A typical deal was $50 (over $500 in today's dollars) a week, per record, to ensure a minimum amount of plays. The more influential DJs commanded percentages of grosses for local concerts, lavish trips, free records by the box full and some even opened their own record stores.
One of the most famous DJs that got caught up in the scandal, Alam Freed, was the man who coined the term "Rock and Roll" and it ended his career. Cleveland, Ohio DJ Joe Finan later described the decade: “It was a blur of booze, broads and bribes.”
In other shocking news Jerry Lee Lewis, rock 'n' roll's first great wild man, married his 13-year-old 2nd cousin Myra Gale Brown. It was his third marriage. Lewis, who was 22 years old at the time, claimed she was actually 15. The publicity caused an uproar and his Engliah tour was canceled after only three concerts.
Walt Disney Studios killed scores of lemmings for the ‘suicide scene’ in the 1958 movie White Wilderness. Producers pushed and threw them off a cliff while shooting footage and presented it as a natural occurrence for the audience.
Lemmimgs are interesting creatures. In the 17th century, naturalists were perplexed by Norway lemmings when they suddenly appeared in large numbers, seemingly out of nowhere. They came to the conclusion that they were being spontaneously generated in the sky and then falling to earth like rain. Some people even thought that lemmings explode if they become sufficiently angry.
But the biggest lemming myth is that they commit mass suicide by jumping off seaside cliffs. Instinct, it is said, drives them to kill themselves whenever their population becomes unsustainably large.
Lemmings do not commit suicide, but the myth (helped out by Disney's movie scene) is based on the fact that they have large population boom every three or four years. When that happens and the population gets too high a large group will set out in search of a new home. Lemmings can swim, so if they reach water such as a river or lake, they may try to cross it. Naturally, a few don't make it and drown. But it’s hardly suicide.
In other news, actress Lana Turner’s 14-year old daughter, Cheryl, saw her mother being beaten by her boyfriend Johnny Stompanato and killed him with a kitchen knife. Some people think that Lana actually did the killing in self defense. Cheryl was not charged and Stompanato's death was deemed a justifiable homicide.
Cheryl Christina Crane (born July 25, 1943). Lana Turner's only child, is a retired real estate broker, author and former model. Her father was Turner's second husband.
Stompanato was was an ex-Marine who became a bodyguard and enforcer for gangster Mickey Cohen and his crime family. Stompanato was known to have been abusive, extremely jealous of Turner and on a movie set in England he pointed a gun at actor Sean Connery. Connery took the gun from him, beat him up and forced him off the movie set after which Scotland Yard had Stompanato deported.
In other grisly news, between December 1957 and January 1958, in Nebraska and Wyoming 20-year-old Charles Starkweather and his 13-year-old girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate murdered 11 people over an eight-day period. Starkweather was sentenced to death and fried in the electric chair while Fugate served time in prison and was released in 1976.
On January 8, 14-year old Bobby Fischer won the 1957/58 US Championship and Zonal finishing a point ahead of Reshevsky. Raymond Weinstein won the US Junior championship in Homestead, Florida.
The winner of the 1958 US Open that was held in Rochester, Minnesota was the little known and untitled Cuban, Eldis Cobo-Arteaga (1929-1991). He won the Cuban championship in 1950 was awarded the IM title in 1967.
Cobo Arteaga started off inconspicuously with a second round loss to Allen Kaufmann, but ended up scoring +9 -1 =2 to finish a half point ahead of Larry Evans, Robert Steinmeyer and Donald Byrne (9.5 points) and Arthur Bisguier and Kaufmann (9.0 points).
There was also another surprising top place finisher in this tournament. Finishing in places 7-11 with 8.5 points were Robert Byrne, Stephan Popel, Attilio Di Camillo, Edmar Mednis and the almost unknown Francisco Ballbe Anglada of Spain.
