Simpson freeway chase forever changed America and her.. This interview was conducted in 2002. - IMDb Mini Biography By: William McPeak (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous). Reginald Denny. It was ridiculed as infantile. His legacy should not be the struggles and troubles of his personal life, but the immensely positive change his existence wrought on this city and its police department. Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty ImagesTwo residents walk out of the chaos taking place on the streets of LA. The Jones of the title, played by Denny, is a bachelor from out-of-town, Everything just fell in place, just like it was supposed to," Murphy said. South Central L.A. was undergoing massive shifts in its population. Good afternoon. Then we see the O.J. In 1992, Americans watched South Central Los Angeles go up in flames on the news. And after a jury acquitted the four police officers, that outrage erupted into riots that left some 55 dead; more than 1,000 injured; and more than $800 million in damage in the City of Los Angeles. Ad Choices. It is pretty harrowing stuff. that Im still undecided on. It's the TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1725 titles we cover. When something this horrific is happening before your eyes, should you stay and capture the scene or should you run for safety and/or help those in immediate danger? But once in a while, you have some racist remark, and I feel like I had to stand up and say something about it and bring the ignorance back down to a level where it's tolerant. For Tim Goldman it was simply luck that he happened to be at ground zero with his camera when the racial tension came to a head. 2023 Cond Nast. As horrible as it is, thanks for sharing nevertheless, Patrick. Kings voice is unsteady; he fumbles for the words and appears on the verge of tears. Because they had limited employment opportunities, many of them started their own businesses in the neighborhoods. I assumed when I first saw this cover art that Dennys films would be In doing so, he left his own business vulnerable. May 15, 1992 12 AM PT TIMES STAFF WRITER A lawyer for one of the four men arrested in the April 29 attack on truck driver Reginald O. Denny on Thursday said Denny may have provoked the. film of the three, and an incredible showcase for Dennys talents as both Recognizing her potential, she was brought to the attention of some Hollywood types who agreed to give her a try. Hi. Each person who lost someone in the riots maintains a quiet, loving reserve, as though the grief is so permanent that it does not need acknowledgement. Even though Tim had some of the most desirable footage filmed in the heart of the civil unrest, not everyone was impressed with his camera skills. when he met a neighborhood boy who was trying to fly a bulky When he tried to help by making an adjustment Drama Music Romance In order to show up a rival, a snobbish woman throws a party and hires an actor to pretend to be from British royalty who is an "old friend". (Reading) One of King's legacies is that he raised the curtain on the video age: If a man had not stepped outside of his home and videotaped the beating, King would have been lost to history. We are ready to recognize the humanity of those who were victims of an unequal system; the films poise forces us to recognize, as well, the humanity of those who served as executioners. The violence that broke out during that week of unrest remains embedded in the memory of the citys people to this day. Taking a shortcut off the Santa Monica Freeway down Normandie Avenue was nothing out of the ordinary for 33-year-old Reginald Denny. Because Denny is white, thats the bottom line. Ridley gives most of the film over to people who were there, letting them tell their stories. The incident was foremost an accumulation of the unrest that had been building in the community for a long time. Then, of course, everything goes wrong! They just went into action. Richard Kim was far from the only Korean American resident forced to take up arms to protect his familys business. Denny between a wealthy heiress and a destitute Lord takes place after said Lord puts LitCharts Teacher Editions. On March 3, 1991, the brutal police beating of a Black man named Rodney King who was chased by police over a traffic violation was captured on camera. Although Timothy does not regret documenting the events on that horrible day, it does remind me of the ethical question I posted earlier. Tensions inside the neighborhood a mix of racial minority demographics long plagued by urban blight reached a boiling point after multiple incidents of racial violence against Black residents. Its a thoroughly enjoyable Soon, the realization hit me. Simpson case come along, and we see an acquittal of O.J. (Denny was attacked a block south of there shortly afterward.) recorded Straight Outta Compton, addressing police brutality on a record that would go triple platinum, and capturing the feeling of turbulence and trouble in the neighborhoods south of the 10 freeway. MATT: Oh. MATT: I think, to be honest with you, it was something like "Entertainment Tonight," maybe, or the - you know, a popular culture, you know, program on FOX. Patrick Hall is a founder of Fstoppers.com and a photographer based out of Charleston, South Carolina. When it was all over, the chaos killed nearly 60 people and injured thousands of others. But the trial judge, Joyce Karlin, instead sentencedher to five years probation, four hundred hours of community service, and a five-hundred-dollar fine. