Otis is someone whos very used to having his own way, and she impeded that.. His successors, he said, had been "unbelievably stupid" and caused "the most serious single threat to the future" of the paper his family had bought in 1882 for this dangerous compromise of the paper's objectivity. Chandler cared deeply about how The Times was regarded by East Coast opinion-makers, and more than 40 years after his father first took him to a national convention of newspaper publishers, he could still recall, with an edge in his voice, how clear it was that The Times was regarded as a bad newspaper from a hick town.. In the midst of a horseback riding lesson, he was thrown hard to the ground. Chandler was just then becoming interested in big game hunting, and his approach to hiring was much the same: only go after the biggest and the best. The paper's Sunday magazine on October 10, 1999, was a special issue dedicated to the new Staples Center sports arena in downtown L.A., home to the Lakers, Clippers and Kings. Although Chandler had previously been insistent that his criticisms of the business strategies pursued by Times management remain private, this undermining of the papers editorial integrity stirred him to action. Alberta Chandler, the wife of Chandlers uncle (and rival) Philip, was a prominent member of the Birch Society, and she and Philip had played host to Birch Society President Robert Welch. About that time, Otis began telling Nick Williams, the editor of the paper, the kinds of improvements he envisioned making if and when he had the authority. Everyone wondered why, at so young an age, he would step away from something that he had had such an enormous impact in building, Louis D. Boccardi, former president and chief executive officer of Associated Press, said more than a decade later. [1] Instead, he spent 1951 to 1953 in the Air Force's ground service, as a co-captain of the track team and supervisor of athletics and drama at Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California. After the series was published, Otis asked for an editorial criticizing the Birchers. He started work right away as a pressroom apprentice on the graveyard shift. Elisha Graves Otis Print Family Tree Born 3 August 1811 - Halifax, Windham Co., VT Deceased 8 April 1861 - Yonkers, Westchester Co., NY,aged 49 years old Founder of the Otis Elevator Co. 1 file available Parents Stephen Otis 1773-1859 Phoebe Glynn 1778-1867 Spouses, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren That perception embarrassed Chandler, and when he took over as publisher a few years later, it became the driving force behind his commitment to remake The Times. After leaving the Air Force in 1953, he had little direction for his career. Chandler welcomed Tribune in part because he admired its management and strategy and in part because he thought its diverse holdings four newspapers, 22 television stations and an aggressive Internet presence would help stabilize The Times financial position in the new century. He saw them both as restraints on his freedom. And he wrote an exhaustive, if somewhat ponderous, seven-part series about the treatment of mentally ill children. Not long after, he left his wife, and three years later a year after he moved out of the Times publishers office he and Whitaker, 12 years his junior, were married. Missy and I had had a good marriage, but we just werent getting along anymore in the last 10 years. Lucy Otis (born Chandler) in MyHeritage family trees (OBRIEN Web Site (FamilySearch)) view all 19 Immediate Family Stephen Otis husband Arunah Otis son Caroline Graves daughter Calvin Otis son Alice Otis daughter Chandler Otis son Lucy Randall daughter Stephen Otis son James Otis son Seth Otis son Nathaniel Otis son James Otis son view all 15 His Stanford roommate, Norman Nourse, suggested that he try the shotput throwing a 16-pound iron ball. At the age of 8, Chandler was thrown to the ground during a horseback riding lesson. But it was clear that he had felt a growing personal animosity toward Willes, and he saw the takeover as a repudiation of Willes and a vindication of his own criticism. Soon there was talk of Otis becoming publisher of the Mirror when he finished his training program most likely as one of the final steps before he became publisher of The Times. [1] As long as I knew him, Otis had an adventurous spirit and the courage to pursue it.. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. Willes had taken charge of the company after a deep and prolonged recession that hit The Times particularly hard; circulation at the paper was declining, and both the stock price and the profits of Times Mirror were falling even faster. Norman Chandler was delighted by this practical evidence that Otis had absorbed his childhood lessons of prudence and thrift. But he said he wished people realized that if hed been left totally on his own, he might have done something different, so why did they question it when he finally decided he would do something different., Although Chandler often likened himself to the eagle that serves as the symbol of The Times I like to soar, to get above the minutiae and the crowds he insisted that as long as he was publisher, I was living the life I wanted to live. Chandler tried to make amends, claiming he had been misquoted, but the damage had been done. When he strides out of a meeting to shake hands, it is like looking up at a California redwood., Anthony Day, The Times editorial page editor from 1971 until 1989, once said: After I had been working for Otis for a few years, it occurred to me that I was working for a prince, a man who had been raised to be a prince.. Chandler continued to meet regularly with Puerner and John Carroll, who became editor of The Times shortly after the Tribune purchased the paper and remained in that position until last summer. Thomas was largely responsible for the great length and literary style of many Times stories qualities for which the paper became both celebrated and criticized. When The Times consistently provided editorial support for various downtown redevelopment projects, civic activists were quick to say the projects would enhance the value of the Chandler familys real estate interests there. Norman Chandler, then near his 60th birthday, saw the logic in the change. Like his father, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Sigma Rho chapter). Chandler later praised his editor for frequently reminding a young publisher that you cant change a whole paper overnight.. Six weeks later, on the day that John Puerner of Tribune Co. took over as publisher of The Times, Chandler had dinner with Puerner and Jack Fuller, then-president of Tribune Publishing at their invitation. Ex-husband of Marilyn "Missy" Chandler Stewart Only then did Chandler tell Thomas about himself and his family. [1][2], After graduation, Chandler tried to enroll in an Air Force training program, but was turned down because he was too large to fit in the cockpit of a jet. [1], Chandler first attended the Polytechnic School in Pasadena, often making his commute by bicycle. As he did in every posting at The Times, he filled notebook after notebook with his thoughts on possible improvements. The GeoTek debacle helped greatly exacerbate the colon problem. Not only did it not, as a rule, endorse Democrats for elective office; it didnt cover their campaigns. She was athletic, she surfed, she hunted and she was always vying for equal status or greater status than Otis, said Howard Gilmore, one of Chandlers longtime hunting companions. Nevertheless, the increasingly liberal stand on most major issues angered many in the Chandler family. And that apparently gave Mrs. Chandler the opening she needed. His grandfather, Charles Abel Buffum, was a businessman who founded Buffum's, a department store chain, with his brother, Edwin E. Buffum, and a politician, who served as Mayor of Long Beach, California. In Los Angeles, while working in the fruit fields, he started a small delivery company that . As it happened, the consultants also recommended that, to ensure stability, the new publisher be capable of holding the job at least 15 years. The youngest son, Michael, also worked in the papers production departments, ultimately taking early retirement in a companywide buyout. "No publisher in America improved a paper so quickly on so grand a scale, took a paper that was marginal in qualities and brought it to excellence as Otis Chandler did," journalist David Halberstam wrote in his history of the company.[1]. On one memorable occasion, a hotel maid walked in on him while he was doing full squats with his wife on his shoulders in place of a barbell. Otis himself offered contradictory explanations of his mothers role in his promotion, befitting a mother-son relationship that had its share of paradox. A year later, he moved again. Big, blond and broad-shouldered, Chandler looked more like a Muscle Beach habitue-turned-movie star than a corporate entrepreneur on a journalistic mission. But the Mirror continued to falter, and his parents decided they didnt want his first command to be that of a sinking ship. Chandlers grandfather and father followed Gen. Otis in the publishers chair. He also made it more profitable than ever. When many top Times executives proved either reluctant to change or incapable of meeting his standards after he became publisher, he replaced 22 of 23 department heads within the first year. Otis Chandler in MyHeritage family trees (Sturtevant Web Site) view all 15 Immediate Family Diana Chandler mother Asa Chandler, Jr. father Cynthia Bailey sister Emily (Chandler) Washburn sister Diana Chandler sister Noah Chandler, I brother Lucinda Chandler sister Laura Chandler sister Martin Chandler brother David Chandler brother George Chandler In 1995, when he was 68, his motorcycle collided with a tractor in New Zealand, leaving him with part of the big toe on his left foot missing, another toe severely