The Lennon Sisters--Angelenos!

I have been meaning to post this for a bit--it was written for my Baby Boomer Book blog, but it belongs here as well, since it is full of Los Angeles history. The Lennons grew up on the Westside, and one of them still lives in the Valley.

So here we go:

Are the Lennon Sisters our idols or ideals? (anyone remember Eric von Zipper and  Beach Blanket Bingo?)

Anyway, the Lennon Sisters. Everyone's parents and grandparents watched The Lawrence Welk Show, and the Lennon Sister was as close as that show came to youth. Who were they and where are they now?

Fortunately, there are websites that answer those very questions!

DeeDee, Peggy, Kathy, and Janet (in order of oldest to youngest) were four of six Lennon girls, and they had five brothers as well. All of them lived happily in a two-bedroom house in Venice. Crowded, but happy--can you imagine the Lennon family not being happy?

Lawrence Welk's son, Larry, went to St. Monica High School, the same school as the oldest Lennon girl, Diane/DeeDee. He brought the girls to his home to sing for his father one day, when Dad was sick in bed. Welk Senior loved their sound and so on Christmas Eve, 1955, the sister act debuted on the Lawrence Welk Show. They sang "He," a capella.

How you remember the Lennons may depend on your age. DeeDee, who was 16 when they first started appearing on TV, married and left the show in 1960. She returned in 1964. All the Lennons left the show in 1968, and the quartet had their own show the next year: Jimmy Durante Presents  the Lennon Sisters. Through the years, their little sister Mimi and other family members--including their Dad and his brothers--performed with them.

Remember their big hit, "Tonight you belong to me" in 1956? Belong was a three syllable word there. Very cute song. "Sad movies make me cry" was another.

Kathy Lennon (far left in the picture below,) has been married twice, first to a saxophone player in Welk's orchestra. Janet (in the red sweater) is now married to the Lawrence Welk's Orchestra Bandleader in Branson, John Bahler.  DeeDee (far right ) is retired. That's Barbara Boylan next to her.

Peggy Lennon (pictured alone) also married a member of Welk's orchestra, and after his death she remarried and now lives in Northridge, CA. When Peggy retired in 1999, sister Mimi took her place. When DeeDee retired, the group became a trio.

All the singing sisters except Peggy live in Branson.

Here's a link to a YouTube video from the early days: Lennon Sisters Remember Their TV Debut.  Through much of the 1990s and 2000s , the Lennon Sisters performed at the Welk Champagne Theater in Branson, MO. Today they're still in Branson, but at the Andy Williams Moon River Theater.

Do you remember having a Janet Lennon adventure book? There were lunchboxes too.  In a recent (well, 2006) interview, Janet Lennon said she had to wear braids on the show to look younger until she was in high school. "II have nightmares of braids, I really, really do."

The Lennons left The Lawrence Welk Show to pursue an offer in Vegas. They were all adults by them, some with children, and the Vegas offer gave them as much for 16 weeks of work as they got for a year with Welk. Not that the Welk show was grueling or cheap--it was a big extended family--but the chance to have 2/3 of the year off was pretty attractive.

The Lennon Sisters Page of the Welk Music Family site has tons of information and pictures. Other sites are LennonSisters.com, devoted to their 55th anniversary, and their Facebook page, where they are dolled out in slinky gowns that look downright sexy.

Now comes the sad part, but first I'll mention that the final picture was taken at Andy WIlliams' memorial service and shows left to right, Kathy, Janet, Mimi, and DeeDee.

You may remember that William Lennon, the father of the Lennon Sisters was killed in the late 1960s. It happened just before their show with Durante premiered. Since the murder occurred only days after the gruesome Tate-LaBianca killing spree of Charles Manson and his followers, people thought that William Lennon's murder must be connected. It wasn't, unless (possibly) hearing about the other murders set the man off--a possibility, but who knows?

Very soon--within a week of the shooting--police identified a suspect in Lennon's murder who had been writing threatening, insane letters to the family for months, possibly years. Today we might compare the killing to that of John Lennon  (eerie coincidence) or Rebecca Shaeffer: a crazed fan who believed Peggy Lennon was really married to him and that William Lennon was keeping him from his bride. The man--Chet Young--had spent time in a mental hospital. He stalked and killed William Lennon at a local golf course.

