November 23, 1947West Hollywood
Two college boys out for a lark on a Saturday night. A nightclub. A cigarette machine. Trouble.
Patrick Cantillon, 20, 11610 Bellagio Road, Bel-Air and his pal, 22-year-old Martin F. Davis of 442 S. Bedford Drive, Beverly Hills, were inside Tabu of Hollywood, 7290 Sunset Blvd., when they became enamored of the cigarette machine, and sought to remove it from the premises.
Co-owner Leo Pavich, 1002 California Street, objected and bloodied the lads, who retreated with vengeance on their minds. Soon a bottle was hurled from a passing car, breaking one of Tabu’s front windows and nearly striking several patrons. It was war.
The boys returned, bearing bricks. Pavich drew his gun and fired through their windshield, there was a scamble on the sidewalk, one of the youths took off running and Pavich shot at his fleeing figure. At this point several Tabu patrons had joined the melee. What fun!
No one was seriously hurt. Cantillon and Davis received emergency treatment for minor injuries, as did Tabu patron Larry Borgan. Then the would-be cigarette bandits were booked into the Hollywood Jail. We presume their mommies and daddies are not amused.
CAMEL AND TENT STORY
CHICAGO, Nov. 22. (AP)—A divorcee sued her ex-husband’s present wife for alienation of affections today, alleging the defendant, while a guest in her home, frequently slept with her and her former husband because she said she was “lonesome.â€Â
Mrs. Edith Kertz, 27, asked for $100,000 from Mrs. Elsie Kertz, the present wife of Nathan Kertz, 30, owner of a chain of interior decorator’s supply shops.
The suit, telling of a visit by Elsie in the home of Edith and her then-husband, related:
“The defendant would come into their bedroom while they were about to retire and say she was lonesome, and would plaintiff please allow her to sleep in the same bed with plaintiff and her husband.
This defendant did on many occasions, and slept with them all night to the embarrassment of the plaintiff.â€Â
Edith divorced Kertz June 6, 1946, alleging cruelty, and Elsie and Kertz were married shortly afterward.
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This was rather a racy edition of The Times, especially for a Sunday paper. Next to the Kertzs’ saga, the news editor placed an advance on a martial relations course at UCLA (sample lectures: “Love and Conduct in a Changing World,â€Â “Sex Problems of Youthâ€Â). And the front page featured the story of a ballet dancer with the Ballet Russe who lost part of her costume during “Scheherazade.” Pretty ribald for a family paper in the 1940s.
Unfortunately, The Times never followed up on this story, so the suit between the Kertzs remains lost to history.
Bonus factoid: Is there anything more annoying than the comic strip “Nancyâ€Â? Yes, it’s what seems to be low-rent knockoff of “Nancyâ€Â called “Kitty Higginsâ€Â with none of the Bushmilleresque touches. Interestingly enough, “Kitty Higgins” began in 1932 while “Nancy” debuted in 1933. Hm.
Here, by the way, is an index to the complete comics of the Los Angeles Times: https://www.comicsaccess.com/lacomics.php
Quote of the day: “But after martinis—which are to martinis in Paris what the ideal circle is to circles drawn on a blackboard—the meal is delicious.â€Â
Simone De Beauvoir, “America Day by Day,â€Â on lunch at Lucey’s restaurant, 5444 Melrose Ave., Feb. 27, 1947.
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