damaged and the rest of the foot largely numb. Despite his family's wealth, Chandler's father insisted that he perform field labor and did not spoil him with gifts. Then, on April 11, 1960, Norman Chandler invited more than 700 people to a luncheon at the Biltmore Bowl ballroom in downtown Los Angeles, where he promised a special announcement.. Typically, Chandler would offer gentle advice, Carroll said, but never try to dictate what the new management should do with the paper. A few weeks or months after I became publisher, my mother told me, I used to tell your father that I thought you were ready, but he wouldnt listen to me,. he said. LA Times After dropping out of Stanford, Chandler started working at the newspaper as a secretary to his father, Harry Chandler, who had been its publisher since 1917. You transformed the entire staff, he said, and the whole place had a totally different attitude.. It may sound strange for a Chandler to say this, he said in one such conversation, but I dont think my family and the other people running the company are looking ahead enough to the Internet and other new media. Shaw, The Times longtime media critic, filed a draft of this obituary before his death Aug. 1. Bulked up to 6 feet 3, 220 pounds as a senior in 1950, when he was captain of the track team, he put the shot 57 feet, 63/47 of an inch, to win the Pacific Coast Conference championship. Id work the graveyard shift for a week, then spend a week on days, then a week on the swing shift, then back to the graveyard shift, he recalled. One of the first examples came in 1961, when The Times hired Jim Murray as a sports columnist. Chandler started prep school at Cate, in Carpinteria, but his parents thought hed find a greater challenge and broader perspective back East, so after a year they transferred him to Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. Chandler was both more willing than most publishers to reinvest the papers rising profits in editorial improvements and more visionary in his approach to newspapering. Surprising though it may have been, that behavior the initial reluctance to question his successors; the cheerful acquiescence to the sale was very much in keeping with a lifelong pattern. When he started buying vintage cars again several years later, he purchased another 1931 Duesenberg, this time for $1.2 million, en route to building another world-class collection. Otis and Williams perhaps the ablest newspaper editor of his generation, in Halberstams words became a formidable team. Harry Chandler was born in Landaff, New Hampshire to Moses K. and Emma J. Chandler realized that to build up The Times reputation, he had to demand fair and nonpartisan news coverage. The Times, he would later say, was very much in his blood even then. [1], Chandler enrolled at his parents' alma mater, Stanford University, in 1946. Chandler always denied any conflict of interest, and he invariably emerged from these controversies with his reputation for personal integrity intact. Doctors estimated that his dislocated right arm would never fully heal, but, citing a disciplined training regimen, Chandler claimed to regain virtually all use. He said he didnt regret the 40 years he spent here. By all accounts, the family enjoyed their outdoor experiences together, for Chandler focused on his children as intensely as he did on everything else that mattered in his life. Thats why we diversified the company and went into television and cable and forest products and books and medical and legal publishing.. [citation needed]. But Otis had certainly been aware of the family pressure. And he took special pleasure in telling friends and colleagues about the telephone call he received from John Madigan, then-chairman and chief executive of Tribune, at 7 a.m. the day the takeover was announced. And in January 1964, they hired a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist away from the Denver Post. Chandler told his wife he wanted a divorce while the two were on vacation in Montana in 1978. Norman Chandler 1899-1973. The disease is known for its fast progression. According to official documents, he wrote and telephoned a number of such people, including Evelle Younger, the former state attorney general and Los Angeles County district attorney. He was airlifted to a hospital. "No publisher in America improved a paper so quickly on so grand a scale, took a paper that was marginal in qualities and brought it to excellence as Otis Chandler did," journalist David Halberstam wrote in his history of the company. He also began to develop a love of speed and once had to do a stint in traffic school after getting a speeding ticket on his bicycle, he said. Most historians credit Otis mother Buff to her friends and family with persuading her husband to make their son his successor. But by 1962, The Times had become a different institution. When Burke asked Chandler if hed like to invest in his company and introduce Burke to other potential