Even after the suspect was id'd, the police couldn't find him. He'd fled to the Sierra Nevada mountains. The sisters--some of whom were married and had kids--pretty much moved home with their mother for the next two months. They wanted the heavy police protection that was provided at her home, but which couldn't be extended to the entire family at different addresses.

Two months later the stalker/murderer killed himself, leaving a written confession behind--a confession in which he showed no remorse, but insisted that the murder was "justifiable."

Recalling those days in 1969 kinda takes sweetness out of nostalgia, huh? But it is what happened.

Pictures from the California Historical Society

They're digitizing!

The California Historical Society sent out an email connecting to their Flickr Commons page, where they're putting up pictures from their collections.

This one was taken at Rancho Santa Anita around 1890, and the only two people smiling are the two mustachioed gents lying on the ground, holding hands in front. Something is definitely going on there.

There's a photo of the 1908 Oakland Baseball Club, an 1898 art class, a daguerrotype of some early miners, over 150 pictures of soldiers of the Spanish American War, on parade and in camp (those are in San Francisco--before the earthquake), some pictures of early business catalogs and ads--including a handbill from an 1869 theatre performance--and this ad for The Hub clothing store which was just too weird not to copy, and 1890s certificates of residence for Chinese workers in the state--details on that below. And more will be added soon.

The Society says these pictures have all been determined to be in the Public Domain, though the CHS holds the physical picture. Which doesn't matter much to bloggers, but is great for anyone wanting to illustrate a book or paper. Getting rights to use pictures is a tricksy business these days!

The residency certificates, with old pictures attached, refer to an Act of Congress passed on May 5, 1892. That would be the Geary Act, passed by the US Congress, regulating one class of immigrants: the Chinese. It came ten years after the Chinese Exclusion Act, extending that earlier act for another ten years and mandating that those of Chinese descent who were here legally carry these certificates to prove themselves legal. They could be deported if caught without papers. The Geary Act also barred Chinese citizens from testifying in court.

I copied one of them--the papers of Ng Gwan, a 49 year old farmer. The youngest of these men (and they were all men) was 22; the oldest 60. What a flourish the clerk used to fill these out!

The law was protested and fought in court without success. In 1902, after 20 years, it became permanent--and it was not repealed until 1943, when the US was fully engaged in war with Japan.

Writers Calendar for Los Angeles...and Rodeo Drive in the 80s

Announcement time:

How many writers follow this blog? I have put up a gift for you: a calendar of events that would be of interest to scribes.

The WritersCalendarLA covers all sorts of events: social meetings and mixers, classes, seminars, panel discussions, full-on presentations (for example, the Writers Guild Foundation hosts a show tomorrow, Jan 17, 2013, featuring stand-up comics who've become writers), critique groups, Toastmasters for writers, you name it.

There are two exceptions to the above description--two types of events that are not listed on the calendar itself:

• Poetry slams and readings: Poetix has a great calendar of these, so I simply refer people there.

• Book signings by authors:  Too many to list, but under the Bookstores tab I have an alphabetical list of bookstores with links to their own calendars.

The WritersCalendarLA is color-coded by area so you can key in on the events close to you. Los Angeles is black, the Valley brown, the San Gabriel Valley and Pasadena purple, the Westside blue, South Bay pink, Long Beach into OC green.

As I've been telling people--the only reason an event is omitted is because I don't know about it yet. So please keep me informed.

And...just so I can say I stuck in some history here, guess which decade these dashing Rodeo Drive shoppers were snapped in?

This photo is © Anthony Hernandez, courtesy MACK / www.mackbooks.co.uk, and comes from a Flavorwire photo-essay, "Fascinating Street Shots of Rodeo Drive Shoppers in the '80s." And the 80s, as we all know, is Ancient History now.

Flavorwire has an eclectic mix of photos and lists--a third of them delight me, a third make me shrug, and the last third make me wonder "What sort of oddball would care about that?"

Vive le difference!

Rams Band, 1953

This is for everyone who remembers the Los Angeles Rams, our previous football team. Their games were played at the Coliseum.

