Title supplied by cataloger.; Original photograph is blurry. Rolland Joseph 'Speedy' Curtis was born in Louisiana in 1922. After serving in the Marines during World War II, he and his wife, Gloria, relocated from New Orleans to Los Angeles in 1946. Curtis served for four years with the Los Angeles Police Department, but resigned from the force in order to pursue both a Bachelor's and a 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. Billy Eckstine and an unidentified woman, who is possibly a reporter, are shown backstage at the Forum during a concert to benefit Councilman Billy Mills' campaign for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The event occurred on May 11, 1968. See images 00118763 through 00118764; and 00139498 through 00139520 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print : b&w ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic prints
Eckstine, Billy,--1914-1993 Forum (Inglewood, Calif.) African American men Men African American women Women African American band directors Band directors African American singers Jazz singers Singers Concerts Arenas Political campaigns Fund raising Handbags Note-taking Inglewood (Calif.)
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