TO HAL BATES FROM THE LOS ANGELES MOZART ORCHESTRA

From David Keith, Music Director, Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra, 28 November 1984

TO HAL BATES FROM REYMOND BERNEY

"To Hal / With fond regards - I will have great memories of the "funniest" interview I have ever given. Love, Raymond Berney"



From the New York Times, 18 October 1981:

Reymond Berney Offers Difficult Piano Program

Though flamboyance came more easily to him than warmth, Reymond Berney had enough of both Wednesday night to make his New York debut at Carnegie Recital Hall an engaging one. Mr. Berney's program of works by Marescotti, Beethoven, Falla, Schumann and Liszt was not the sort behind which a pianist with flaws in his technique wants to hide; fortunately, from the moment he addressed Marescotti's ''Fantasque,'' it was clear he had no need to. 

A few rough edges were present in his account of the Marescotti, but his playing exhibited remarkable control nonetheless, along with a sure sense of pacing and tone.

Going to the opposite end of the pianistic spectrum with his next selection, Beethoven's Sonata in A flat (Op. 26), Mr. Berney reveled in a performance that was absorbing in its imagery and refreshingly empty of cliches, bringing animation to the variation movement and a fine sense of flourish to the funeral march. 

Mr. Berney finished the first half of his recital with an exciting performance of Falla's ''Fantasia Baetica,'' a work in which effect far outstrips substance, but which nonetheless benefited from the velocity and weight he gave its display passages. After intermission, his account of Schumann's ''Kreisleriana'' had energy in its faster sections but a slightly hard-edged and disorderly quality in some of its slower ones. The recital ended with a driven performance of Liszt's ''Mephisto'' Waltz that, though scarcely note-perfect, was taken at tempo with no shortcuts. There were flawlessly played encores of Chopin's Waltz in A minor (Op. 34, No. 2) and Etude in C (Op. 10, No. 1). Theodore W. Libbey Jr.

HAL BATES WITH CARROLL RIGHTER, ASTROLOGER, AND TOM BRADLEY, COUNCILMAN AND MAYORAL CANDIDATE

Premiere Monthly Celebrity Luncheon-Forum, Greater Los Angeles Press Club, 24 January 1973.

Includes "SALUTE TO MEXICO" with Paul Miguel Espinosa, guitar.

----

Carroll Righter (February 2, 1900 – April 30, 1988) was known as the "astrologer to the stars." He wrote a syndicated daily advice column for 166 newspapers around the world and was reputed to be an advisor to Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Righter, who liked to be called the "gregarious Aquarius,' began doing charts for Hollywood notables in 1938 and became a columnist in 1950.

Righter was mentioned in President Reagan's 1965 autobiography Where's The Rest Of Me? and, according to former White House Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan, Mrs. Reagan turned to astrologers to help determine the president's schedule^. Asked specifically whether he believed in astrology, President Reagan said, "I don't guide my life by it" but he added, "I don't know enough about it to say, is there something to it or not...and I don't mean to offend anyone who does believe in it, or engages in it." When Righter was asked in 1985 if he consulted with Ronald Reagan on astrology, he replied, "No comment."


Righter claimed he warned Marlene Dietrich to avoid working on a studio set one day because she might get hurt. His advice was not heeded and Dietrich broke an ankle while reaching out to save a falling child. Word of the accident and Righter's advice led other celebrities to the astrologer's Hollywood doorstep, ensuring his fame. Among those who sought his advice were Arlene Dahl, Rhonda Fleming, Jane Withers, Hildegard Knef, Joan Fontaine and Grace Kelly. At one point in the late thirties the then-young Robert Mitchum worked as a ghost writer for Righter.

Righter wrote several books, including Astrology and You, the Astrological Guide to Health and Diet, and the Astrological Guide to Marriage and Family Relations.

HAL BATES: "HOLLYWOOD PRESS CLUB TRIBUTE TO JACK OAKIE"

"Hollywood Press Club Tribute to Jack Oakie on His 50th Anniversary in Show Business" - Chasen's Restaurant - 6 May 1973


Jack Oakie (November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, radio and television.

