Found on EBay -- Bullock's Wilshire

This dress from Bullock's Wilshire has been listed on EBay. The Buy It Now price is $65.

Matt Weinstock -- April 18, 1959

On Education Julius Sumner Miller teacher physics at El Camino College, is writing a book and on alternate Sundays (tomorrow) conducts a provocative program, "Why Is It So?" On KNXT, Channel 2. Between times he is a stormy advocate for a complete overhauling of our educational system. when he gets on the subject his eyes flash, his voice thunders and he pounds the table. Unless we do something about it, he feels, we may be lost. Miller says, "We have reared a generation of intellectually lazy, illiterate, picture-reading, mathematically incompetent, culturally lacking boys and girls." Worse, he adds, is their lack of values. As recently as the '20s, he recalls, students received rigorous academic discipline in fundamental knowledge. "Learning," he said, "was an exciting adventure." Then came the educators, concerned with the "better-adjusted, well-rounded, whole child." He calls their doctrine "regressive education." It has, he says, eliminated the formal disciplines which alone can communicate a body of knowledge and the capacity to think critically. WHEN RUSSIA SENT ALOFT the first Sputnik in October 1957, the nation was shocked almost into panic. It was inconceivable that another nation had surpassed us in science. There were stern warnings that we must take up the slack in education, particularly in science, on an emergency basis, to meet the Soviet threat. It is Miller's belief that nothing will come of the warnings, that we have already settled back complacently. If we are to throw off our present intellectual confusion, Miller thinks we must write off the present high school generation and start fresh with first-graders. he estimates the task will take a generation. A first step would be to train teachers to a new responsibility. He considers many of them incompetent and either unaware of or untrained in the true meaning of teaching. "NO ONE can be taught anything," he says. "His interest can be stirred, his curiosity aroused, his enthusiasm awakened, his imagination fired, and he may go on to learn it. But not enough teachers are endowed or equipped to do these things. "If I had my choice I would have enthusiasm first. The teacher must himself be excited if he is to sell his goods." Miller is frequently accused by his colleagues of undue emphasis on his favorite subject. He denies this. He makes the point that before a person can understand physics he must be able to read and write. "By this," he explains, "I mean the ability to grasp the full and proper meaning of the printed page and to express ideas in intelligible prose." Does he consider that his formula for correcting the present sorry state of education is too drastic? "It's a free country," Prof. Miller replies. "This is my point of view. :: DEDICATED newsmen have been facing the abhorrent prospect that one of the week's big stories would remain uncovered, in fact, unmentioned, except in hilarious conversation. Let's see what can be done. First, to set the scene: Crystal Room, Beverly Hills Hotel. The Hollywood Women's Press Club annual Men's Day luncheon. A couple hundred vivacious folk have just drunk and eaten well. It's time for the entertainment. Cowpoke Rex Allen rides his horse Coco onto the stage. It creates a sensation. It isn't every day a live horse stomps into the elegant Crystal Room. Sitting astride, Rex starts singing a song. Coco either disapproves or decides to steal the scene and -- I guess the newsmen were right. They said it couldn't be done and it couldn't. :: FOOTNOTES -- Another bit of press high jinks occurred during Atty. Gen. Mosk's press conference on conditions at Camarillo Hospital. At one point a man who reporters assumed was a deputy A.G. took over and answered their questions. Turned out to be fun-loving Pat McGuinness of KNX ... The Embassy Theater advertised "Two Adult Shockers -- Adults 60¢, Children 25¢." Presumably the children were shockproof.

