The Strange, Terrible Saga of Mario Lanza

Oct. 8, 1959: Columnist Dick Williams on Mario Lanza.

Oct. 8, 1959: “The Best of Everything” starts tomorrow at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

Sox Favored Over Dodgers in Game 6 of Series

Oct. 8, 1959: The Dodgers lead the page in the final edition, with the death of Mario Lanza and President Eisenhower taking action in a weeklong strike at ports on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico.

Mario Lanzo Dies!

Oct. 7, 1959: Singer Mario Lanza dies of a heart attack. He was 38. Iraqi leader Abdel Karim Kassem survives an attempted assassination.

Voices -- Alicia de Larrocha, 1923 - 2009

April 22, 1980: The late Daniel Cariaga profiles pianist Alicia de Larrocha. The New York Times has reported that Larrocha died in Barcelona at the age of 86. The Times plans an obituary in upcoming editions.

Matt Weinstock, Sept. 25, 1959

Matt Weinstock on the success of pianist Van Cliburn -- and his contemporaries Eugene Istomin, Gary Graffman, Leon Fleisher, Leonard Pennario and Daniel Pollack. I didn't know John Browning went to John Marshall High.

Chief Abolishes Vice Squad

Aug. 17, 1939: USC football player Al Kreuger keeps in shape over the summer by milking cows.

Above, in a radical move, Police Chief Arthur C. Hohmann abolishes the LAPD's vice squad and transfers all the officers to other divisions. He also forms an intelligence unit. Hohmann, part of Mayor Fletcher Bowron's reform movement, served as chief for a relatively brief time and was replaced in 1941 by Clemence C.B. Horrall. Former stagecoach driver Prestley A. "Bud" Swinney dies at the age of 82. Artur Rodzinski and Jan Peerce perform at the Hollywood Bowl in a program including "El Salon Mexico" and a suite from "Der Rosenkavalier." ... and human sacrifice in "Tarzan."

Russian Leader to Visit L.A.! A.L. Wins All-Star Game

Bruce Russell's editorial cartoon is appalling today, but this style is typical of the 1950s, when artists frequently relied on a small repertory company of characters that included the Peace Dove, the Russian Bear, Mr. A-Bomb, Uncle Sam, the Taxpayer, etc.  Aug. 4, 1959: Nikita Khrushchev is coming to America! He'll be in Los Angeles -- but he's NOT going to Disneyland.

The Times editorial page takes the announcement of Khrushchev's visit as an opportunity to lead the cheering for Vice President Richard Nixon: "This is not to say that Mr. Nixon was a mere instrument or expendable pawn. As a trial balloon, he is of the dirigible kind, and his magnificent steering in the tumultuous winds of Russia probably did much for the prestige of his country as well as for himself. From his preliminary exchanges with Khrushchev at the fair to the savage conference with the Soviet reporters that closed his visit, Nixon had himself and his materials in wonderful control." The editorial ends by saying: "The wise American will not conclude that the time is near for reducing the defense budget." At left, an opinion/analysis piece by Polyzoides on the Soviet leader's upcoming visit. I rarely run any of these because they're not especially interesting or insightful, but they were a staple in The Times for many years.  The Times sends reporters to the streets to get the views of average people. Somewhat miraculously, nobody interviewed a taxicab driver, a bartender or someone in a laundermat. Construction worker John Lewandowski said: "I don't know. That fellow has been ranting and raving about us so much over there ... no, I don't think I like it." Florist Edgar Berens said: "Khrushchev has been fighting capitalism. Perhaps if he is shown what we've got over here, how much better off we are, it might be effective. So I think it's a good idea. Of course, though, we don't know what he'll tell the Russians when he gets back." The head of the American Council of Christian Churches denounces the visit: "It is morally wrong to extend an invitation to the bloody butcher of Hungary who has announced his intention to bury us." Sol Hurok schedules extra performances by Soviet artists at the Hollywood Bowl.

