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Legion Ascot Speedway
Legion Ascot Speedway was an American race track in Los Angeles, California that operated from 1924 to 1936. It hosted AAA Champ Car races. History Early success under Bentel ends with a scandal After the construction of a -mile dirt oval near Lincoln Park had been announced in early December 1923, the new Ascot speedway, which was built by promoter George R. Bentel and his publicist Bill Pickens, opened on January 20, 1924, when 35,000 spectators attended the inaugural event, which featured both auto and motorcycle racing. The next racing program, which was held two weeks later, was marred by the tracks' first fatality when Jimmy Craft was killed on the southeast turn. Many drivers would die at this curve, which was immediately nicknamed "death curve." The promotion of Ascot during the first months of its existence was a popular and financial success. However, the Ascot Gold Cup, a road race held on Thanksgiving Day 1924, saw its outcome challenged by drivers contesting bot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world's most populous megacities. Los Angeles is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With a population of roughly 3.9 million residents within the city limits , Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, being the home of the Hollywood film industry, and its sprawling metropolitan area. The city of Los Angeles lies in a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the west and extending through the Santa Monica Mountains and north into the San Fernando Valley, with the city bordering the San Gabriel Valley to it's east. It covers about , and is the county seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with an estim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles Express (newspaper)
The ''Los Angeles Express'' was a newspaper published in Los Angeles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1871, the newspaper was acquired by William Randolph Hearst in 1931. It merged with the ''Los Angeles Herald'' and became an evening newspaper known as the ''Los Angeles Herald-Express''. A 1962 combination with Hearst's morning ''Los Angeles Examiner'' resulted in its final incarnation as the evening ''Los Angeles Herald-Examiner''. History The ''Los Angeles Express'' was Los Angeles's oldest newspaper published under its original name until it combined with the ''Los Angeles Herald''. It was established on March 27, 1871, by five printers, Jesse Yarnell, George Yarnell, George A. Tiffany, J.W. Payton, and Miguel Veredo. A stock company was organized in March 1875, with J. J. Ayers and Joseph Lynch as directors and proprietors. In 1876 William Halley was the publisher. In 1873 the editor was James J. Ayers, who resigned in October to run for Los Angeles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades of which was as a leading man. Gable died of a heart attack at the age of 59; his final on-screen appearance was as an aging cowboy in '' The Misfits'', released posthumously in 1961. Born and raised in Ohio, Gable traveled to Hollywood where he began his film career as an extra in silent films between 1924 and 1926. He progressed to supporting roles for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and his first leading role in ''Dance, Fools, Dance'' (1931) was alongside Joan Crawford, who requested him for the part. His role in the romantic drama '' Red Dust'' (1932) with reigning sex symbol Jean Harlow, made him MGM's biggest male star. Gable won the Academy Award for Best Actor for Frank Capra's romantic comedy ''It Happened One Night'' (1934), co-starring C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loretta Young
Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film '' The Farmer's Daughter'' (1947), and received her second Academy Award nomination for her role in ''Come to the Stable'' (1949). Young moved to the relatively new medium of television, where she had a dramatic anthology series, ''The Loretta Young Show'', from 1953 to 1961. It earned three Emmy Awards, and was re-run successfully on daytime TV and later in syndication. In the 1980s, Young returned to the small screen and won a Golden Globe for her role in ''Christmas Eve'' in 1986. Early life She was born Gretchen Young in Salt Lake City, Utah, the daughter of Gladys (née Royal) and John Earle Young. She was of Luxembourgish descent. When she was two years old, her parents separated, and when she was three, her mother moved the famil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andy Devine
Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers in 10 feature films. He also appeared alongside John Wayne in films such as ''Stagecoach'' (1939), '' The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'', and '' How the West Was Won'' (both 1962). He is also remembered as Jingles on the TV series '' The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok'' from 1951 to 1958, as Danny McGuire in '' A Star Is Born'' (1937), and as the voice of Friar Tuck in the Disney Animation Studio film ''Robin Hood'' (1973). Early life Devine was born in Flagstaff, Arizona, on October 7, 1905. He grew up in Kingman, Arizona, where his family moved when he was one year old. His father was Thomas Devine Jr., born in 1869 in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Andy's grandfather, Thomas Devine Sr., was born in 1842 in County Tipperary, Ireland, and immigrated to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. He made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. His early career coincided with recording innovations that allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed, such as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Dick Haymes, Elvis Presley, and John Lennon. ''Yank'' magazine said that he was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. In 1948, ''Music Digest'' estimated that his recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rex Mays
