Found on EBay -- Mullen & Bluett

This vintage swimsuit from Mullen & Bluett has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $9.99. And yes, people really dressed like this.

Matt Weinstock -- May 9, 1959

Hearts Respond One of the city's older elementary schools, Hyde Park, is now set aside for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Last weekend Michael, 7, a first-grader learning to live in his silent world, wandered into a pool and drowned. His teacher visited his home and found that the family could not afford a funeral. The alternative in such cases is cremation by the county. So the principal, the teachers, the clerks and the custodians chipped in and raised $80, and the funeral was held a few days ago. An anonymous teacher at the school, situated at 3140 Hyde Park Blvd., was so impressed with the gesture she thought others would like to know. :: ON JAN. 13, 1847, Lt. Col. John C. Fremont and Gen. Andreas Pico signed a Treaty of Cahuenga ending hostilities between the United States and Mexico. Historical groups regularly observe the anniversary at Camp de Cahuenga, a half-acre park across Lankershim Blvd. from Universal-International studio. Dull, eh? Well, a quarter-mile away Caesar's soldiers have been fighting it out with a Roman slave army as they did in 74 BC for the film "Spartacus." The hillside is strewn with dummy corpses and the carcasses of prop animals. And to get away from it all, some of Julius' tired troops come to theCampo during the lunch break and sit in the sun. :: THE SHACKLE Liberty and freedom were secured for us and yet There is no freedom for the man who's constantly in debt. - G. C. McHose :: TOO MANY marines on leave have become weekend highway traffic casualties and the California Safety Council has been conducting a campaign of warning. One day recently the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton was lined up to hear a Safety Council speaker point out the dangers of highway driving. As an added, somewhat gruesome exhibit, a casket was placed on the stage with a blue light over it. Afterward, when the marines came up for a look they found themselves staring into a mirror where the head normally would be. The other day a Safety Council member checked with Pendleton about the campaign and an officer said they'd had to get rid of the casket which had been borrowed from a mortuary. A rat got into it and chewed a hole in the lining. :: ONLY IN L.A. -- Councilman Ransom Callicott received a letter from a fraternal organization the other day informing him the member had decided to endorse him in the May 26 election. He's in a dilemma. He doesn't know what to tell them. He was re-elected in the April 7 primary. :: A HANDSOME woman who had just been awarded a divorce and what had been the connubial home remarked with a significant smile to reporter Chester Washington, who covered the case, "You know, I'm considered the best housekeeper in Hollywood," A check of the records disclosed she'd been divorced three times and each time got the house, two of them apartments. So, out of marriage into the real estate business. :: AROUND TOWN -- Writer Frank Barron learned his TV series "Man From Black Hawk" had been sold when he read it in a Hollywood trade paper ... DorothyHealy, long-time target of subversion seekers, spoke before SC's Wesley Club at University Methodist Church Wednesday on "Why I Am a Communist" - without benefit of scrutiny from the Civic Center. The talk was one of a series of inquiries into opposing beliefs and was orderly throughout ... An Eagle Rock pastor told his congregation about the grumpy fellow who was heard muttering as he left the church, "Well, there's another hour all shot to heaven!" ... Overheard exchange in  a Sepulveda bar: "What do you say you and I fly to the moon, baby?" "What are you, a spaceman, on a fly-by-night sheet?"

