The first Flag Day observance was not held on the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes on June 14, 1877, as some sites might tell you, but read on my friend, this seems to the real story:
In 1861, at the start of the Civil War, a man named George Morris persuaded his city of Hartford, Conn., to undertake a patriotic celebration on behalf of the Union. But the concept didn't catch on, there or elsewhere.
So now you know. (You may now be seated and put your hat back on.)
June 14, 1949 -
This truly dark comedy, Kind Hearts and Coronets, starring the ever present Alec Guinness, was released on this date.
Agatha's death in the movie caused some consternation for Alec Guinness. The scene in question, a hot air ballooning accident filmed in a field next door to Pinewood Studios, prompted him to ask the producers if he was well insured. They told him that he was, to the tune of ten thousand pounds sterling, but Guinness didn't think that was enough. He then declared that the balloon could not be raised any more than fifteen feet unless they raised the insurance to fifty thousand pounds sterling. Ealing Studios was renowned for being very penny-pinching, and it naturally refused Guinness' demand, pointing out that he would be accompanied in the balloon by a well-qualified Belgian balloonist hidden in the basket with him. Guinness was undeterred in his refusal to perform the stunt, so the scene in the finished movie is not him, but the Belgian balloonist wearing Agatha's dress and wig. Guinness had the last laugh, however, when a high wind pulled the balloon off course. The Belgian balloonist was found fifty miles away, having had to jump into a river.
June 14, 1967 -
One of the iconic films from the 60s, the British drama To Sir, with Love, starring Sidney Poitier premiered in the US on this date.
The producers sought permission to film in the British Museum for the outing sequence, were denied only a few days prior to filming, although stills photography was permitted. Stills photographers Laurie Ridley and Dennis C. Stone were given a free hand, following the cast throughout the museum, creating the iconic montage sequence for the movie.
June 14, 1976 -
The Gong Show debuted on NBC on this date. People with dubious talents perform their acts before a celebrity panel of judges, who are free to eject the performer at any time by banging a large gong. The best non-gonged performer each night wins $516.32.
During the time the show is on the air, it's creator, Chuck Barris, suffered a complete mental breakdown, he said from the stress of being a secret CIA hit man.
No really, I'm not kidding you.
June 14, 1985 -
One of John Houston's last films, the black comedy Prizzi's Honor, opened on this date.
The studio, expecting the film to perform poorly at the box-office, pushed for a relatively quick release onto home video. However, the film was one of the "sleeper" hits of the season, thanks to terrific reviews and positive word of mouth, and had a lengthy stay in theatres, and was still in theatres, in fact, when it was released to video stores.
You never know who's waiting for 5pm to roll around
Today in History:
June 14, 1648 -
Midwife Margaret Jones was hanged in Boston for witchcraft on this date.
June 14, 1940 -
Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund had a quick drink as they planned to leave Paris, with their friend Sam, ahead of the Nazi invasion. Little does Rick know that Ilsa does not plan to join him (but that's another story ....)
Paris falls to the Nazis on this date. Marshal Philippe Petain became the head of the French government and sued for peace. Gertrude Stein translated Petain's speeches and hailed him as a hero of the French nation.
June 14, 1946 -
For all of the money we are spending, NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon - We did that 50 years ago. They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science!
June 14, 1954 -
At the Lincoln Memorial, President Dwight Eisenhower signs a law inserting the words "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance. Eisenhower declares: "From this day forward, the millions of our schoolchildren will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty." Precisely which Almighty is left to the listener's imagination.
June 14, 1961 -
I suppose there is a lot of toughness in me.
1980s pop music star George Alan O'Dowd was born in Kent, England on this date.
June 14, 1962 -
Albert Henry DeSalvo, a small time petty criminal confessed that he murdered Anna Slesersby, a petite divorcee, by strangling her with the belt from her robe on this date. She was only the first victim of The Boston Strangler.
June 14, 1963 -
The Soviet spacecraft Vostok 5 was launched into orbit on this date. Over the course of the next five days, Cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky would set a new record for the longest manned space flight in history.
The record would later be broken by the crew of Gemini 7, but Bykovsky will continue to hold the endurance record for a solo flight.
June 14, 1966 -
The Vatican announced the abolition of its Index librorum prohibitorum (Index of Prohibited Books), originally instituted in 1557 by Pope Paul IV. Notable novelists on the list have been Laurence Sterne, Voltaire, Daniel Defoe, Honor de Balzac, Jean-Paul Sartre.
June 14, 1989 -
Zsa Zsa Gabor was arrested for slapping a Beverly Hills police officer and driving with an expired license. Afterwards Zsa Zsa complains to the press that the handling she received from the BHPD "was like Nazi Germany."
And on a personal note:
Happy Birthday Thierry
And so it goes.
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