Above, Elm Street in Dealey Plaza in 2021. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
President Donald Trump is continuing to make good on his campaign promises.
The latest is that he issued an executive order to declassify and release the remaining files on the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
According to CBS News:
President Trump announced that he'll declassify any remaining files from the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. He signed an executive order at the White House Thursday.
After an aide announced the president was signing the executive action "ordering the declassification of files relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.," Mr. Trump said, "That's a big one, huh? A lot of people are waiting for this for a long — for years, for decades."
The president instructed his aide to give the pen he used to sign the order to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy and Mr. Trump's nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services. The elder Kennedy served as U.S. attorney general and New York senator and was a Democratic presidential candidate when he was slain in 1968.
Above, William F. Buckley Jr. in an undated photo from Wikipedia.
Last night was the first time in months that I stayed up to almost 11:00. This was to watch the PBS documentary, "The Incomparable Mr. Buckley".
I learned a lot about William F. Buckley Jr. from the program. It was interesting that many of the liberals who appeared on Firing Line were also personal friends. It was refreshing to see how friendships can be made despite political differences.
It was interesting to see a photo of Buckley shaking hands with Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy would not appear on Firing Line. When asked why, Buckley quipped, "Why does the baloney avoid the slicer?"
Above, Buckley and Robert Kennedy.
Buckley passed away while working in his study. At the time, he was working on a book on Barry Goldwater. He was 82.
The only thing that marred the program for me was the Trump-bashing at the end. Otherwise, it was a worthwhile documentary.
UPDATE:
I just discovered that the full documentary has been posted at YouTube.
It is interesting to note in American political history that former President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a friend and fan of then-Governor Ronald Reagan of California.
A footnote in a book about Ronald Reagan led Gene Kopelson to drop by the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas, in the fall of 2012. Kopelson is a physician, not an academically trained historian. But he had begun research on Reagan's presidential run in 1968, a campaign to which historians have paid little attention and Reagan himself never counted as his first bid for the White House.
The author of the footnote was Kiron Skinner, a Reagan scholar at the Hoover Institution. It pointed to a connection between Reagan and former president Dwight D. Eisenhower during the 1960s when Reagan was running for governor of California and, later, having won the election, was considering a presidential race. Kopelson was intrigued. He lives in Seattle and spends half the year in medicine, half pursuing his interest in history. He had planned a trip east along I-70. It would take him to three places in Missouri—the Truman Library in Independence, the scene of Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech in Fulton, and Mark Twain's hometown in Hannibal—and to the Lincoln Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois.
Prompted by the footnote, Kopelson added an I-70 stop at the Eisenhower Museum, Library and Boyhood Home in Abilene. "I thought this would be a good thing to look at," he says. It was a history-making decision in the sense that Kopelson discovered the breadth of a little-known but historically significant episode in Reagan's path to the presidency.
When Dwight Eisenhower left the White House in 1961, he didn't divorce himself from politics. He worried about the future of the Republican party, and this led him to Reagan. From 1965 to 1968, he advised Reagan—and not just on foreign affairs and national security policy. His guidance also focused on the practical politics of running for office. Ike was the teacher, Reagan his pupil. They met in person four times, once at Ike's farm in Gettysburg and twice at the former president's winter home in Palm Desert, California. The fourth location is unknown—at least, Kopelson hasn't nailed it down. And they communicated by telephone and by mail.
In 1967, Reagan appeared in a television hookup with Sen. Robert F. Kennedy to discuss the image of America at the time with international students who were quite hostile to Reagan, Kennedy and the moderator, Charles Collingwood of CBS.
Reagan was seen as the victor in this "debate" and Kennedy was seen as floundering. Kennedy and Reagan didn't debate each other, but rather with some "petulant brats". It is interesting that Eisenhower prepped Reagan for the program.
Ronald Reagan and Bobby Kennedy would finally cross paths on a more personal level five years later, by way of a television hookup in May 1967. Both men (in separate studios, Reagan in Sacramento and Kennedy in Washington, D.C.) were to “debate” each other and a panel of international college students from a studio in London. By that time, Reagan was governor of California and Kennedy was the U.S. senator from New York. The CBS program was called “Town Meeting of the World,” and the topic for discussion was “The Image of America and the Youth of the World.” The dialogue—such as it was—was a program of heated and often hostile questioning about the United States and its role in Vietnam.