The Rams were not LA's first football team--we had the Hollywood Bears and the LA Bulldogs before them. The Rams were here from 1946 to 1980, when they moved to Anaheim--close enough, though not LA. In 1994, they rode away from the sunset, east to St.Louis.

They had an official band while in LA (long before the Embraceable Ewes) and thanks to Joe Hill, I have a picture of the band at a concert given in 1953, at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Culver City (the place with the giant film strip in the fountain).

 Johnny Boudreau was the Band Director, and they worked all home games from 1946 to 1980. They played before the game and at half time.

Joe is in the top row, far left. No idea who the little majorette and cohort are at bottom right, nor do I know if there's a story behind these piebald uniforms. Maybe Joe will comment--what colors were they, and why the two-tone design?

Mary Pickford Institute v. Mary Pickford Foundation

Back in 2008, there was a kerfluffle about Mary Pickford's Oscars. Here's my last post on that. And this post has naught to do with it.

No, this post has to do with the Mary Pickford Institute for Film Education--the lucky nonprofit that actually OWNS the MaryPickford.com name. OTOH, it's not so lucky because it's just lost its funding. Read the Institute's post here (it's slightly whiny, but I suppose that's justified).

Apparently, the Institute--founded in 2002, over two decades after Ms. Pickford's death--was created and funded by the Mary Pickford Foundation. It was to preserve Pickford's legacy and provide educational outreach, and believes it has done well in that regard.

The Foundation, however--the main source of money for the Institute--has decided not to fund it anymore, and since I couldn't find a statement from them...

...I'm reduced to this article about the unfunding. It basically regurgitates the press release from the Institute, but scroll down to the comments.

The first comment says the Foundation "might" be under investigation for fraud and criminal activity.

The second comment implies tht the Institute is protecting a pedophile.

I have no idea what the backstory is, but really?

Nasty.

February 17, 1962...wazzup?

Huzzah! My internet has remained connected for nearly three days! No funky screens with diagrams of broken components, no flashing red light on the modem. No wondering if I should post Mosaic Monday on Wednesday or just wait till next week. I'm going to celebrate by finding out what was being reported by the Los Angeles Times 50 years ago.

Former presidential candidate Richard Nixon refused to endorse a couple of Republican congressional candidates who were members of the John Birch Society. Remember them? I see on Wikipedia that they consider themselves anti-totalitarian and strict original constitutionalists (meaning what? that they believe in counting slaves as 3/5 of a person? or that only white men can vote?)  Hmmm...Wikipedia says Fred Koch was a founding member. Where have I heard that name before? Anyway, the John Birchers were very much against the Civil Rights Movement, believing it was riddled with Communists.

Since Nixon was mulling a run for governor--and shaking hands and kissing babies as he toured gold country up north--that was news. He made that run and lost--this picture is from October. (what is that stuffed animal doing on the ladder?)

We were getting ready to shoot John Glenn into space--that anniversary will be on Feb 20--fist man to orbit earth!

Conductor Bruno Walter died in Beverly Hills on Feb. 17, 1962--at his home, and the address was thoughtfully given on the front page of the paper. TV actor Joseph Kearns--Mr. Wilson on Dennis the Menace--died also, after spending a week in a coma following a cerebral hemorrhage.

Our population was up by 58,870 in one year. The city of Los Angeles boasted 2, 572,616 people, and the county: 6,332,538.

The photo on the left is not from the Times, but from the Hollywood Citizen News/Valley Times collection of the Los Angeles Library. I include it because it's dated February 15, 1962. It shows the Lenack family of Reseda stocking their backyard fallout shelter.  Seriously. "Their underground shelter houses a TV set, phone, canned goods, lanterns, and furniture," according to the library notes. And pillows.

Peter Falk

In 1966, Peter Falk and Bob Newhart were on board the Progress Express, hitting the campaign trail for Governor Pat Brown. The caption says that's Brown waving, but I believe that's US Representative Augustus Hawkins in the picture, not Brown. Rolland Curtis took the picture, which is from our wonderful library's online collection.

Hawkins was the first African -American congressman from California  (from the 21st District) and authored a lot of important legislation. But I did not know that until I looked up this picture.Here's his obituary; he lived to be 100 years old.

But of course, the real reason for the photo today is the passing of actor Peter Falk.