Oakie worked as a runner on Wall Street, New York, and narrowly escaped being killed in the Wall Street bombing of September 16, 1920. While in New York, he also started appearing in amateur theatre as a mimic and a comedian, finally making his professional debut on Broadway in 1923 as a chorus boy in a production of Little Nellie Kelly by George M. Cohan.

Oakie worked in various musicals and comedies on Broadway from 1923 to 1927, when he moved to Hollywood to work in movies at the end of the silent film era. Oakie appeared in five silent films during 1927 and 1928. As the age of the "talkies" began, he signed with Paramount Pictures, making his first talking film, The Dummy, in 1929.

When his contract with Paramount ended in 1934, Oakie decided to freelance. He was remarkably successful, appearing in 87 films, most made in the 1930s and 1940s. In the film Too Much Harmony (1933), the part of Oakie's on-screen mother was played by his real mother Mary Evelyn Offield. During the 1930s he was known as "The World's Oldest Freshman", as a result of appearing in numerous films with a collegiate theme. He was also known for refusing to wear screen make-up of any kind, and the frequent use of double-take in his comedy. Oakie was quoted as saying of his studio career:

“

The pictures I made were called the bread and butter pictures of the studio. They cost nothing and made millions, and supported the prestige productions that cost millions and made nothing.

”

Oakie is probably most notable for his portrayal of Benzino Napaloni, the boisterous dictator of Bacteria, in Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940), for which he received an Oscar nomination for the Best Supporting Actor Award. This role was a broad parody of the fascist dictator of Italy, Benito Mussolini.

HAL BATES AND ALAN HALE ("GILLIGAN'S ISLAND")

From the Pico Post, 26 July 1973.

This ran awhile ago but here it is in context to its original publication.

HAL BATES WITH SAM YORTY: "MAYOR CITES KABC FOR SPECIAL SERIES"

The Valley News, 14 July 1970

This was originally posted as a still photograph. Here is the original publication.

HAL BATES WITH GEORGE BURNS AND LITA BARON

"A Night For Celebrating" - Van Nuys News, 1 February 1973.

This photo originally ran as a still; here is the original news item.

HAL BATES WITH MICHAEL TURNER OF KCSN-FM

"KCSN dons cowboy hat by day, raises classical baton by night" - Daily News, 3 August 1984.

Hal Bates began a classical music program for KCSN starting in August 1984. The photograph "comments" were made by either Hal or someone in the family.

HAL BATES WITH FRANK BARRON

Hal and Selma Bates with Frank Barron (far left). Others unknown.

Frank Xavier Barron was born in Lansford, Pennsylvania, on June 17, 1922, to Francis and Sarah Ellen Barron. He was an extremely avid reader as a child, devouring everything from Mark Twain to H.G. Wells. At the age of 16, he attended La Salle University, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1942. Following his initial collegiate education, he enlisted in the army from 1943 to 1946, becoming a sergeant. He attended Cambridge University in 1946 for some additional course work, received his Master of Arts from the University of Minnesota in 1948, and his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1950. Barron married Nancy Jean Camp in 1961, and they had three children: Francis Charles Xavier, Brigid Jessica Sarah, and Anthea Rose Maeve.

In his professional life, Barron went on to be a professor of psychology at Bryn Mawr College, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he spent the rest of his life doing research and teaching psychology.

Barron’s research is some of the most influential of its kind, focusing on creativity and personality theories. As Mike Arons states in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, “His explorations and insights helped mark creativity research as an insurgency within its field, provided scholarly grounds of support for a vastly expanded vision of psychology… as well as for the society-wide new consciousness revolution that marked the 1960s.”

Among his many works on psychology and the nature of creativity, he is most known for his studies Creativity and Psychological Health and Creativity and Personal Freedom. His work with the Berkeley Institute of Psychological Research (IPAR), as well as his individual research, is invaluable to the field of creative psychology. Their original research questions were “(1) What are the characteristics of persons who are highly effective in their personal lives and professional careers? And (2) How are such effectively functioning persons produced in our society.”

After a few years, the IPAR moved onto its crowning studies on the creative personality, studies which they rarely published. Barron himself has published a lot of his findings on creativity and creative persons, such as “those who are more creative like things (including their personal lives) messy, disordered, ambiguous, and asymmetric. Those who are less creative like things neat, orderly, clear, and even.” He helped lay the foundation for the understanding of the interplay between creativity and personal life.