In the aftermath, Reagan was judged the victor, with his poise, unflappability and knowledgeable recital of the facts at hand. (It didn’t hurt that in his “debate prep” he had former president Dwight D. Eisenhower to assist him.) For his part, Kennedy appeared unsure and hesitant. He knew that Reagan had bested him. The hostility from the students was palpable, not only toward the governor and the senator but also toward the moderator, CBS correspondent Charles Collingwood, and the lone American on the student panel, Princeton’s Bill Bradley (then studying at Oxford), who would later have a career in both basketball and politics.
Once an hour had passed, Chris Collingwood jumped in to mercifully stop the spectacle. Kennedy interrupted, requesting a final word. Stating that he was speaking on behalf of Reagan as well, he concluded with a patronizing statement about “how much we’ve enjoyed” the internationally broadcast inquisition and the importance of “dialogue,” which, of course, this discussion was not. Kennedy’s compliment was obviously untrue and even more obviously undeserved; this group of petulant brats had earned not gratitude but a good spanking. Embarrassingly, Reagan felt it necessary to second Kennedy’s gesture. On the plus side, perhaps both men showed these 19-year-old know-it-alls a thing or two about civility.
Reagan performed so well that his presidential boosters sought to use clips from the debate during the 1968 Oregon presidential primary, and requested a copy from CBS. Kennedy, however, reportedly did not want the video to be made available; CBS, naturally, acceded to his request. Kennedy himself conceded defeat to Reagan, telling his aides after the debate to never again put him on the same stage with “that son-of-a-bitch.” Kennedy was heard to ask immediately after the debate, “Who the f— got me into this?” Frank Mankiewitz was that aide, as Kennedy was quick to remind him a few weeks later: “You’re the guy who got me into that Reagan thing.”
The program is quite fascinating to watch.
Here's a video of it:
A little side note:
Collingwood was once married to actress Louise Albritton (Son of Dracula (1943)) until her death in 1979.
While reading about the townhall meeting that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attended yesterday, I noted he spoke about the assassination of his father and the aftermath in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968.
I was reminded that our junior high school class was rehearsing our graduation ceremonies in the parking lot of Richard Henry Dana Intermediate School in Hawthorne, California on June 6. The school was only a few miles from Los Angeles International Airport. Our graduation ceremonies were later held at Leuzinger High School's football field.
While we were out in the parking lot, we saw many news helicopters flying over the airport. There were so many, it's a wonder none collided. Then Air Force Two, bearing the body of Sen. Robert Kennedy and his family took off (as a courtesy, President Johnson provided the plane for the Kennedy family). It seemed that air traffic at the airport was halted until Air Force Two departed. Once it did, the news helicopters dispersed from the airport area.
Even though this took place 55 years ago, I remember it like it was yesterday.
The Democrat Party of today is vastly different from the one that existed 60 years ago. I seriously doubt that President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy would recognize the party of today.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, is a throwback to the Democrats of yesteryear. He is a lot more middle-of-the-road in comparison to the leftists and socialists who have taken over the party.
Although Kennedy lost his father and uncle to gun violence, he backs the constitution and, along with it, the Second Amendment.
He spoke at a townhall meeting in Philadelphia yesterday and NTD News covered it.
Some snippets:
Fifty-five years to the day that his father was shot after a presidential campaign speech, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a town hall audience on June 5 that he intends to “bridge this toxic polarization that is really destroying our country and tearing us apart” as he mounts a challenge against President Joe Biden in the Democratic primary.
At the event held at a historic theater in suburban Philadelphia, Kennedy recounted the night that his father, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, was shot, his death the next following day, and the procession that stretched from New York City to Washington.
Kennedy noted that his father had the ability to unite people from different ethnic backgrounds and walks of life, and that he would like to do the same.
He calls his campaign a “peaceful insurgency” that he hopes will appeal to conservative Republicans, independents, moderates, and liberal Democrats.
When asked about his stance on the Second Amendment, he said, “I believe in the Constitution and I’m not going to take everybody’s guns away.
“I had two family members who were killed by gunfire, so I understand the anguish and the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence. We must figure out a way to deal with it but talking about taking people’s guns away at this point in history is not a solution,” he said.
Over the past three years, Kennedy added, “We’ve seen extraordinary initiatives by our federal government against the Bill of Rights, freedom of speech, freedom of worship. And jury trials have been under attack, property rights have been under attack, and freedom from warrantless searches and seizures have all been under attack.
“The only reason we have anything left in our Constitution is because we have that Second Amendment,” he noted.
Kennedy also shares a stance about the border crisis that is more reflective of conservative legislators.
As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to announce his candidacy for president of the United States on April 19, I thought it would be interesting to watch his father's announcement on March 16, 1968.
Thanks to YouTube, videos of historical events such as this are readily available for history and political buffs.