For the record, the first mention of Falk in the times was May 20, 1956, in a review of a five-hour long play in New York: The Iceman Cometh, by O'Neill.. Jason Robards starred; Falk played the "aggressively sensitive night bartender."

Vatican Pays Homage to the Beatles

So I'm sitting in my living room late this morning, trying to pull myself out of the Rick Sanchez Zone and go do some Real Work, when a crawler pops up (are they still called crawlers now that CNN has changed their style and puts up tabs?) and it says, "Vatican Pays Homage to the Beatles."

I think, what if I'd had a time machine back in 1966? Then I could've zoomed forward 44 years, leaving behind all the adults who were screaming about how horribly blasphemous John Lennon was for saying the Beatles were bigger than Jesus (and they were, at least in my very Catholic elementary school) and from my time machine I would've seen that crawler and come back to give all those self-righteous adults a big Nyah-nyah-nyah!

But I really didn't know what the crawler referred to till later. Turns out--yup, the 'bigger than God' comment is part of it. The Osservatore Romano newspaper carried articles saying that since the Beatles' music has stood the test of time, all those old comments and the drug use, etc., are sorta forgiven (I don't think that's official forgiveness--not like the sacramental stuff you get in confession.) Ahhh, gee.

Here's the AP story. SO noice of them to take a break from investigating...well, defending themselves against charges of abetting molesters to clear up this little misunderstanding.

So the tie-in to LA History. In August 1966, Los Angeles Times columnist Jack Smith announced a contest for teenagers, the Beatles' core fans. (He hyphenated the word: teen-agers) Smith wanted to know, in 300 words or less, what the teens thought that John Lennon meant by his "more popular than Jesus" remark. First prize was a life-sized model or mannekin of actress Claudia Cardinale, which seems to have been a running joke. Optional prize was tickets to the Beatles concert at Dodger Stadium, later that month.

Smith and the Times got twelve hundred letters, and printed exerpts in the letters-to-the-edtor column. The winner was Judy Bender of Long Beach, whose letter was way too erudite to convince me she was really a teen-ager.

Judy announced that she would neither "defend Christianity from this supposedly terrible onslaught" nor would she defend Lennon's "right to rebel for the sake of rebelling."

"I merely object to the people who are letting themselves be totally and emotionally carried off balance by a single, frank remark which does not represent the entire younger generation, or reflect a blasphemous atheist tryint to overthrow religion."

Oh, Judy, where are you? I'd love to know your feelings on the tea party movement!

Anyway, here is a You Tube video of the concert that Judy saw. ANd while there are probably many descriptions of the event out there, here's a link to Walter O'Malley's blurb--also the sourc of the ticket picture.

Pasadena's Broom Brigade

A black and white photograph taken in 1886 shows women of the Pasadena Broom Brigade--stern looking ladies in black-on-black ornamented dresses, with pillbox hats, all shouldering brooms like rifles. Ten of them line up, staring at the camera and not daring to blink, while one Lt. Rockwood sits on the ground before them, hat in hand.

This was one of many photos put on exhibit by the Pasadena Museum of History. The Los Angeles Times, in an October 18, 2009 article, reprints it as emblematic of the many historical oddities on display at the Los Angeles Archives Bazaar. No one seems to know anything about the photo.

Sillies! Haven't they heard of Google?

Google books brought up this passage from a 1917 book titled Pasadena, California, Historical and Personal, by J. W. Wood, a 19th century businessman and memoirist: "The "broom brigade" was a composite of young ladies who, in costume and with brooms, performed a very attractive drill, etc., at Williams Hall. Allie Freeman, Velma Brown, Bertha McCoy, and others whose names cannot now be remembered, were conspicuous figures in this "pageant." It made a hit."

Earlier, Wood had identified the Williams Building as part of the Williams Block, built in 1883 by R. Williams. Wood himself opened a drug store in February of that year, calling it the Pasadena Pharmacy. There's even a picture of Williams Hall, next to the Masonic Hall, on page 118 of his book.

There's also this caption in the Arcadia volume Old Pasadena by Cedar Imboden Phillips (great name!), which identifies Lt. Rockwood as a retired military fellow who trained the girls in their drills:

"The girls performed at fund-raising events held by the Pastoral Aid Society of the Presbyterian church. The brooms and other accessories were sometimes auctioned off to the enthusiastic audience, thereby raising more money for the organization. Many of these girls were of wealthy backgrounds and would not have to use brooms in their regular lives, adding a greater element of fun and exoticism to their broom-and-dustpan drills."

