1960 Year

THE PREPPING HANDBOOK * The Democratic National Convention handed out hospitality kits to each of the 4,506 delegates, filled with California-grown raisins, oranges, tuna, olives, dates and wine, and a jar of "dietetic" fruit labeled, "Welcome Delegates -- Gov. 'Pat' Brown." * To accommodate feeding as many as 16,000 daily attendees, the Sports Arena installed "new radar ranges that can cook beef, bake potatoes and vegetables in a minute and 10 seconds."

One Russian-American spy scandal killed Eugene Posa. Forty-one years later, his family fears another one could keep his body hidden. Posa was a 38-year-old Air Force captain from Santa Monica in 1960 when he was tapped for a team to replace captured American U2 spy Francis Gary Powers for secret aerial surveillance over the Soviet Union. But a Soviet MIG fighter shot down Posa's Boeing RB-47 on its first flight. Posa seemed to disappear with the plane into the Barents Sea.

It was a liberal platform. Some said the most liberal they'd seen. Ultraliberal even. Scary, huh? The Democrats of 1960 did not know that being liberal would someday be the kiss of death in national politics. Back then you could be a liberal in the same way you could be a golfer or an orchid fancier, perhaps viewed around the neighborhood as a little possessed but probably not dangerous. And what did you stand for, exactly, if you were liberal 40 years ago?

With 12 nominations, the sword-and-sandal Roman Empire epic "Gladiator" is the front-runner at this year's Academy Awards. Nearly 41 years ago, William Wyler's lavish, inspiring adaptation of Lew Wallace's religious drama, "Ben-Hur," dominated the Academy Awards, winning 11 Oscars including best film, best director, actor (Charlton Heston) and supporting actor (Hugh Griffith). Here's a look back at the star-studded ceremony, which took place April 4, 1960, at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.

One Russian-American spy scandal killed Eugene Posa. Forty-one years later, his family fears another one could keep his body hidden. Posa was a 38-year-old Air Force captain from Santa Monica in 1960 when he was tapped for a team to replace captured American U2 spy Francis Gary Powers for secret aerial surveillance over the Soviet Union. But a Soviet MIG fighter shot down Posa's Boeing RB-47 on its first flight. Posa seemed to disappear with the plane into the Barents Sea.

The American Dream comes under the microscope with savagely funny and tragic results in "American Beauty," this year's front-runner for the Academy Awards on Sunday night at the Shrine Auditorium. Thirty-nine years ago "The Apartment," Billy Wilder's dark satire of corporate America, won five Oscars, including best film, screenplay and director.

With 12 nominations, the sword-and-sandal Roman Empire epic "Gladiator" is the front-runner at this year's Academy Awards. Nearly 41 years ago, William Wyler's lavish, inspiring adaptation of Lew Wallace's religious drama, "Ben-Hur," dominated the Academy Awards, winning 11 Oscars including best film, best director, actor (Charlton Heston) and supporting actor (Hugh Griffith). Here's a look back at the star-studded ceremony, which took place April 4, 1960, at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.

Convention oratory can be memorable. John F. Kennedy delivered his acceptance speech in Los Angeles on July 15, 1960. Here are excerpts: * 'We are not here to curse the darkness but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a sage and sane future. As Winston Churchill said on taking office some 20 years ago: If we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future. ... Today our concern must be with that future.

It was either a glorious summer week, "smogless and milk-blue, the skies stretched on day after day, as gentle and pure as they must have been a generation ago," as one writer described it. Or, as another reported, you couldn't see the mountains for the yellow fumes that cloaked Los Angeles 40 years ago. For the record, The Times reported "moderate to heavy smog" that July week in 1960 when the Democrats last came to town. Then, as always, Southern California allowed different views of itself.

William Gargan, star of "Martin Kane, Private Eye," a popular early '50s TV detective show, knew who was staying upstairs in the penthouse suite of a three-story apartment building at 522 N. Rossmore Ave. Gargan and his wife, Mary, had been sworn to secrecy not to reveal his identity. But as they sat watching the roll call at the 1960 Democratic National Convention, they had a surprise visit from their surreptitious neighbor. Sen. John F.

It was either a glorious summer week, "smogless and milk-blue, the skies stretched on day after day, as gentle and pure as they must have been a generation ago," as one writer described it. Or, as another reported, you couldn't see the mountains for the yellow fumes that cloaked Los Angeles 40 years ago. For the record, The Times reported "moderate to heavy smog" that July week in 1960 when the Democrats last came to town. Then, as always, Southern California allowed different views of itself.

It was a liberal platform. Some said the most liberal they'd seen. Ultraliberal even. Scary, huh? The Democrats of 1960 did not know that being liberal would someday be the kiss of death in national politics. Back then you could be a liberal in the same way you could be a golfer or an orchid fancier, perhaps viewed around the neighborhood as a little possessed but probably not dangerous. And what did you stand for, exactly, if you were liberal 40 years ago?

Convention oratory can be memorable. John F. Kennedy delivered his acceptance speech in Los Angeles on July 15, 1960. Here are excerpts: * 'We are not here to curse the darkness but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a sage and sane future. As Winston Churchill said on taking office some 20 years ago: If we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future. ... Today our concern must be with that future.

THE PREPPING HANDBOOK * The Democratic National Convention handed out hospitality kits to each of the 4,506 delegates, filled with California-grown raisins, oranges, tuna, olives, dates and wine, and a jar of "dietetic" fruit labeled, "Welcome Delegates -- Gov. 'Pat' Brown." * To accommodate feeding as many as 16,000 daily attendees, the Sports Arena installed "new radar ranges that can cook beef, bake potatoes and vegetables in a minute and 10 seconds."

William Gargan, star of "Martin Kane, Private Eye," a popular early '50s TV detective show, knew who was staying upstairs in the penthouse suite of a three-story apartment building at 522 N. Rossmore Ave. Gargan and his wife, Mary, had been sworn to secrecy not to reveal his identity. But as they sat watching the roll call at the 1960 Democratic National Convention, they had a surprise visit from their surreptitious neighbor. Sen. John F.

The American Dream comes under the microscope with savagely funny and tragic results in "American Beauty," this year's front-runner for the Academy Awards on Sunday night at the Shrine Auditorium. Thirty-nine years ago "The Apartment," Billy Wilder's dark satire of corporate America, won five Oscars, including best film, screenplay and director.

The year was 1960 and the Democrats about to descend on Los Angeles for the only national political convention in the city's history received this warning from the Reporter magazine: "There is no historical precedent to show how the size and shape of a city can affect convention results--but then, no political party ever held a convention in a place like this."

The theater had obsessed Alfred Lunt (born in Milwaukee) and Lynn Fontanne (born more than 4,000 miles away, near London) since childhood; and it seems appropriate that their first encounter occurred at a New York theater and was notably theatrical. In 1919, when Lunt was 27 and Fontanne 32, they joined the same stock company, and as he arrived backstage for the first rehearsal of "A Young Man's Fancy" he saw her seated in the wings, a few steps below.

The year was 1960 and the Democrats about to descend on Los Angeles for the only national political convention in the city's history received this warning from the Reporter magazine: "There is no historical precedent to show how the size and shape of a city can affect convention results--but then, no political party ever held a convention in a place like this."

Janet Cunningham, a leap year baby in 1960, gave birth to a daughter exactly 28 years later. Erin Michelle Cunningham was born Monday, two days ahead of doctors' expectations. "I never expected it," said Cunningham, who lives in Severna Park. "It's not something you plan."