George Murphy

Something was making a wake on the blue of the lake, inscribing a gentle curve across the mirror-smooth water. George Murphy turned to the North Carolinian who was showing the Murphys through the mountains. "What's that?" Murphy asked, waving an arm at the wake. "A beaver," the man said. George Murphy looked at the attractive woman by his side. She nodded. "We'll take it," Murphy said.

Hollywood Left and Right: How Movie Stars Shaped American Politics Steven J. Ross Oxford University Press: 512 pp., $29.95 Republicans take heart: Hollywood is not as liberal as you think. Steven J. Ross convincingly shows in "Hollywood Left and Right" that since its early days, the movie industry has been as quietly conservative as publicly liberal. After all, where did Ronald Reagan come from? Reagan may be the most successful actor-turned-politician, but Ross makes the case that his transition owes much to George Murphy and the conservative legacy built by Louis B. Mayer at MGM. Mayer was an up-from-nothing immigrant who became a titan ruling Hollywood's grandest studio back when the studio system was Hollywood.

George Murphy, the actor-dancer who served one term as a U. S. senator from California, died Sunday night at his home in Palm Beach, Fla., it was learned Monday. His son, Dennis, said in Los Angeles that his father was 89 and died of leukemia. Murphy preceded a fellow Republican, Ronald Reagan, into public office by two years, in 1965.

Re "L.A. needs Hollywood," Opinion, Nov. 25 At last, a high-profile politician is willing to go on record with support for the entertainment industry. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa clearly cites the statistics in favor of tax incentives designed to keep production in town. It is difficult to imagine the benefits directly accruing to the area from each dollar spent on a production. In addition to the total number of dollars quoted, this is one area in which the trickle-down theory actually works: truckloads of lumber, 20 pizzas, 44 beef dips from Philippe's, 100 Egg McMuffins, etc. -- these are actual examples of orders I personally had a hand in over the course of 30-plus years in the industry.

Re "After Back-Slapping Wanes, Mega-Mergers Often Fail," April 19: There is no universal law of economies of scale. In other words, we have no scientific basis to believe larger firms are always more efficient. In fact, the reverse is true. Contemporary economics expects ultimately there will be diseconomies of scale as firms grow larger. If this were not true, we would see natural monopolies everywhere. There is no sure way to know when economies of scale turn into diseconomies. So it is inherently a gamble for firms to grow beyond the ordinary, usual size.

Re "L.A. needs Hollywood," Opinion, Nov. 25 At last, a high-profile politician is willing to go on record with support for the entertainment industry. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa clearly cites the statistics in favor of tax incentives designed to keep production in town. It is difficult to imagine the benefits directly accruing to the area from each dollar spent on a production. In addition to the total number of dollars quoted, this is one area in which the trickle-down theory actually works: truckloads of lumber, 20 pizzas, 44 beef dips from Philippe's, 100 Egg McMuffins, etc. -- these are actual examples of orders I personally had a hand in over the course of 30-plus years in the industry.

Now that the elections are over and all of those who were called crooks and/or liars have mended fences and are pulling together and moving forward, I am free to reveal the (almost) gubernatorial candidacy of Adrian Simple. He had looks, he had money, he had presence, he had a beautiful wife and three lovely rented children, and he had determination. But what he didn't have was Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh has refused a request to meet with the chairman of a House panel investigating abuses at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, underscoring tensions between the two government branches now conducting parallel inquiries into the scandal. Rep.

A House panel investigating the Department of Housing and Urban Development said Tuesday that it has agreed to postpone a second appearance by former HUD Secretary Samuel R. Pierce Jr. until mid-September. Pierce, who was scheduled to testify next week, requested the postponement, saying he needed more time to prepare for the hearing, said Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo), chairman of the House Government Operations subcommittee on employment and housing.

Dr. George E. Murphy, a Cornell University professor of pathology and the leading force behind formation of the Asphalt Green recreation and arts center in New York City, was buried Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo. Murphy, who was 68, died of leukemia in New York on July 15. Services were conducted there on Saturday. Since 1954 he had been with New York Hospital, Cornell Medical Center, where he became a full professor in 1968.

Now that the elections are over and all of those who were called crooks and/or liars have mended fences and are pulling together and moving forward, I am free to reveal the (almost) gubernatorial candidacy of Adrian Simple. He had looks, he had money, he had presence, he had a beautiful wife and three lovely rented children, and he had determination. But what he didn't have was Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Re "After Back-Slapping Wanes, Mega-Mergers Often Fail," April 19: There is no universal law of economies of scale. In other words, we have no scientific basis to believe larger firms are always more efficient. In fact, the reverse is true. Contemporary economics expects ultimately there will be diseconomies of scale as firms grow larger. If this were not true, we would see natural monopolies everywhere. There is no sure way to know when economies of scale turn into diseconomies. So it is inherently a gamble for firms to grow beyond the ordinary, usual size.

George Murphy, the actor-dancer who served one term as a U. S. senator from California, died Sunday night at his home in Palm Beach, Fla., it was learned Monday. His son, Dennis, said in Los Angeles that his father was 89 and died of leukemia. Murphy preceded a fellow Republican, Ronald Reagan, into public office by two years, in 1965.

Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh has refused a request to meet with the chairman of a House panel investigating abuses at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, underscoring tensions between the two government branches now conducting parallel inquiries into the scandal. Rep.

A House panel investigating the Department of Housing and Urban Development said Tuesday that it has agreed to postpone a second appearance by former HUD Secretary Samuel R. Pierce Jr. until mid-September. Pierce, who was scheduled to testify next week, requested the postponement, saying he needed more time to prepare for the hearing, said Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo), chairman of the House Government Operations subcommittee on employment and housing.

Dr. George E. Murphy, a Cornell University professor of pathology and the leading force behind formation of the Asphalt Green recreation and arts center in New York City, was buried Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo. Murphy, who was 68, died of leukemia in New York on July 15. Services were conducted there on Saturday. Since 1954 he had been with New York Hospital, Cornell Medical Center, where he became a full professor in 1968.

Hollywood Left and Right: How Movie Stars Shaped American Politics Steven J. Ross Oxford University Press: 512 pp., $29.95 Republicans take heart: Hollywood is not as liberal as you think. Steven J. Ross convincingly shows in "Hollywood Left and Right" that since its early days, the movie industry has been as quietly conservative as publicly liberal. After all, where did Ronald Reagan come from? Reagan may be the most successful actor-turned-politician, but Ross makes the case that his transition owes much to George Murphy and the conservative legacy built by Louis B. Mayer at MGM. Mayer was an up-from-nothing immigrant who became a titan ruling Hollywood's grandest studio back when the studio system was Hollywood.

George Murphy's whim as editor of this largely felicitous anthology brings forth established writers such as Margaret Atwood, Janette Turner Hospital, the late John Gardner and Trevanian, letting them take their chances against the talents of newcomers such as Robert William Antoni, Kurt Druecker and Brent Spencer.

George Murphy's whim as editor of this largely felicitous anthology brings forth established writers such as Margaret Atwood, Janette Turner Hospital, the late John Gardner and Trevanian, letting them take their chances against the talents of newcomers such as Robert William Antoni, Kurt Druecker and Brent Spencer.

Something was making a wake on the blue of the lake, inscribing a gentle curve across the mirror-smooth water. George Murphy turned to the North Carolinian who was showing the Murphys through the mountains. "What's that?" Murphy asked, waving an arm at the wake. "A beaver," the man said. George Murphy looked at the attractive woman by his side. She nodded. "We'll take it," Murphy said.