The all-star game came to Los Angeles and the town greeted the event as if, well, it was the only all-star baseball game of the season. More than 55,000 were at the Coliseum to watch the American League win, 5-3. This was the first time two all-star games had been played in one season. Don Drysdale, who was the top player in 1959's first all-star game, took the loss in this one. He gave up home runs to Yogi Berra of the Yankees and Frank Malzone of the Red Sox. I think baseball should return to the days of two all-star games. Pick a charity each season, raise some money for a good cause and let fans in two cities see baseball's best. I'd also like to see World Series games played in the day, at least on the weekend. And bring back Sunday doubleheaders. And the 154-game schedule. And I wouldn't mind seeing another baseball game at the Coliseum with 115,000 of my closest friends. --Keith Thursby

Found on EBay -- Enrico Caruso

Caruso in "I Pagliacci."

What appears to be a collection of ephemera given by Enrico Caruso to Rosa Ponselle has been listed on EBay. There is no strong tie to Los Angeles, although both of them performed here. For example, Caruso appeared in a Met production of "Lucia di Lammermoor" in 1905 at Hazard's Pavilion and Ponselle was at the Hollywood Bowl in 1923. I'm noting these items because there may be a few Caruso or Ponselle fans among the Daily Mirror readers who would enjoy knowing about them. Bidding starts at $429.99.

Woman, 28, Has 13 Children!

"This Is Like a Spy Movie!"

At the women's jail, "Conditions are terrible ... Sixteen patients are being assigned to rooms designed to contain eight." (As Nathan noted, that's General Hospital, not the jail--thanks Nathan!). Sax Rohmer, creator of the Chinese villain Fu Manchu, dies at the age of 76.  Akron has hanging lamps from Italy! The Silver Challenger has electric windshield wipers! Dual sun visors! View this page

Casting for "Journey to the Center of the Earth."  Morticians accused coroner Theodore J. Curphey was upsetting established protocols.  What's in the swag bags at the women's clubs convention. "It Happened to Jane" and "Face of a Fugitive."

Alicia Garnica was married and a mother at 13. Andre Previn plays in the premiere of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 11. Sentenced to the Girls' Industrial School in "Mary Worth." View this page A cloud of gnats chases Hoyt Wilhelm off the mound as the Orioles play the White Sox. View this page

CBS Cancels Hit Comedy Show Over Censorship; Sweet Lou Returns, April 5, 1969

A Requiem by Benny Carter is performed at a memorial for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Restaurants lost thousands of dollars to hippies who ate meals but left without paying. The ACLU says Palm Spring police violated  the Constitution by escorting the hippies out of town. Above, Chuck Hillinger reports on the Agua Caliente Indians throwing thousands of hippies out of Tahquitz Canyon. "Attracted here from throughout the West by a week of rock 'n' roll concerts, the strangely clad, bearded hippies and their female companions camped out in the canyon. There, according to police, they cavorted in the nude, smoked marijuana and drank cheap wine," Hillinger wrote. UCLA Chancellor Charles E. Young agrees with the "thrust" of demands by United Mexican-American Students. A prosecution psychiatrist testifies that Sirhan B. Sirhan wanted to plead guilty because he was tired of psychiatrists interviewing him. "I have actually gotten somewhat to like Sirhan," Dr. Seymour Pollack says. CBS cancels "The Smothers Brothers" because the show failed to deliver advance copies of shows for review by the network -- a charge that Tom Smothers denies.

On one page, conductor Thomas Shippers and "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken." Continuing the tradition of unfunny comic strips based on cartoons, we have "The Flintstones," which makes fun of -- hippies!

The Angels had moved out of Dodger Stadium but continued to bring reminders of Los Angeles to Anahem. Former Dodger Lou Johnson returned to Southern California in a trade with the Indians. Sweet Lou, as he was known, was ready for his "new lease." "Cleveland is bad enough," he told The Times' Ross Newhan. "When you're in Cleveland and not playing, well, you die." Johnson hit 40 home runs from 1965 to 1967 after joining the Dodgers as a fill-in for the injured Tommy Davis. Johnson also was an original Angel and played briefly in the team's first game in 1961. "I feel great, I'm ready to play 162 games ... plus some. Yes, plus some. That's where the money is." Very little went right for the Angels in 1969 and Johnson's acquisition didn't provide any magic. He hit .203 and drove in only nine runs in 67 games. -- Keith Thursby