Paul Coates -- April 18, 1959

Ventura County Vice Jury May Call Cohen BY PAUL COATES Staff Columnist Former gambling czar Mickey Cohen may be called before a Ventura County grand jury to discuss his possible connection with prostitution, commercial sex parties and organized crime in Oxnard and Ventura, I learned today. Ventura County law enforcement officers have launched a full-scale probe of a ring which assertedly panders to Hollywood playboys for pastimes now denied them in the rigid confines of the Sunset Strip. Woman's Tip Told The investigation, by police in Oxnard and Ventura and the district attorney's office, was touched off when a former, self-confessed prostitute blew the whistle on what she termed syndicated crime in Ventura County. She also charged that the gangster invasion of Oxnard and Ventura was masterminded by "certain gentlemen from Detroit." But the organization, she alleges, has connections in Los Angeles and many customers she entertained traveled from L.A. and surrounding communities. Cohen Call Told Cohen's name was introduced to the case when a source close to the district attorney's office said the some-time racketeer may be included in future grand jury subpoena lists. Mickey, of course, denied any connection with prostitution anywhere. "Look," he told me, "you know my record. I've never been mixed up in either prostitution or narcotics." I asked him if he was on friendly terms with a certain businessman in Oxnard and if, according to allegations, he had visited the man on several occasions. Friend of Friend "I have a friend who owns a bar in Oxnard," he began, then interrupted himself. "No, that's not right. I know a guy whose brother runs a bar in Oxnard." That's all Mickey had to say on the subject. Woodruff Deem, chief criminal complaint deputy for Ventura Dist. Atty Roy Gustafson, told me that his office is heading up the vice probe. Thus far, grand jurors have heard testimony from 28 witnesses, including the former prostitute. Other witnesses who appeared before the jury last March 30 include prominent Oxnard businessmen. They refused to talk with reporters about their testimony. The former prostitute assertedly told jurors that she had been the star attraction at numerous parties arranged by the gangster element. She also charged, it is understood, that one Oxnard businessmen's organization sponsored some of the stag parties, which featured nude dancing by girls, the showing of lewd films, and mingling of male guests and female "stars" before the assembled group. Party 'Bait' In fact, she reportedly told the jury, she was used as a lure to tempt men to join the group. "They'd promise prospective members that they could 'date me' if they'd join," she said. She charged that eight girls were employed by the syndicate to operate in at least four nightclubs in Oxnard and Ventura. The girls' total take was estimated to be in excess of $5,600 a week, with much more going to the organization's male leaders. Was Confident  Oxnard Police Chief Al Jewell conceded that his office felt it had a "strong case" when he took it to the district attorney's office. Is he disappointed that his investigation hasn't resulted in indictments by the grand jury? "Well," he answered carefully, "as a law enforcement officer I am always interested in results." The alleged vice activities reportedly began about three years ago during a community battle in Oxnard over the selection of a new police chief. Crime Fighter Subsequently, Chief Jewell, a nominee and dedicated fighter against  crime, was selected to lead the Police Department after considerable pressure was brought to bear on the City Council. Lee Grimes, managing editor of the Oxnard Press-Courier and grand jury foreman, has refused to discuss the probe, even with his own reporters. Deputy Dist. Atty Deem, pressed for an answer on the infiltration of Detroit hoodlums, would only say: "Well, we do know that there are certain Detroit people in business here." Fatherhood Charged The self-confessed prostitute, who said she made between $200 and $300 on weekends from her illicit activities, ignited the investigation after a businessman refused to acknowledge her child, a boy she claims was fathered by him. In her discussions with law enforcement officers, she assertedly charged that one of her sisters in the world's oldest business had been murdered by the syndicate to prevent her escaping its clutches.

In the Theaters -- April 18, 1953

Second Takes -- Billy Wilder

Feb. 13, 1951: Gloria Swanson (Best Actress), William Holden (Best Actor), Nancy Olson (Best Supporting Actress) and Erich von Stroheim (Best Supporting Actor)  are nominated for Academy Awards. "Sunset Boulevard" is nominated as best picture; Billy Wilder is nominated as best director and Wilder, Charles Brackett and D.M. Marshman Jr. are nominated for best story and screenplay. The film's 11 nominations include best art direction, black and white, Edwin B. Willis and Hugh Hunt; best black and white cinematography, John Seitz; film editing, Arthur Schmidt and Doane Harrison; and film score, Franz Waxman. The film won three awards: film score, art direction and writing. At right, April 18, 1951, Swanson was a sentinmental favorite for an Academy Award, but she didn't win. Instead, the Oscar went to Judy Holliday for "Born Yesterday.."  "Since working with a man as stimulating as Billy Wilder, I've become terribly interested in directing," Holden says. "Holden had himself named 'assistant to the director' when Wilder started 'Ace in the Hole,' but they soon called him away to slap on the greasepaint."

March 1, 1951: Swanson wins a Golden Globe.

The Academy Awards, March 29, 1951.

Gold Hunters Dig for Lost Underground Empire of the Lizard People!

I thought it would be fun to explore the story of the "Lizard People," which is to say the excavations on Fort Moore Hill in an unsuccessful search for gold. G. Warren Shufelt usually gets the credit for the enterprise, but his partners deserve equal attention. The Times reported that Rex. I. McCreery and Ray Martin provided an ancient parchment map showing the Lizard People's underground empire, which allegedly stretched from the Central Library on 5th Street to the Southwest Museum, which you must admit is a lot of digging. Earlier Times clips report that Shufelt had been a mining engineer employed by a mine in Kingman, Ariz., so evidently he was legitimate. Unfortunately, The Times' stories about the gold excavation are vague and conflicting about the origin of the map. Most stories say it belonged to McCreery and Martin, who presumably brought in Shufelt as a partner because he was a mining engineer. Our later story says Shufelt got the map from "Little Chief Greenleaf" alias L. Macklin.  Aug. 15, 1897: An early story about gold buried on Fort Moore Hill.

