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Westside Brats Run Amok, spankings at 11

November 23, 1947
West Hollywood

Two college boys out for a lark on a Saturday night. A nightclub. A cigarette machine. Trouble.

Patrick Cantillon, 20, 11610 Bellagio Road, Bel-Air and his pal, 22-year-old Martin F. Davis of 442 S. Bedford Drive, Beverly Hills, were inside Tabu of Hollywood, 7290 Sunset Blvd., when they became enamored of the cigarette machine, and sought to remove it from the premises.

Co-owner Leo Pavich, 1002 California Street, objected and bloodied the lads, who retreated with vengeance on their minds. Soon a bottle was hurled from a passing car, breaking one of Tabu’s front windows and nearly striking several patrons. It was war.

The boys returned, bearing bricks. Pavich drew his gun and fired through their windshield, there was a scamble on the sidewalk, one of the youths took off running and Pavich shot at his fleeing figure. At this point several Tabu patrons had joined the melee. What fun!

No one was seriously hurt. Cantillon and Davis received emergency treatment for minor injuries, as did Tabu patron Larry Borgan. Then the would-be cigarette bandits were booked into the Hollywood Jail. We presume their mommies and daddies are not amused.

Published by

Kim Cooper

Kim Cooper is the creator of 1947project, the crime-a-day time travel blog that spawned Esotouric’s popular crime bus tours, including The Real Black Dahlia. She is the author of The Kept Girl, the acclaimed historical mystery starring the young Raymond Chandler and the real-life Philip Marlowe, and of The Raymond Chandler Map of Los Angeles. With husband Richard Schave, Kim curates the Salons and forensic science seminars of LAVA- The Los Angeles Visionaries Association. When the third generation Angeleno isn’t combing old newspapers for forgotten scandals, she is a passionate advocate for historic preservation of signage, vernacular architecture and writer’s homes. Kim was for many years the editrix of Scram, a journal of unpopular culture. Her books include Fall in Love For Life, Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth, Lost in the Grooves and an oral history of Neutral Milk Hotel.

2 thoughts on “Westside Brats Run Amok, spankings at 11”

  1. ALIENATION SUIT TELLS
    CAMEL AND TENT STORY

    CHICAGO, Nov. 22. (AP)—A divorcee sued her ex-husband’s present wife for alienation of affections today, alleging the defendant, while a guest in her home, frequently slept with her and her former husband because she said she was “lonesome.â€Â

    Mrs. Edith Kertz, 27, asked for $100,000 from Mrs. Elsie Kertz, the present wife of Nathan Kertz, 30, owner of a chain of interior decorator’s supply shops.

    The suit, telling of a visit by Elsie in the home of Edith and her then-husband, related:

    “The defendant would come into their bedroom while they were about to retire and say she was lonesome, and would plaintiff please allow her to sleep in the same bed with plaintiff and her husband.

    This defendant did on many occasions, and slept with them all night to the embarrassment of the plaintiff.â€Â

    Edith divorced Kertz June 6, 1946, alleging cruelty, and Elsie and Kertz were married shortly afterward.

    + + +

    This was rather a racy edition of The Times, especially for a Sunday paper. Next to the Kertzs’ saga, the news editor placed an advance on a martial relations course at UCLA (sample lectures: “Love and Conduct in a Changing World,â€Â “Sex Problems of Youthâ€Â). And the front page featured the story of a ballet dancer with the Ballet Russe who lost part of her costume during “Scheherazade.” Pretty ribald for a family paper in the 1940s.

    Unfortunately, The Times never followed up on this story, so the suit between the Kertzs remains lost to history.

    Bonus factoid: Is there anything more annoying than the comic strip “Nancyâ€Â? Yes, it’s what seems to be low-rent knockoff of “Nancyâ€Â called “Kitty Higginsâ€Â with none of the Bushmilleresque touches. Interestingly enough, “Kitty Higgins” began in 1932 while “Nancy” debuted in 1933. Hm.

    Here, by the way, is an index to the complete comics of the Los Angeles Times: https://www.comicsaccess.com/lacomics.php

    Quote of the day: “But after martinis—which are to martinis in Paris what the ideal circle is to circles drawn on a blackboard—the meal is delicious.â€Â

    Simone De Beauvoir, “America Day by Day,â€Â on lunch at Lucey’s restaurant, 5444 Melrose Ave., Feb. 27, 1947.

    https://www.lmharnisch.com

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