Title supplied by cataloger. Rolland Joseph 'Speedy' Curtis was born in Louisiana in 1922. After serving three years in the Marines during World War II, he and his wife, Gloria, relocated from New Orleans to Los Angeles in 1946. Curtis served four years with the Los Angeles Police Department, but resigned from the force in order to pursue both a Bachelor's and Master's degree from USC. He later became involved in city politics, as an associate of Sam Yorty, and later a field deputy to City Council members Billy Mills and Tom Bradley. He was briefly director of the Model Cities program in 1973. Rolland J. Curtis died in his home in 1979, the victim of a homicide. An affordable housing complex on Exposition Blvd. near Vermont Ave. was named in his honor in 1981, along with a nearby street and park.; Created by the Los Angeles City Council in August, 1944, the Bureau of Music had three objectives: "(1) to make Los Angeles one of the truly important cultural centers of the world; (2) to bring to the average citizen, to the children of the community, growing girls and boys, greater music appreciation; (3) and to combat juvenile delinquency and break down the barriers between races and creeds". With its official slogan of 'More Music for More People,' in 1947 the bureau began a program of youth choruses, adult choruses, and community sings that soon became its significant feature. The program, which presented community singing, followed by talent show-style local entertainment, garnered high praise". By the late 1970s, the Bureau of Music was presenting more than 450 variety shows a year for a wide range of groups throughout the city. A group of unidentified boys and girls can be seen dancing on a stage with stacked cases of Pepsi-Cola six-packs while a musical group performs at an unknown location. The ages of all the participants appear to range from grammar school to middle school to high school. The electric guitarist, the drummer and the electric organist are partially visible playing behind the dancers. This event may possibly be a Los Angeles Bureau of Music talent show. The Bureau of Music is a division of the Municipal Arts Department that was created in August of 1944 by the Los Angeles City Council. Photograph circa 1970. See images 00128551 through 00128553 and 00130194 through 00130208 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Los Angeles Bureau of Music Pepsi-Cola Company African American young men Young men African American boys Boys African American girls Girls Teenagers Dance Dancers Musicians Musical instruments Guitar amplifiers Guitarists Guitars Drums (Musical instruments) Microphones Singers Organ (Musical instrument) Theaters Stages (Platforms) Performances Talent shows Audiences Los Angeles (Calif.)
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