Bob Pool retiring from the Los Angeles Times

From: Grad, Shelby
Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2014 12:08 PM
To: yyMetro
Subject: Bob Pool

When Bob Pool was a little boy, his mother always had a zinger ready for those times he misbehaved.

"You're lucky I didn't name you Seth!"  


So now we know where Bob gets it from.

Through 31 years and 4000+ bylines, Bob has delighted readers by covering L.A.'s human condition. "The Bob Pool" story has become a quintessential part of the Los Angeles Times experience. And Bob is a cherished figure in the newsroom, famous for his love of the good pun, hatred of "when" leads (like this memo), burning desire to stay off A1 and incredible command of new technology.

Someone will eventually publish the “Bob Pool Reader.” But until then, here are some highlights:

Movie publicists got away with murder Thursday. They persuaded Mayor Tom Bradley to proclaim today Freddy Krueger Day in Los Angeles in honor of the fictional serial killer who has rampaged through the gruesome "Nightmare on Elm Street" film series.

The iceman goeth. But after his 50 years on the job, Don Moore's bosses at the Union Ice Co. in Commerce wouldn't let him go far after he retired the other day.

Superior Street isn’t. It’s an inferior street in Northridge where it disappears into a water-filled pothole in front of Pam Hobb’s house.

Bob is about to turn 70 and has decided it's time to retire. He's picked Halloween as his last day (quick! Write a Bob lede!). Hector and Harriet are planning the going away party Bob deserves. The festivities will begin Oct. 30 at around 5:30 p.m. in the new Times lounge and gallery at the Spring Street entrance. There will be food, drinks, gags, laughs and probably a few more puns. Hopefully, the night will end with Bob serenading us on the Linotype machine in the Globe Lobby!

We’ll leave you with this photo of Bob testing out his new iPhone.



Shelby Grad