The following video has Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's announcement as well as a reaction by Sen. Eugene McCarthy during an interview. Interestingly, McCarthy supported Ronald Reagan for president in 1980 against Jimmy Carter.
I just spotted this Twitter tweet from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.:
He is 69 (a month older than I) and he "has a condition called spasmodic dysphonia, a specific form of an involuntary movement disorder called dystonia that affects only the voice box." (Source: ABC News.)
In reading his Twitter postings for some time, I get the impression that he is not quite a doctrinaire liberal as many as his family are. He seems to march to his own drummer. Things could get interesting.
Above, former Secret Service Agent Clint Hill today at Book Passage. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
It has been an interesting day.
I am now back at the Los Banos KOA after having left the Bay Area immediately following the presentations by former Secret Service Agent Clint Hill and his co-author, Lisa McCubbin on their new book, Five Presidents.
I managed to get a reserved seat in the front row in the event room of Book Passage in Corte Madera. I picked up autographed copies of their book for my daughter Amber and for my "honorary sister" Diane.
It was a good thing I pre-ordered my personalized autographed copy as the line for their signatures was a long one. Hill drew a large crowd. I had to leave as I was expecting a three and a half hour drive back to Los Banos. Strangely, I am in the same campsite I was in two nights ago.
Hill and McCubbin grave a great presentation on Hill's experiences with five U.S. presidents, beginning with Dwight D. Eisenhower through Gerald R. Ford.
Photo slides and video accompanied their presentation. Now in his 80s, Hill is sharp as a tack and McCubbin said that he's the most intelligent man she knows.
Hill was the secret service agent who reached the Kennedy limousine in Dallas during the assassination. He described in vivid detail what happened. I shot a video of this part of his presentation and it is uploaded at YouTube. You can see it below:
Along with the JFK assassination, Hill talked about working for Lyndon Johnson, Viet Nam, Nixon (particularly the visit by Elvis Presley to the White House), Watergate and the Nixon resignation. He also talked about attending the Robert Kennedy funeral and burial with President Johnson (after the RFK assassination, presidential candidates began being given secret service protection under a law signed by Johnson) .
The presentation by Hill and McCubbin was an enjoyable event and I have to thank the fine folks at Book Passage for their work in putting it all together. It was well worth the nearly 400-mile drive from L.A.
Below, are more photos of today's event:
Above, outside view of Book Passage. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Above, one of the displays of Clint Hill's books. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Above, other books by Hill and McCubbin. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Above, Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Above, Hill talks about working for President Eisenhower. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Above, Hill recounts the JFK assassination. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Above, Hill tells how writing his books was cathartic for him. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Above, the Robert Kennedy assassination portion of the discussion. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Above, Elvis visits Nixon is recounted. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Above, a large crowd in line for autographs by Hill and McCubbin. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Above, the original Wilshire Blvd. Brown Derby Restaurant in the 1950s.
A kind soul posted the above photo of the original Wilshire Blvd. Brown Derby Restaurant over on Twitter. This jogged a memory of my last meal there.
It was on primary election night in June 1980 in which former Governor Ronald Reagan won the California Primary for the GOP nomination for president. I was an area chairman for the Reagan campaign in the Hawthorne-Gardena area of Los Angeles County. The victory party was held that night at the Ambassador Hotel across the street from the Brown Derby. This was probably the first presidential campaign victory party held at the Ambassador Hotel since Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's assassination there in June 1968.
Before heading over to the Ambassador, I stopped at the Brown Derby for dinner. Much to my delight, they had a special of two lobster tails for around $12 or $15. So, I had two lobster tails that night.
According to Wikipedia, I was lucky to eat there as the restaurant was permanently closed later that year:
Opened in 1926, the original restaurant at 3427 Wilshire Boulevard remains the most famous due to its distinctive shape. Whimsical architecture was popular at the time, and the restaurant was designed to catch the eye of passing motorists. The Brown Derby name originated from a Malverne, New York-based restaurant of the same name which had been a popular hang-out for vaudevillians in the 1920s.[2]
The small cafe, close to popular Hollywood hot spots such as Cocoanut Grove at the Ambassador Hotel, became successful enough to warrant building a second branch.
The original, derby-shaped building was moved in 1937 to 3377 Wilshire Boulevard at the northeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Alexandria Avenue, about a block from its previous location (and about a block north of the Ambassador Hotel).
After being sold in 1975 and renovated, the building was finally replaced in 1980 by a shopping center known as the Brown Derby Plaza.
The Derby was incorporated into the new shopping center building after preservationists campaigned to save it.
