronko Nagurski flattens Gus Sonnenberg in wrestling ... beautifying downtown Los Angeles ... and Mayor Frank Shaw dismisses the upcoming recall recall election. Imagine this: There was a time when the north side of 1st Street between Spring and Broadway wasn't a bombed-out moonscape. Fit only for renegade skateboarders, the moldering foundations and remnants of pavement are the one place in downtown Los Angeles that makes Pershing Square look like Yosemite.

Bronko Nagurski wrestled? Who knew? King Kong Kashey? Dr. Patrick O'Callahan? These names are unfamiliar to me ... And Maxie Rosenbloom is in training for a "ten-round boxing ballet" against Broadway Bob Pastor.

Author: Alexander Solzhenitsyn

 

Articles by Soviet author Alexander Solzhenitsyn from the Los Angeles Times.  July 13, 1975, excerpts from a speech by Alexander Solzhenitsyn: "My friends, I'm not going to tell you sweet words. The situation in the world is not just dangerous, it isn't just threatening, it is catastrophic."

May 24, 1976, Alexander Solzhenitsyn says KGB agents tried to discredit him by forging a letter that allegedly showed he was an informer.

"The aim of life for each of us is not to take boundless pleasure in material goods, but to take our departure from the world as better persons than we we arrived at it, better than our inherited instincts would have made us; that is, to travel over the span of life on one path or another of spiritual improvement."    -- Alexander Solzhenitsyn, June 13, 1976