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Almost no one who is interviewedfrom the men who attacked Reginald Denny to the parents of slain children to the officers who killed unarmed citizenslooks back with certainty that they would have done anything differently. There was recently an incident - I feel bad I cannot remember the young man's name - but these three big, white police officers jumped out of an unmarked car and this 16-year-old was walking home - or 18-year-old - from his grandmother's house and they beat the tar out of this young man, and he was - and they - and then they get off and this and that. When Harlins tried to leave, without the orange juice, Du shot her in the back of the head, killing her instantly. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. A nearly all-white jury acquitted the four white LAPD officers involved in his beating. And though there were undoubtedly racial divides which stretch far back across the history of America that contributed to the violence, to paint the unrest as merely a clash between cultures would be a gross oversimplification. But my concern is that we have to change most of our institutions, you know, the workplace. Patrick on the line with us from Los Angeles. The man in the video is Timothy Goldman. The video below starts with the first attack on a motorist named Larry Tarvin, but it is the second attack on Denny that shows just how hostile the environment had quickly become. excels here. Instant downloads of all 1725 LitChart PDFs Is that right? Police were not deployed until three hours after the riots had begun. Skinners The People v. O. J. Simpson Will Be with Us Forever. Let's see if we get a caller in on the conversation. Even Tim's brother Terry received threats and their relationship became strained for many years. fortunes for love, etc. no good, Jones knows his virtue must be unassailable until the wedding on the to Jones?, not to mention my enjoyment of The Reckless Age,that Its all theoretically very funny, and if youre even moderately wealthy Of course, we know her today by her screen name. The family has plans to open a bakery. The drama, starring Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, is a study of male lonelinessa familiar theme in prestige TV that finds renewed urgency in an Asian American context. (interview from 2002) He has been brain damaged and economical destroyed so people . The fact that Denny was white didnt matter to Murphy then and it doesnt matter now. that his wife has told everyone in the neighborhood that he got a raise. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. But this launched with. The causes and conditions of the riots in Los Angeles in 1992appalling racial injustice and a largely white state force rarely held accountablepersist. family, his father being stage actor/singer W.H. He said he began beating on the hood of the truck "claiming" it as his own, so that the rioters would think "hes got that" and would go find somewhere else to be destructive. About 40 percent of property damaged belonged to Korean Americans. The film puts his range to the test and he truly never seen any of Dennys films as a leading man. But amid the chaos and violence, Lee found himself with a borrowed gun, trying to protect his parents business. wherein he was but a supporting player, and even then I couldnt have told you I give Kinos Reginald Denny Collection a strong recommendation! We may not have been able to respect him in life for that, but let us respect him at last in death. Copyright 2012 NPR. The attack was captured on video by a news helicopter. Korean American business owners took up arms and positioned theirselves on the roofs of their buildings at the height of the riots. Parker argues that the LA Four were targeted because, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. You know, wish fulfillment material. 2002 Reginald Denny Interview: Lasting Physical Effects of Beating. (Interview from 2002) Getty ImagesOnce the uprising was in full-swing, residents calls to 911 were largely ignored. Oki with us from Springfield, Massachusetts. I was 10 when the LA riots occurred. The murder of 15 year old LatashaHarlinsby a Korean shop keeper was anotherfactor fueling theraciallycharged political climate of Los Angeles. Founder of Radioplane, maker of military target drones. Reginald Denny was born in 1953. I was just calling regarding the conversation that is going on right now. Watching it from the perspective of someone in the United States in Rodney King cut a pathetic path through life for sure, but let us not forget the root of the word pathetic, pathos, which also has a less pejorative connotation of poignancy and tragedy. Let's go next to Josh. The attack was captured on video by a news helicopter and broadcast live . Attempts to make Rodney King a spokesman for black rights were thwarted by his own reluctance and his continued problems with alcohol, drugs and domestic abuse. comedies as a leading man. A Korean store owner is comforted by another resident after she discovered her business looted and burned in South Central Los Angeles during the uprising. Almost no one who is interviewedfrom the men who attacked Reginald Denny to the parents of slain children to the officers who killed unarmed citizenslooks back with certainty that they would . "The journey seemed like it took forever," Murphy said. This includes both http://veteransmemoriesproject.com/Windsor Historical Society ~ Veterans Memories ProjectInterview with Reginald Denny, Driver for Medical Personnel, Canadia. If Denny was Latino, Indian, or black,they wouldnt give a damnthey would not give a damn. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. What happened on that cool March night over two decades ago forever changed me and the organization I love, he said in a statement. Like all the interviewees in the film, she is shot warmly, close enough for us to see her thinking and feeling, but not so close as to feel invasive. Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company. Ridley also zeroes in on the death of Karen Toshima, a twenty-seven-year-old graphic artist, in Westwood, in February, 1988. "He said to me at that moment that he was a truck driver. Taken place at the intersection of 71st and Normandie, semi-truck driver Reginald Denny is beaten without reason for an insufferable amount of time. I appreciate the conversation. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. And though he might have wanted nothing more than to live his life as he did before, history thrust him onto the world stage regardless. At the 16:07 mark on Tur's helicopter footage above I noticed a random man filming everything up close and personal with a massive 90's video camera. responded to the ensuing panic, driven largely by the fear that the gang problem was beginning to affect non-black neighborhoods, by undertaking mass arrests and enhanced enforcement. hes frankly not all that good at his job, only Skinner returns home to find KEN: Hi. He came from an acting Even though they were separate incidents, the racism inherent in these acts of violence weighed on the neighborhoods Black residents. Over the course of six days, 58 people died, 2,000 people were seriously injured, and over 11,000 citizens were arrested. CONAN: In what context did you see the footage? upper crust of their neighborhood. As I would come to soon find out, his story is actually pretty remarkable. Disturbing Interview: Henry "Kiki" Watson finally admits why he took part in the savage vicious attack on truck driver Reginald Denny over 25 years ago durin. Korean business owners formed ad hoc militias; footage presented in Let It Fall shows these groups exchanging gunfire in the middle of the streets. REGINALD DENNY. Reginald Denny was a truck driver who was viciously assaulted during Los Angeles riots in 1992. Getty ImagesWith no assistance from the LAPD, Korean American business owners, now called roof Koreans, and other residents of South Central were left to fend for themselves. With its programs garnering 67 Emmy Awards and six George Foster Peabody Awards, the series has received every major television honor.\r\rRegardless of geographic or economic limitations, Great Performances ensures its audiences the best seats in the house with a roster of artists and performing arts companies that represent a Whos Who of excellence and virtuosity in the international performing arts. Let's go next to - this is Oki(ph). Should the truth be captured and told despite the backlash you personally might receive from the media, your peers, or political groups? Korean Americans on rooftops communicated through walkie talkies as if in the middle of a war zone. In fact, he grew up in this neighborhood around Normandie and . engaged to be married to the daughter of an incredibly wealthy man. Murphy said he made eye contact with the officers, and they just continued on. His patient was Reginald Denny, whose bashing by four African American assailants was captured live by helicopter news crews. Because of his footage, the citizens of America were able to see a different perspective, a more real and frightening perspective, than those captured by Bob Tur and his aerial footage. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. Plus: each Wednesday, exclusively for subscribers, the best books of the week. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. So you - well, a lot of people drew that link to the O.J. direction. And at the time I was at 12 years old, I really don't understand the race issues until she brought it to my attention. Rodney King didn't live up to many folks expectations for him. [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: Denny survived the brutal attack.]. Denny suffered severe injuries as a result of the attack, and he required years to recover. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Denny . "He doesn't consider himself as a hero but he to me is like an angel," Thelma said of her husband. His beating sparked outrage over police brutality. That was also the year that N.W.A. The 1992 L.A. uprising lasted for five days. embarrassing as Skinner attempts to reconcile his upper class living with his working-class Its joke. Owned hobby shop called Reginald Denny's Model Shop on Hollywood Blvd. I'm sorry for my mistaken belief. They told me I didn't understand and I argued with them. CONAN: Here's an email from Becky in Syracuse: Apparently, not enough conversation was had as the result of what happened to Rodney King. April 21, 2017 at 5:00 PM. Looters and arsonists, unfortunately, targeted many local businesses, including Korean-owned shops. He was a flawed man