Because of his great influence in the world of creativity and psychology, a Festschrift of essays was collected in his honor in 1996 by Alfonso Montouri, articulating not only his brilliant theories but also detailing his personal life and philosophies.

Barron died on October 6, 2002, in Santa Cruz, after complications from a fall. He was 80-years-old.

HAL BATES WITH CHARLES GRODIN

(Left to Right) Hal Bates, Donna [unknown], Selma Bates, Charles Grodin. Photography by Sylvia Norris.

Charles Grodin (born April 21, 1935) is an American actor, comedian, author, and former cable talk show host.

Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including The Virginian. He had a small part as an obstetrician in Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby in 1968. In the 1970s he moved into film acting, including playing the lead in The Heartbreak Kid (1972) and supporting roles in Catch-22 (1970) and Heaven Can Wait (1978). He became a familiar face as a supporting actor in many Hollywood comedies of the era, including Real Life (1979), Seems Like Old Times (1980), The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), The Woman in Red (1984), The Lonely Guy (1984), Ishtar (1987), The Couch Trip (1988), Taking Care of Business (1990), and Dave (1993). He is perhaps best known for his iconic appearances on The Tonight Show and The Late Show, for co-starring alongside Robert De Niro in the classic action comedy Midnight Run (1988), and for his role as George Newton in the 1990s John Hughes comedy franchise Beethoven.

Grodin has won several acting awards, including American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for 1993's Dave, Best Actor at the 1988 Valladolid International Film Festival (for Midnight Run). He was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for The Heartbreak Kid in 1972. He also shared a 1978 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program for his work on The Paul Simon Special.

In the mid-1990s, Grodin retired from acting to become a talk show host on CNBC and in 2000 a political commentator for 60 Minutes II. He has written several autobiographical and acting related works, including 1990's It Would Be So Nice If You Weren't Here: My Journey Through Show Business and 1994's We're Ready for You, Mr. Grodin. However, he has recently returned to his acting career.

HAL BATES WITH HILLY ROSE AND JIM WEDWORTH

Hal Bates with Hilly Rose (left) and Jim Wedworth (right).

From the Hawthorne Rotary Club Weekly Bulletin, October 1970.

HILLY ROSE:

Hilly Rose is an American radio personality and a pioneer of the talk radio format. He currently specializes in paranormal events, with shows available from Fate and guest host appearances Coast to Coast AM. He also writes a monthly column for FATE Magazine.

Rose has hosted talk radio programs on KFI, KABC, and KMPC in Los Angeles as well as KGO-AM and KCBS in San Francisco. He won the California State Fair award for investigative reporting.
During the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, Rose solicited AT&T to build a communications infrastructure so that troops could contact their families.

Rose authored But That’s Not What I Called About, a book with many autobiographical stories and biographies on many of the major pioneers and leaders of talk radio prior to network syndication.
In the mid-1990s, Rose developed a series of radio shows about marine life for the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California.

In 1999 Hilly guest-hosted the Art Bell show, often running a Y2K theme. His guests included such "End -of-the-World" figures as notable survivalists, hackers responsible for stopping all Amtrak trains, builders of fallout shelters, and others.


JAMES WEDWORTH

James Q. Wedworth; Former State Senator

December 23, 1998

by Myrna Oliver, Times Staff Writer

 

James Q. Wedworth, influential former California state senator and Hawthorne mayor for almost a quarter of a century, has died at age 79.

 

Wedworth, who in recent years operated a horse boarding farm and orchard, died Monday in Newcastle, Calif., near Sacramento.

Elected to the state Senate in 1966, Wedworth, a Democrat, served as vice chairman of the Senate Education Committee during some turbulent years on California campuses. In 1968, he spent three weeks on the San Francisco State University campus during a siege of violence and issued a stinging report to his legislative colleagues.

Wedworth recommended the ouster of university president (later U.S. Sen.) S.I. Hayakawa and his boss, Chancellor Glenn Dumke, and a major revamping of the state college system.

While urging officials to avoid the use of an outside police force, Wedworth recommended fencing the San Francisco campus, issuing identification badges to students, faculty and employees, reinstating campus rules, and suspending noninstructional activities.