March 3, 1933: Gold hunters are excavating directly over the Broadway tunnel, a long-gone downtown landmark that was just north of the Hall of Justice.  Evidently they didn't question why the crews digging the tunnel didn't find anything. Two March 4, 1933: Gold hunters consult their ancient map. March 7, 1933: Onlookers apparently heckled the diggers. March 9, 1933: They're close!   March 27, 1933: The hunters are secretive about their map, attributing it to the Spanish rather than the Lizard People. April 10, 1933: The Board of Supervisors allows digging to continue. Sept. 7, 1933: Shufelt, McCreery and Martin have given up, but Alfred Scott comes forward to carry on the search. Dec. 22, 1938: Times columnist Ed Ainsworth takes a look at various legends of lost California gold as engineer Roger J. Adams begins digging. According to The Times' clips, a fair amount of dirt from Fort Moore Hill was used as fill during construction of Union Station. The job was done mostly by hand, with men using picks and shovels as a public works project to provide jobs during the Depression.  Photograph by R.L. Oliver / Los Angeles Times Sept. 21, 1949: Demolition of the Broadway tunnel failed to reveal any buried gold.

Found on EBay -- Oviatt's

This vest from Oviatt's has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $14.95.

Matt Weinstock -- April 17, 1959

Cans! Cans! Cans! The man on the phone, asking a moment of my time, sounded reasonable -- at first. "You might want to write about this," he said. "I think I know why people are so tense and nervous and jumpy." Pencil poised, I waited. "Cans!" he said. Right there I began cringing. "It started with the incinerator ban," he said. "Until then all a person had to worry about was putting out the garbage can on Mondays and Thursdays and the bottles and cans on alternate Wednesdays, at least in my neighborhood. "All of a sudden," he continued, "people had to gather their old papers and wrappings and cartons and leaves and twigs and put them out at the curb on Tuesdays -- three canfuls for me. "A person needs a bookkeeping system to keep up with what day is which. I get so mixed up I catch myself putting the garbage out on combustible rubbish day and sometimes I forget can day entirely." "And," he scolded, "we've still got smog!" :: A FUNERAL DIRECTOR out toward San Gabriel a few days ago engaged a travel agent to arrange to ship the remains of the recently deceased elsewhere for burial, with a slightly macabre result. The travel agent called an airline and inquired about procedure. The airline man, apparently reluctant to handle this type of business, said one way was to ship the deceased air freight, otherwise a regular ticket would be required. The travel agent said this might not always be satisfactory because of the time element. "What about C.O.D.?" he pursued. "Suppose the people at the other end refused to accept the remains?" the airline man countered. The travel agent, sensing he was losing ground, retorted, "I guess it's like anything else -- if they don't pay, you just keep the merchandise." :: YOU KNOW all those jokes about the Fuller Brush man? Well, today we have a slight case of rebuttal. John Owen, who has a territory in Hollywood, knocked on a door and a lady invited him in. He realized she had been expecting someone else who hadn't appeared. He went ahead displaying his brushes and cleaners and cosmetics, but it was obvious she was not in a buying mood. Her mind was on romance. He fled with the reputation of all Fuller Brush men intact. :: WEIRD EXCHANGE between two women overheard on the veranda of the Coronado Hotel: "You know, my son is a normal child." "Very normal?" "Yes." :: I THINK I have finally figured out why TV car salesmen mispronounce it "Chevalay." They think it was named for Maurice Chevrolet. :: PUBLIC AT LARGE -- What this country needs, Seymour Mandel contends, is a credit card Uncle Sam will honor for taxes ... Of a lady executive he has encountered, Paul Grimes says, "She's easy to talk to -- if you can interrupt her." :: TIME OUT Tomorrow's blinds are drawn -- And yesterday? So what! Go scratch your back, and yawn-- Today's all that you've got. --JOSEPH P. KRENGEL :: AROUND TOWN -- A young man at 5th and Hill carrying a pair of skis and ski boots drew some yoo-hoos from the sun worshipers who abound there ... It isn't generally known that Edd Byrnes, the hair-combing Kookie of "77 Sunset Strip" played a jive-talking killer in the series' pilot film. He was so good they made him a nice guy. Now the teenage girls adore him ... Anyone else besides Blanche von Aspe notice that the new president of Family Service in Pasadena is Mrs. Willis Stork?

