COURTING TROUBLE

All I want for Christmas is a clean slate with the county.

This photo shows actress and Playboy centerfold Sally Todd in L.A. County Court, where she was answering for drunk driving charges. Todd had triggered an August 1958 traffic accident, a five-car smash-up so violent that she was ejected from the passenger window of her sports car, but survived with minor injuries. A miracle? Perhaps, if you believe in such things. What may be even more miraculous is that charges against her were dropped, though she admitted having had drinks. Most accounts say that happened in September, but this photo, which is from the digital archive of the Los Angeles Examiner, is dated December 1, suggesting either charges were not dropped until later in the year than most sources say, or that Todd made a return trip to court for a second driving offense. We’re going with option one—the photo, which we have no doubt is correctly dated, was made when she appeared in court and learned that August’s drunk driving charges against her had been dropped. That was today in 1958.

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1960—Woodward Gets First Star on Walk of Fame

Actress Joanne Woodward receives the first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Los Angeles sidewalk at Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street that serves as an outdoor entertainment museum. Woodward was one of 1,558 honorees chosen by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in 1958, when the proposal to build the sidewalk was approved. Today the sidewalk contains more than 2,300 stars.

1971—Paige Enters Baseball Hall of Fame

Satchel Paige becomes the first player from America’s Negro Baseball League to be voted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Paige, who was a pitcher, played for numerous Negro League teams, had brief stints in Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Major Leagues, before finally retiring in his mid-fifties.

1969—Allende Meteorite Falls in Mexico

The Allende Meteorite, the largest object of its type ever found, falls in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The original stone, traveling at more than ten miles per second and leaving a brilliant streak across the sky, is believed to have been approximately the size of an automobile. But by the time it hit the Earth it had broken into hundreds of fragments.

1985—Matt Munro Dies

English singer Matt Munro, who was one of the most popular entertainers on the international music scene during the 1960s and sang numerous hits, including the James Bond theme “From Russia with Love,” dies from liver cancer at Cromwell Hospital, Kensington, London.

1958—Plane Crash Kills 8 Man U Players

British European Airways Flight 609 crashes attempting to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. On board the plane is the Manchester United football team, along with a number of supporters and journalists. 20 of the 44 people on board die in the crash.

Five covers for football pulp magazines illustrated by George Gross.
Rare Argentinian cover art for The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.

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