Writers Guild Strikes Over TV Residuals

So here’s how Times cartoonist Bruce Russell shows that an eagle represents Mexico. He gives it a cute little sombrero. The Writers Guild goes on strike over residuals on TV broadcasts of films released after 1948.

The Knights of Columbus celebrate their namesake in a service at St. Vibiana’s. Rock Hudson “carefree bachelor” in “Pillow Talk.” Jerry Lewis in blackface in “The Jazz Singer?” I’m afraid so.  No, it’s not on Netflix. I think I'll be watching "The Rifleman" or Ella Fitzgerald on the Garry Moore show. Superstitious natives in “Orphan Annie.”

Some people just don’t like baseball. I wonder what she would think of ESPN. Walter Alston is named manager of the year. Trivia note: Alston struck out in his only major league appearance at the plate.

Orioles Shut Out Angels in Playoffs

Oct. 7, 1979: Pope John Paul II tours the U.S.

So much for the playoffs. The Angels' first taste of postseason ended bitterly thanks to Scott McGregor, who pitched a shutout and sent the Orioles into the World Series. Baltimore won Game 4, 8-0, and would face the Pittsburgh Pirates. "There's been more spirit on this club than any I ever was associated with," said Nolan Ryan, who was a free agent. "We'll be back," third baseman Carney Lansford said. --Keith Thursby

Police Raid Chinatown Gambling Operation

Oct. 6, 1909: Police officers cross the roofs of buildings, using a ladder to span alleys, to raid a lottery operation in Chinatown. I suspect the Sgt. Sebastian mentioned in the story is future Police Chief and Mayor Charles E. “Charlie” Sebastian. School will be dismissed early on Oct. 11 so students can see President Taft during his visit to Los Angeles. And an overdose of morphine kills a baby – but nobody can determine how he got it.

'Cut Wife Into Little Pieces!'

All was not well in the De Barbadillo household. Sept. 26, 1919: Rabbi Isidore Myers leads the People's Synagogue in celebrating the new year.

Woody Allen and Billy Graham

Woody Allen got a rave review in The Times for his upcoming CBS special. Can you think of anything as weird or complex or interesting as the thought of Allen sitting in a chair next to evangelist Billy Graham, discussing moral and ethical issues? "Mr. Graham, introduced rather irreverently but honestly by Allen, returns the fire with good humor and even agrees to see one of Allen's pictures if Allen will come to one of his revival meetings [to which Allen agrees]," wrote Don Page in The Times. It is fascinating television and made me think twice about the predictable plots I've been wasting my time watching. Here's a glimpse. --Keith Thursby

Rosh Hashana, 1948

Photograph by Ray Graham / Los Angeles Times

Rosh Hashana at the Jewish Home for the Aged, 325 S. Boyle Ave., in a photo taken in advance, Sept. 29, 1948.  (In 1948, Rosh Hashana began Oct. 3). From left, Abraham Anis, Zelig Meyerson, Baruch Solomon, Joseph Flasterstein, Benjamin Gorelik and Samuel Rosen. Below, Boyle Avenue via Google maps' street view.

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USC Fraternity Pledge Dies During Hazing; Dodgers Lose

Sept. 17, 1959: Buried on an inside page are some names that will soon be famous --  Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Alan Shepard and Wally Schirra. Deke Slayton is the only one missing of the Mercury 7 astronauts.  Richard Swanson, a 21-year-old dental student at USC, chokes to death on a piece of raw liver during pledge hazing at the Kappa Sigma house on Fraternity Row. Some members were expelled and the fraternity was closed, but beyond that very little was done except some soul-searching and accusations that an official was blocking an inquiry because he was a USC graduate. Unless you count a riot that began when fraternity members hanged  USC President Norman Topping in effigy because he tried to impose rules that required the Greeks to get average grades. "The ice of the cold war ... has started to crumble" as a result of his visit to America, Khrushchev says.. "I think one of the facts which characterize the position of the Jewish people in our country is the fact that among the persons who took foremost part in the launching of the rocket to the moon the representatives of the Jewish people hold a place of honor.... The question of a man's religion is not asked in our country. It is a matter for the conscience of the person concerned. We look upon a person as a person," Khrushchev says.

"The Soviet Union stands for the development of relations between states on the basis of the principles of peaceful coexistence. These principles were bequeathed to us by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the great founder of the Soviet state. And we are true to these principles." This story has nothing to do with Nixon and the Bible, an item that appears on the cover rather than the runover, but it's a grabber headline. Bruce Russell on the Constitution vs. Marxism. What Khrushchev said: ""We have plenty of dead cats we could fling at you." Translation: "If there is a desire that our discussion here take that turn, of course, we for our part could think of quite a few questions of a similar character." Gene Sherman writes about a molestation victim and sex offenders. Good news, bad news for the Dodgers. They reached 2 million in home attendance for the first time in franchise history but lost to the Reds, 7-4. The Dodgers slipped into third place, two games behind the Giants. Charlie Neal hit two home runs and Wally Moon added another shot but it wasn't enough. --Keith Thursby

Colored YMCA to Dedicate Headquarters

Sept. 11, 1909: The daily horoscope, which The Times published on the editorial page. "Women will hear good news from afar."