Rex Houston Mays Jr. (March 10, 1913 – November 6, 1949) was a AAA Championship Car race driver. He was a two-time AAA champion and won 8 points-scoring races. He made his Indianapolis 500 debut in 1934 and won the pole in 1935, 1936, and again in 1940 and finished second, he returned the next year and finished second again. Mays won the AAA National Championship in 1940 and 1941. However, World War II suspended racing until 1946, denying Mays of what likely would have been the peak of his career. After the war, Mays again won the Indy pole in 1948 but was knocked out by a mechanical problem. He was killed at the age of 36 in a crash during the only Champ Car race held at Del Mar Fairgrounds race track in Del Mar, California in November 1949. In this accident, Mays swerved to miss a car that had crashed in front of him. His car went out of control and flipped, throwing Mays to the track surface, where he was hit by a trailing car. In a race at Milwaukee, a fellow driver, Du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilbur Shaw
Warren Wilbur Shaw (October 31, 1902 – October 30, 1954) was an American racing driver. He was president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1945 until his death in 1954. Shaw was the automotive test evaluator for ''Popular Science'' magazine. Biography He was born in Shelbyville, Indiana on October 31, 1902. He participated in the 1927 Indianapolis 500. Wilbur Shaw won the Indianapolis 500 race three times, in 1937, 1939 and 1940. Shaw was the second person to win the 500 three times, and the first to win it twice in a row. In the 1941 race, Shaw was injured when his car crashed; it was later discovered that a defective wheel had been placed on his car. During World War II, Shaw was hired by the tire manufacturer Firestone Tire and Rubber Company to test a synthetic rubber automobile tire at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which had been closed due to the war. He was dismayed at the dilapidated condition of the racetrack and quickly contacted then-owner Eddie Rickenbac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kelly Petillo
Kelly Carl Petillo (born Cavino Michele Petillo; December 5, 1903 or December 16, 1903 – June 30, 1970) was an American racecar driver. Life and career Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1903, Petillo moved with his family to Huntington Park, California in 1921. He began racing at Los Angeles' Legion Ascot Speedway in 1929. Petillo competed in the Indianapolis 500 on ten occasions, winning the race in 1935 in a year that marked the first win by a car powered by an Offenhauser engine. He went on to win the 1935 AAA-sanctioned National Driving Championship. In 1937, he participated in the Vanderbilt Cup but engine problems forced him out of the race. In 1942, Petillo sustained a concussion and lacerations after a road accident when his car collided with a freight train. He was denied entry to the 1946 Indianapolis 500, and sued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for $50,000. Off the track, Petillo had numerous run-ins with the law, including charges of attempted rape an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernie Triplett
Ernie Leo Triplett (September 25, 1906 in Barry, IllinoisThe Talk of Gasoline Alley, Network Indiana, May 25, 2006 – March 5, 1934 in El Centro, California) was an American racecar driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organi .... He was American Automobile Association Pacific Southwest champion in 1931 and 1932. Triplett died from injuries sustained in a crash during a AAA Pacific Southwest "big car" race at Imperial, California. Career awards *Triplett was named to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1991. Indianapolis 500 results References External links * 1906 births 1934 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees People from Barry, Illinois Racing drivers from Illinois Racing drivers who died while racing Spor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Gordon (racing Driver)
Edgar Alan Gordon (March 27, 1902 – January 26, 1936) was an American racecar driver. Life and career A postman from Redlands, California who also became a Long Beach night club owner among other things, Gordon took up racing in 1925. He made nine starts in the AAA-sanctioned national championship from 1932 to 1935 and entered two non-points paying races after that, scoring a win at Oakland Speedway in January 1936. He drove in the Indianapolis 500 in 1932, 1934, and 1935, but never finished the race, having qualified second in 1935. A regular at Legion Ascot Speedway, Gordon won the AAA Pacific Coast championship in 1933. Death While competing in another AAA non-championship race in January 1936, both Gordon and his riding mechanic, Spider Matlock, were fatally injured in a crash at Ascot, which ended racing at the Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, larg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Cummings (racing Driver)
William Clarence Cummings (November 11, 1906 – February 8, 1939), nicknamed "Wild Bill," was an American racecar driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organi ... who was famous for winning the 1934 Indianapolis 500. Death Cummings died driving a passenger automobile on State Road 29 in Indianapolis, when he crashed through a guard rail, overturned several times and plunged into Lick Creek. He was pulled from the water by passers-by while still alive, but died at Methodist Hospital two days later. Awards Cummings was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2020/21. Indianapolis 500 results References External links * 1906 births 1939 deaths Racing drivers from Indianapolis Champ Car champions Indianapolis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