He described the December 1968 campus scene for the Inglewood Lions Club as "one of total insanity. The deterioration of morale, the violence and hysteria, the ridiculous daily confrontations, the damage to property and persons--all were unbelievable."

Wedworth failed miserably in 1974 in a bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, and left the Legislature shortly after his district was redrawn in 1976.

A native of Illinois, Wedworth moved to the Los Angeles area after serving in the Navy during World War II. He worked briefly for Northrop and then established a franchise bicycle shop.

Wedworth was first elected to the Hawthorne City Council in 1953 and was chosen mayor in 1958. He held both positions until his election to the state Senate in 1966.

He was active in the Elks, Moose, Rotary, Little League, Boy Scouts and Pop Warner football, the Southside Chamber of Commerce, the Exchange Club of Inglewood, the Southwest Community Coordinating Council, the Southwest Health Council and Southwest Toastmaster's Club.

HAL BATES WITH FRANK KWAN

Hal Bates with Selma Bates, [unknown], and Frank Kwan.

Frank Kwan, Communications Director

Frank Kwan is a veteran communications professional. He was with NBC-Channel 4 in Los Angeles for 18 years before joining Los Angeles County Office of Education in 1993. He was an executive producer, director and on-air host for news and documentaries. He also held positions at KCOP-TV, KABC radio and KFWB radio.

HAL BATES WITH HAL FISHMAN AND GRANT GRIFFIN

Hal in group photo. Grant Griffin center, Hal to his right. Others include: Joe Sade (far left) and Hal Fishman (2nd from left). Others unknown.

Harold "Hal" Fishman (August 25, 1931 – August 7, 2007) was a local news anchor in the Los Angeles area, serving on-air with Los Angeles-area television stations continuously between 1960 until his death in 2007. Fishman was the longest-running news anchor in the history of American television before Dave Ward surpassed him in 2015.^. He was also a record-holding aviator. "The Simpsons" cartoon television anchorman Kent Brockman was partially inspired by Hal Fishman.


From Grant Griffin's Web site:

Grant Griffin is considered one of the finest lyric baritones in the world.  His career spans 40 Years of show business.  His ability to sing from Opera to Broadway to Pop has brought a new dimension to the concert stage.  Because  of his vocal range, passion for musical interpretation and versatility, critics have called Grant "a singer's singer."

Grant has had the pleasure of performing for President's Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, as well as the Royalty of England and European heads of state  in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Spain and Italy.

He has performed in over 300 concerts throughout the world and the United States.  These include a command performance at the Hollywood Bowl for Princess Ari of Saudi Arabia, five seasons with the Los Angeles, San Francisco Civic Light Operas, San Diego and St. Louis Civic Light Opera.

Grant has been guest on the Johnny Carson, Joey Bishop and Merv Griffin television shows and has produced his own TV musical special hosted by Milton Berle entitled "Meet Grant Griffin."  The show was sold to Lipton Tea and aired for over two years.  Recently Grant was a guest on the Discovery Channel Episode "Inside Las Vegas."  Over the years Grant has produced more than 80 musical revues,  His annual Las Vegas "Magical Night of Music" concert is entering it's 5th year and will be performed in April 2007.  His company, Griffin Productions Group (GPG) is a full service company designed for corporate events as well as private venues.

Grant first appeared on the Las Vegas scene at the Sahara Hotel in 1956.  Later he replaced the star in the Dunes Hotel and Casino Broadway show version of Tenderloin.  He returned once again to the Dunes Hotel as the star in the spectacular Casino De Paris show.  Performances in recent years have taken place in major nightclubs and concert stages throughout the world.

TO HAL BATES FROM JAY MOFFETT OF THE SPORTSMEN

"To Hal - A good friend & business associate / the best to you / Jay Moffett"


The Sportsmen "officially" joined The Benny show in Sept. 1946. They stayed through (at least) 1963. They made several appearances before becoming regulars. They were Jack's Lawyer's in January 1942 episode of The Frightwig Murder Case. They sang the "Yhtapmys" jingles. They sang "That's for Me" with Larry Stevens on January 6, 1946.

The Sportsmen appeared as Mrs. Jillson's Nephews and Singing Group on The Joey Bishop Show in 1963. The group disbanded in 1971.