Paul V. Coates -- Confidential File, May 9,1959

Confidential File Mash Notes and Comments "Mr. Coates: "Some years ago I recall reading one of your columns that was written in a nudist camp somewhere in the L.A. or Southern California area. "Would you mind telling us where it's located? "We are traveling through this area and would like to absorb some sunshine if they'll accept us. "The whole family is agreeable to the idea, except my little boy. "He's a very shy child, and he says that no matter what happens, he won't take off his clothes in front of a bunch of people. "But I guess we can talk him into it." (signed) Mrs. R. C., Los Angeles. -Just tell him children should be seen and not heard. (Press Release) "A company has come up with a product for utility poles that will cut down on squirrel deaths and end power failures, line shorts and fires," reports Electrical Wholesaling, McGraw-Hill publication. "Squirrels, with their affinity for power line poles and transformers, are often welded to the spot when they nuzzle up against wires carrying 7,200 volts. "Now an insulating cover can be fused to the metal of the transformer with just enough juice coming through to give the squirrel a discouraging tickle." (signed) Publicity Department, McGraw - Hill Publications, New York City, N.Y. - What's discouraging about a tickle? :: "Dear Mr. Coates: "Your Hollywood Blvd. readers of your daily column may be interested in a newcomer in the juke-box music world named Kirk Atello, because they see him around Las Palmas and Hollywood Blvd., lounging in his '39 Cadillac roadster at all hours. "This newcomer to the juke-box singing now has a record delivering his voice and it is a record of two songs he has sincerely put on that record. "The songs are 'A-ma-a' and 'Flirtatious Fool.' "He is aged 28, and has been living in Hollywood some four rugged years. His 'beat' type attire and his continual study of horse racing charts establish him as an interesting character. "The guy is OK, Paul. He even bought me a cup of coffee while I sat and listened to his records. "The fact is, Kirk Atello put the 20 cents in the juke box to play his records just so I could listen. "The music tempo was too fast. The orchestration background was too loud. Kirk Atello sings all right, but he can improve. "He must project his personal feeling and personal thinking more into the way he sings. "He has got to indicate an attitude of more force, or make one feel that he sings for ONE CERTAIN ONE and is all alive with earnestness equal to a signature to a letter." (signed) Memphis Harry Lee Ward, newsboy, P.O. Box 1963, Hollywood. -Memphis, the guy bought you a cup of coffee. The least you could do is give him a good review.

Vintage Motorcycles Up for Auction

(Bonhams & Butterfields) This Vincent Black Shadow sold for $383,400 in October.

By Susan Carpenter May 9, 2009 They leak, shake, rattle and spark -- and sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The rarest of rare vintage motorcycles, these decades-old machines are challenging to start and difficult to ride. Yet they are becoming more expensive to purchase despite -- and some say because of -- the down economy. For years, ultra-obscure bikes such as a 1936 Crocker Twin or a 1907 Curtiss V-8 were collected by a small handful of moneyed gearheads. They had such deep appreciation for the unique designs and temperaments of these machines that they'd willingly use their shins as heat guards, repurpose their feet as brake shoes and consider it a deal to pay tens of thousands of dollars to experience such evolutionary technology. Now, they're paying six figures. And the price increases are happening even as the market for new motorcycles is tanking. Read more >>>

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.

May 9, 1930

Bradley Leads Yorty, Pro Sports in Orange County, May 9, 1969

Creative financing by L.A. Unified: Balance the budget and avoid cutbacks by overestimating the amount of money it will receive from the state.

Hipshot Percussion sends a bad hombre to meet his maker in Stan Lynde's "Rick O'Shay." It's fun to be able to enlarge these panels to see the detail. I can't think of a single comic published today that is drawn with such realism -- and certainly nothing today has violent death as a recurring theme. At left, John Hall visits the Main Street Gym. Above, Times reporter Dick Bergholz vs. Mayor Sam Yorty. I would have paid money to see that.

The Times' Mitch Chortkoff posed an interesting question: Why can't pro sports make it in Orange County? Of course, the definition of pro sports was a bit limited in 1969 to a bad baseball team, a semi-pro football team, a first-year ABA team and some golf and tennis tournaments. Depending on your point of view, the consensus seemed to be Orange County sports fans were choosy or they were snobs. "People in football generally feel that Orange County is a tremendous market. But they also know the area is sophisticated," said Irv Kaze, business manager of the Chargers and a former public relations director for the Angels. "You can't bring in a team without name players and expect to draw." Chortkoff wrote: "The days, if they were ever here, are gone when Orange County fans will flock to an event merely because it is happening. They must be told of the significance of the contest and if they believe the pitch, they will attend." Not sure I buy that. Back in 1969, the common characteristic of Orange County teams was performance -- they stunk. People had other options, whether it was the beach, the Dodgers or USC football. It's good for sports fans to have options. -- Keith Thursby

Movie Star Mystery Photo

 

