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.; Jesse Marvin Unruh (1922-1987) served as the 54th Speaker of the California State Assembly from the 65th District from 1961-1969, and served as delegate to Democratic National Convention from California in 1960 and again in 1968. Unruh left the legislature in 1970 when he ran for Governor, which he lost to Ronald Reagan. In 1973 he was a candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles, which he also lost, to Samuel W. Yorty. Unruh was elected State Treasurer in 1974, and served from 1975 until his death from prostate cancer on August 4, 1987. He is buried in Santa Monica, California. California Assemblyman Jesse Unruh (left) is pictured shaking hands with an unidentified man at the Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner to benefit the California Democratic State Central Committee. The event took place on March 10, 1968 at the Century Plaza Hotel. See images 00125412; 00128528 through 00128536; and 00143556 through 00143572 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 color negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Unruh, Jesse,--1922-1987 Century Plaza Hotel (Century City, Los Angeles, Calif.) Democratic Party (Calif.) African American men Men Politicians Legislators Political participation Political activists Political parties Fund raising Tuxedos Hotels Handshaking Smiling Posing Century City (Los Angeles, Calif.)
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