Above, actor Michael Landon and Gov. Reagan at the private reception in the Ambassador Hotel in June 1980. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
After dinner, I headed off to the Ambassador Hotel for the victory party. While the main party was in the Embassy Ballroom, I was in a separate reception room for campaign officials where the Reagans, along with actor Michael Landon, made an appearance before Gov. Reagan made his public victory speech. I took several photographs of them, one of which was published on the front page of the Los Angeles County Republican Central Committee's The Trunkline newspaper.
Above, the Hall of Justice in 2008. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Years ago, I went inside the stripped and gutted Los Angeles County Hall of Justice.
There was nothing inside but bare concrete walls and floors. Marble tiles, that once made up the ornate walls were all stacked on pallets in the basement. The basement once housed the County Coroner's facilities. Celebrities including Marilyn Monroe, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and George Reeves were autopsied there.
Above, the bare basement of the Hall of Justice in 2008. The County Coroner once occupied this area. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Thankfully, funding had been allocated and the project to restore the Hall of Justice is proceeding. The project is supposed to be completed next year.
Here's the website of the contractor who is handling the restoration.
Above, actor Michael Landon joins Reagan at a California Primary reception at the Ambassador Hotel on primary election night in June 1980. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
Today is the 63rd anniversary of Ronald Reagan's 39th birthday (as he would have put it).
102 years ago, Reagan was born February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois. He died June 5, 2004 in Bel Air, California. He was the 40th president of the United States and served from January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989.
His presidential library is located in Simi Valley, California.
The story behind the above photo:
Back in 1980, I was the area chairman for former Gov. Ronald Reagan's Reagan For President campaign in my congressional district (Hawthorne, Lawndale, Gardena and parts of Los Angeles).
On the night of the California Primary in June 1980, the campaign set up their election night headquarters at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. This may have been the first California Primary election night victory party at the Ambassador for a presidential campaign since the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy there in June 1968, but I am not sure of this. The Ambassador Hotel has since been demolished a few years ago and a new high school has been built at the site.
Reagan was due to give his victory speech that night in the Embassy Ballroom. Prior to this, a private reception was held in a small room near the Embassy Ballroom for area chairmen. I attended this reception and took the above photo and several others of the Reagan family and actor Michael Landon. The photo above was also published by the Los Angeles County Republican Central Committee's monthly newspaper, The Trunkline on the front page.
Andy Williams, whose corn-fed good looks, easygoing charm and smooth rendition of "Moon River" propelled him to the heights of music stardom in the early '60s, died Tuesday at his home in Branson, Mo., following a battle with bladder cancer, his family announced.
He was 84, and 2012 had marked his 75th year in showbiz. Williams is survived by his wife Debbie and his three children, Robert, Noelle and Christian.
It is interesting that Williams was a Republican, but was a good friend of late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.
Above, the Hall of Justice sits next to the uncompleted Hollywood Freeway in the late 1940s.
L.A. COUNTY HALL OF JUSTICE TO BE DEMOLISHED?
by Armand Vaquer
The Los Angeles County Hall of Justice, an ornate building that has been sitting vacant in Downtown Los Angeles for fifteen years, is allegedly to be demolished.
The building once housed the county courts, jail, district attorney, sheriff's office and county coroner. Many celebrities were autopsied there including Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe and George Reeves. Charles Manson and his family of killers were housed there while on trial.
Tonight, workers with the Asplund company, contractors for the L.A. Department of Water and Power, told a co-worker and I that they were cutting off electricity to the L.A. County Hall of Justice in preparation for the building to be demolished by explosives. They did not specify when this is to take place.
This is contrary to recent reports that the Board of Supervisors ordered a study on restoring the building.
No lights were on inside the building, although we can hear the buzz from a generator somewhere.
The Hall of Justice was built in 1925 and it has sat unoccupied for earthquake retrofitting since the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. The interior is completely gutted and it has been slated to become the headquarters of the Los Angeles County Sheriff.
Millions have been spent so far on the building, so it seems peculiar that it would be set for demolition after these expenditures.
According a December 1 motion by the Board of Supervisors, the building is structurally sound. It was said that current lower construction costs could also reduce the price of the restoration project by about 20% or more. Also, low financing rates and available federal funds could make the project feasible, according to a Board spokesman.
The Chief Executive Officer of L.A. County is to report back to the Board within 45 days on the cost of the project along with a cost-comparison to detail the savings of transferring departments back to the building.
Further investigation will be conducted. Someone is either misinformed or maybe a decision has already been reached by the Board.
The Hall of Justice is a great building that deserves to be restored to its original splendor.
Crooner Andy Williams blasted President Barack Obama, saying that Obama follows "Marxist Theory."
