James C. Corman
James Charles Corman (1920–2000) was a Los Angeles City Council member from 1957 to 1961 and a Democratic Congressman from California between 1961 and 1981.
[edit] Biography
[edit] General
Corman was born on October 20, 1920, in Galena, Kansas, the son of Ransford D. Corman and Edna V. Corman, both of Kansas. His father was a silica miner who died of lung disease brought on by his work. Young James was brought to California by his mother in 1933; he attended Belmont High School in Los Angeles and earned a bachelor of arts degree from UCLA and a law degree from the University of Southern California. A Methodist, he was married on June 22, 1946, to Virginia Little of Atlanta, Georgia. They had two children, Mary Ann and James C., Jr.[1][2]
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He was said to be "extremely bright, intensely private and sometimes moody"[3] as well as "a courtly man in a tumultuous time . . . with old-fashioned graciousness."[4] At age 68, he was described as a "dapper in monogrammed shirts, leather suspenders and wing-tipped shoes."[2]
Corman died at age 80 on December 30, 2000, after suffering a stroke in a rehabilitation facility in Arlington, Virginia. He was survived by his fourth wife, Nancy Breetwor-Malone.[3] They had two children, Adam and Brian.[2] A funeral service was held in Arlington National Cemetery,[5] and interment followed.
[edit] Military
Corman was a cadet officer at UCLA with the Reserve Officer Training Corps,[6] and he was made a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in June 1943.[7]
In 1944 he told of the dearh of a Japanese soldier he witnessed in the Mariana Islands while his Marine unit was guarding a food supply. The Marines held their fire until the Japanese "began pawing over the [food] in the darkness, and then opened fire." One Japanese "fell wounded over a crate of salmon cans. His companions fled."[8] Corman continued:
Suddenly we heard the tap of a grenade. We ducked into our foxholes just before the explosion and were unhurt. In the morning we found the Jap had decapitated himself. In his wallet was a magazine clipping of a picture of Japanese-American soldiers fighting with United States forces in Italy." [8]
[edit] Public service
[edit] City Council
See also List of Los Angeles municipal election returns.
In 1957 Corman, supported by labor and Democratic votes, was elected to a four-year term represent Los Angeles City Council District 7, over Kay Bogendorfer, a Republican.[9] In that year, this newly established San Fernando Valley district was bounded on the south by Riverside Drive on the east by Coldwater Canyon and Woodman avenues and on the west generally by Balboa Boulevard. It had been moved from Downtown Los Angeles after Councilman Don A. Allen was elected to the State Assembly.[10] Corman did not finish his term, being elected to Congress in 1960.
[edit] Congress
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"In with President Kennedy and out with President Carter," he would say after he left the United States Congress. He served in the House of Representatives from 1961 to 1981[11].
[edit] Post-Congress
After his Congressional service, he opened a lobbying firm, Corman Law Offices, in Washington, D.C., with a partner, William Kirk. Their clients included MCA Inc., American Newspaper Publishers Association and National Structured Settlements Trade Association. The firm merged with Silverstein & Mullens in January 1990. Corman represented Texas Air Corporation president Frank Lorenzo in his contested takeover of Continental Airlines. He stopped representing the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare because of its "high-pressure fund-raising methods and alarmist pronouncements."[2]
In 1985 he was elected president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.[12]
[edit] Legacy
In 2001, the Van Nuys Federal Building was named in his honor.[13]
[edit] References
Access to some Los Angeles Times links may require the use of a library card.
- ^ Los Angeles Public Library reference file
- ^ a b c d Alan C. Miller, "Profile: James C. Corman," Los Angeles Times, October 15, 1989
- ^ a b Myrna Oliver, "James C. Corman: 10-Term Valley Congressman Championed Civil Rights, Welfare Legislation," Los Angeles Times, January 3, 2001
- ^ "His Legacy Represents Our Best," Los Angeles Times, January 7, 2001
- ^ Nedra Rhone, "Funeral for Corman to Be in Virginia," Los Angeles Times, January 13, 2001
- ^ "Cadets at U.C.L.A. Get State and Federal Commissions," Los Angeles Times, January 18, 1941, page 3
- ^ "Seven Given Commissions," Los Angeles Times, June 19, 1943, page A-16
- ^ a b "Angeleno Tells Aambush of Japs," Los Angeles Times, October 5, 1944, page A-16
- ^ "Race for 7th District Councilman Heated One," Los Angeles Times, March 22, 1957, page B-2
- ^ "Council Votes Redistricting After Flare-up Over Changes," Los Angeles Times, October 24, 1956, page B-1
- ^ Belmont High School Alumni News, Belmont Alumni, January, 1997
- ^ John Dart, "Religion Notes,":Los Angeles Times, October 12, 1985 Scroll down.
- ^ "Congressman's Tall Legacy," Los Angeles Times, December 22, 2001
[edit] Other sources
| Preceded by Don A. Allen |
Los Angeles City Council 7th district 1957–61 |
Succeeded by Ernani Bernardi |
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joseph F. Holt |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 22nd congressional district 1961–1975 |
Succeeded by Carlos J. Moorhead |
| Preceded by Augustus F. Hawkins |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 21st congressional district 1975–1981 |
Succeeded by Bobbi Fiedler |