The members when they became regulars were Bill Days (top tenor), Max Smith (2nd tenor), Marty Sperzel (baritone), and Gurney Bell (bass). Sperzel was replaced by Jay Moffett in 1957.

Contrary to popular stories, John Rarig (baritone) did not sing with the group on the show (when they were regulars). He stopped singing in 1943 and stayed as their arranger. Thurl Ravenscroft was the original bass of the group and left for the war in 1942. He came back in 1948, made a few appearances and ended up being booted from the group. He left with Max Smith and they formed The Mellomen.

According Bill Days, who passed away on May 6, 2002 at 91, Mahlon Merrick was the one who got them into the show. He had worked on some recordings with them and suggested to Jack that they be hired.

They were also featured on The Judy Canova show, Eddie Cantor show, Sealtest Village Store, Ginny Simms show, Blue Ribbon Town with Groucho Marx, Phil Harris/Alice Faye show among others.

TO HAL BATES FROM JACQUES-YVES COUSTEAU

"Pour Hal Bates, en souvenir de la premiere projection du film sur les balenes! Tres cordialement, JE Cousteau"


Jacques-Yves Cousteau, commonly known in English as Jacques Cousteau; 11 June 1910 – 25 June 1997) was a French naval officer, explorer, conservationist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water. He co-developed the Aqua-Lung, pioneered marine conservation and was a member of the Académie française.

Cousteau described his underwater world research in series of books, perhaps most successful being his first book, The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure, published in 1953. Cousteau also directed films, most notably the documentary adaptation of the book, The Silent World, which won a Palme d'or at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. He remained the only person to win a Palme d'Or for a documentary film, until Michael Moore won the award in 2004 for Fahrenheit 9/11.

TO HAL BATES FROM MORT

"To Hal - Toodles - Mort"

Another unknown. Anybody guess who this is?

TO HAL BATES FROM TED ADAMS

"To Hal Braitman / With my Best Wishes and Thanks for 'Cleaning' up / Ted Adams"

Ted Adams (March 17, 1890 – September 24, 1973) was an American film actor. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1926 and 1952. He was born in New York City, New York, and died in Los Angeles, California.

The son of vaudeville performers, Richard Theodore "Ted" Adams was part of his parents' troupe before attending Cornell University at the age of 18. After college he did stock work for three years before going to New York City and stage work there. For more than half his life he performed on the stage before coming to films around 1926. He and his good friend Leo Carrillo performed together in Porter Emerson Browne's play "The Bad Man" in 1920, and Adams was also in the Broadway production of "Kongo", which starred Walter Huston, in 1926.

His earliest documented film role was as the doctor in Rayart's The Road Agent (1925), starring Al Hoxie, and he made his sound-film debut in 1930's Under Texas Skies (1930), starring Bob Custer. Adams quickly established himself in westerns, in which he worked almost exclusively for 25 years in over 200 films. He was a mainstay performer (mostly lead villains) for the low-budget films cranked out by independents such as Supreme, Metropolitan, Puritan, Colony and Victory in the 1930s and PRC and Monogram in the 1940s, in addition to appearing in films from Republic, Columbia, Paramount and Universal.

Following a role in Bill Elliott's Kansas Territory (1952) for Monogram Pictures, and some TV work on Russell Hayden's Cowboy G-Men (1952) TV series, Ted Adams hung up his spurs at the age of 62. He lived quietly in retirement until his death from heart disease at the age of 83.

TO HAL BATES FROM JOSEPH BREEN

"To Hal, thank you for a fun and enjoyable evening. I think Pink really is your color. / Joseph Breen."

Joseph Breen (born July 5, 1958 in Katonah, New York) is an American soap opera actor.
He played contract parts on both Guiding Light and Loving before being offered his most front-burner role to date: that of Lisa’s long-lost son, Scott Eldridge, on As the World Turns. He started on As the World Turns in 1991, while he was still making appearances as Paul Slavinsky on Loving.

He is the brother-in-law of Irish author Niall Williams. Breen married country music singer Carlene Carter in 2006.

This photograph was part of the press kit used to promote the 1984-1985 production of "La Cage Aux Folles" at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. Breen played the character of Jean-Michel.