Paul Coates -- Confidential File, April 17, 1959

Confidential File The Time the Earth Shook So Gaudily Some of us live a lifetime clinging to one moment. John C. Crowe has. Fifth-three years ago tomorrow, he was a lonely boy of 17, orphaned by the death of both parents. He was living in a tiny room on the third floor of a rooming house at 6th and Howard Streets in San Francisco. At exactly 5:13 a.m. on April 18, 1906, John C. Crowe's moment came. "Even though it was 53 years ago, I remember it like it was yesterday afternoon," he told me. What he remembers is the San Francisco earthquake and fire, which killed countless scores (the exact number has never been tabulated) and leveled one of the world's great cities. "The quake lasted one minute and 45 seconds," Mr. Crowe recalled. "But the fire went on for days. "It's a funny thing," he continued, "people up in San Francisco never like to talk about the earthquake. They always refer to it as 'the big fire.' But you wouldn't have had the fire without the quake, I always say." I asked Mr. Crowe to tell me about those minutes right after the temblor. "Well as soon as my bed stopped going from wall to wall, I jumped up and ran out into the street in my nightshirt. There was this big fissure. I stumbled over it and fell flat on my face. "It was sort of silly, I guess. The sun was just coming up and as I look back on it now it was a beautiful morning. But I didn't think of that then. "I looked up at the Brunswick House, a four-story hotel right across the street. As I lay there, that huge building cracked right in the middle. It cracked so easy like in slow motion. "But all of a sudden the top came down with a terrific crash. Plaster and lime rose 145 feet in the air. Just like an atomic bomb cloud. "Of course," he added, "we didn't have atomic bombs in those days." The dazed youth got to his feet and, confident that the world was still in one piece, ran back to his room and dressed. "When I got back out on the street," he continued, "there was this little Irish cop standing in front of the Brunswick House. In a voice thick with brogue he told me, 'If you've got any heart in you, help get these people out.' " Young John accepted an ax and, in the company of his neighbors, began hacking away at the debris. "We could hear people moaning and screaming inside," he told me. "It was just one big chorus." Smoke began pouring from the demolished building and seconds later it erupted in flames. Mr. Crowe and the brave Irish cop and the others were forced to retreat, the screams and moans still pounding at their ears. "Only four people got out alive. Four out of more than 100," Mr. Crowe said. That's part of the tragedy John Crowe recalls. But there was grim humor, too. "What was one of the major problems the city faced?" I asked him. "Drunks," he answered. "Yes sir, drunks. We didn't have any water. So folks drank whisky. People who'd never had a drop, some of them." The Few Who Were There Three years ago Mr. Crowe, a retired druggist who has lived in Los Angeles for the last 40 years, was a guest of the city of San Francisco. I asked him what he did to mark the earthquake's 50th anniversary. "I went back to 6th and Howard Streets and I lay down in the street and I thought about that other morning." Mr. Crowe got up to leave. "Would you do me a favor?" he asked. "If you write something about me, tell everybody that all of us old-time San Franciscans living here are going to get together tomorrow at MacArthur Park to remember the quake. "I don't expect many. There aren't a lot of us left."

In the Theaters -- April 17, 1950

Second Takes -- Billy Wilder

Aug. 20, 1950: Coming soon: "Sunset Boulevard."

Nov. 6, 1948: Gloria Swanson meets Billy Wilder and Charles Bracket to discuss "Sunset Boulevard." Feb. 10, 1949: The script isn't done. Above, Gloria Swanson and Melvyn Douglas in a clip from the 1931 picture "Tonight or Never." But despite her long film career, Swanson made a screen test for "Sunset Boulevard," according to The Times, Feb. 17, 1949 Feb. 22, 1949: Swanson is cast in "Sunset Boulevard."

March 4, 1949: The cast includes Montgomery Clift. March 19, 1949: Clift is out. March 27, 1949: A prophetic notice in The Times. April 2, 1949, Erich von Stroheim returns to Hollywood to make "Sunset Boulevard." May 28, 1950: The Times says William Holden had never seen Gloria Swanson in a film until working on "Sunset Boulevard." At left, Sept. 22, 1950: Swanson and Von Stroheim are paid $430,592.11 USD 2007 for their roles in the film.