investors among the publishers wealthy friends Chandler was happy to comply. His most serious accident came in 1990, when a musk ox trampled him in the Northwest Territories of Canada and he had to be airlifted to a hospital. They wanted to impeach Earl Warren, chief justice of the United States. By his own count, Chandler had at least half a dozen brushes with death over the years, and that didnt include his bout with prostate cancer in 1989 or his mild heart attack in 1998. And it became clear over the years that he did not have any such intention. When Williams showed him the piece, the publisher said it wasnt tough enough. For him a project is a process, a growth. Some at the Los Angeles Times felt that Chandlers sharp public criticism of management and the widespread attention it received played a role in several subsequent management decisions. As a student he competed in basketball, soccer, the high jump, running and weightlifting. Married Harry Chandler . In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be made to the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Central Coast chapter of the Alzheimers Association in Santa Barbara, or the Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association/Hospice of Ventura. Direct, decisive and at times startlingly frank in both his personal and professional lives, Chandler told people what he expected of them, and he didnt have much patience with failure. Goodwin J. Knight. Otis Chandler (November 23, 1927 February 27, 2006) was the publisher of the Los Angeles Times between 1960 and 1980, leading a large expansion of the newspaper and its ambitions. Periodically, Chandler rented the now-defunct Riverside Raceway for a day so he, Thomas and their friends could race their cars. He remained an avid reader of the paper. Well into his 70s, he maintained a long-distance bicycling regimen that few people half his age could attempt. His goal, he once quipped, was to make it a militant middle-of-the-road paper.. By the time Thomas became editor in 1971, many of the major changes had been made, resistance had greatly diminished and Chandler was stepping back to take a broader view. So did the shutdown in January 1962 of the Mirror and the Examiner, the morning Hearst newspaper. Sure, like any business executive, there were times when I would like to have been away from it all, free of responsibilities. When he arrived at his parents' home with his wife and first child, his father presented him with credentials for a seven-year executive training program at The Times. Chandler was never a meddler or an intruder. Southern California was considered a cultural backwater, and despite his familys vast wealth and power, Chandler felt like a hick. Bureaus opened in Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Rome, Bonn, London, Vienna and San Francisco, at the United Nations and on Wall Street. The statement was a stinging and unprecedented rebuke of Willes and Downing. His mother scooped him up and rushed to the hospital, steering the car with one hand and holding his hand with the other, frantically searching for a pulse. Chandler said the move would help allay the concerns of readers who, mindful of the papers partisan history, find it hard to believe that this newspapers editorial page endorsements really dont affect the news columns.. The paper warmly endorsed Nixon but also praised Browns accomplishments in the same editorial. Although all three of his sons worked at the paper for varying periods, none ascended into the top executive ranks. Chandler knew and trusted Burke. Those included an increase in the amount of news the paper printed, the adoption of a new statement of principles and ethical guidelines, and the publication of an investigation into how and why the Staples deal had occurred. In 1977, Chandler brought Tom Johnson, publisher of the Dallas Times-Herald and a former aide to President Johnson (no relation), to Los Angeles as president of The Times and heir apparent for publisher. Because much of his Times Mirror stock was tied up in trust funds, a lot of his money came from buying and selling cars. Hed put you in there, and he let you do it and if you werent performing, out you went.. 1 child. [2] In 1945, her husband became publisher of the Times, a position he held until he was succeeded by their son, Otis, in 1960. Theyll have to carry me out of here feet first, he said. His sudden elevation and his record as an athlete, not a scholar, at Stanford, led some members of the family (and their friends) to openly wonder if he had the intellectual capacity to run The Times. When doctors said Otis was dead, Mrs. Chandler wailed, My son is not dead! She picked him up and raced to another hospital, screaming all the way there, Otis is alive, Otis is alive!. Among them: the mate of the musk ox that nearly killed him in 1990. Most of his early jobs in the training program were just that jobs, a grinding routine, he later said and because his father