Late in the evening of July 21, 1957, two teenage couples were parked in a 1949 Ford in a darkened field at Van Ness Ave. and El Segundo Blvd. in Hawthorne, a local “lovers lane.” A 23-year-old man with his light brown hair combed in a pompadour happened upon the scene. Brandishing a nine-shot, 22-caliberContinue reading “The man who murdered two El Segundo policemen in 1957 got caught – 45 years later”
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The South Bay served as a backdrop in Quentin Tarantino films, especially “Jackie Brown”
Last week, we took a look at Quentin Tarantino’s early days in the South Bay. After becoming a film director, he would go on to use the area for location shooting in several of his films. Though the first feature he directed, “Reservoir Dogs,” was filmed mostly in Los Angeles, no South Bay locations wereContinue reading “The South Bay served as a backdrop in Quentin Tarantino films, especially “Jackie Brown””
Film director Quentin Tarantino dropped out of Narbonne High school and into Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino may have been born in Tennessee, but he spent his formative years in the South Bay. He grew up not knowing his father, aspiring actor Tony Tarantino, who left his teenage wife, Connie, before Quentin was born in Knoxville on March 27, 1963. The couple originally met and married in Los Angeles, butContinue reading “Film director Quentin Tarantino dropped out of Narbonne High school and into Hollywood”
Jiu-jitsu is the main course of study at Torrance’s Gracie University
In 2022, the mixed martial arts website FanSided estimated the total value of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) franchise at $9-10 billion. Not bad for a competition co-founded by Rorion Gracie of Gracie University in Torrance in 1993. To trace how it all came to be, we’ll have to go back to Oct. 1, 1913,Continue reading “Jiu-jitsu is the main course of study at Torrance’s Gracie University”
The quixotic 1950s movement to bring the World’s Fair to the South Bay
World’s Fairs have dropped off the cultural radar in recent times. The last one officially sanctioned by the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions occurred without a lot of fanfare in Dubai in 2020, and the next one is scheduled for Osaka, Japan in 2025. The first World’s Fair took place in Prague in 1791. TheContinue reading “The quixotic 1950s movement to bring the World’s Fair to the South Bay”
Torrance’s passenger rail links to the outside world have had their ups and downs
When the city of Torrance was founded in 1911, it was considered a remote outpost, with little transportation infrastructure. But the city’s founder, Pasadena developer Jared Sidney Torrance, had very specific plans to remedy that. On Dec. 26, 1911, he made a deal with the Pacific Electric Railway under which the passenger railway system wouldContinue reading “Torrance’s passenger rail links to the outside world have had their ups and downs”
Big Willie Robinson sought to foster brotherhood through street racing
Big Willie Robinson, the man who spent most of his life fighting for a place for street racers to have a safe place to compete, born to Lula Mae and Willie Robinson Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Sept. 12, 1942. He was the oldest of the couple’s five children. He wouldn’t adopt the “BigContinue reading “Big Willie Robinson sought to foster brotherhood through street racing”
Former West High QB Steve Sarkisian now calling signals for the Texas Longhorns
Steve Sarkisian’s path to becoming the head football coach for the powerhouse University of Texas Longhorns football program hasn’t always been smooth, but his football acumen continues to lead him onward and upward. The Longhorns’ convincing dismantling of #3-ranked Alabama in the opening game of their 2023 season has brought national attention to his workContinue reading “Former West High QB Steve Sarkisian now calling signals for the Texas Longhorns”
Mike Lyman’s Flight Deck brought fashionable dining to the Los Angeles airport
When veteran restaurateur Mike Lyman opened his latest eatery at the Los Angeles Municipal Airport in 1946, he got in on the ground floor. The bond issue authorizing funds for the former Mines Field to be developed into the city’s main airport had just passed in 1945. The major airlines who would be using it,Continue reading “Mike Lyman’s Flight Deck brought fashionable dining to the Los Angeles airport”
Frank Vanderlip had an expansive vision for the barren hills of the Palos Verdes Peninsula
Somehow it’s not surprising that the man who felt awed by the unspoiled beauty of the rural Palos Verdes Peninsula when he first saw it in person in 1914 was raised on a farm. Frank A. Vanderlip was born into a large family in Aurora, Illinois, on Nov. 17, 1864. His parents, Charles and Charlotte,Continue reading “Frank Vanderlip had an expansive vision for the barren hills of the Palos Verdes Peninsula”