May 1, 1949: Swanson is emphatic that "Sunset Boulevard" is not autobiographical. Von Stroheim complains bitterly about being typecast by Hollywood. June 1, 1949: Casting Hedda Hopper in "Sunset Boulevard" was a brilliant stroke of marketing as it ensured frequent plugs for the movie. Above, a description of the opening that was cut from the final version of the film.   June 18, 1949: Hopper reports on her scene in the film. Wilder wanted Nancy Olson to look plain for her scenes in the film. June 20, 1949: A Swanson impersonator is a regular on the set. Above: "They'll love it in Pomona."

Jan. 3, 1950: A photo shows people on the set while Holden and Swanson film a key scene. Aug. 25, 1950: "There is just one primary issue and that is of public receptiveness to a story of this kind. Will people welcome tearing aside the curtain on much that is sinister and terrible in Hollywood? ... 'Sunset Boulevard' ... tells a sordid narrative that might very well be duplicated in real life. It minces no issues. It is threaded with bitterness, disillusionment and hovers ever over the age of despair."  -- Edwin Schallert

At left, one of the stranger items I've ever found in going through the old papers: An Earl Scheib ad that features "Sunset Boulevard." Scheib actually mentioned the movie several times in his ads. Above, Nov. 7, 1950: Hopper reports that Brackett has signed a seven-year contract with Fox after the end of his deal with Wilder and Paramount.

Movie Star Mystery Photo

Los Angeles Times file photo Aileen Pringle in the play "Tons of Money," 1932. Our mystery movie star of the week is Aileen Pringle, Please congratulate Diane Ely, Floradora, Bob Birchard, Dewey Webb, Peter Mintun, Dru Duniway, Cynthia Keillor, Sam, R. Ahuna and Alekszandr for correctly identifying her. Check back Monday for another mystery photo! Just a reminder on how this works: I post the mystery photo on Monday and reveal the answer on Friday. To keep the mystery photo from getting lost in the other entries, I move it from Monday to Tuesday to Wednesday, etc., adding a photo every day. I have to approve all comments, so if your guess is posted immediately, that means you're wrong. (And if a wrong guess has already been submitted by someone else, there's no point in submitting it again.) If you're right, you will have to wait until Friday. There's no need to submit your guess five times. Once is enough. The only prize is bragging rights.  The answer to last week's photo: Diana Sands. Los Angeles Times file photo Update: Aileen Pringle, 1932. Here's another photo of our mystery woman. Please congratulate Anne Papineau, Eve Golden and Diane Ely for identifying her. This print was butchered down to a one-column mug shot. Isn't it a great photo? Los Angeles Times file photo Update: Aileen Pringle and Helen Johnson in "Soldiers and Women," 1930. Los Angeles Times file photo Aileen Pringle, 1934. Her Mexican divorce caused trouble for ex-husband Charles McKenzie because it was not recognized under English law.   Photograph by the Los Angeles Times Aileen Pringle discusses divorce from novelist James M. Cain, Sept. 5, 1946. Aileen Pringle, 94; Star of Silent Screen December 19, 1989 Aileen Pringle, an urbane socialite who became a silent-screen star and the darling of such literary figures as H. L. Mencken and George Jean Nathan, died Saturday in her Manhattan home where she had entertained regularly since her retirement from movies nearly 50 years ago. She was 94. Miss Pringle played leading roles in more than 60 films. Two of her best known--"His Hour" and "Three Weeks"--were based on scripts by Elinor Glyn. Miss Glyn had hand-picked Miss Pringle for the latter role, that of a sensual heroine. Known for her sometimes off-color wisecracks as the silent camera captured her movements, she was credited with a notable piece of Hollywood lore. According to the book "The Movies," Miss Pringle and Conrad Nagel were filming a scene from "Three Weeks" in which he was carrying her horizontally. Her lips are seen to move and, according to the book, she was not whispering words of endearment to Nagel but was saying, "If you drop me, you bastard, I'll break your neck." Her other leading men included John Gilbert in adventure movies and Lew Cody in domestic farces. Among her other films were "Souls for Sale," "Earthbound," "Wife of the Centaur," "A Kiss in the Dark," "Soul Mates," "Beau Broadway" and "Puttin' on the Ritz." She continued in films after the advent of sound but never with the impact of her earlier pictures. She made brief appearances in two films of the 1940s, "Laura" and "Since You Went Away," before retiring. Born Aileen Bisbee in San Francisco to a wealthy family, she was educated in private schools in Europe and first went on the stage in 1915. Her first film was "Redhead" in 1919. Her first husband was Charles McKenzie Pringle, son of a former governor of Jamaica, and her second was James M. Cain, author of "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and "Mildred Pierce." Both marriages ended in divorce, the second in 1946 after less than a year. Cain died in 1977.