Monday, June 11, 2012

Getta your tootsie-frootsie ice cream!

June 11, 1937 -
The Marx Brothers film, A Day at the Races, opened on this date.  The film ends with the famous words, 'Tomorrow is another day' -



Groucho Marx cited "Dr. Hackenbush" as his favorite character from his films, so much so that he would occasionally sign letters to friends using that name.


June 11, 1978 -
Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John opened, on this date. No one was touched inappropriately during a massage while this trailer was being made.



Henry Winkler, who became a sensation as "Fonzie" on Happy Days, was considered for the role of Danny Zuko. However, he turned down the role for fear of being typecast. Susan Dey and Deborah Raffin were the first choices for the role of Sandy (Dey declined the role after her manager advised against it).


June 11, 1982 -
Steven Spielberg's film, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, opened on this date.



The late Michael Jackson owned one of the E.T. puppets. As far as we know, there was no inappropriate touchng of the puppet while in the possession of the late Mr. Jackson.


June 11, 1986 -
John Hughes' comic masterpiece, Ferris Bueller's Day Off was released, on this date.



Rob Lowe, John Cusack, Jim Carrey, Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr. and Michael J. Fox were all considered for the role of Ferris Bueller.


June 11, 1993 -
Steven Spielberg's science fiction thriller, Jurassic Park, opened on this date.



Generally speaking, any shot of a full dinosaur was computer-generated, but shots of parts of dinosaurs were of animatronics.


Today in History:
June 11 is an important day for American football fans and seems almost inevitably slated to someday become a national holiday. It's the birthdays of Vince Lombardi (1913) and Joe Montana (1956). Mr Lombardi played at Fordham University and was a Latin and chemistry teacher in New Jersey before becoming the head coach of the Green Bay Packers at the age of 46. They had won only one of twelve games the season before he was hired; they won seven his first year. Over the course of his brief career, the Packers won five NFL championships and the first two Super Bowls (Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II, in that order).



It was Coach Lombardi's background in Latin that persuaded the NFL to use Roman numerals to number the Super Bowls.

"Winning isn't everything," Coach Lombardi famously declared, "but it's awfully darn important in competitive endeavors." (He was the first NFL coach to hire a publicist and his statements were often edited for distribution to the Green Bay press corps.)



Over the course of his career, Joe Montana completed 3409 of 5391 passes and threw 273 touchdowns. In the playoffs, he completed 460 of 734 passes and threw 45 touchdowns. As a starter, he won 117 and lost 47 regular season games (for those who need to know.)

Upon his retirement, the town of Ismay, Montana, changed its name to Joe. The town of Joe, Rhode Island, attempted to change the name of its state to Montana, but was prohibited from doing so by heavily-monied special interests.

Adrienne Barbeau and Gene Wilder were also born on this day, neither of whom ever won a Super Bowl.



June 11, 1881 -
A phantom vessel appears in the sky to the passengers and crew of the ship Bacchante on this date, including Price Albert Victor and Prince George, both sons of the Prince of Wales.


This is what comes from too much rum, the lash and buggery.


June 11, 1910 -
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, filmmaker, scientist and explorer was born on this date.



Among his many and varied accomplishments, he co-developed the Aqua-Lung diving apparatus. BP executives are still very lucky that the Captain is no longer with us or there would be some major ass kicking going on.


June 11, 1939 -
Queen Elizabeth II, then a princess, and her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth tasted their first hot dogs at a White House party hosted by President and Mrs. Roosevelt on this date.


Royal physicians report that they believe that her highness has only recently passed the remains of the meal. Hyde Park on Hudson, starring Bill Murray, recounts this event, opens on December 7th, 2012.


June 11, 1955 -
An Austin-Healy and Mercedes-Benz collided at the Le Mans Grand Prixon this date. The Mercedes drove into a dirt retaining wall, disintegrated, and the hood, chassis, and various auto parts sliced through the spectator crowd.



83 were killed, and 100 others were missing various "parts".  They bought their tickets, they knew their chances.


June 11, 1962 -
Frank Morris and the brothers John and Clarence Anglin became the only prisoners to successfully escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island.



The following morning the officers awoke to find dummies lying in their beds and the prisoners missing. The FBI conducted one of the largest manhunts since the Lindbergh kidnapping to no avail. Bits of the raft and life preservers were later found in the bay. Also found was a waterproof bag containing personal effects of the Anglins. Although the authorities never found any bodies, they were certain the men had drowned. They pointed out that there were no robberies or car thefts that could have been attributed to them, as well as the fact that the men were habitual criminals and yet were never arrested again.



However it was shown on MythBusters, that the raft could have possibly landed at the Marin Headlands, raising possible doubt over Morris' and the Anglins' deaths. The film Escape from Alcatraz is based on the famous escape. Morris is played by Clint Eastwood.


June 11, 1963 -
Governor George Wallace stands in the schoolhouse door, blocking admission of two 'colored students' (Vivian Malone and James Hood) to the University of Alabama. This became known as the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.



Wallace stood aside only after being confronted by federal marshals, Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and the Alabama National Guard. However, there is evidence that the entire encounter was partially or wholly coordinated with the Kennedy administration to allow Wallace to save face with Alabama voters.



And so it goes.

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