Memory Triggered

Funny how things trigger a memory.

Back in December, the James Bond 007 Facebook page posted the following on December 19:

On this day in 1974, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN premiered at Odeon Leicester Square, London. What are your favourite moments?

The memory it triggered was my maternal grandmother's passing on Friday, December 27, 1974. The last time I saw her alive was on Christmas Day, two days prior. We were visiting her and watching Laurel & Hardy's Flying Deuces. 

That Saturday, December 28, after my parents completed my grandmother's funeral arrangements (they didn't have too much to do as my grandmother had everything already pre-planned), we finished dinner and were still in a somber mood. Since The Man With The Golden Gun just opened, I suggested we go see it as a diversion.

So we headed to the Rolling Hills Theater (now closed) on Pacific Coast Highway in Torrance. 

I didn't care much for the movie during that screening (it was probably my mood that night), but it has since grown on me over the years. Probably also, it was Roger Moore and not Sean Connery as 007.

Seeing that post on Facebook triggered that memory of 47 years ago.

The Rolling Hills Theater also had some sad history to it. The following took place the year before. 

From the South Bay Daily Breeze:

Sometime after the theater closed on the night of Sunday, Feb. 11, 1973 at 11:45 p.m., a robber bound four theater employees, ushers George Cernik, 19, and Guy Brown, 29, projectionist Clyde Felts, 49, and assistant manager Lynda Rose Freeman, 31.

The robber stole $2,000 from the theater’s safe, then systematically cut the throats of the four employees, and also shot Felts in the shoulder.

Torrance police officers Gil Kranke and Tom Jarvis were let in by a custodian who arrived after the killings had taken place, and discovered the bodies in the manager’s office at about 6:30 a.m. Monday morning, February 12, 1973. A veteran officer described the murder scene as the most gruesome he had ever seen.

An immediate search for those responsible began, with a reward that rose to $45,000 offered for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators.

To read more, go here. 

Joshua Tree & Death Valley National Parks: 5 Things You Might Not Know

Above, a rock formation at Joshua Tree National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The South Bay Daily Breeze has an article on five things you might not know about Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks.

Before going into the five things, they begin with:

Whether it’s gazing at twisted spikes in the desert, taking a four-wheel drive to spot rare fish or running down sand dunes, Southern California’s national parks have plenty to offer. 

Federal officials are celebrating the country’s 417 national parks with programs and events marking National Park Week, which is Saturday through April 23. 

National parks that normally charge entrance fees will be free on Saturday and Sunday and April 22-23. Free or discounted annual passes are available for active duty military families, fourth-grade students, senior citizens, volunteers and those with permanent disabilities. 

Dozens of parks will host activities April 24 for annual Park Prescription Day, which will include hikes, health screenings, yoga and volleyball. 

The vast San Bernardino County desert region includes Joshua Tree National Park and a sliver of Death Valley National Park. The Mojave National Preserve, as well as Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow and Castle Mountains national monuments are all part of the national park system but are not officially known as national parks. 

“Our national parks are our national treasure,” Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said in a news release. “The lessons you learn from the land and the park rangers cannot be learned anywhere else on Earth.” 

Here are five things you may not know about Joshua Tree and Death Valley national parks, the only ones in the Inland area, Los Angeles and Orange counties.

To see what the five things are, go here. 

Other Newspapers Carrying The Superman Plaque Dedication News

Above, Jack Larson and yours truly. Each paper is running this and other photos by Daily News staff photographer John McCoy.

We're saturating Southern California!

The Daily News article on the Adventures of Superman plaque dedication in Tarzana made it into the paper's Sunday edition on page A3.

Also, other newspapers (they all must be part of a chain) have also published the Daily News article. They include the South Bay Daily Breeze (Torrance and surrounding cities), the Pasadena Star News, the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the San Bernardino County Sun, the Redlands Daily Facts, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario) and the Whittier Daily News.

To read the article that all of them are running, go here.

Don Glut Sued By Mattel Over He-Man and Masters of the Universe Franchise Rights

Above, Don Glut.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Looks like Goliath is going after David in court.

Writer, director and dinosaur authority Donald F. Glut is being sued by Mattel, Inc. over franchise rights of the Masters of the Universe and He-Man characters.

The South Bay Daily Breeze reported:

Mattel Inc., the world's biggest toy company, is suing the author of early Masters of the Universe comic books to prevent him from asserting any ownership interest in the franchise starring He-Man. 

The El Segundo-based toymaker filed suit on Friday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against Donald F. Glut, who has a long resume that includes writing for various TV series, videos and documentaries. 

Since the early 1980s, Mattel has leveraged Masters of the Universe for toys and accessories, two animated TV series, consumer products, comic books and a feature-length film. 

Mattel's suit accuses Glut of a "baseless and time-barred attempt to grab a piece" of Masters of the Universe, but does not specify how he is pursuing this.

To read the full article, go here.  To read the full lawsuit, go here.

According to the Hollywood Reporter:

The toy-maker has filed a lawsuit in California federal court that seeks a declaration of its rights. According to the complaint, Glut has recently come forward to assert that he created the characters and is entitled to copyright ownership. Mattel says that it is too late, that for more than three decades it's been acknowledged that Glut's contributions fell under the work-for-hire doctrine. 

But Mattel now says in its lawsuit that Glut claims that his work on Masters of the Universe was not done as a work-for-hire, and that he owns an interest in the copyrights to his works. Glut is reported to have filed a copyright registration on a treatment featuring the He-Man characters and is threatening to sue.

 The Daily Breeze article is correct, the lawsuit does not specify how or when Glut allegedly claimed he has rights to the characters.  

Goodyear To Replace Blimps With Bigger, Faster Models

Sources: South Bay Daily Breeze and Robert McArthur



Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. announced that they are going to replace their fleet of blimps with bigger, faster and hi-tech models.

According to the South Bay Daily Breeze:

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced plans Tuesday to replace its three-airship fleet in the next few years with longer, faster models.

Carson's "Spirit of America" blimp, which has been stationed at 19200 Main St. since 2002, will be swapped for a new model in 2016, officials said.

German manufacturer ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik will begin building the new models in 2013 at Goodyear's airship hangar near Akron, Ohio. The company will replace its Akron and Pompano Beach, Fla., airships first.

Each new airship will cost about $21 million, including technical support, company representatives said.

The new blimp will be 246 feet long compared to the current 192-foot-long airship. It will hold 13 passengers in its dangling gondola, compared to its current seven seats. Top speed will increase from 54 mph to 73.

These new blimps won't exactly be blimps. Instead, they will have a semi-rigid aluminum and carbon fiber interior skeleton. Blimps are basically helium-filled bags that don't have interior skeletons to help support the envelope and other parts.



The Los Angeles area Goodyear blimp, Spirit of America, is based near the interchange of the I-110 (Harbor Freeway) and I-405 (San Diego Freeway) freeways in Carson, California.

Old Newspaper Clipping

While cleaning out my mom's apartment back in January, I came across this old newspaper clipping from the South Bay Daily Breeze from 1978: