Headlines from 1950

What was going on exactly sixty years ago?

According to the Los Angeles Times, Judy Garland slashed her own throat with a broken glass on June 19, 1950. Yikes! She was living with husband Vincent Minelli in a pink alabaster mansion at 10000 Sunset (Yup, the Times gave the address on the front page. Actually, they gave two--Minelli's and "the singer's home" at 8850 Evansview Drive. Just in case fans wanted to drop by).

According to Wiki (and they're never wrong!) Garland had been fired from a Fred Astaire movie, Royal Wedding, only two days previous. She would divorce Minelli in 1951, triumph in a Broadway show and win a Tony, go on to make A Star is Born, obviously getting over the loss of Royal Wedding.

As for the picture at right--well, a Shriners' Convention opened at the Coliseum on June 20th, 1950. This picture shows Ronald Reagan--one of many Hollywood Stars to join in the Shriners' 5-hour long Electric Parade a couple days later. 70,000 Shriners took over the Biltmore, the Ambassador, and the Coliseum and held three separate parades. Good times.

Did you know they (the Shriners) used to refer to themselves as Moslems of the Ancient Arabic Order? Maybe they still do; I don't know. Here's their national website.