TO HAL BATES FROM BILL

"Thanks, Hal / Best wishes / Bill Sh [?]"


Who's Bill? Can't read the last name. Anyone know?

TO HAL BATES FROM GINNY GAN [GIRLS IN BIKINIS SUB-CATEGORY]

"To Hal, May all your days kick-off to a good start! Luv - Ginny Gan"

"Dear Hal, All good wishes for you. George Franklin" [?]

Jennifer Gan (died September 15, 2000) was a stage, film and television actress. She appeared in sixteen film and TV titles in the sixties and early seventies.

A life member of The Actors Studio, she first began her career as Ginny Gan on the stage in musicals such as Li'l Abner in 1958, The Pink Jungle in 1959 starring Ginger Rogers and Agnes Moorehead, and No Strings in 1962. She made her first TV appearance in a popular Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode in late 1964. She then appeared on stage in the musical Guys and Dolls, in 1965 with actress Sheila MacRae.





She was seen again in the spring of 1967 when making four more film and TV appearances. She appeared in the James Coburn spy spoof sequel In Like Flint and his tongue in cheek western Waterhole No. 3. She then appeared in an episode in the last season of the hit TV show The Monkees. She also had an uncredited role in the hit film Valley of the Dolls. She also appeared in the stage play The Two Gentlemen of Verona.



In 1968, she appeared in an episode in the last season of the hit TV show Batman. She then was cast in the hit family comedy film Yours, Mine and Ours. She had a speaking role with Henry Fonda in the coffee house scenes when he was on his big first date with Lucille Ball in the popular film.

In 1969, she changed her name to Jennifer Gan and continued performing until late 1972. She made appearances in episodes of The Virginian and Ironside. She then began a professional association with Roger Corman that lasted through two B movies. The first was Naked Angels where she starred as a biker chick, clad in leather and lace. The film featured a soundtrack co-written by fuzz guitarist Jeff Simmons. She also appeared as a dancer in the feature film Hello, Dolly!.

In 1970, she appeared in a first season episode of the popular TV shows Love, American Style and Marcus Welby, M.D.. In 1971, she starred in her second Roger Corman film, Women in Cages. In 1972, she appeared in an episode of Nichols and made an appearance in the film The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid. She made her final onscreen appearance in a fourth season episode of Marcus Welby, M.D., in 1972.

Gan died on September 15, 2000.

TO HAL BATES FROM MR. BLACKWELL

"For Hal, a really special Guy / Mr. Blackwell"

Richard Blackwell (August 29, 1922 – October 19, 2008) was an American fashion critic, journalist, television and radio personality, artist, former child actor and former fashion designer, sometimes known just as Mr. Blackwell.

He was the creator of the "Ten Worst Dressed Women List", an annual awards presentation he unveiled in January of each year. He published the "Fabulous Fashion Independents" list and an annual Academy Awards fashion review, both of which receive somewhat less media attention. His longtime companion, former Beverly Hills hairdresser Robert Spencer, managed him. He wrote two books, Mr. Blackwell: 30 Years of Fashion Fiascos and an autobiography, From Rags to Bitches.

The name "Mr. Blackwell" came in the late-1950s when he launched his clothing line. As with Valentino, Versace and later Richard Tyler, he and his line became synonymous. He was an important designer and during the 1960s he became the first in history to present his line on a television broadcast, and was the first to make his line available for plus-size women^. His designer dresses sold for between $800 to $1,000 and were very successful^. 

During the nearly two decade existence of the "House of Blackwell”, he was designer to Yvonne DeCarlo, Jayne Mansfield, Dorothy Lamour, Jane Russell and California first lady Nancy Reagan. At the height of his prominence, he openly declared his disdain for Women's Wear Daily and its publisher, John Fairchild^. During the 1980s, the emerging drift toward casual wear brought an end to The House of Blackwell.

TO HAL BATES FROM SAM YORTY

"To Hal / Best Wishes / Sam Yorty"

Samuel William "Sam" Yorty (October 1, 1909 – June 5, 1998) was a politician from Los Angeles, California. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the California State Assembly, but he is most remembered for his turbulent years as the 37th Mayor of Los Angeles from 1961 to 1973. The colorful “Mayor Sam” earned numerous nicknames from both admirers and detractors, such as Travelin’ Sam, Airplane Sam, Shoot-From-the-Lip Sam, the Maverick Mayor, Mad Sam Yorty, Scrappy Sam, Suitcase Sam, Saigon Sam, and the Reform Republican.

