Lloyd G. Davies
Encyclopedia
Lloyd G. Davies was a Hollywood advertising and public relations man and sometime actor who was a Los Angeles City Council member from 1943 to 1951.

Biography

Davies was born in Los Angeles on July 14, 1914, and was graduated from Canoga Park High School
Canoga Park High School
Canoga Park High School is a public school located in Canoga Park in the western San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States, and is in the Los Angeles Unified School District...

. He took courses in civil law
Civil law
Civil law may refer to:* Civil law , a branch of continental law which is the general part of private law* Civil law , a branch of common law dealing with relations between individuals or organizations...

 and civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

 while working at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is the largest municipal utility in the United States, serving over four million residents. It was founded in 1902 to supply water and electricity to residents and businesses in Los Angeles and surrounding communities...

. He also worked with the city's Right of Way and Land Department in the Owens Valley. He left city employment in 1940 and became involved in the advertising business for two years and was also a public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....

 representative with the Merchants and Manufacturers Association. He invested in a small tool business and a cattle ranch. He was a member of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the Auxiliary Sheriff's Posse, United Commercial Travelers, Native Sons of the Golden West
Native Sons of the Golden West
-History:The Native Sons of the Golden West was founded July 11, 1875 by General A. M. Winn, a Virginian, as a lasting monument to the men and women of the Gold Rush Days...

 and the Lions Club. He lived at 1718 North Sierra Bonita Avenue, Hollywood, while he was a councilman.

A questionnaire he submitted for the Los Angeles Public Library files noted that he was an "enthusiast of hunting and fishing, . . . tennis, swimming, golf, football." He said he was an amateur boxer in the heavyweight class and qualified for the 1932 Summer Olympics
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...

 in Los Angeles by winning a semifinal tournament but he did not compete in the Games themselves. He was also a motion picture actor: He was the narrator in The Red Menace
The Red Menace (film)
The Red Menace is a 1949 anti-communist and anti-Soviet propaganda film released by Republic Pictures.An ex-GI named Bill Jones , who becomes involved with the Communist Party. While in training, Jones falls in love with one of his instructors...

film of 1949.

Davies, who lived at 1718 N. Sierra Bonita Drive, Hollywood, was involved in a traffic incident in July 1950 when a pedestrian ran in front of the councilman's car and was killed. Davies was not at fault.

He died in a Ventura County hospital on September 26, 1957, after being hospitalized for three years. Death was attributed to bronchial pneumonia. His survivors were his ex-wife, Mary Davies; his mother, Margaret L. Davies; three children, Patricia Mary Grissom, Lloyd Jr. and Joanne Bronwyn, and a sister, Martha Wernett. Graveside services were at Oakwood Cemetery, Chatsworth
Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery
The Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 22601 Lassen Street, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California. It has been used as a cemetery since 1924, and there was a Native American graveyard next to the cemetery before a fire destroyed the old wooden crosses that marked the site. The Old...

.

Elections

See also List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1943–53

Davies was easily elected in the primary vote in 1943 when he ran for the open seat in Los Angeles City Council District 2, vacated after Norris J. Nelson
Norris J. Nelson
Norris J. Nelson was a member of the Los Angeles, California, City Council from 1939 to 1943, after which he served in Europe with the U.S. Army.-Biography:...

 joined the Army. He also coasted to victory in the primary elections of 1945 through 1947, but "Recurring illness often forced his absence from Council meetings during his fourth term. He was defeated for reelection in 1951 by Earle D. Baker
Earle D. Baker
Not to be confused with George W. C. Baker, Los Angeles City Council member, 1931–35.Earle D. Baker was a prominent Hollywood food broker who was a member of the Los Angeles City Board of Education from 1949 to 1951 and of the Los Angeles City Council from 1951 until 1959.-Biography:Baker was born...

 after opponents pointed to Davies' attendance record."

The 2nd District at that time was "Bounded on the north by the Hollywood Hills
Hollywood Hills
The Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...

, south by Melrose Avenue, east by the 1st Councilmanic District and west by Beverly Glen Boulevard," but also including Griffith Park.

Positions

Davies was known as a conservative during his time on the City Council, "instrumental in securing legislation stopping commercial gravel operations
Gravel pit
Gravel pit is the term for an open cast working for extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may fill naturally with water to form ponds or lakes. Old, abandoned gravel pits are normally used either as nature reserves, or as amenity areas...

 in the Hollywood Hills
Hollywood Hills
The Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...

 and cleaning up undesirable cocktail bars in the Hollywood area." These are some of the positions he took:

Milk, 1941. Davies "hastily formed" a Milk Service League to fight a proposal prohibiting home milk delivery
Milkman
A milkman is a person, traditionally male, who delivers milk in milk bottles or cartons. Milk deliveries frequently occur in the morning and it is not uncommon for milkmen to deliver products other than milk such as eggs, cream, cheese, butter, yogurt or soft drinks...

 between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily. "He denounced the move as a scheme on the part of A.F.L. Teamsters' Union
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....

 officials to further their dues-collecting hold on home milk deliverymen." He said that "many milk consumers would not be at home to put it [milk] in the refrigerator."

Coliseum, 1944. He unsuccessfully urged that the city buy out the interests of Los Angeles County and the 6th Agricultural District in the Los Angeles Coliseum so that the municipality would be the "sole owner and have sole jurisdiction."

Development, 1949. Davies urged that the city buy the land encircling Barnsdall Park to prevent any "honky-tonk" development." He said the property, because of heavy brush, had "long been a hideout" for what he called "degenerates."

Freeway rail, 1949. He called upon the city to appropriate enough money to ensure that rail transportation could be included on the Santa Monica Freeway, then being built.

Wiretap, 1949. "Activities of the Police Department in installing mechanical eavesdropping devices in the home of [gangster] Mickey Cohen
Mickey Cohen
Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen was a gangster based in Los Angeles and part of the Jewish Mafia, and also had strong ties to the American Mafia from the 1930s through 1960s.-Early life:...

 caused consternation and criticism in the City Council," with Davies asking, "how many other places may have received the same treatment? Could it be that possibly even the homes of a few Councilmen were not neglected?" He said the police "had a lot of explaining to do."

External links


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