Such a Horrible Way To Leave- Martha Mansfield

On November 30, 1923, while working on the film The Warrens of Virginia, Mansfield was severely burned when a match, tossed by a cast member, ignited her Civil War costume of hoopskirts and flimsy ruffles. Mansfield was playing the role of Agatha Warren, and had just finished her scenes and retired to a car, when her clothing burst into flames. Her neck and face were saved when leading man, Wilfred Lytell, threw his heavy overcoat over her. The chauffeur of Mansfield's car was burned badly on his hands while trying to remove the burning clothing from the actress. The fire was put out but she sustained substantial burns to her body.

She was rushed to a hospital where she died in less than twenty-four hours. Mansfield was 24 years old.

Accompanied by actor Phillip Shorey, Mansfield's body was flown to her home in New York City. Her mother resided there at 142 West Fifty-seventh Street. She was interred at the Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York, United States.

Republicans At Their Best

Pennsylvania authorities say a Cumberland County man suggested dressing up in animal costumes during online sex chats with a 15-year-old boy. Agents found wolf- and cat-type costumes in his home.

Alan David Berlin, a 40-year-old Carlisle, Pa., resident, also proposed visiting the boy's Harrisburg home and having sex in the back yard while his parents slept, according to a news release from the Attorney General's Office.

Berlin, who used the screen name "alan_panda_bear," requested nude photos of the boy and suggested they meet in a hotel room where a third person could photograph them having sex, the release says.

The boy's parents became concerned after discovering sexually graphic messages on their son's computer and called the attorney general's child predator unit, the release says. The unit began an investigation Tuesday.

Berlin, a longtime staffer for a Republican state lawmaker, is charged with unlawful contact with a minor, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

He is also charged with criminal attempted sexual exploitation of children, criminal solicitation to commit sexual abuse of children, all second-degree felonies, and other offenses.

Berlin was arraigned and sent to Dauphin County jail in lieu of $250,000 bail. He has been suspended from work.

(see his ad here- oh shit!)