Skip to main content
Back to Show
Lost LA

The Sensational Story of Griffith J. Griffith

Griffith J. Griffith was an outsized figure in Los Angeles society in the early 1900s. Now best known for the massive green space he donated to the city — Griffith Park — Griffith J. Griffith also tackled with a darker side to his personality. On September 1903, his troubles came bubbling up to the surface. On that day, in Hotel Arcadia, Santa Monica, Griffith J. Griffith, philanthropist extraordinaire, shot his wife in the head. His attempted murder of his wife made headlines that affected his public standing for years to come. Historian Mike Eberts, author of "Griffith Park: A Centennial History" and Casey Schreiner, author of "Discovering Griffith Park: A Local's Guide," unravels the complicated story of Griffith J. Griffith.

Support Provided By
Season
Tiki Bars and Their Hollywood Origins
26:40
Tiki culture isn’t a Polynesian import — it’s a Hollywood creation.
Tuberculosis: The Forgotten Plague
26:49
Archives reveal the “forgotten plague” that shaped Southern California: tuberculosis.
Eternal City: Los Angeles Cemeteries
26:50
Visit Hollywood Forever, Evergreen and Forest Lawn, where L.A. reinvented the cemetery.
Hiking Trailblazers
26:40
The hiker-activists who led Angelenos into their hills and onto the trails.
Historic Filipinotown
26:39
How Filipino Americans in Southern California are making their heritage more visible.
Fast Food and Car Culture
26:47
Iconic fast-food chains from McDonald’s to Taco Bell were born in SoCal.
From Little Tokyo to Crenshaw
26:37
After internment camps, Japanese Americans made L.A.'s Crenshaw neighborhood their home.
German Exiles
26:04
During WWII, L.A. became a sanctuary for Europe’s accomplished artists and intellectuals.
Prehistoric Landscapes
26:46
Dig deep into Southern California’s past to reveal lessons for our climate-changed future.
Winemaking
26:41
Explore a forgotten age when winemaking was Southern California’s principal industry.
Who Killed the Red Car?
26:46
Why did Los Angeles dismantle one of the greatest rail transit systems in the nation?
Shindana Dolls | Still from "Lost LA" S4 E6: Shindana Toy Company
26:40
Explore the lasting impact of the Shindana Toy Company, created out of the need for community empowerment following the 1965 Watts uprising, whose ethnically correct black dolls forever changed the American doll industry.
Active loading indicator