Photograph by John Gaines.

Although he was the first mayor to have a female deputy, and the first to have a racially integrated staff, his appeal did not extend to most of the city's large African-American population. Disaffection with high unemployment and racism contributed to the Watts Riots of August 11–17, 1965. Yorty’s administration was criticized for failing to cooperate with efforts to improve conditions in neighborhoods such as Watts, but he accused other leaders of raising false hopes and of action by Communist agitators, having always categorically rejected any criticism of the city's police or fire departments.

After the riots, Yorty challenged incumbent Democratic Governor Edmund G. (Pat) Brown in the 1966 gubernatorial primary. He received 981,088 votes (37.6 percent) to Brown's 1,355,262 ballots (51.9 percent). Yorty’s politics shifted toward the right. This change became evident when he joined the election night celebration of Brown's successful opponent, Ronald W. Reagan. Yorty went to Vietnam to support the American troops and was thereafter dubbed "Saigon Sam" by his liberal opponents.

In 1967, Yorty was forced to deal with scandal after the Los Angeles Times published an expose on the city's harbor commission. The investigation led to the indictment and conviction of four city commissioners for bribery, while another was found dead in Los Angeles Harbor. The newspaper, which had long feuded with the mayor, noted that all of the individuals had been appointed by Yorty.

Support among the white middle classes fell after he was embroiled in the controversy following the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel after outraging prosecutors in the Kennedy case by freely commenting on the evidence. Ironically, Yorty's place in the history books had been assured when Kennedy had told his supporters only moments before he was shot, "Mayor Yorty has just sent me a message that we've been here too long already." During the fall of 1968, Yorty refused to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey. The strategy behind this approach was that Yorty would be rewarded with a Cabinet post by Richard Nixon for his non-support of Humphrey, but Nixon declined to offer him a position in the new administration.

In the 1969 mayoral primary, his popularity slipped well below that of Los Angeles City Council member Tom Bradley. The ensuing campaign between Yorty and Bradley, directed for Yorty by Henry Salvatori,^[2][3] proved one of the most bitter in the city's history. Yorty painted his opponent as a dangerous radical, alternately of the black power or communist revolutionary varieties. The charges were not plausible since Bradley had spent much of his career in the Los Angeles Police Department, but they resonated among fearful voters, and Yorty was re-elected.

Despite winning another four years, Yorty showed obvious signs of boredom in his position. He ran again for governor in 1970 but was handily defeated for the Democratic nomination by State Assembly Speaker Jess Unruh, 1,602,690 (61.4 percent) to 659,494 (26.3 percent). Unruh in turn was defeated by Reagan, who secured his second term as governor by a narrower margin than his 1966 majority over Pat Brown. Yorty began to leave all but the most important decisions to his staff.

After spending almost 40 percent of his time away from Los Angeles during the last half of 1971, Yorty announced on November 15 of that year that he was running for the Democratic nomination for President in 1972. Yorty had received strong support from influential New Hampshire publisher William Loeb, stating that President Nixon had “caved in” to anti-war senators and that he had never agreed with the government's policy on the war. In response to what he would do, he noted that Dwight Eisenhower had helped bring an end to the Korean War by threatening to use nuclear weapons.

However, Yorty received just six percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary and was never able to gain any momentum in his bid for the nomination. He finally ended his bid shortly before the California primary in June 1972, asking voters to support Humphrey because of the “radical” nature of anti-Vietnam War candidate George McGovern. Yorty picked up the support of a young Louisiana delegate to the Democratic convention, Louis E. "Woody" Jenkins, who subsequently served for twenty-eight years in his state's legislature but lost three bids for the United States Senate, the last as a Republican. After McGovern won the Democratic nomination for President, Yorty began to support Republicans.

Yorty's previous race-baiting demagoguery came back to haunt him in 1973, when Bradley soundly defeated him in a rematch of their 1969 race. In 1974, he ran fourth in another bid for Governor in the Democratic Primary, far behind then-Secretary of State Jerry Brown, son of Pat Brown.