Saturday, August 18, 1934

Straightened up the house good. Made some donuts. Played ball with Anna Catherine and Pauline a while.

Randolph Scott (left) in Comanche Station


Born George Randolph Crane Scott in Orange, Virginia, on 23 January 1903,
Scott lied about his age at 14 and enlisted for service in World War I. After returning home he got a degree in engineering, then joined the Pasadena Community Playhouse. While golfing, Scott met millionaire filmmaker Howard Hughes, who helped him enter films as a bit player.

In the mid '30s he began landing better roles, both as a romantic lead and as a costar. Later he became a Western star, and from the late '40s to the '50s he starred exclusively in big-budget color Westerns (39 altogether). From 1950-53 he was one of the top ten box-office attractions. Later in the '50s he played the aging cowboy hero in a series of B-Westerns directed by Budd Boetticher for Ranown, an independent production company.

Randolph Scott retired from acting in 1962. Having invested in oil wells, real estate, and securities, he was worth between $50-$100 million when he died in Los Angeles on March 2, 1987.

Friday, August 18, 1933

Went up to Mrs. S's birthday party. Had chicken, slaw, beans, ice cream, cake, etc. Stayed all night at Rita Mae's.

Lester Joseph Gillis
AKA: George Nelson, "Baby Face" Nelson, "Jimmy" Nelson
December 6, 1908 – November 27, 1934
American bank robber and gangster

On August 18, 1933, Nelson committed his first major bank robbery in Grand Haven,
Michigan. It was almost his last bank robbery, too. After holding up the Peoples Savings
Bank, the car carrying Nelson and his crew crashed into a tree after a tire went flat. The
robbers abandoned their car and then held up three boys in a smaller car and drove away
in it. On the floor of the wrecked car, police found a check drawn on the Peoples Savings
Bank of Grand Haven. Police searched for the bank robbers to no avail.

After being dubbed a "public enemy" by J. Edgar Hoover and spending time on the
"most wanted" list, Nelson was killed in a running gun battle with F.B.I. agents.