Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, March 23, 1941

March 23, 1941: The Times’ editorial page opposes raising taxes to fund the library. It’s the war, you know, and if we go around handing out money to the library, next in line will be the police, and firefighters and the parks department, The Times says.  (Voters defeated the measure, 20,277 to 13,292). Ellis Kutten is a refugee Pole in Hollywood, the man who was in charge of cement manufacturing for all Poland.... Today, with Mrs. Kutten, he is making a fresh start from a Hollywood rooming house. He has been in America for two months and has no job but he is as sure of himself as if he were already behind an executive's desk, Tom Treanor says.  Terse description of Mickey Rooney: Peter Pan-ic, Jimmie Fidler says.

Voices: Warren Christopher, 1925 -- 2011

Warren M. Christopher, who died Friday, was an occasional contributor to The Times. I’m posting two pieces from 1977, when he was deputy secretary of State. One essay, adapted from a commencement speech, deals with  the actions of a Foreign Service officer evacuating the U.S. diplomatic post in Ethiopia. The other essay takes a look at the Carter administration’s campaign for human rights: "When human beings are forcibly abducted from their homes, interrogated incessantly at the pleasure of their captors and prodded with electrodes or held under water to the point of drowning -- when such things are happening around the world, as they are, all who truly value human rights must speak out."

Town Called Hollywood, Feb. 23, 1941

Feb. 23, 1941: An old hand at writing columns but feeling his way in his new assignment, The Home Front,  Tom Treanor writes: "Of all the times in the history of the world to be writing a column this is unquestionably the most exciting. “And of all the places in which to be writing it, Southern California is probably the most varied and interesting.” Jimmie Fidler has the day off, so instead I’m running Philip K. Scheuer’s “Town Called Hollywood,” in which he makes his Oscar predictions (he likes “Rebecca” for best picture) and talks about movie directors’ attitudes toward color.

Matt Weinstock, Feb. 22, 1961

Feb. 22, 1961: The Arriba Poulson group has been formed in East Los Angeles to support the mayor in his upcoming campaign, Matt Weinstock says.   DEAR ABBY: My Mommy and Daddy got a divorce and I live with my Mommy. My Mommy says that Daddy is a very nice man. When Daddy takes me to his place on Sundays, he says that Mommy is a very nice woman. If my Daddy is so nice and my Mommy is so nice, please tell me why they couldn't get along with each other and stay married? PATTY ANN (Age 9)

Ronald Reagan and 'A Time for Choosing'

In speaking at the tribute honoring the Ronald Reagan centennial on Friday night, former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin invoked his now-famous speech “A Time for Choosing.” Times reporter Maeve Reston noted that Reagan gave the televised speech in October 1964 on behalf of Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and I thought it would be interesting to explore some of the details. The Times was a stalwart Republican paper in this era and endorsed Goldwater for president, so it seemed likely that there might be some coverage of Reagan’s speech. My research found that if the address has become one the landmarks of Reagan’s political career, it certainly didn’t start out that way. In fact, The Times’ clips and other news sources show that for nearly two years before his televised address, Reagan had been delivering a speech on the theme of “A Time for Choosing” to business and political groups.   Given the time references in the televised version (“Senator Humphrey last week…”) , it’s evident that Reagan revised the work and I will defer to Reagan scholars to compare drafts of the speech, although I imagine it would be a fascinating project.

Voices -- Mohamed ElBaradei

Photo: Mohamed ElBaradei via Al Jazeera

Calm Is Urged in Iran Debate

* Mohamed ElBaradei, the U.N. nuclear agency chief, sees no imminent danger from Tehran and asks those discussing the issue to `lower the pitch.'

March 31, 2006

By Jeffrey Fleishman and Alissa J. Rubin, Times Staff Writers

BERLIN -- United Nations atomic energy chief Mohamed ElBaradei urged the international community Thursday to steer away from threats of sanctions against Iran, saying the country's nuclear program was not "an imminent threat" and that the time had come to "lower the pitch" of debate.

ElBaradei's remarks at a forum in Doha, the capital of Qatar, came at a sensitive moment in the discussions over Iran, as the United States and other members of the U.N. Security Council calculate their next steps. His comments publicly expressed the dismay that many diplomats privately have voiced about what they consider an air of crisis that the Bush administration and some European governments have created with recent statements.

 

John F. Kennedy’s Inauguration in Pictures

Los Angeles Times file photo

Jan. 20, 1961: Here is the story of President Kennedy’s inaugural as told through photos from The Times archives. Above, President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy shortly after the inauguration.  Keep reading for more pictures and even a mystery photo!

