Valentino near death, August 23, 1926

Ladies in Black, you know what to do....

Couple found dead in pool, August 23, 1958

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August 23, 1958 We're parked outside the home at 322 Arbolada Drive, Arcadia. It's early morning and everything is quiet. Nice place, isn't it? Built in 1951. You'd never guess, but one spring day a few years ago, a college girl up the street killed herself over her boyfriend while her parents were on vacation. Very sad. Ready? Let's go. Keep your hands in your pockets. Don't touch anything and don't move anything. They're over here in the swimming pool. In a few hours, a man from the maintenance company is going to find them. The man floating face-down is named is Reginald J. Koster. He's 69 years old,* a retired businessman. Reginald was staying here by himself while his daughter and son-in-law were on a trip to Washington, D.C. According to an in-law, he was not a good swimmer. The woman is Lucille Marceline Barry, 43, an auditor for Manor Market, 2526 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena.  She lived at 101 S. Fremont in Alhambra with her mother, who says Lucille wasn't a good swimmer. Apparently they met for drinks at Eaton's restaurant, 1150 W. Colorado Blvd., Arcadia. That's the one with the windmill on the roof. Witnesses say Reginald and Lucille had a few cocktails and took a cab back here. Reginald changed into his trunks in one room and Lucille changed into a swimsuit in another room. Here's their cocktail glasses: empty. Police will figure they drowned when one of them began having trouble in the deep end and the other tried to help. Reginald was widowed or divorced and survived by three married daughters. He might have been a lab assistant to a New York inventor named Fred E. Bright, or maybe that was another Reginald J. Koster. Judging by California death records, Lucille had never been married. The Times wrote about several women named Lucille Barry, but it's unclear whether any of them were the same woman. One of them was a model who posed for pictures promoting the County Fair. We better get going, the pool man will be here soon. * According to California death records.

   

UFO over Los Angeles, November 26, 1904

No, the above object is not a flying saucer on a stick. It is, in fact, Los Angeles' earliest attempt at street lighting in which carbon arc lights were mounted on tall poles around the city. This one was near 7th Street and Alameda, where a 20-story wireless telegraph antenna was being built. That's some skyhook, folks. And a milestone in women's history: "The first women's campaign committee ever formed in Los Angeles for the purpose of doing a definite work in an election." The Times is careful to note that these women can't actually vote!

A higher plane

e at the Daily Mirror have been taken to task by an anonymous commenter (an SBC Global subscriber ISP 75.50.124.114) for focusing on "crap"  rather than more intellectually stimulating fare. Anon@yahoo.com (I tend to suspect this is a pseudonym, though I could be wrong) bemoans the demise of the book review section in published editions of The Times and the brevity of published theater listings. Although I am unable to do anything about either situation, I hope you will enjoy Robert R. Kirsch's 50-year-old review of Frank Freidel's "The Splendid Little War." I trust you will find this more to your liking, Mr./Mrs./Miss/Ms. 75.50.124.112. Please note that "Splendid Little War" has been reissued and is ranked 1,160,900 in Amazon sales. With luck, this post may give it a nice little bump. And now back to the regularly scheduled mayhem....

Los Angeles history: Bunker Hill

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Former mayor may enter recall race, Cubs win over Pirates, August 22, 1938

Above, more proof, as if any were needed, that bad traffic is nothing new in Los Angeles. Note the traffic island in the center of the drawing, which is where people waited to board a streetcar. View Larger Map Voila! A 70-year-old attempt to deal with Los Angeles' traffic.

Former Mayor John C. Porter adds an interesting wrinkle to the recall election by being coy as to whether he plans to run against Mayor Frank Shaw. The leading challenger, Judge Fletcher Bowron, is unimpressed. "I'm going to be elected regardless of how many run," he says. Mayor Shaw, meanwhile, is praised for getting federal slum clearance money, and his wife is recovering from an appendix operation. E.V. Durling asks: "Why do alleged experts in this country keep saying television as a general form of entertainment is not yet practical?" And the city engineer hopes to relieve traffic by building an underpass on Figueroa beneath Temple. In sports, the Angels and the Padres take turns "Snow White-ing" each other in a double header, 4-0 Angels and 5-0 Padres ... Light Horse Harry Cooper and Slammin' Sam Snead will meet for the Canadian Open championship. Catherine Malcolm wins the women's singles title in the National Public Courts Tennis Tournament in Griffith Park.

Police kill man, rock 'n' roll, Dodgers win, August 21, 1958

 

Hula Hoops and Dick Clark at the Hollywood Bowl (with Rod McKuen!) Jan and Arnie ("Jennie Lee," "The Beat That Can't Be Beat")? The Six Teens ("A Casual Look")? These are not names that are familiar to me. Hey Sheb Wooley! "Purple People Eater!"