Well, it's not everything you might ever want to know about these women, but it's something. And since I found something to address the questions in the Times, I do not feel guilty over reprinting their reprint of the photograph. Which, by the way, is cropped. The original, reprinted in the Arcadia book, shows about 20 young ladies, including a drummer.

Is this where the founders of the Doo-dah parade found their inspiration? Are the great-grandkids of the Broom Brigade the briefcase-wielding marchers of today? Maybe there's just something in the Pasadena air.

Aircraft Workers, 1942

Another of those wonderful photos from Shorpy, this one taken at the Douglas Aircraft facility in Long Beach. Check out the army-green lunchbox!

The photo was taken in October 1942 by Alfred Palmer of the Office of War Information. The silvery backdrops are Nacelle parts of a heavy bomber--a new word for me. Nacelle means the covering of an airplane's engine, fuel or other equipment, separate from the fusilage.

I signed up for daily delivery of Shorpy photos a few months ago. One of the pleasures of my day is to pause in my ritual deletions of pharmacy ads, job and stock offerings, warnings from banks I have no accounts with, and ads from stores I've never shopped at, so that I can look at three or four pictures that capture a time I will never know. Sometimes Shorpy sends shots of Civil War soldiers relaxing or washing out clothes in a river, or street scenes of turn-of-the-century Washington DC, or 1950's Christmas photos taken in suburbia. You never know what you'll find there in their emails.

Founder of Palos Verdes

By a stretchy coincidence, the day before I took the July 21st picture (previous post) looking toward Portuguese Bend in Palos Verdes, a regal lady passed on who personified the history of Palos Verdes. A long time ago (1946) Elin Brekke, a secretary from Norway, married the son of Frank A. Vanderlip, Sr.--the man who pretty much 'created' the tony peninsula.

Elin died Monday at the age of 90. She was quite a character. Her autobiography is titled Eccentric, Obstinate, and Fabulous--not an idle boast. You can read John Bogert's tribute and see a picture of her at the Daily Breeze site. I learned there that Elin raised money for (among many other things) the restoration of the Queen Anne Drawbridge in Dinan--a beautiful town in Brittany that I've actually visited. . . oooh, I'm getting chills.

So why is the Vanderlip family important? The Palos Verdes Peninsula was first owned by the Sepulvedas, part of the land granted to them in 1827 by the Mexican government. In 1882, that Rancho was divided and the Bixby family (a big name in Long Beach) acquired the peninsula. In 1913, George Bixby sold 16,000 acres (basically, the entire peninsula) to the president of City National Bank in New York, Frank Vanderlip. It was a complicated maneuver, and you can read all the details at Maureen MacGowan's excellent history site. Bixby kept a thousand acres, which is today's Harbor City.

Vanderlip gathered a group of investors to make something of the place. The top picture at right rather complements the previous post, but it was taken on May 5, 1927. (OMG! May 5 is my b-day...another coincidence!) The man in the picture is landscape architect George Gibbs, Jr. The Palos Verdes Library has a huge on-line collection of pictures that anyone can access.

Here a photo of Mr. Vanderlip himself. The occasion was the Second Annual Bird House Competition at Malaga Cove School in 1931. I thought the kid on the right might be Draco Malfoy, but the library identifies him as Tod Snelgrove. Right. The other boy is Gordon Andersen.

OK, one more bone-chilling coincidence. Vanderlip's wife (Elin's mother-in-law) was named Narcissa. PotterManiacs will appreciate that.

Waveriders and George Freeth

George Freeth, the guy who brought surfing to Southern California (and organized the first life guard service too) hung out around Redondo Beach a lot. That's why a bronze bust of Freeth was mounted at the entrance of the Redondo Beach pier. As I wrote in a post over six months ago, the bust was stolen August 7th. It's still not been recovered.

Now, as the Daily Breeze reports, a prize winning documentary called Waveriders is making the rounds at film festivals--including Santa Barbara's in January, and Newport Beach just last week. The film's become the highest-grossing Irish documentary of all time.

