Held Up in Hollywood

January 19, 1947
Hollywood

Stepping from a restaurant at 7050 Hollywood Boulevard towards their parked car, Hollywood Roosevelt Orchestra leader Freddy Rhea, his contractor roommate David Picken and Bunny Gravert, songbird with Rhea’s outfit, were robbed by a trio of trash-talkin’ banditos who relieved both men of their watches and Rhea of $70 in cash and $2000 in checks. The lady escaped unmolested.

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.

One thought on “Held Up in Hollywood”

  1. Reluctant holdup
    victim finds
    left jab useful

    Sometimes even the boys in the legal beak-busting business don’t fare so well when they run up against the unorthodox style of a southpaw.

    Clinton W. White, 2641 Rose View Ave., a Southern Pacific conductor, was thankful today that he was a lefthander when a couple of strong-arm lads tried to rob him, he told police.

    One tried to pin White with a half-Nelson of the right arm, he said. So he swung a sharp left and floored his opponent. While the other man fled, White once more called on his left to retire his attacker.

    Booked on suspicion of robbery was a man who gave his name as Clarence W. Hartnett, 47. The attack took place at Avenue 64 and Pasadena Avenue, the conductor said.

    + + +

    A sample of the work from the Daily News, originally the Illustrated Daily News, the tabloid published by Manchester Boddy. This item was on the front page of the Night Final edition, and judging by the “10â€Â on the cover, it was the 10th edition of the day. It seems impossible that newspapers put out so many editions, but indeed they did, one to update with turf results, another with final stock prices, etc. The veteran reporters talk about how many deadlines and photo deadlines there were throughout the day.

    As with the Examiner, this is the kind of story and style of writing that never appeared in The Times.

    Bonus factoid: Jack Smith was a rewrite man for the Daily News before he joined The Times.

    Quote of the day: “The most shameful orgyâ€Â
    Norton E. Long, former federal housing administrator, on non-residential housing construction in Los Angeles. “Precisely when the housing shortage was at its worst, when the veteran’s need was at its severest, building materials were squandered so lavishly that commercial and other non-essential permits were higher in dollar value over the last 11 months of 1946 in CPA operation than at any other time in the series for Los Angeles,â€Â he said.

    Note: The Daily News put Long’s comments on Page 1—The Times placed the story on Page 8 of the B section.

    https://www.lmharnisch.com

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