Here's a story that's particularly curious. Police officers kill an ex-convict identified as Nathaniel Calvin Spates during a robbery. We run it on Page 1 with a big headline and the next day--nothing. In fact, not a word ever appears as a follow-up. Very suspicious. I would have to look at the other papers to be sure, but I wonder whether he was African American. As usual, only the front page got into the microfilmed edition. The jump is missing so we don't have most of the story. It would be interesting to see what the California Eagle and the Los Angeles Sentinel did with this story. The 10 Arab nations in the U.N. announce that they have a peace plan for the Middle East ... A 10-day-old Teamsters strike shuts down trucking throughout the West ... President Eisenhower announces that he will enforce desegregation orders. In sports, the Dodgers beat the Braves ... The Cubs and the Pirates split a double-header. After losing, 4-2, the Cubs take the second half, 5-1, when the game is called in the fifth inning on account of rain and darkness. Times Sports Editor Paul Zimmerman writes a tribute to the late columnist Ned Cronin, imitating his stuttering: "III'm the orororatorical eeqquivalent ttto ttthe bbblocked pppunt."

Playboy pitcher throws no-hitter, August 20, 1968

Los Angeles Times file photo May 6, 1962: Bo Belinsky of the Angels fires a fast ball at the Baltimore Orioles during his historic no-hitter.

Los Angeles Times file photo April 1963: Bo Belinsky and fiancee Mamie Van Doren skip the Baseball Writers Annual Awards banquet to go dancing. August 20, 1968 By Keith Thursby Times staff writer Bo Belinsky would have been something in the era of YouTube. A left-handed pitcher who loved the limelight, he'd probably even have his own blog. Belinsky had a short, wild career that was filled with potential and problems. He pitched the first no-hitter in Los Angeles major league history for the Angels in 1962 and started his rookie season 5-0. Ross Newhan, The Times' longtime baseball writer, wrote in 2001 about his first encounter with Belinsky in Palm Springs in 1962. "There he was sitting by the Desert Inn pool, wearing shades to deflect the sun, a drink in his hand, perfectly at ease in the sparkling environment, as if he was already the toast of the town and this was just one more introductory news conference." But the bright lights were too much for Belinsky, who dated actresses and got lots of publicity, little of which apparently had to do with his ability to throw a baseball.  His photo file in The Times' library has as many shots of nightclubs, press conferences and publicity appearances as pictures of Bo actually pitching. After starting 5-0, he finished 10-11 in 1962. In 1964, he knocked out Braven Dyer, the Times' baseball writer who was 64 at the time, and the Angels had seen enough. They suspended and ultimately traded him to Philadelphia. Photograph by Gary Ambrose / Los Angeles Times June 1992: Bo Belinsky and Mamie Van Doren appear with Angels owner Gene Autry before a Legends of Baseball game. By 1968 Belinsky was back in the minor leagues, pitching for Hawaii. The Times ran a short story about his no-hitter in a Pacific Coast League game over Tacoma. Even then, the wire story referred to him as "the playboy pitcher." Left-handers with potential get plenty of opportunities, and Belinsky made a few more stops before his career ended in 1970. The Angels even purchased his contract in 1969 but soon sold him to the Pirates. Belinsky died in 2001 at the age of 64 after battling bladder cancer for years. He had struggled with alcohol and drugs but had found peace in his last years, becoming active in a Las Vegas church. The Times' Chris Foster reported that Belinsky, ever the colorful quote, said of his religious conversion: "Can you imagine? I had to come to Las Vegas to discover Jesus Christ." keith.thursby@latimes.com

       

House increases Social Security, sports columnist dies, August 20, 1958

 

Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" is boring and unintelligible, the critics say.

Los Angeles County supervisors order a survey to determine which cars are the worst polluters ... The House approves a 7% increase in Social Security payments ... A surgeon revives a man using a lamp cord ripped from the wall to shock the man's heart. In sports, columnist Ned Cronin, who came to The Times after the Daily News merged with the Mirror, dies of liver and kidney problems at the age of 48. He was survived by his wife, Harriet, and his son Jerry, 16 ... George Dickerson takes over as UCLA head football coach. Dickerson suffered breakdowns in August and October 1958 and was replaced by Bill Barnes.

Judge under guard after death threats, August 19, 1938

Death threats against Fletcher Bowron in the recall election? That's a new one on me. But in light of the Harry Raymond bombing, it shouldn't be any surprise ... Thomas K. Heath of the McIntyre and Heath blackface vaudeville team dies at the age of 85. In sports, Henry Armstrong and Lou Ambers may be headed for a rematch.