I asked readers to update me on what's in the Sherman Oaks space at 13359 Ventura Blvd. where mafia hangout Rondelli's was located in the 1950s. Le Fondue Bourguignonne recently vacated. Well, Lesley Balla of Eater LA emails that it's going to become a Stone Fire Pizza.

Add Jack Whalen: Rondelli's became notorious in 1959 when a bookie named Jack "The Enforcer" Whalen took a bullet between the eyes at mobster Mickey Cohen's table. Bill Boyarsky reminds me that the wife of former L.A. County Supervisor Baxter Ward [now that was a maverick politician—ed.] was related to Whalen.

* Couple of adds:

  • Retired TV newsman Pete Noyes emails that Ward (who had been news director at Channel 7 and I believe Channel 9) was married to Whalen's daughter Karen.
  • Former Mirror staffer Jerry Clark remembers that the Rondelli's shooting "was a story made for L.A.'s p.m. newspapers, the Los Angeles Herald Express and the Los Angeles Mirror. I remember the competition between the papers to get new information in the early editions on the day following the late-evening shooting. Then, in mid-morning, a Mirror reporter at the scene called the city desk and said the paper may have a chance to interview an eyewitness to the shooting. The reporter had learned that a young member of the paper's Business staff was dining at the restaurant when the shooting occurred. Unfortunately, the business staffer did not show up for work that day. Word went out to restaurants and bars he was known to frequent that he would be terminated if he did not contact the paper. A few hours later he called the desk and told them what he knew about the shooting. He said he did not come forward earlier because he was afraid of what might happen to him if those involved in the shooting found out who he was and where he worked."

© 2003-2009   •  About LA Observed  •  Email the editor
LA Biz Observed
4:03 PM Fri | CBS and ABC have far bigger fish to fry - namely whether their stations can get back the auto and retail advertising that fell off a cliff in 2009.
Native Intelligence
Veronique de Turenne | And there's still time to take part!
Phil Wallace | Searching for answers after a third loss this year.
Deanne Stillman | Jihad and cash offers meet American soldiers during the Gulf War, and beyond.
Iris Schneider | After a tough year financially, the Museum of Contemporary Art put on a gala party to celebrate with 1,000 of its closest friends.
Bill Boyarsky
One of the last of Doug Ring’s many good deeds was a visit to the Los Angeles Times editorial board with members of Housing LA, an organization advocating affordable housing for the thousands of residents being forced out of the city by high rents.
Jenny Burman
Thinking more about buying less.
Here in Malibu
Seriously -- turn out the lights.
Sponsors
Jewish Journal logo
The California Wellness Foundation
Playa Vista ad
Blogads

Blogads Los Angeles network

Get RSS Feeds
of LA Observed
LA Observed publishes several Real Simple Syndication feeds for easy scanning of headlines. If you wish to subscribe to a feed, most popular RSS readers will do it for you. You can also enter the web address from the XML button below or click on a specific feed. For more help with RSS, try here or here.




Add to Google