who, when faced with a choice few humans have ever faced, said he didn't want more blood to run in the streets. Minceys death is recalled by his girlfriend. Then, explore 1970s Harlem in these stunning photographs. Before I worked my way through the Reginald Denny Collection, Id You cant! Murphys wife Thelma didnt know him in 1992, but his actions do not surprise her. When you hold a camera (and who isn't holding a cell phone these days) and are placed in a position of capturing something important, what are your civil duties? PDF downloads of all 1725 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. But a wave of immigrants from Latin America and Asia in the following decade shifted the neighborhoods racial makeup. GEORGE: Exactly. Another interesting element of Tim's riot footage is that this footage would later become the main evidence used for arresting and prosecuting specific rioters. Let It Fall maintains a remarkable balance, laying bare how deeply the system was designed to oppress some and privilege others, and still portraying all the players in that system simply as flawed human beings. a bit of comedy if it were to be viewed in a cultural vacuum (note: there is no Murphy then found himself facing off with a large stranger on a day when every stranger posed a threat. After the unrest finally ended, experts assessed about $1 billion in property damage had been done. As does Kings question. We photographers are often faced with the dilemma of do we put down our camera and help those in needor do we keep our eye in the viewfinder and capture the story unfolding in front of us? Struggling with distance learning? find Jones required to impersonate others to evade the law. And, you know, in school we had learned about the civil rights movement and kind of seeing, you know, pictures of dogs biting people, and fire hoses and stuff. I see it everywhere. And Dennys comic performance in all these wacky And this is from James Braxton Peterson, in The Daily Beast. Reginald Denny Gertrude Olmstead Tom Wilson Charles K. Gerrard Addeddate 2020-12-03 05:50:15 Director Harry A. Pollard External-identifier urn:imdb:tt0015663 Genre Comedy Drama Identifier silent-california-straight-ahead Scanner Internet Archive Python library 1.9.6. plus-circle Add . Its a film where things start off simple, but they get so Titus Murphy was watching the violence unfold on TV a few blocks away. Denny's interview illustrates his capacity for forgiveness and his desire to embrace a shared experience with people of other races. CONAN: All right. Some of his video from the day can be seen in the video below. CONAN: All right. While the acquittal of the officers who beat King is remembered as the event that incited the riots, fewer accounts today mention the shooting of Latasha Harlins, which took place less than two weeks after the beating of King came to light. Elaine Young, a real estate agent to Hollywood stars, and Henry Keith Watson, a co-assailant of Reginald Denny, are two of the real people depicted in Anna Deveare Smiths one-woman show \"Twilight: Los Angeles,\" about the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots in 1992. Eight months later, Du was found guilty of manslaughter, and the jury recommended the maximum sentence of sixteen years. I mean, this guy has some chops! In one of the most disturbing images from the Los Angeles riots, six black assailants dragged Reginald Denny, a 33-year-old truck driver, out of his truck in South Los Angeles and bashed his. If you were old enough to remember the horrible scenes of the Los Angeles riots of 1992, the memory probably most burned into your mind is the ruthless beating of truck driver Reginald Denny. 2023 FilmMonthly. Josh calling us from Yukon, Oklahoma. Murphy said he did have one moment when he was scared: a car load of people carrying guns and sticks approached. You know, that happened in Los Angeles, not Alabama. CONAN: And here's - this one from the News One staff. Actor: Rebecca. He had no role in the videotaping of that beating, though it made the crimes against him and the crimes against himself public, and he never asked to be the spark for the Los Angeles riots, but all those things happened. The video ofRodney Kingthe motorist whose beating by the Los Angeles Police Department, in 1991, would ultimately spark six days of violent unrestaskingCan we all get along? is still, twenty-five years later, astonishing to watch. It became more perilous to pull someone over for driving while black, Cannon said. she then goes on a spending spree that finds them living like the Four strangers ran into the chaos, into certain danger, to rescue a man they didnt even know. Twenty-five years after Reginald Denny was dragged out of his big rig and viciously beaten on live TV during the L.A. riots, the former trucker apparently wants nothing to do with the anniversary of the violence. His mother suffered a gunshot wound while trying to shield his father, who was safeguarding the store. Denny quickly became a symbol of cataclysmic upheaval in Los. JOSH: I don't think it has, and to even say that is - I have half-brother and a half-sister, a Mexican, and so I have a three-dimensional view on the racism and, you know, inequalities of life, compared to what I can get by just being white, and it's unfortunate. And a lot of people - a lot of Caucasians, I think, don't - can't see the same picture as the black society can.