Snowstorm Threatens JFK Inaugural

 

Jan. 20, 1961: Everyone (except Kayo Mullins) is eager to see the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. I remember watching the inaugural on a black and white TV someone brought into my grade school class and the folks who witnessed it in Washington remember how cold it was that day.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Los Angeles, 1968

L.A. Observed has an item about a 1961 recording of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Los Angeles. Here’s a March 1968 recording of him at a home in Beverly Hills from the Pacifica Radio Archives.  ALSO The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Daily Mirror

 

Black Politics in L.A., 1913

Feb. 22, 1913: Councilman Robert M. Lusk died in office and the African Americans of Los Angeles called on the council to appoint one of several black contenders to complete his term. Charles C. Flint, a grocer at 1101 Santa Fe Ave., was the leading contender. The other candidates were T.W. Troy, a furniture dealer at 12th and San Pedro; J.M. Alexander, head of the Afro-American Council and the Afro-American Commercial Co., 818 Wall St.;  and R.C. Owens, 1327 W. 10th, "one of the wealthiest Negroes in Los Angeles," according to The Times. The Times quoted an appeal to the council by J.J. Edmunds, editor of the Liberator, "a publication for Negroes." "After detailing the status of the Negroes of Los Angeles and the advance they have made as property owners and in aiding the material prosperity of the city, Edmunds said: "When it looked as though the entire city was going to be overwhelmed by an undesirable element, you depended upon the Negro votes to help carry the day, and they fully responded. Without this vote the results would have been vastly different. We feel that this, as well as the many other reasons given, entitle us to a representation in this council." Despite these pleas, the council nominated Wesley J. Bryant to fill Lusk’s term.  ALSO Black Politics in L.A.

Times Columnist Harry Carr Dies

Jan. 11, 1936: Harry Carr, longtime columnist of “The Lancer” and one of the best-known writers in the history of The Times, dies of a heart attack at the age of 58. Carr’s death brought an outpouring of tributes and recollections from the business community and in Olvera Street. Carr wrote “Old Mother Mexico”  (1931), “Los Angeles: City of Dreams” (1935) and “Gin Chow’s First Annual Almanac” (1932). Carr was The Times’ utility reporter on major events and covered the Republican National Convention of 1908 and the Los Angeles premiere of “Madame Butterfly” the same year. He was on the staff when The Times was bombed in 1910, but wrote nothing about it in "Los Angeles: City of Dreams." One of the few details in "Los Angeles" about Gen. Harrison Gray Otis is an incident in which Otis staunchly defended Carr against charges that a story was inaccurate. Carr also covered boxing. Here’s an excerpt of his coverage of the James Jeffries-Jack Johnson “Battle of the Century.”  "The 'battle of the century' made me think of nothing so much as the butchery of an old bull. "When, at the end of the 15th round, old Jeff lay, half through the ropes, smeared with blood, the light all gone out of his eyes, stricken and helpless, I half expected him to give the 'moo' of a dying bull. "When the moving pictures are shown I think you will see a strange thing -- that Jeffries lay in the exact attitude of the statue ‘The Dying Gladiator,' as he was being counted out, with this addition: The group will have another figure, a tigerish, fierce black giant standing over the bleeding gladiator, his terrible fists waiting. "I felt sorry for poor, old Jeff, but most of my pity went out to the black man. "I never before saw any human soul so shaken with fear. "When the fight began Johnson was so frightened that his face was a deathly, ashen gray. His lips were dry and his eyes were staring with a sort of horrified terror. He seemed utterly friendless. "Out of that enormous pack of humanity I saw only one face that turned up to him in sympathy. That was the drawn, tragically beautiful face of the white woman who is Johnson's wife." ALSO  “Madame Butterfly” premieres in Los Angeles, 1908  “The Battle of the Century” on the Daily Mirror, 1910 “Old Mother Mexico” at archive.org

Yorty Runs for Mayor!

Jan. 10, 1961: Incumbent Norris Poulson and  challenger Sam Yorty are about to get into a nasty campaign for mayor. Should I mention the $2-million slander suit? The Times editorial headlined “Either Poulson or Calamity?” (So much for the value of a Times endorsement.) And yes, The Times' Ed Ainsworth wrote the Yorty biography "Maverick Mayor." Stay tuned!  ALSO Norris Poulson on the Daily Mirror Sam Yorty on the Daily Mirror "Maverick Mayor" on Bookfinder