When Vincent Thomas was 16, he used his boxing skills – he earned $2.50 per fight – to help support his family. His parents, Visko and Vinca Tomas (shortened from Tomasevich) arrived from Croatia in eastern Europe in 1903. They were living in Biloxi, Mississippi, when Vincent, one of eight children, was born on AprilContinue reading “Why Assemblyman Vincent Thomas deserved having a bridge in his name”
Tag Archives: movies
Trailblazer LeRoy Grannis set high standards for surf photography
LeRoy Grannis fell in love with the ocean and surfing at a very young age, and at a time when the sport was also at a very young age. He was born at home, blocks from the ocean in Hermosa Beach on Aug. 12th,1917. The family made the most of living near the beach. Grannis’Continue reading “Trailblazer LeRoy Grannis set high standards for surf photography”
Clifford Reid envisioned Torrance’s Hollywood Riviera as part celebrity enclave
Clifford Fletcher Reid was born in McMinnville, Oregon, in 1883. His first business venture after dropping out of college involved selling stereopticon cards. He turned out to be a natural salesman. After marrying and moving to Portland, he found real estate suited his marketing skills. The vibrant market in the Los Angeles area in theContinue reading “Clifford Reid envisioned Torrance’s Hollywood Riviera as part celebrity enclave”
Actress Jeanne Crain went from Inglewood High to Hollywood stardom
Jeanne Crain’s ascent to movie stardom in the 1940s had all the earmarks of the classic local-girl-becomes-Hollywood-star story. Her parents, George Crain and Loretta Carr, met while he was a small-town high school principal in Ray, North Dakota in the early 1920s. They married in 1924 and decided to move west in search of aContinue reading “Actress Jeanne Crain went from Inglewood High to Hollywood stardom”
