Matt Weinstock, March 31, 1961, Matt Weinstock

March 31, 1961: KNX radio personality Bob Crane is looking for a word that rhymes with orange, Matt Weinstock says. CONFIDENTIAL TO "MODERN MOTHER": Granted, your daughter CAN be trusted, but why place such temptations in the path of a healthy, lovely 18-year-old girl? She has no business on an overnight ski trip with her "steady"—unchaperoned.

Paul Coates, March 31, 1961

 

March 31, 1961: Paul Weeks files a story from Washington saying that the John Birch Society has become a "matter of concern to the attorney general.” Although Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy made no direct statement, a spokesman said "a growing number of inquiries which the Justice Department has received about the John Birch Society has made it a matter of concern to the attorney general.” Among the congressmen who belong to the society is Rep. Edgar Hiestand (R-Altadena). "It is a group of dedicated patriots fighting communism -- is that bad?" Hiestand said. And Paul Coates has a letter from the inimitable Parkey Sharkey about his book “Whiskey Road.” ALSO Parkey Sharkey and  “Whiskey Road” on the Daily Mirror

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 31, 1941

March 31, 1941: Everybody has ideas about making movies – even the window washers, Lee Shippey says. EVER SINCE RETURNING from Europe I have been pestered by one question to which I could give no satisfactory answer. The question is "how are the Jews being treated in such and such a country?" My answers were always vague and confused. I could never make people understand the situation is so complicated that you can't give an answer, Tom Treanor says.  PALM SPRINGS AT A GLANCE: Fat gals, lean gals, short gals, tall gals – all wearing shorts, a "bra" and a nonchalant air, Jimmie Fidler says.

Jim Murray, March 31, 1961

March 31, 1961: Lakers coach Fred Schaus has a few things to say about ref Jim Duffy after a 114-113 loss to the St. Louis Hawks and doesn't care if it gets in print -- even if there's a fine.

Private Investigator Held in Extortion

Private investigator Charles R. Chase decided to make a little extra money by squeezing an extra $900 out of a teenager who stole $100 from the  drugstore where he worked. The police set a trap and heard Chase repeat his demand to the boy's mother while they listened in the next room. A Senate committee wants to raise statewide speed limits: 20 mph in business districts, 25 mph in residential districts and 45 mph on highways. Also on the jump: Road rage, 1931-style. Lady Louis Mountbatten lunching at the Brown Derby "stood out like a sore thumb," Mollie Merrick says.

Matt Weinstock, March 30, 1961

March 30, 1961: The Scottish Daily Express quotes Caltech seismologist Hugo Benioff (d. 1968) as saying that a devastating earthquake is set to hit Los Angeles.  The reporter apparently misquoted or distorted what Benioff said, according to Matt Weinstock, who adds: The old Caltech lullaby remains unchanged: "All we know about earthquakes is that the farther we are from the last one the closer we are to the next one."   CONFIDENTIAL TO WORRIED STUDENT: See a physician at once. Doctors have had a great deal of experience in situations such as these and can be trusted to respect confidences.

Paul Coates, March 30, 1961

March 30, 1961: I had a terrible time scanning Paul Coates’ column for today, which is on the jump but barely legible. The ones in April are better.

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 30, 1941

 

March 30, 1941: In a classic example of one its attempts to meddle in local politics, The Times publishes a Page 1 editorial about the mayor’s race, sharply criticizing the incumbent, Fletcher Bowron, and advocating a man you most certainly have never heard about: Stephen W. Cunningham. Although this editorial is unsigned it is quite likely the handiwork of Kyle Palmer, The Times political powerbroker and would-be kingmaker who capped his career with an ardent and utterly unsuccessful campaign to put Richard Nixon in the White House in the 1960 election. Perhaps The Times was embarrassed by Cunningham’s poor showing, because the 1941 election stories reported Bowron leading by 32,000 votes, rather than giving a total or a percentage. It is only in Cunningham’s 1956 obituary  that we get the actual numbers. Apparently unable to acknowledge defeat even many years later, The Times said: “"He lost the election by a narrow margin, receiving 149,721 votes to Bowron's 182,172.”  That “narrow margin” works out as 54% to 45%.   In a recent interview, I called Palmer “one of the most contemptible people to ever work at The Times.” For a while, I thought this might have been too harsh until I read his coverage of the 1941 mayor’s race. The lesson in all of this is that The Times' editorials and political endorsements weren't nearly as influential as people believe today. The voters obviously weren't shy about ignoring The Times' candidates. Few sights are more depressing that a yesterday's screen beauty with 20 years added to her face, Jimmie Fidler says. ALSO Kyle Palmer on the Daily Mirror

Jim Murray, March 30, 1961

March 30, 1961: Jim Murray takes a look at the names for horses in harness racing and  thoroughbred racing, and throws in auto racing for good measure.    Thoroughbred racing, I am glad to say, is a lot more careful about the name of its plugs. The Jockey Club sits in judgment on this and you have to come up with a name that has no more than 15 letters, no more than 3 words, does not duplicate the name of a famous horse of the past (a plater's name is not retired to the glue factory with him, however) and does not offend good taste.

Kennedy Mystery Photo

Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador, June 5, 1968, photo courtesy of Howard Decker Robert F. Kennedy in an undated photo by Paul Jacobs L.A. Observed recently posted a photo – from Chip Jacobs’ blog -- of Robert F. Kennedy outside the Biltmore Hotel during his 1968 presidential campaign. Jacobs’ older brother Paul snapped the photo and the question arose of when it was taken. Jacobs believed it was from June 5, 1968, the day Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador. According to L.A. Observed, Kennedy aides, including  Paul Schrade, who was wounded in the shooting, said Kennedy didn’t go to the Biltmore that day. A comparison of a photo taken by Daily Mirror reader Howard Decker (alias Fibber McGee) the night Kennedy was shot and Jacobs’ photo shows a number of differences, including the length of Kennedy’s hair. Kennedy’s tie is similar in both photos, but the stripes are angled in different directions.  One possible date is April 19, 1968, when Kennedy made a Town Hall appearance at the Biltmore Bowl. The story, by Carl Greenberg, notes that Kennedy arrived at Burbank Airport and had a private security escort rather than the LAPD. It’s unclear whether the LAPD’s absence was due to ill feelings between Mayor Sam Yorty and Kennedy,  but Kennedy said: "It was nice of Mayor Yorty to provide me with a police escort -- it was just when I started to go through Pomona." ALSO Robert F. Kennedy on the Daily Mirror

Matt Weinstock, March 29, 1961

 

March 29, 1961: Brendan Behan’s play “The Hostage” is opening in Los Angeles and Matt Weinstock has a few lines about the playwright …  The gagged-up menu at the Writers Guild awards dinner included "Great Impasta," "Aspartacus with Hollandaise Sauce," "Pie Alamo" and "Elmer Gan Tea."   DEAR ABBY: My son is only 17 but big for his age. He is running around with a woman who is far too old for him. She has given him money, bought him gifts and lets him drive her car. Is it any wonder he thinks she is wonderful? Lately he has been spending more time with her than at home. At first, he said she was only a friend, but now...

Paul Coates, March 29, 1961

March 29, 1961: A fellow gives  up his charitable pastime after going for a walk in Beverly Hills. Irving Iscoe used to carry a pocket full of pennies when he went for a walk and would feed a few to parking meters that had expired to save drivers from getting tickets. He left a mimeographed note on the windshields, telling the drivers what he had done and telling them that they could repay him by donating to the Foundation for the Junior Blind. After a jaunt in Beverly Hills, however, he was warned by the police that he was soliciting without a license, Paul Coates says.