That's right--Irish. George Freeth brought surfing from his native Hawaii to California, but Freeth's father was Irish. Filmmaker Joel Conroy combined Freeth's story with modern day surfers in Ireland riding waves over 50 feet high, showing the full history of Ireland's participation in the sport. And just to be nice, Conroy also had the cast autograph a poster that was auctioned off for $600. The money went into the fund to replace the Freeth bronze in Redondo Beach.

Waveriders Trailer from Waveriders on Vimeo.

Unfortunately, although Waveriders has technically been released just this month, it's not playing anywhere. The official site shows only Ireland locations, and Moviefone doesn't even list the movie. Sorry. Hopefully that will change soon, because I want to see it!

State of the City Addresses

Seems to me that a "State of the City" address is a pretty recent tradition--but maybe I just haven't been paying attention. So I ran the phrase through Proquest and here's what I learned:

• While there are references to the mayor's annual report, reviewing the year past and setting goals for the year coming up, no one seems to call it a State of the City speech...or even pay much heed to it, for that matter. However, the City Charter (adopted in 1925) did require the mayor to report on the "condition and affairs of the City" to the City Council, before presenting the budget to the council. Lots of leeway there--the report didn't have to be given in person.



• Mayor Sam Yorty used the term in 1963 to refer to four talks he gave in January, in four different parts of the city. By 1965, Yorty's State of the City talks were being televised on NBC.

This picture shows two of our illustrious past mayors--the not-yet-elected Sam Yorty, attempting to shake hands with Mayor Norris Poulson, who reportedly said "Not interested!" as he turned away. The man on the right is Poulson's lawyer. The date was May 11, 1961, and the occasion was a court hearing. Yorty, ever the scamp, had filed a $2.2 million dollar lawsuit against Poulson, charging slander--which, understandably, could put a damper on conversation.

First Presidential Visit to Los Angeles

According to the LA Almanac, that took place in 1891, when President Benjamin Harrison visited Pasadena.

Who the heck was he?

Wiki to the rescue. Benjamin Harrison (we must use his first name as there have been TWO President Harrisons in our history, neither very effective) was a one-term wonder from Indiana. A Republican, his administration is best known for passing the Sherman Antitrust Act--the piece of legislation that was supposed to break up monopolies and did, in fact, break the American Tobacco Company into several smaller corporations (one being R. J. Reynolds...so smaller is a relative term.) And his budget was the first to reach One Billion Dollars! That probably lost him re-election.

Here is his carriage, with him in it, in front of the Los Angeles House in Pasadena--a photo held by the Los Angeles Library.

So, what about his visit? It was part of a month-long speechifying tour of the Pacific Coast (here's a map, courtesy of the Smithsonian).

At 7:05 pm on April 23, 1891, against a background of ringing church bells, cannon fire, and cheering throngs--as well as bonfires near the tracks--a special train brought the prez, his family, and two cabinet members to Pasadena for a party at the Hotel Green, in apartments "profusely decorated with flowers." Visitors--which could include anyone, apparently--came in through the front of the hotel and exited along Raymond. The president received them under an arch trimmed with evergreen and lilies.

Ladies, however, were directed to the hotel ballroom, where Pasadena matrons had prepared refreshments, and where the Los Angeles Mandolin Club provided music. The evening closed with an 'invitation only' dinner at 10, with a cake iced and shaped like the Capital. "Hail to the chief" was spelled out in flowers on one wall.

The Hotel Green is now the Castle Green, btw. They have a great history album of old photos, one being the pre-1903 picture at the top of this post.

The next morning, the presidential party traveled (by carriage driven by--I quote directly from the Times--"four spanking horses") along Colorado to Marengo, then south to California, east to Moline, and to the Mayor's house. After that the route went: Walnut to Raymond to Colorado to Fair Oaks to Orange Grove to Arroyo to Colorado Court to Orange Grove to California to Pasadena to Bellfontaine to Orange Grove to Columbia to the Raymond Hotel. Not done! Then Columbia to Orange Grove to Colorado ("through Mrs. Carr's grounds") back to Colorado to Raymond.

The route was announced so that a good crowd would turn out and make the city proud. Different times, huh?

From Pasadena the president journeyed to San Diego, staying at the Hotel Coronado.

