George Edward Cryer (May 13, 1875 – May 24, 1961) was an American lawyer and politician. A Republican, Cryer served as the 32nd Mayor of Los Angeles from 1921 to 1929, a period of rapid growth in the city's population. During his administration, the Los Angeles City Hall and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum were built, and the city's population surpassed 1,000,000. Prior and subsequent to serving as mayor, he was a lawyer. Between 1929 and 1931, Cryer became engaged in a widely publicized libel court case with the Reverend Robert P. Shuler, a radio evangelist who accused Cryer of being a "grafter" who had entered office a poor man and left office a millionaire. Early years Born on a farm in Waterloo, Douglas County, Nebraska, Cryer moved to southern California with his family in 1885. He was educated in the Redlands and Pasadena public schools and graduated from Los Angeles High School. When the Spanish–American War was declared in 1898, Cryer volunteered and served as a private in Company G, Seventh California Infantry. He was mustered out with rank of sergeant. After his military service, Cryer enrolled at the University of Michigan Law School where he was the assistant editor of the Michigan Law Review. He graduated with honors and began the practice of law in Los Angeles in 1903. In September 1906, Cryer married Isabel Grace Gay. Mrs. Cryer was also a graduate of the University of Michigan, though the two did not meet until they were both residents of Los Angeles. Cryer and his wife had a son, Edward Gay Cryer (born. c. 1912) and a daughter, Catherine Christine Cryer (born c. 1915). Cryer's first public office was as first assistant United States Attorney, a position he held from approximately 1910–1912. He then served as the chief assistant Los Angeles City Attorney (1912–1913) and the chief deputy Los Angeles County District Attorney (1915–1919). He gained fame for prosecution of public corruption. In 1917, he was the prosecutor in the corruption case brought against Los Angeles County Supervisor Richard H. Norton. Mayor of Los Angeles Cryer was elected mayor of the City of Los Angeles in 1921 in a close election against the incumbent Meredith P. Snyder. Cryer's campaign promised to close the "dens of vice," and attacked Snyder as being corrupt and unfit to be mayor. The Los Angeles Police Commissioner sent a telegram to the newspapers before