California Governor Buron Rogers Fitts SUICIDE 1973 Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery

Buron Rogers Fitts (March 22, 1895 – March 29, 1973) was the 29th lieutenant governor of California, from 1927 to 1928, and Los Angeles County district attorney thereafter until 1940.

Early life

Born in Belcherville, Texas, Fitts received his law degree in 1916 from the University of Southern California, and while a student there worked as a clerk for the prominent attorney Earl Rogers.

Fitts was a severely injured veteran of World War I whose base of political support lay in the American Legion organization of war veterans. He had been shot in the knee in the Battle of Argonne and limped for the rest of his life.[1]

Career

He was appointed deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County in 1920 during the term of Thomas Lee Woolwine and chief deputy in 1924 under Asa Keyes. He was elected lieutenant governor in 1926 and served in the administration of Governor C.C. Young. Fitts's term as lieutenant governor was from January 4, 1927, to November 30, 1928. Governor Young appointed H. L. Carnahan as lieutenant governor on December 4, 1928, to succeed Fitts.

In 1928, Keyes was indicted for bribery (in connection with the Julian Petroleum Company scandal), and Fitts resigned effective November 30 of that year to become a special prosecutor in that case. He was elected district attorney (the county's chief law officer) as well.

Fitts was elected for a second term in 1932, and he investigated the death of Hollywood producer-director-screenwriter Paul Bern, the husband of actress Jean Harlow. Samuel Marx, in his book Deadly Illusions (1990) accuses Fitts of having been bribed by MGM studio officials to accept a fabricated version of Bern's suicide to avoid scandal in Hollywood. 

Fitts was also indicted for bribery and perjury in 1934 for allegedly taking a bribe to drop a statutory rape charge against a millionaire real-estate promoter. He was acquitted two years later. 

He was also accused of using his position to block action against the rapist of Patricia Douglas at the MGM Sales Convention in 1937, a case that was the subject of David Stenn's 2007 documentary film Girl 27.

Fitts was elected to a third term as district attorney in 1936 and remained until 1940, when he was defeated by a reform candidate, John F. Dockweiler. Fitts, J.D. Fredricks (1903–1915), and Steve Cooley (2000-2012) are only Los Angeles County District Attorneys to serve three complete terms.

On March 7, 1937, Fitts was wounded by a volley of shots fired through the windshield of his car.[2] Nobody was ever arrested in that case.

He joined the Army Air Corps in 1942 with the rank of major. He was chief, intelligence, Pacific Overseas Air Technical Services.

Death

Fitts' last residence was in Three Rivers, in Tulare County, California, where he committed suicide by a pistol shot to the head on March 29, 1973, one week after his 78th birthday.

Buron Rogers Fitts is buried at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery. 

References

 Parrish, Michael (2001). For the People: Inside the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office 1850-2000. Angel City Press. ISBN 978-1883318154.

 "Dist.-Atty. Fitts Shot by Gang of Gunmen." Los Angeles Times. March 8, 1937. 

 For the People — Inside the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office 1850-2000 (2001) by Michael Parrish. ISBN 1-883318-15-7

 He Usually Lived With a Female: The Life of a California Newspaperman (2006) by George Garrigues. Quail Creek Press. ISBN 0-9634830-1-3

 Deadly Illusions by Samuel Marx and Joyce Vanderveen (Random House, New York, 1990), re-published as Murder Hollywood Style - Who Killed Jean Harlow's Husband? (Arrow, 1994, ISBN 0-09-961060-4)

Music Center Fountain - Remembering Dorothy Chandler

In honor of Dorothy Chandler's Deathday (7/6/1997), LAMF presents this video of the Music Center fountain. The area of the Music Center that includes the fountain (between the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Mark Taper Forum) is presently under construction. As of a recent visit last month (2019), it looks like the fountain will remain. We'll see. 