Vin Scully's first West Coast Dodger Game

Vin Scully's been in the news these past few days: he's been named the Top Sportscaster of All Time, (as opposed to a previous, now-lesser title of the Top Sportscaster of the Century) and is celebrating his 60th season with the Dodgers. His 1956 self, calling the second half of Don Larsen's perfect game (the only perfect game in a world Series) is heard on the new MLB channel sporadically.

Vin Scully's first mention in the Los Angeles Times was April 26, 1958. Scully had already called 1500 games over eight seasons with the Dodgers, but they were the Brooklyn Dodgers then, so his name never appeared in our paper. He had just called his first game in the Coliseum (Dodger Stadium was still being built) and felt it was his worst ever. "All I could see is 77 rows of people." Everyone--players too--agreed that it was difficult to follow the ball against such a background.

Six weeks later Scully penned a column for the Times in which he credited Sister Virginia Maria, his 8th grade teacher, for making him a sportscaster. How? She knew he was interested in radio, and made him read aloud to the class every day. "She corrected and improved, criticized and encouraged and, above all, paid me the highest compliment--she listened."

Awww...Scully also told a great story about the head of Fordham Preparatory School--a priest--who was troubled that Scully had no black shoes to wear with his suit when he represented Fordham at a speech contest. So, he borrowed black shoes from every priest in the school and called Scully in to try each of the 13 pairs on till he found some that fit.

Double Awww. Scully ended the column by thanking Angelenos for their kindness and patience as he transitioned to the new ballpark, with new products to sell during the games. And he hoped he would be a success for the sake of his family.

Don't think they've got any complaints...

Give Time, Not Money

It's New Year's Day and we're all making resolutions. We're all worried about money too, right? In fact, the only people I know not noticeably more concerned over their income now are those who were worried in flush times. They're just always worried.

So here's my plug for a way to give without going hungry. Give time.

My favorite way to do that is by reading books for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. That link is to the Los Angeles studio; their national headquarters is in NJ. RFB&D records books for students who are in grammar school, high school, and college--even those doing post-graduate work.

Volunteers in L.A.'s Hollywood studio stand (well, sit) in good company. Stan Lee recorded there, brought in by the first winner of his Sci-Fi channel show Who Wants to be a Superhero? --Feedback. Another well-known TV star is Quark from Deep Space 9, Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder for the non-Trekkies). Huell Howser even did a show on RFB&D's Hollywood location!

Local newscasters and celebrities always show up in April, during RFB&D's big annual fundraiser, the week long Record-a-Thon. So if you volunteer now you'll be a regular by then.

Anne MacDonald started Recording for the Blind in 1948, mainly to help World War II veterans who wanted to take advantage of the GI Bill and get an education, but who had been blinded in the war. The Los Angeles Unit started in 1951, through the sponsorship of the Junior League Braille Committee. It was located in the First Congregational Church on Commonwealth and 6th, and moved to Hollywood in 1963.

Other branches in Los Angeles opened: South Bay in 1988. That studio specializes more in technical books: math, engineering, and science--largely because it's located near all the big aerospace companies. In fact, TRW and the National Science Foundation funded the South Bay Studio. There's now a San Fernando facility, and an Inland Empire Studio (not quite LA County any longer, but the Inland Empire Studio's original location was Claremont.)

The technology's changed (books are recorded onto cds now) and the newish name (Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic) acknowledges the fact that 70% of the borrowers are NOT blind, just visually impaired. But the studios still run on volunteer power to record textbooks for students of all ages who otherwise could not read those books.

Commit to one two-hour session a week (weekends and evenings are available) and you can do good without spending a brass farthing, whatever that is.

Pickford Legacy Denouement

Mary Pickford, known as America's Sweetheart in her heyday as a film actress, won two Oscars in her lifetime. One was for Coquette, her first talkie, in 1930--only the second Oscar ceremony. The other was a Lifetime Achievement Oscar presented three years before she died.

Those Oscars are the crux of a court battle waged by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (of which Pickford was a founding member) and Pickford's heirs--who strangely, have no relation to her at all. Did she ever even meet any of them? These 'heirs' want to auction off the Coquette Oscar, to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for a charity.

