Title created 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.; Samuel William Yorty (1909-1998) was a politician, attorney and radio host. He was the 37th Mayor of Los Angeles and served three terms from 1961-1973. His political career began when he was elected to the California State Assembly in 1936. In 1940 he lost a bid for U.S. Senator, and shortly thereafter took a break from politics to serve in the United States Army Air Corps in the Pacific Theater, attaining the rank of captain in the Intelligence Branch in World War II; he resumed his Assembly seat after his discharge. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1950, and in 1952 was reelected. Yorty lost his race for the U.S. Senate in 1954, and in 1961 ran for Mayor, defeating Norris Poulson. He was reelected as Mayor of Los Angeles in 1965, defeating Congressman James Roosevelt, son of the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1969 Yorty defeated Tom Bradley in the mayoral primary and was re-elected for a second term. He ran again for governor in 1970 but was defeated in the primary by State Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh. In 1971 Yorty announced that he was running for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency, but ended his bid before the California primary in June of 1972 when he received only six percent of the vote. In 1973, Tom Bradley defeated him in a rematch of their 1969 mayoral race. In 1974 he ran once again for another bid for governor in the Democratic primary, but lost to Jerry Brown, son of Pat Brown. After leaving office, Yorty hosted a talk show on KCOP-TV for five years, but the show was eventually cancelled. In 1980 he had a failed comeback bid for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, and in 1981, Yorty failed again in a bid to unseat Bradley. On May 24, 1998 he suffered a stroke and then contracted pneumonia. Sam Yorty died on the morning of June 5, 1998. Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty is seen standing in the back seat of a convertible automobile waving to a crowd of men, women and children standing on the sidewalk during an unidentified parade. There is a sign on the side of the car that reads, "Mayor Sam Yorty." The woman waving her hand, the child in the backseat and the two men in the front seat are all unidentified. A few participants of the parade can be seen marching behind the mayors' car holding a banner and the American flag. Photograph circa 1968. See images 00128592, 00128593, and 00143609 through 00143616 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Yorty, Sam,--1909-1998 African American men Men African American women Women African American children Children African American boys Boys Mayors Police Automobiles, Convertible Chauffeurs Parades Spectators Crowds Signs and signboards Banners Flags Smiling 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.