Dorothy Chandler at Los Angeles Morgue Files 

Dorothy Buffum Chandler (May 19, 1901 – July 6, 1997; born Dorothy Mae Buffum) was a Los Angeles cultural leader. She is perhaps best known for her efforts on behalf of the performing arts.
-- wikipedia

Video recorded: 4/21/12.  

Hollywood Pioneer Cornelius Cole 1822-1924 Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Cornelius Cole (September 17, 1822 – November 3, 1924) was an American politician who served a single term in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican representing California from 1863 to 1865, and another term in the United States Senate from 1867 to 1873.

Life

He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1847 and was admitted to the New York bar. In his lifetime he practiced law in his adopted state of California first in San Francisco, then in Sacramento. After returning to California following his retirement from national politics he practiced in San Francisco again and finally in Los Angeles with his eldest son Willoughby.

On June 27, 1922, Cole spoke before Congress, as it was in recess, for a period of 5 minutes at the age of 99. When he died in 1924 at age 102 he was the oldest former U.S. Senator in American history, and has yet to be surpassed.

On March 8, 1856 Cole organized the California branch of the Republican Party, acting as secretary and writing the manifesto. Of the seven men who joined him were Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford, and the Crocker brothers Edwin B. and Charles Crocker. Later that summer of 1856, Cole started the Sacramento "Daily California Times" (also published weekly) with James McClatchy as an editor. It was short lived lasting only a few months after the 1856 National election.

Cornelius Cole in 1922 (age 99–100)

Additionally, he was nominated on the Republican ticket for Clerk of Sacramento Court, but failed to get elected. In 1858 he was elected as District Attorney of Sacramento County. In 1862 he and his family moved to Santa Cruz located on Monterey Bay. It was from there he went to the US Congress in 1863.

Cornelius Cole Residence (ca 1886)

North West Corner Santa Monica Boulevard and Gower Street

In 1880 he moved to southern California where he owned one of the original Spanish/Mexican landgrants, what is now known as Hollywood, then was dubbed Colegrove after his wife, Olive Colegrove. There are several streets now named after the family; Cole St., Willoughby Ave., Eleanor St. and Seward St.

The eastern California community of Coleville in Mono County is named for Cornelius Cole.

Mrs. Cornelius Cole (1916)

Cole's brother, George W. Cole, was a Union Army officer in the American Civil War who attained the rank of major general by brevet. After the war, George Cole was acquitted of the murder of L. Harris Hiscock, whom he accused of having an affair with Mrs. Cole.

Cornelius Cole and his family are buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. 

References

Cornelius Cole, "Memoirs" (New York, 1908)
Catherine Coffin Phillips, "Cornelius Cole California Pioneer" (San Francisco, 1929)
Leonard L. Richards, "The California Gold Rush and the Coming of the Civil War" (New York 2007)
United States Congress. "Cornelius Cole (id: C000607)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Dodgers GM & Baseball Player Al Campanis 1998 Loma Vista Cemetery

Alexander Sebastian Campanis (born Alessandro Campani, November 2, 1916 – June 21, 1998) was an American executive in Major League Baseball. He had a brief Major League career as a second baseman, playing for both the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers' minor-league team. He was the first Greek player in MLB history.

Campanis is most famous for his position as general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1968 to 1987, from which he was fired on April 8, 1987, as a result of controversial remarks regarding blacks in baseball made during an interview on Nightline two days earlier. 

In an interview the next year, Campanis attempted to clarify that he was referring to the lack of African-Americans with experience in these areas, rather than their innate abilities. He also said that he was "wiped out" when the interview took place and therefore not entirely himself. Many other figures in baseball, such as Lasorda and African-American and Latin players who played for the Dodgers, have also spoken in Campanis' defense.

Campanis died on June 21, 1998, at his home in Fullerton, California, from coronary artery disease, at age 81. Campanis was survived by his sons, George and Jim, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. 

Al Campanis is interred in the mausoleum crypt at Loma Vista Memorial Park in Fullerton, California.