Photograph by Walter Frederick Seely, 1448 Wilcox Ave. Jack Mulhall, Dec. 5, 1925 Update: As many people guessed, this is Jack Mulhall, a prolific actor who died at the age of 91. I had a difficult time choosing which pictures to post because there are so many good ones. At right, Mulhall's obituary by Dorothy Townsend, June 6, 1979. 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: George Dolenz. Los Angeles Times file photo July 3, 1927: Mulhall and Jane Winton in "The Poor Nut." Here's another picture of our mystery fellow with a mystery companion. Please congratulate Mary Mallory, Alekszandr, Juile, Steven Bibb, John Hall (I'm not sure if this is former Mirror/Times/Register columnist John Hall),  Randy Skretvedt, Cinnamon Carter and Ed for correctly identifying him. Los Angeles Times file photo On the set of W.C. Fields' "The Old-Fashioned Way": From left, Director William Beaudine, Mulhall, Charles West, Jack Dillon and Dell Henderson. Here's our mystery fellow with some mystery companions. Please congratulate Dewey Webb and "Laura" fan Waldo Lydecker for correctly identifying him (and to Mary Mallory for identifying the movie in the previous photo), What are these fellows doing with their hats? Los Angeles Times file photo March 19, 1954, Muhall and Harold Lloyd at a party for Mack Sennett. Here's our mystery star with a mystery companion. Please congratulate R. Ahuna and Nick Santa Maria for recognizing our mystery fellow and cheers to Mary Mallory for identifying the movie in the previous photo. Los Angeles Times file photo May 9, 1959: Made Kennedy and Mulhall in "I Remember Caviar," an episode of Screen Gems' "Goodyear Theater." I know I said I'd identify our mystery guest today -- but I'm having so much fun with these old pictures I decided to hold off until tomorrow. The man had an incredibly long career. Here he is with another mystery companion. Los Angeles Times file photo June 18, 1944. Mulhall and Gloria Gilbert in Ken Murray's "Blackouts of 1944." Isn't this a great picture?

Family Evicted From Chavez Ravine, May 9, 1959

The Times' coverage of the Chavez Ravine evictions isn't easy reading and clearly not the paper at its best. The construction of Dodger Stadium was something the paper campaigned for and those who opposed the plan were either ignored or minimized in print. But the events of May 8 couldn't be ignored, in part because the evictions of the Arcechiga family and some of their neighbors were televised. In the first-day story, the residents are barely quoted but we get to learn the thoughts of the people moving their furniture? We hear from only one opponent of the plan for Chavez Ravine, Councilman John Holland, and he basically said the fight was over. It took another day for The Times to quote Councilman Edward Roybal, who would become a key player in this saga. "The eviction in itself is legal," Roybal told newsmen, "but the manner in which it was carried out certainly was not. Someone stands to answer for violating the individual rights of these people. This is the type of action that occurred during the Spanish inquisition and Hitler's Germany. But never have I heard of anything like this taking place in this city." The reference to "newsmen" makes me wonder if Roybal was being interviewed on television. --Keith Thursby

Found on EBay -- A Night on the Town, 1944

A lot of seven souvenir nightclub photos, all from 1944, has been listed on EBay. These folks clearly got around: Earl Carroll's, the Florentine Gardens, the Cocoanut Grove, plus several clubs in San Francisco. Notice the woman at left has a flower in her hair--and no, she's not Elizabeth Short! For that matter, the woman on the right has done the same thing. My point is that for a time in the mid-1940s, this was quite fashionable and that Elizabeth Short--the Black Dahlia--was doing nothing unusual in pinning flowers in her hair. Bidding on this lot of photos starts at $19.99. Yes, I'm tempted--don't you love the artwork on the photo holder from the Cocoanut Grove?-- but I already have more of these than I need.

