Olive Day and the ‘Love Mart’ Case

Olive Day was the madam involved in the 1931 prostitution ring newspapers called the Love Mart/Love Market/Love Bazaar/Girl Bazaar. Like others before her and those still to come, the story played out the same way: lurid headlines, young girl victims’ parades for the photographers, a little black book containing the names of wealthy and/or famous men clients said to be shaking in their boots for fear of exposure (which never came), the madam is left holding the bag while the underworld bosses behind the operation are not charged (or even named) and simply start again with a fresh madam and new girls once the public outcry dies down.

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The Orpheum Theater

Orpheum_theater_los_angelesThe first Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles had been only the second of the vaudeville circuit’s chain in the West when it opened in the former Child’s Opera House on Main Street in 1894. The newest Los Angeles Orpheum Theater opened in a grand new building in February 1926, the year vaudeville celebrated its 100th Anniversary. Continue reading

The Belasco Theater

Belasco_Theater_Los_AngelesIt was a double premiere- the opening of the new Belasco Theater at 11th & Hill streets and the Los Angeles debut of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes on November 1, 1926. Author Anita Loos and the crème de la crème of filmdom society were in attendance. Both the play and the theater were a hit. History doesn’t record whether the theater’s major financial backer enjoyed the show; he was about to leave for Washington, D.C. to testify in his bribery trial. Continue reading

Georges Carpentier in Los Angeles

georges-carpentierIn July 1921 Georges Carpenter and Jack Dempsey made history in the “Battle of the Century” for the world heavyweight title in Jersey City, NJ. Images of Carpentier lying prone on the canvas flashed from coast-to-coast almost instantaneously via the new press photo wire service. Five years later, in July 1926, Los Angeles finally got a look at the Orchid Man in the flesh. Continue reading