Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Manuscripts
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
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Manuscripts
"Presentation to Times Mirror Board of Directors by Otis Chandler. Wednesday, December 6, 1978" Copies of presentation given by Otis to Times Mirror Board regarding the Press Project.
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Manuscripts
1 item. 78-pp. transcript of Marshall Berges' taped interview with Otis Chandler, 1/18/1980. Subjects include: Otis' thoughts on his father's and his mother's contributions to Los Angeles Times and Times Mirror ; Otis' relationships to first wife ("Missy"), his children, his friends and business associates ; Otis' objectivity in evaluation and criticism of others and of himself ; Missy's embarking on a career in urban planning ; "the demise of the marriage" ; origins of Otis' "attitude of independence" and his desire to excel in shot put ; participation in somewhat dangerous sports - surfing, hunting, race car driving, riding motorcycles ; how many Chandler clan members were unhappy with Otis' moving the paper editorial policy from conservative to moderate ; as publisher - "off and running with ten balls in the air...that's just sort of my style" ; changing Los Angeles Times from a paper that was just "dull and gray" ; specifics of what Otis wanted to improve ; the downside of being prominent, of being highly visible ; his philosophy of management.
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Otis Chandler (1927-2006) was the oldest son of Norman Chandler and Publisher from 1960-1980. Chandler attended Stanford and was an internationally-ranked shotputter. The fourth and final descendant of Harrison Gray Otis to run the Los Angeles Times, Chandler oversaw a major expansion of the paper, increasing its the profits and reputation. Date range is 1940-1989.
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1 item. 60-pp. transcript of Marshall Berges' taped interview with Otis Chandler, 12/6/1979. Subjects include: avoiding the draft in 1945 ; starting at Los Angeles Times after World War II ; working in the composing room ; Olympic trials for shot put and discus ; U.S. Air Force ; Los Angeles Times apprenticeships - pressroom, composing room, carpenter shop, etc. ; Otis' family budget was limited by his low wages 1953 - 1958 ; working as a reporter for Los Angeles Times and The Mirror ; closing down of The Mirror (1962) ; working with Nick Williams ; (on working with his uncle, Philip Chandler) "a nice person...(but) he wasn't very bright" ; Norman Chandler's decision to tap Otis as publisher over Philip Chandler.
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1 item: 35-pp. transcript of Otis Chandler being interviewed by KABC radio host Michael Jackson, 2/4/1981. Subjects include: Otis Chandler's title of "Editor-in-Chief," and what that means ; Otis' admiration for Henry Luce ; the 7-year "executive training program" he completed at The Times ; high and lower quality newspapers - Times of London, National Enquirer ; other Times Mirror papers - Hartford Courant, Newsday, Dallas Times Herald ; morning newspapers and afternoon newspapers ; the growing cable television market ; broadcasting vs. "narrowcasting" ; Otis' departure from the Publisher's post in 1980 ; more.
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Manuscripts
Approx. 5 items: approx. 80-pp. of transcripts of interviews, likely by Marshall Berges, with Otis Chandler. The interviews were conducted on several days between 8/1980 and 2/1981. The remarks range across many topics: race car driving ; a four-day visit to the Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch in the 1960s ; other Times Mirror business ventures in broadcast media. Part of this material is a 25-pp. transcript of an interview of Otis Chandler by Michael Jackson of KABC (radio). Segments of the 1980 interviews deal with corrections Otis wished to make to comments made earlier.
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