Matt Weinstock -- May 8, 1959

High Finance Talk is not only cheap, it's frequently boring. But once in a while, if you listen intently, you catch an offbeat fragment that is profound or wonderful nonsense or raffishly realistic. Mike Molony, who helps cover Hill St. cafe society for this corner, the other day captured a little beauty. A character known as Mac was eloquently exhorting several acquaintances to drink up and rush back to their jobs or if they didn't have one to get one. Mac is the happy recipient of a regular unemployment check, and he doesn't conceal his hope that this desirable way of life may continue. He refers to himself as a ward of the state. BUT HE HAS BEEN READING about the shortage of tax money, and in his confused way he fears that unless enough people keep working and get deducted the unemployment fund might get depleted and his payments would possibly be lowered or the checks even bounce, a thought that horrifies him.  Mac's crusade has not been an outstanding success. His crafty colleagues have the same ideas about the joys of unemployment that he has. However, he claims one convert, a fellow known asHardrock. Cynics by the way, insist Hardrock had to go to work anyway because he was broke and his pals had become, as the word is in Calcutta, untouchable. Mac interrupts his impassioned oratory now and then to say to Mike, "Not you, kid," Mike has a steady job. :: TO PUT IN BLUNTLY Mother's Day is for the purpose Of honoring those who used to burp us. - HELEN MITCHEL :: A MAN FROM San Francisco, urging the 1,000 Junior Chamber of Commerce members convening in Santa Monica Auditorium to hold an upcoming meeting in his city, offered as inducement a wonderful night out on the town, a fashion show for wives, light opera and a chance to see the "pennant-bound Giants." The explosive roar from Dodger partisan almost blew him off the stage. The delegates later voted to go to San Diego. :: SPEAKING OF the jaycees, Headlines, the L.A. Junior Chamber publication, committed this oopser in announcing a meeting next week for new members at a Beverly Blvd. restaurant: "Two rooms will be used for the reception with one for the bar and the other for the orientation session. The bar will remain open for those who wish during the indoctrination." ::  AS SOME people collect stamps, coins and rocks, others preserve and cherish phrases which show up in print. The weekly Rocky Mountain Herald, published in Denver by Tom and HelenFerril, has become a clearinghouse for this offbeat pastime. An L.A. subscriber who collects "do hereby's" reported in delight that our mayor had committed one. After a few whereases he said, "I do hereby proclaim this Folk Dancing Day." Understand one "do hereby," considered rare, is worth two "shark-infested waters" on the open market. :: MISCELLANY -- For two weeks, Louis Chazaro reports, a chicken has been living happily in the shrubbery on an "island" on San Bernardino Freeway just off Aliso St. It was there yesterday, as usual, oblivious to the 5 p.m. bumper-to-bumper traffic ... Watch out for Bob Ritchey. He tells of a chamber-music group that played a Mozart piece so badly the audience booed and the group went into Haydn.

Paul V. Coates -- Confidential File, May 8, 1959

Confidential File Why Eyewitnesses Aren't Too Reliable Yesterday I detailed three recent local cases of innocent persons being jailed by mistaken eyewitness testimony. I told you that the cases weren't rare ones. Today, I'm going to tell you why. To do it, I have to point the finger at some highly respected groups who don't like people who point. For example, the police. Too often, their power of subtle suggestion is used to influence a witness to make a wrong identification. As an exaggerated example, there's the "Arkansas lineup," which has become kind of a bitter joke among criminologists. It apparently was (and -- from what I read in the papers -- probably still is) common police procedure in the state after which it was named. It works like this: A woman reports that a crime was committed against her by a Negro. She gives police a physical description of the suspect. Police find a man -- any man -- who generally answers the description she gave. Then they stick him -- one Negro -- in a lineup with eight white men, and ask, innocently: "You see anybody there who looks like him, lady?" Any conscientious cop would condemn the "Arkansas lineup." But chances are that he, to a lesser degree, is employing the same tactic. I talked about it at length this week with Marshall Houts, a former judge and FBI man, and one of the nation's best authorities on criminal evidence. "Just  by handing a book full of mugshots to an eyewitness or by letting him view a lineup of suspects, the police are planting the suggestion that the criminal is there," he pointed out. "It's a dangerous procedure but obviously it's necessary," he added. Houts' criticism was of the additional persuasion and influence -- often unintentionally -- used too often by police. For example, showing a witness just one suspect or his picture. Or, as is the procedure in San Francisco (you've probably seen it on the television show "Lineup), having an officer recite the past criminal record of a man in a line up for the witness to hear. "Some victims are extremely susceptible to suggestion," Houts said. In his book, "From Evidence to Proof," Houts cites example after example of persons later found innocent whose convictions resulted from "rigged" or unobjective witness-identification methods. Houts' suggestion: "It should be standard police department practice to tape record lineups, and take pictures of them." Houts also recited to me the dozens of cases where as many as 6, 10, 12 witnesses made identification of a suspect -- and were wrong. "And as a general rule," he said, "the real criminal bears very little physical resemblance to the falsely identified party." The problem today, he told me, is to educate judges, lawyers, police officers and the public that eyewitness identification is the type of evidence most susceptible to error. Some Strong Words Coming Up It's also been my experience," Houts said, "that the more positive an eyewitness is, the less likely it is that he's right. "Today, judges and juries put too much credence in the eyewitness. In most cases, eyewitness identification should be considered little more than an investigative lead for the police. "And if eyewitnesses are used in court, I think the judge should instruct the jury in every instance as to the unreliable nature of the evidence." Those are strong words. But they're coming from a man -- as general counsel of Erle Stanley Gardner's Court of Last Resort -- has seen dozens of the terrible injustices caused by equally strong words of "positive" eyewitnesses who were wrong.

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.

May 8, 1926