He needed Buffie to push him to be what he did, in fact, want to be. My grandmother, Loreen Buffum Robinson, was Dorothy's cousin; from what I've been told, they were quite close when they were young. When the time came to fold the family's money-losing afternoon tabloid, the Mirror, the Chandlers cut a sweet deal: in return for closing the Mirror, which competed with the Hearst Corp.'s afternoon paper, the Chandlers got Hearst to shutter the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, the Times's morning rival. I don't know that she was the most pleasant person to be around during that fund-raising drive, though; from what McDougal writes, her efforts were relentless, and her wealthy friends considered lunch with Buffie to be the most expensive lunch in town. Unionists explode dynamite at the Times Headquarters during Harrison Gray Otis' reign as publisher. An investigative series -- unusual in itself -- broke national news about the Teamsters Pension Fund even before attorney general Robert Kennedy's racket-busters climbed on Jimmy Hoffa's back. He was certainly a great newsman; in 1999, he was named one of the 25 most influential news people of the century by Editor & Publisher magazine. ", Downing fired back in a brief statement, part of which appeared in the next day's Times. No American newspaper has dominated a city the way the Los Angeles Times has dominated Los Angeles. . "Wealthy Acquaintances of California Publisher Evidently Lost Bundle," read the page-one headline of the Wall Street Journal on August 11, 1972, followed by the subhead "Chandler 'Opened Doors' For College Pal Who Ran Oil Fund, SEC Now Probes." McDougal's book gives the indication that Buff actually undermined, to a degree, her daughter's fundraising efforts. So, sure, I'm sad. FamousBirthdays.com - use subject to the practices disclosed in our privacy policy. He grew up indulging his hobbies from weightlifting to big game hunting, and narrowly missing the 1952 Helsinki Olympics due to a wrist injury. Uploaded by I'm sad for the city, I'm sad for the employees, I'm sad for the fact that the Chandlers have nobody to carry on beyond me. Though they're sensitive, they also hesitate, which makes them lose on chances. But it was honest, blunt, plainspoken and filled with passion and conviction, and after several years of listening to the bromides of corporate-speak, the newsroom embraced the style as well as the substance of Chandler's remarks. Although not much is known about John Otis, his son, John Otis (generally referred to as "Judge Otis") was the first of the family to rise to provincial eminence. "He blasted all of them," recalls a bemused Howard Gilmore, '55, a longtime friend and hunting companion of Chandler's. Under his watch, the L.A. Times opened international bureaus and hired on Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, at the same time buying several television station and the Newsday newspaper. "This trust is dearer than life itself." Hasalyn Harris : News Anchor and Co-Founder of Aloneinforest. When he grew into the top job at theTimes,he was that rarity among publishers -- a manager who understood every aspect of the business. This is the right thing for us to do for the future of Times Mirror. Despite his family's wealth his parents did not spoil him with gifts, but instead insisted he work in the 10-acre citrus ranch they owned in . They were too young to see action in World War II and too old to participate in the fun of the Summer of Love. The first years of the LA Times were lawless, profitable and existed only to feed other businesses ventures that were far more profitable. By the time he finished Stanford, Chandler was hooked on motorcycles, surfing, bodybuilding and hunting. After that, the only appearance Dorothy makes is an indirect one: a picture of my grandmother proudly holding the issue of Time magazine that featured Dorothy on the cover. By testing them. Buffum, my great-grandfather) were respected members of Long Beach society. Brant). Their strategy was aimed almost entirely at the short term, to prop up Times Mirror stock price and to increase the familys dividends. The Otis Chandler era at the L.A. Times began on April 11, 1960, when his father introduced him as the new publisher. ", Otis Chandler, now 72, remains a larger-than-life figure. Four years after giving birth to her second child, she suffered a nervous breakdown and, at the urging of her husband, she went to see a psychiatrist, a courageous decision for anyone in 1932 but especially for a woman of her status. Chandler spent money to make money and was well rewarded. Chandler glances down at my comparatively undeveloped 6-foot frame and grunts, "Yeah. Generation. When the New York Times started a West Coast edition on his watch, he beat it back. Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center A year after graduating, he married Marilyn (Missy) Brant, '51, who shared his enthusiasm for sports and outdoor recreation. He raced in the 1980-1984 seasons, with 9 career starts, and started in the Indianapolis 500 in 1981-1983. snuggles: a child-weary woman tells all. A California parole board voted to release Sirhan from his life sentence two years ago, but Gov. Some 200 heirs with at least 20 different surnames are benefiting from clerk Harry Chandler's fortuitous marriage more than a century ago. Times columnist Patt Morrison wrote: "It felt like I woke up and heard that the Pacific Ocean had been sold." In a supreme irony, once Otis Chandler took charge in 1960 and directed the paper to drop its jingoistic, frankly dreadful writing in favor of classically mainstream American journalism, the Times investigative series on the Birchers plus critical coverage of Nixons failed 1962 governor run started a familial rift that was never healed. I wish I would have had the guts to go at it 100% from the start. Unionists explode dynamite at the Times Headquarters during. . Chargers general manager Tom Telesco stressed once again at the NFL Combine that removing the veteran Allen from the roster isnt an option as L.A. tries to squeeze under the salary cap. When I finally launched, a well-funded competitor launched the same week. I always think the universe does a neat trick when a person's name predicts the vocation he or she takes as an adult. she asked. Biden Not Confident Supreme Court Will Uphold Student Debt Cancellation, Celta Vigo Star Gabri Veiga Is Alerting Wealthy Teams In The Premier League, RFK Killer Sirhan Sirhan Denied Parole For 16th TimeReversing 2021 Decision, Wednesday, March 1. Jeffrey Chandler and cousin Roger Goodan, along with family trust chairman Walter Williamson, were the last family members on the Tribune board. Once Dorothy became a Chandler, she didn't have much to do with the Buffums anymore. I, like you, felt the odd combination of pride, curiosity and shame for peeking into the family photos of Los Angeles' most prominent family. This put mother and daughter in conflict somewhat, since they were both seeking funds from the same pool of donors, and Buff was certain that her project had more merit than the art museum. He grew up indulging his hobbies from weightlifting to big game hunting, and narrowly missing the 1952 Helsinki Olympics due to a wrist injury. I feel fortunate to be the steward of such a thing, and the people who use it are what truly inspires us. On the day of my visit, Chandler was prepping the space for a large charity bash, which meant getting several dozen gazelle and impala heads off the floor and onto the walls, and ridding the men's bathroom of the girlie posters that invariably festoon the work areas of car and motorcycle aficionados. . People often tell us they love Goodreads because they found so many great books to read, they read more now because of it, and they connected to really interesting readers. (Robert Koehler contributed to the Los Angeles Times arts coverage in the 1980s and 1990s.). Some 200 heirs with at least 20 different surnames are benefiting from clerk Harry Chandler's fortuitous marriage more than a century ago. After serving in the Air Force, he returned home with a Pasadena society wife, two small sons and vague thoughts of becoming a sports doctor. There is no more powerful thing in the world than an idea, and long-form books are the best conveyors of ideas. It was there that John Otis built a homestead that served many members of the family for generations. Trade Madness: Knicks, Nets, Rangers, Islanders And Devils Spent February Making Notable Moves, Los Angeles Chargers Have Shown Keenan Allen The Money But They Wont Show Him The Door, The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 1 Recap And Review: The Apostate Sets The Stage For Whats To Come, Corner Threes Are Secret Sauce For Milwaukee Bucks Offensive Success, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz Could Face Subpoena To Testify Before Congress, Bernie Sanders Says. The Times, owned by one family for almost its entire existence, did more than just cheer on this extraordinary transformation. Otis Chandler quit, or was pushed off, the governing board of the Chandler family trusts, which serves as the family's power center, after deriding his relatives as right-wing "coupon clippers . The dread that an era was ending is something Inventing L.A. grasps at its core. After divorcing his first wife (and then remarrying), did he also need to divorce himself from all the obligations his mother had instilled in him since he was a young boy? I had toyed with the idea of asking him to arm-wrestle, because I knew that an angry Canadian musk ox had torn his right shoulder from its socket and impaired his upper-arm mobility. A 10-foot-tall Kodiak bear ("October 1985; Record Size; Alaskan Peninsula"), paws and claws extended, looms behind Chandler's head. The effect onscreen is like that of watching a slow-motion train wreck without ever understanding what was going through the engineers mind. He incorporated the company as The Times Mirror Co. and, with the help of his future son-in-law, Harry Chandler, the papers circulation manager, crushed the competition. I'd never known of Dorothy "Buff" Chandler's difficulty being accepted into the family, though I did know that she'd been successful in uniting Downtown and Westside [read Protestant and Jewish] philanthropists in building the Music Center downtown. Probably.". Newspapers alone, though, could not sustain the company. But they never met. It's too bad when some people get old, they get bitter. Explore historical records and family tree profiles about Chandler Otis on MyHeritage, the world's family history network. It was a shock to them.". While some major papers, most notably the New York Herald Tribune,decided to compete with the increasingly popular newsmagazines and television by adding lifestyle features and interpretive reporting, the Timesran reams of dull wire-service copy. The company's stock rose, and the Chandlers prospered. Hes a ham-fisted writer with a penchant for cliches and mixed metaphors. 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