The Colored Young Men's Christian Assn. will open at 829 S. San Pedro St. The building has a gymnasium, a dining room and 12 bedrooms.

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movies

Sept. 5, 1923: "The Lone Star Ranger," starring Tom Mix, premieres at the Symphony at Broadway and 6th Street ... and "Wayfarer" is being produced at the Coliseum. "The Wayfarer," written by J.E. Crowther, was a pageant with a cast of about 7,000 people under the direction of Montgomery Lynch. The prologue, titled "The God of War," depicted what was then known as the World War. "From this scene, Understanding, as played by a beautiful woman, leads the solitary Wayfarer back through the ages and shows him the moral victory that is the aftermath of seeming defeat," The Times said. A.B. Kachel, a drama teacher at Hollywood High School, had the role of the Wayfarer while Katherine Rodkin was Understanding and Lola La Pere was the Angel. The prologue was read by William Jennings Bryan. Music in the production drew heavily from Handel's "Messiah" and "The Wayfarer" concluded with a mass singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner." The dress rehearsal was broadcast on KHJ. When the last performance concluded on Sept. 23, 1923, an estimated 150,000 people had seen the pageant. "The Wayfarer" was also performed in Columbus, Ohio, in 1919 for the Centenary Celebration of American Methodist Missions, and in New York's Madison Square Garden from December 1919 to January 1920. It's unclear if it has ever been staged since the Los Angeles production. Sept. 9, 1923: The Times' Edwin Schallert reviews "The Wayfarer."

Freed U.S. Troops Describe Enemy Torture; Dodgers Lose to Mets

Sept. 3, 1969: Ho Chi Minh is gravely ill -- in fact, he's dead ... the Massachusetts Supreme Court postpones an inquest in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne ... searchers in the Holy Land find the wallet and passport of Dr. James A. Pike, former Episcopal bishop of California ... and a nondupe by Noel Greenwood! A Navy pilot and a Navy postal clerk freed by the North Vietnamese describe being tortured. The men told about "prisoners kept in cages, of men hung in straps, of others whose fingernails were removed. They described solitary confinement and poor medical treatment." "Are broken bones and solitary confinement humane? Navy Lt. Robert F. Frishman of Long Beach asked. "Is sitting on a hot stool in a hot room with no sleep with mosquitoes biting you until you make a lousy statement humane? I know what it's like. In two days your feet swell up and then it moves up your legs until they are numb. Weather and your physical condition are the determining factors on how long you can last. Some can go on for 150 hours. Others pass out from heat exhaustion in 48."

"The Italian Job" starts today! Ranch hand Beverly Chandler "is cute as all get-out and as strong as a heifer." By a woman writer! "Marriage doesn't hold much for me yet, because I don't lack for excitement around here. But mom says I'll be married to a rancher someday and I suppose I will," Chandler says.

One panel that will never appear in the legacy version of "Dennis the Menace."

Willie Davis hit his way into the Dodger record book, batting safely in 30 consecutive games. That broke the Dodger record set in 1916 by Zach Wheat, who was 81 in 1969 and had sent Davis a good-luck telegram. It also was one game closer to the National League record of 37 games by Tommy Holmes of the Braves in 1945. The Times didn't even mention Joe DiMaggio's 56-game streak. Davis didn't get a hit with the game on the line and the Dodgers lost to the Mets, 5-4. "I got my hit at the wrong time," he said. The Dodgers' center fielder came up in 1960 and was with the team through 1973. He went to Montreal in a trade for reliever Mike Marshall, then bounced to Texas, St. Louis and finally the Angels. As for Wheat, he told the Dodgers' Red Patterson that his streak should have reached 41 games but he "was robbed of a hit by the first-base umpire. I still remember it." Being on the Dodgers meant there was more than baseball--you could be on TV! Here's a '60s classic with Willie Davis watching Mr. Ed's tryout at Dodger Stadium. :: During his playing days, O.J. Simpson also received star treatment in the papers. The Buffalo Bills' rookie was heading back to L.A. to play the Rams and said all the right things during an interview with Mal Florence. " 'I'm really looking forward to it,' said Simpson, making no effort to conceal his enthusiasm. 'In fact everyone on the Buffalo team is looking forward to it. War Memorial Stadium is OK, but there's nothing like the Coliseum. It's synonymous with football. I know I won't have much time there but I still hope to see my friends and get over to USC and visit with the team." It's hard to find profiles of Simpson from this era that don't include his comments about his plans after football. "Someday when I retire, I want to come back to L.A. and be just another USC alum--taking in those football games at the Coliseum on Saturday afternoons." --Keith Thursby