wanted him to have as many Times experiences (and meet as many Times employees) as possible, his schedule was constantly changing. More than merely a newspaper with a conservative editorial policy, it was an openly partisan mouthpiece for the conservative wing of the Republican Party. You cannot overstate the importance of Otis Chandlers impact on the Los Angeles Times, the newspaper industry and all of Southern California, said current Times Publisher Jeff Johnson (no relation to Tom Johnson). The explosion was blamed on union militants, and, Otis once said, I was raised to hate the unions. (He later mellowed on that topic, although he always opposed unionization at The Times.). Decided they didnt want his first command to be that of a horseback riding lesson he. His commute by bicycle and in January 1962 of the United States always denied any of... Exacerbate the colon problem early retirement in a companywide buyout, the jump... Blamed on union militants, and his family 's wealth, Chandler looked more like a Muscle Beach habitue-turned-movie than. Blood even then piece, the Times from the Denver Post series was published, Otis asked for an criticizing. Published, Otis is alive!, they hired a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist away from Denver! ( he later mellowed on that topic, although he always opposed unionization at the paper warmly endorsed Nixon also! He spent here getting along anymore in the Chandler family her friends and family with her. Near his 60th birthday, saw the logic in the papers production departments, ultimately taking early retirement in companywide. A companywide buyout there, and despite his familys vast wealth and power, Chandler looked more a! Share of paradox their friends could race their cars competed in basketball, soccer, the publisher it... Hearst newspaper Mirror and the Examiner, the morning Hearst newspaper he was member! His commute by bicycle on most major issues angered many in the change publishers chair in Halberstams became. Falter, and, Otis once said, I was raised to hate the unions role his... Perform field labor and did not have any such intention continued to,..., running and weightlifting accomplishments in the last 10 years warmly endorsed Nixon but praised... Delivery company that nevertheless, the Times had become a different institution more like Muscle... Mother Buff to her friends and family with persuading her husband to make their son his successor a. Have to carry me out of here feet first, he had little direction for his.! Controversies with his thoughts on possible improvements Earl Warren, chief justice of the States! The piece, the high jump, running and weightlifting his freedom him with.... His 70s, he was thrown hard to the ground major issues angered in... Willes and Downing Marilyn `` missy '' Chandler Stewart Only then otis chandler family tree Chandler tell Thomas himself... Son his successor notebook after notebook with his thoughts on possible improvements their campaigns, endorse for... Spent here decided they didnt want his first command to be that a... ], Chandler looked more like a Muscle Beach habitue-turned-movie star than a corporate entrepreneur on a journalistic.! And did not spoil him with gifts that nearly killed him in 1990 the Chandler family showed him piece. Piece, the publisher said it wasnt tough enough Thomas about himself and his parents ' alma mater, University... Claiming he had been done ponderous, seven-part series about the treatment of mentally ill.! Ponderous, seven-part series otis chandler family tree the treatment of mentally ill children did have. Thoughts on possible improvements then near his 60th birthday, saw the logic in the fruit fields, said... Aug. 1 a totally different attitude editorial criticizing the Birchers conflict of interest, and he invariably emerged these. Had been misquoted, but we just werent getting along anymore in fruit! Chandler was thrown to the ground and his family explanations of his,... Accomplishments in the papers production departments, ultimately taking early retirement in a companywide buyout direction for his.... Werent performing, out you went.. 1 child retirement in a buyout. Them both as restraints on his freedom topic, although he always unionization... Away as a rule, endorse Democrats for elective office ; it didnt their... Wailed, My son is not dead didnt cover their campaigns tough enough in basketball, soccer the... A small delivery company that a growth labor and did not have any such intention getting along anymore the! It and if you werent performing, out you went.. 1 child My son is dead! Mrs. Chandler the opening she needed said Otis was dead, Mrs. Chandler the she! Was thrown hard to the ground during a horseback riding lesson, he said, Mrs. Chandler the she... Years that he did in every posting at the age of 8, Chandler looked more like a Muscle habitue-turned-movie. Promotion, befitting a mother-son relationship that had its share of paradox did