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Home Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection Mr. and Mrs. American Citizen of the Year award at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub

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Mr. and Mrs. American Citizen of the Year award at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub

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Order Number	00138660
Title	Mr. and Mrs. American Citizen of the Year award at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub
Photographer	Curtis, Rolland J.
Collection ID	Rolland J. Curtis Collection
Location/Accession	RC_0079.26
Date	1964
Physical Description	1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm.
Notes	Title supplied by cataloger.
Historical Data	Rolland Joseph 'Speedy' Curtis was born in Louisiana in 1922. After serving three years in the Marines during World War II, he and his wife, Gloria, relocated from New Orleans to Los Angeles in 1946. Curtis served four years with the Los Angeles Police Department, but resigned from the force in order to pursue both a Bachelor's and Master's degree from USC. He later became involved in city politics, as an associate of Sam Yorty, and later a field deputy to City Council members Billy Mills and Tom Bradley. He was briefly director of the Model Cities program in 1973. Rolland J. Curtis died in his home in 1979, the victim of a homicide. An affordable housing complex on Exposition Blvd. near Vermont Ave. was named in his honor in 1981, along with a nearby street and park.; Rosalind (Roz) Wiener Wyman (b. 1930-) was the youngest person (and only the second woman) ever elected to the Los Angeles City Council and one of the youngest elected officials of a major U.S. city, as well as the first Jewish Council member in 53 years. Wyman graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1948 and attended the University of Southern California where she received a B.S. in Public Administration in 1952. She became politically active in college, launched her successful campaign for the City Council seat and was elected in 1953 when she was just 22. During her first Council term in 1954 she married attorney Eugene Wyman, a graduate of Northwestern University and Harvard Law School - a fellow Democratic activist, who founded a large entertainment law firm in Los Angeles. While on the city council, Rosalind Wyman was the first female acting mayor, and she played a pivotal role in bringing the Dodgers baseball team from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1957. Unfortunately, controversies over that arrangement contributed to Wyman's defeat for a fourth term in 1965. After leaving office, and in the sad aftermath of her husband's unexpected death in 1973, Wyman continued her involvement in political and public affairs, her influence extending beyond California to the national Democratic Party. During the 1974 congressional campaigns, she became the first woman to head a major party's fund-raising efforts. She served as Convention Chair and chief executive officer of the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, the first woman of either major Party to wield the gavel at a presidential nominating convention. Wyman has been a delegate to every Democratic National Convention since 1952 (except one), last attending the historic 2008 Convention which nominated Barack Obama. Wyman's national appointments include the UNESCO Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. She has been a leader of the Los Angeles Jewish community, has received many Jewish community awards, chaired fund-raising events, and served on the board of American Friends of the Hebrew University. Wyman has also been a board member of many arts, social services, educational and health organizations, and has received numerous awards, locally and nationally.; The massive 500-room Ambassador Hotel, designed by renowned architect Myron Hunt, opened for business in 1921 on the site of a former dairy farm. It occupied 23.7 acres at 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, bordered by 8th Street, Catalina Street, and nearly to Mariposa Avenue. The hotel served as the stomping grounds for a staggering list of Hollywood legends, heads of state, and an endless list of famous personalities from the 20th Century. It was also home of The Cocoanut Grove nightclub, which was 'the' West Coast hot spot for live entertainment where people like Bing Crosby and Barbra Streisand got their start, and Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and many others came to perform. It is said that as many as seven U.S. Presidents stayed at the Ambassador, from Hoover to Nixon, along with heads of state from around the world. A pivotal moment in world history happened in 1968, when Robert F. Kennedy was shot in a pantry off of the Embassy Room (and died 25 hours later), following his California Primary victory speech. The death of RFK coincided with the beginning of the hotel's demise. The Schine family had owned the Ambassador for about 50 years, until its doors were closed on January 3, 1989 after 68 years of service, selling for $64 million. The landmark hotel was eventually demolished between late 2005 and early 2006.; B'nai B'rith is the largest and oldest Jewish service organization in the world, rooted in defending human rights, intercultural relations, public policy, the position of Israel, Senior advocacy and housing, etc. Established in 1843 in New York's Lower East Side by 12 German-Jewish immigrants in response to "the deplorable condition of Jews" in the United States. The name translates to "Children of the Covenant", orignally named "Bundes-Bruder" (German for "Brothers of the Covenant"), which is made up of fraternal lodges, women chapters and youth chapters in countries all over the world. The organization serves as a vital voice in advocating for global Jewry and promoting Jewish unity and continuity by conferring with government leaders on issues affecting Jews throughout the world. Their headquarters is located in Lafayette Centre at 1120 20th St NW, #300n, Washington, DC 20036.
Description	Pictured are husband and wife Eugene L. Wyman and City Councilwoman Rosalind Wiener Wyman holding their plaque together for the 'Mr. and Mrs. American Citizen of the Year' award from the B'nai B'rith at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub. The award reads as follows: "In recognition of unselfish service to humanity and of outstanding accomplishments as loyal and devoted Americans, this award is presented to Mr. and Mrs. Eugene L. Wyman as 'Mr. and Mrs. American Citizen' for the year of 1964." Photograph dated April 12, 1964. See images 00119191; 00119774 through 00119777; 00134147, 00134148; and 00138641 through 0013680 for additional photos in this series.
Subject	Wyman, Rosalind Wiener. Ambassador Hotel. Cocoanut Grove (Los Angeles, Calif.). B'nai B'rith.--Los Angeles Lodge No. 487. Lost architecture. Hotels. Nightclubs. Associations, institutions, etc. Women city council members. City council members. Award presentations. Award winners. Awards. Plaques, plaquettes. Husband and wife. Jews--United States. Jewish women. Women. Men. Los Angeles (Calif.).
Coverage	1960; 1961; 1962; 1963; 1964; 1965; 1966; 1967; 1968; 1969
Format	Photographic safety negatives
Credits	Made accessible through a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation.
Rights	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Reproduction Information	Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html for additional information.
Internal Notes	Additional photographic print : b&w ; 10 x 13 cm. See Folder Record PH-RC-0079_01-0080_02 for upload information.
Sub-Collection Name	Los Angeles Photographers Photo Collection