We were saddened by the passing on October 1, 2017 of clinical psychologist Arthur Janov, who, for his significant contributions to the study of human behavior, for the resulting fame he achieved, and for the glory that thereby inured to his alma mater, had been awarded the Association's LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD at its 2015 reunion.  The author of 11 books, including the international best seller, The Primal Scream, Dr. Janov was the founder and director of the Primal Center in Santa Monica.

Graduated from L.A. High in 1943, he entered the U.S. Navy and served in World War II. He received his B.A. and M.S.W. in psychiatric social work from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his Ph.D. in psychology from Claremont Graduate School, which has inducted him into its Academic Hall of Fame.

Before turning to Primal Therapy, he practiced conventional psychotherapy in his native California. He did an internship at the Hacker Psychiatric Clinic in Beverly Hills, worked for the Veterans' Administration at Brentwood Neuropsychiatric Hospital and was in private practice from 1952 to 1967. He was also on the staff of the Psychiatric Department at Los Angeles Children's Hospital where he was involved in developing their psychosomatic unit. Dr. Janov has been conducting revolutionary research in the field of psychotherapy for more than three decades. As the originator of Primal Therapy, he has treated thousands of patients and conducted extensive research to support his thesis that both physical and psychic ailments can be linked to early trauma. He has concluded that patients can dramatically reduce such debilitating medical problems as depression, anxiety, insomnia, alcoholism, drug addiction, heart disease and many other serious diseases. In 1970 he introduced his radical new approach to therapy to the general public in his first book, The Primal Scream, which became a best-seller and has since sold more than a million copies worldwide. His books have been translated into 24 languages. In 1980, he married France D. Janov, who accompanied him at numerous conferences throughout Europe and South America. She translated The Primal Scream, Prisoners of Pain, and The Feeling Child into French. In 1982 the Janovs relocated to Paris with the opening of the European Primal Institute. In 1989, Dr. Janov and his wife, who also holds a doctorate in psychology,opened the Primal Center in Santa Monica, California, where they sought to train Primal therapists. In 1991, she was named Co-Director, assuming responsibility for the clinical training program, supervising the advanced therapists' work with patients as well as treating patients.

With composer and producer David Foster, Dr. Janov created Primal Scream: The Musical. Foster, who has won sixteen "Grammys," has been producer and music director for Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, Michael Bublé, and a host of others.

The Association's Lifetime Achievement Award has been bestowed upon such distinguished alumni as Oscar-winner Budd Schulberg (script for On the Waterfront), Grammy-award-winning conductor and music director Leonard Slatkin (National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, etc.), actor George Takei (see below), magician Milt Larson, explorer John Goddard, author Ray Bradbury, and star of stage, film and television, Piper Laurie.

We are also, and more recently, saddened by the passing on April 28 of this year of Association president emeritus, and member of our Board of Directors, Colonel Lothrop Mittenthal, Ph.D.  A world expert in cryptography, Col. Mittenthal was the recipient of a bachelor's degree in physics from Cal Tech and a Ph.D. in mathematics from UCLA.  His charisma, his enthusiasm for the Alumni Association, and his unfailing championing and support of its reunions will be missed.

ALUMNI

George Takei (武井 穂郷), film and television star and LA High alum known and beloved by millions for his portrayal of Lt. Sulu in Star Trek, opened on Broadway, October 6, 2015, in the new musical Allegiance. starring with Lea Salonga ("Tony" winner for Miss Saigon).

In February of this year, Allegiance received its Los Angeles premiere at the Aratani Theater with Mr. Takei recreating his starring role.  Inspired by Takei's childhood experiences and memories, Allegiance traverses "the lush California heartland, the windswept prairies of Wyoming and the battlefields of war-torn Europe [to tell] the epic multi-generational tale of deep family loyalty, romance, humor, optimism and unparalleled heroism in the face of fear and prejudice against panese-Americans during World War II and beyond."

 

S'42 Commencement: Adjourned to 1989. Presented here are images from the belated commencement ceremony at L.A. High for the Japanese-American students of LA High's Class of S'42, who were denied their diplomas for over four decades. The newly made grads are shown in Alumni Court flanked by Board of Education member Warren Furutani and School Superintendent Leonard Britten. Also participating was the President and Chair of the Alumni Association in 1989, Marian Kunkel Hope, S'42. (More related to this class is further on.)

Who knew on July 10, 2015, when Donald Trump, campaigning in Los Angeles, met with the father of the late Roman football star Jamiel Shaw, that the candidate would be the next president of the United States?

Jamiel's father had earlier praised Trump in interviews on Fox News for the presidential hopeful's controversial criticism of illegal immigration and had testified before Congress, calling upon the legislators to consider the Jamiel Shaw, Jr. Memorial Act introduced by Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) requiring States to report and track immigrant crimes and the FBI to publish those statistics. Jamiel was shot and killed in 2008 on the way to his Arlington Heights home, having been taken "in error" to belong of a rival gang because he was carrying a red Spider-Man backpack. The gunman had been freed from jail just two days before the shooting without immigration authorities' having placed a hold on him. In 2012, Jamiel Shaw's killer was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION: Hon. Charles Aronberg, M.D., President and Chair; David Jones, Vice-President; William Allen, Ph.D., Secretary; Fred Atkinson, Treasurer; Marian K. Hope, President Emerita

DIRECTORS: William Allen, Ph.D., Hon. Charles Aronberg, M.D., Fred Atkinson, Marian Hope, David Jones, Eugene Kapetan, Rex Link, Kenneth Westfield, M.D.

AGENT FOR SERVICE OF PROCESS: Marian K. Hope

CONSULTING ATTORNEY: William Ramseyer, J.D.

NEWSLETTER EDITOR: William Allen, Ph.D.