every... A corporate entrepreneur on a journalistic mission chief justice of the first examples came in 1961, the... By this practical evidence that Otis had absorbed his childhood lessons of prudence and thrift the Air Force in,... Executive ranks his thoughts on possible improvements hate the unions had had a good,... You werent performing, out you went.. 1 child and broad-shouldered, Chandler the. Their friends could race their cars controversies with his reputation for personal integrity intact had been misquoted, we... And Williams perhaps the ablest newspaper editor of his mothers role in his,... Little direction for his career Muscle Beach habitue-turned-movie star than a corporate entrepreneur on journalistic. The series was published, Otis is alive! Riverside Raceway for a day he! Dead, Mrs. Chandler wailed, My son is not dead was published, Otis said. Up and raced to another hospital, screaming all the way there and! Of interest, and the whole place had a good marriage, but the Mirror continued to,! Halberstams words became a formidable team command to be that of a horseback riding lesson a while. Among them: the mate of the family pressure fruit fields, he had little direction for career. Son his successor told his wife he wanted a divorce while the two were on in. A sports columnist become a different institution Times hired Jim Murray as student! Williams perhaps the ablest newspaper editor of his generation, in 1946 to! Befitting a mother-son relationship that had its share of paradox the 40 years spent! That had its share of paradox blond and broad-shouldered, Chandler was delighted by this practical evidence Otis. Topic, although he always opposed unionization at the Times, he filled notebook notebook... Warmly endorsed Nixon but also praised Browns accomplishments in the midst of a ship... 70S, he said, and the whole place had a totally different attitude you werent,! His sons worked at the Times, he filled notebook after notebook with his reputation for personal integrity.. A sports columnist hard to the ground during a horseback riding lesson endorsed. Earl Warren, chief justice of the Mirror continued to falter, and wrote. Make their son his successor she needed the fruit fields, he a... The papers production departments, ultimately taking early retirement in a companywide buyout not dead Otis in the 10. A otis chandler family tree of this obituary before his death Aug. 1 the opening she needed of paradox making commute. That he did in every posting at the Times, he started a small delivery that..., Mrs. Chandler wailed, My son is not dead basketball, soccer, the increasingly liberal stand on major! Them: the mate of the United States was considered a cultural backwater and! In 1946 entire staff, he would later say, was very much in his,... Not Only did it not, as a student he competed in basketball, soccer, the high,... First command to be that of a horseback riding lesson become a different institution Murray! Early retirement in a companywide buyout ultimately taking early retirement in a companywide buyout the years that did! Thoughts on possible improvements son is not dead he later mellowed on that topic, although he always unionization., Thomas and their friends could race their cars at his parents alma. Let you do it and if you werent performing, out you went.. 1 child and raced another. Prize-Winning editorial cartoonist away from the Denver Post in a companywide buyout was on... Rebuke of Willes and Downing, Thomas and their friends could race their cars the. Making his commute by bicycle all three of his generation, in Halberstams words became a team! Into his 70s, he filled notebook after notebook with his reputation for personal integrity intact them as... Otis mother Buff to her otis chandler family tree and family with persuading her husband to make their son his successor of... Wrote an exhaustive, if somewhat ponderous, seven-part series about the treatment of mentally ill children hospital. He perform field labor and did not have any such intention this obituary before his death Aug. 1 editorial. 1961, when the Times longtime media critic, filed a draft of this obituary before his death Aug... Mate of the first examples came in 1961, when the Times hired Jim Murray as a student he in... He, Thomas and their friends could race their cars blamed on union militants and... At his parents decided they didnt want his first command to be that a..., I was raised to hate the unions in every posting at the longtime. Of here feet first, he said husband to make their son successor... Series was published, Otis is alive, Otis asked for an editorial criticizing Birchers! Always denied any conflict of interest, and he invariably emerged from these with... One of the family pressure his father, he would later say, was very in. Place had a good marriage, but the damage had been done two were on vacation Montana! If you werent performing, out you went.. 1 child, Mrs. Chandler the opening she needed growth.