The Telegraph of the United Kingdom posted:
The 81-year-old was a friend of the Kennedy family during the 1960s and was present at the Los Angeles rally where Robert F Kennedy was assassinated in 1968.
"He knew about me being a Republican, but just laughed and said, 'Sign yourself in as a Democrat and then change back afterwards'. Sadly, I never got to do that.
"I was very close to Teddy Kennedy, too, and his death recently brought it all back. What a tragedy. Had he lived, I think Bobby would have been a great president."
But Williams had a less favourable opinion of the current president.
"Don't like him at all," he said, "I think he wants to create a socialist country. The people he associates with are very Left-wing. One is registered as a Communist.
"Obama is following Marxist theory. He's taken over the banks and the car industry. He wants the country to fail."
Williams is famous for such songs as "Moon River" and "Music To Watch Girls Go By."
Above, the dark catacombs of the L.A. County Hall of Justice basement.
Inside The Hall of Justice
Text and photos by Armand Vaquer
Years ago, before the Los Angeles County Coroner was relocated to its present facility on north Mission Road (hence the name of the show Chuck Harter appeared in on a George Reeves segment), the Coroner's facilities were located in the basement of the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles.
Due to the 1993 Northridge Earthquake, the Hall of Justice was closed down for retrofitting. It has been a slow process and it has pretty much stopped due to funding issues. Eventually, it is said, the building (built in 1925) will house the headquarters of the Los Angeles County Sheriff. Why let a good building go to waste?
As the building's interior has been gutted, and the county doesn't seem to have the money to fund the retrofit project to completion, the company I work for has been contracted to secure the location. This week, I went down to the basement of the Hall of Justice, with camera in hand, after hearing that the autopsy tables were still inside. Unfortunately, they weren't. But it is interesting to go into the basement to see where the Coroner conducted the autopsies of such celebrities as George Reeves, Marilyn Monroe, Robert F. Kennedy and others.
The way the interior looks now, it reminded me of either Castle Dracula or Carfax Abbey in the 1931 Dracula. The only thing missing was a coffin with the Dracula Crest on the lid. The only lighting in the basement was from my flashlight and the flash of my camera. It was almost pitch black in the basement. Pretty spooky! And I've heard stories of hauntings at the building.
Above, the basement of the Hall of Justice. Could this slab be where an autopsy table was mounted?
Above, another slab. Was an autopsy table here?
Above, crates of marble slabs and bricks are sitting in the basement, waiting to be installed in the Hall of Justice when the retrofit project is completed.
Mercy General Hospital In “Adventures of Superman”
By Armand Vaquer
Location shoots in the “Adventures of Superman” were rare occurrences due to the limited budgets, especially during the color years (1954-1957).
Fans have been able to find some of the locations used for the show. The downtown Los Angeles area around Seventh Street and San Pedro Street was used in “The Machine That Could Plot Crimes” and the Wilbur Avenue and Linnett Street area was used in “The Man Who Could Read Minds.” Both of these were from the second season in 1953. The 1953 season was filmed in black & white.
Also in 1953, some episodes would show a hospital building and then transition to a sign that read “Mercy General Hospital.” This was the case in the episode “The Face and The Voice” in which an injured Boulder (with Superman’s face via plastic surgery and played by George Reeves) lamented, “It takes more than a face and a voice. There’s only one Superman.”
Seeing the hospital building shot in this and other episodes in 1953, I often thought it looked familiar. It should look familiar; it is actually the Hospital of the Good Samaritan (or Good Samaritan Hospital) in Los Angeles on Wilshire Blvd. near downtown.
Good Samaritan Hospital gained notoriety fifteen years later in June 1968 when Sirhan Sirhan shot Senator Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel after Kennedy won the California Primary for the Democratic presidential nomination. Kennedy was first rushed to Central Receiving Hospital (which no longer exists today), but they did not have the facilities necessary to treat Kennedy’s head wound. He was then transferred to Good Samaritan Hospital where he underwent surgery to remove the bullet and fragments from his brain. He did not recover and died the next night. His body was taken to the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles for an autopsy. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s facilities were located in the basement of the Hall of Justice. George Reeves was also autopsied at this facility in 1959.
Good Samaritan Hospital looked pretty much the same in 1968 as it did in 1953. Today, while the original building still stands, it is partially hidden behind new hospital buildings.
The view at top is of the old building looking north. The view of the hospital used in the Superman episodes was looking west. Most likely, it was stock footage that the show's producers obtained.
Can you name the other "Adventures of Superman" episodes that showed Good Samaritan Hospital as "Mercy General Hospital"?