In the following game Cobo-Arteaga demonstrated what John Collins described as precision and rare composure in a manner reminiscent of his illustrious predecessor Capablanca. That's not quite correct. Collins superficially annotated the game based on the outcome, but that was not uncommon in pre-engine days. Nevertheless, it was still an impressive performance by Cobo-Arteaga!
Herbert Avram–Eldis Cobo-ArteagaE87US Open, Rochester, Minnesota1958Stockfish 15.1
King's Indian, Saemisch Variation 1.d4 f6 2.c4 g6 3.c3 g7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0-0 6.e3 e5 7.d5 h5 8.d2 f5 9.exf5 gxf5 10.0-0-0 e7 10...c5 11.dxc6 xc6 12.xd6 a5 Favors white. Franco Raymundo,E-Papapostolou,C Varna
1962 11.d3 a6 A versatile move. Black has already obtained chances on the
K-side and in the center and now he seeks play on the Q-side. 12.ge2 b5
Offering a P. 13.g5 Safe. 13.cxb5 axb5 14.xb5 and black has some
vague hope of establishing Q-side counterplay on the open files somewhat like
he does in the Benko Gambit. 13...f7 14.df1 14.g4 White chooses a
rather passive line. fxg4 15.fxg4 f4 16.xf4 exf4 17.hf1 e5 18.h6
and white is quite well off. 14...bxc4 15.xc4 d7 16.h3 Much too
passive. 16.g4 is still the move. f4 17.e4 b6 18.b3 a5 19.a4 a6 20.c2 h8 Black begins a phase of regrouping and feeling out his opponent. 21.d1 ab8 22.he1 b7 23.d2 g6 24.c6 fb8 25.2c3 f7 26.a2 a7 27.h4 c8 Threatening to win the Q with ...Bd7 28.g5 g8 Now the threat is to win a
piece with ...Bf6 29.f2 h6 30.ge4 f7 As an example of so many
annotations in the old days the annotator claimed that with this move the wily
Cobo-Arteaga entices Avram into an unsound tactical continuation. In fact,
this move is, itself, unsound! 30...g3 with complications seems to be his
best line. 31.b1 The most solid continuation. 31.b5 This leads to a
messy position. d7 32.c2 ab7 31...xe4 32.fxe4 ab7 with equal
chances. 31.xb6 31.xd6 this refutes black's idea! cxd6 32.xb6 ab7 33.xa5 and white has the better of it. 31...xb6 32.xd6 f8 Snapping
the trap shut says the annotator who noted that white must lose his N on d6 or
surrender his Q for a R+B+P. It's not at all true, but it's still a very fine
move. In fact, it's the only move that keeps the chances equal. 33.xc8
After this white has a lost position. 33.e8 This move was missed by the
annotator and both players, but not the engines which evaluate the position as
almost dead equal...meaning both sides have chances. cxd6 33...xe8 would
leave white with a vastly superior position after. 34.xe8 g3 35.xg7 xg7 36.xe5 34.xh5 c7 equals 33...xc6 34.xa7 xc3+ This unexpected
counter-blow is the only move to keep the advantage. White's K is now fatally
exposed. 35.bxc3 a3+ 36.b1 xc3 37.ee2 e4 Threatening to win the B
with ...Qa1+ 38.b2 d3+ There is a bit of controversy in the game's actual
finish. 39.ec2 This is the finish as given in the tournament book and the
annotated game's republication in Chess Life. 39.bc2 This is the move
that appeared in the unannotated game as given in an earlier copy of Chess
Life. d1+ and white, facing mate in 5, resigned. 40.c1 xe2 41.c2 d1+ 42.c1 d4 43.c3 xc3 mate next move. 39...f1+ White resigned. 39...f1+ 40.c1 d3+ 41.bc2 41.cc2 xb2 42.xb2 d4+ 43.b1 xa7 Black is
clearly winning. 41...d4 42.c3 xa7 Black is winning. 
No comments:
Post a Comment