My hubpages entry has a lot of the background (and some pictures) about this case. But no newspaper story says anything about Mary Pickford's and Buddy Roger's two children, who were adopted in the 1940s when Mary was over fifty years old. The PBS American Experience show and page on Pickford casts aspersions on her as a parent, though a relative claims she was a loving mother (see the comments on the hubpage).

Where do those children--Ronald and Roxanne--stand on this? Don't they have something to say about their Mother's legacy? Did they have children, and do they have an opinion? Enquiring minds want to know! So here's what I learned in the last hour:

According to a story on Fest21, a Film Festival site, Roxanne is deceased and Ronald dropped out of sight after an adulthood spiced with drugs and prison sentences. This article claims that Pickford's will bequeathed each of her children $50,000 "but the actual amounts they received from the estate were significantly smaller." Pickford's grandchildren had their schooling and college paid for too.

So the nieces of Buddy Rogers' second wife are the ones slugging it out with the Academy. Her children and grandchildren are not being heard from--at least, not in the media.

The legacy of America's Sweetheart is that, for all the good words her fans have to say about her (and they are legion), she's another piece of history. All that she earned has been quantified and may be distributed as the courts see fit.

Doesn't sit well.

No More Engineer Bill...

Engineer Bill has died. I think I'm more surprised that the dear man was still alive until August 12. He was 97, according to the Los Angeles Times, which ran both an obituary and a eulogy.

Surprisingly, Engineer Bill doesn't have a Wikipedia entry. Sheriff John does. You can even hear him sing "Put another candle on my birthday cake" on You Tube. Here's a 5-minute clip of Sheriff John then and now. If you're over 45, you'll know his voice the minute you hear it.

You Tube also has a 9-minute Engineer Bill show from 1960, starting with the theme song ("Who's that fellow? WoooWooo--that's Engineer Bill!"), and ending with Red Light, Green Light, Drink Your Milk. Corkey, the little boy in this clip was the son of a station employee, so they got a copy of the kinescope, according to Harold Wright on TV Party. TV Party also has an obituary and lots of comments from baby boomers like me, who grew up watching Engineer Bill's show.

Polytechnic H.S., Washington and Flower

Another gem from Shorpy. Here's what the caption says:

September 1942. "Learning how to determine latitude by using a sextant is Senta Osoling, student at Polytechnic High School, Los Angeles. Navigation classes are part of the school's program for training its students for specific contributions to the war effort." View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer.

The Library of Congress has this picture too, along with a male student, same pose, same sextant. He was Thomas Graham, a member of the Victory Corps. But Senta was prettier, so her picture shows up in all the blogs.

At the time of this picture, Los Angeles Polytechnic High School --the second oldest school in the city--stood and Washington Blvd. and Flower Street. It moved to the San Fernando Valley in 1957.

Lasorda Trivia

Tommy Lasorda authored a piece in today's Los Angeles Times, recounting his history with the Dodgers and his love for the game. It ran with a picture of the very young pitcher Lasorda in the 1954-55 season.

That got me thinking--when was the first time Lasorda played in Los Angeles?

It wasn't with the Dodgers.

Tommy Lasorda played in an exhibition game on Saturday, March 7, 1953 against the L.A. Angels at Wrigley Field. Lasorda was the rookie pitcher for the St. Louis Browns at the time. And in the second exhibition game on Sunday, the pitcher was Satchel Paige.

The Browns, back then, spent spring training in San Bernadino, playing at Perris Hill Ballpark. Wrigley Field at Wilshire and Western was L.A.'s stadium in the days before Dodger Stadium. This picture shows the park on July 22, 1930, when its first night baseball game was played. Found it online at the LA City Library. (Correction to Wrigley Field location HERE.)

WBC

Mr. L didn't mention that in his piece, recalling that he was drafted by the Dodgers in 1949, after a stint in the army, and was sent by them to Greenville, SC, then to the Montreal Royals, a Dodger affiliate.

Less that 2500 people watched the Browns get beaten, 6-5 that Saturday. Lasorda, "conditionally purchased from Montreal," took over for another rookie pitcher, Don Larsen, after five innings. It was probably not the debut Lasorda hoped for; he let 6 runs get by in the next two innings.

Live and learn. He got better--as he recalls in the Times article, he was playing for Brooklyn in 1954.