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. A young woman identified as Paula Harris (Miss United Nations), is pictured at the Cinderella Internationale Beauty Pageant in September 1964. Guests can be seen seated in the background to the right, as orchestra members sit at their instruments on stage. See images 00118733 through 00118754; 00138793 through 00138800, and 00139461 through 00139474 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
African American men Men African American women Women Beauty contestants Beauty contests Pageants Orchestras Musical instruments Stages (platforms) Audiences Gloves Los Angeles (Calif.)
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