July 14, 1908 -
D.W. Griffith's first film, The Adventures of Dollie, opened in New York, on this date.
Although the location this film was shot is frequently given as Fort Lee, it was actually shot near Sound Beach in Connecticut.
July 14, 1918 -
Arguably one the the greatest film directors ever, Ingmar Bergman, was born on this date.
In an interview in 2004, Bergman said that he was "depressed" by his own films and could not watch them anymore.
July 14, 1933 -
The iconic Popeye the Sailor, appeared in his first eponymous titled cartoon, on this date. (Kids, Betty, who is probably underage in this film, is not wearing a bra - so avert your eyes.)
Popeye's appearance is based on that of a fighter named Francis "Rocky" Fiegel whom his creator, Elzie Segar, used to know. Because of this, a tombstone was put on his hitherto unmarked grave in 1996. Segar paid Fiegel a small fee for the use of his likeness, as he was still alive when Popeye first appeared.
July 14, 1964 -
The Rolling Stones score their first #1 hit in the UK with their cover of Bobby Womack's It's All Over Now.
New York disc jockey Murray the K gave The Stones a copy of the original recording of the song by The Valentinos and suggested they record it. Murray was important enough to have the ear of The Rolling Stones and even The Beatles: Even before the British Invasion, Murray had been at the top of the rock station ratings for years.
July 14, 1969 -
Dennis Hopper's seminal '60s classic, Easy Rider, starring Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson, premiered in the US on this date.
Dennis Hopper was going through a very bad time during production (something he later put down to marijuana not being his "creative drug of choice"). He was in a state of drug-induced paranoia and he screamed at everyone. Crew members secretly recorded his tirades and sent the tapes to the production company in Los Angeles to explain why so many of them quit the film.
July 14, 1989 -
Rob Reiner iconic rom-com , written by iconic writer, Nora Ephron, When Harry Met Sally, starring, Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, and Bruno Kirby, opened in limited release on this date.
The concept of Sally being a picky eater was based on the film's screenwriter, Nora Ephron. Years after the movie came out, when Ephron was on a plane and ordered something very precise, the stewardess looked at her and asked, "Have you ever seen the movie When Harry Met Sally?"
July 14, 2000 –
20th Century Fox's first film of the successful franchise series, X-Men, starring the large ensemble cast, including - Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Bruce Davison, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, and Anna Paquin, premiered in the US on this date.
Shortly after accepting the role of Magneto, Ian McKellen was offered the role of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, which, originally, he had to decline. He spoke to director Bryan Singer about his interest in making The Lord of the Rings, and Singer agreed to rearrange this movie's shooting schedule so that McKellen would finish his scenes by the end of 1999, freeing him up to travel to New Zealand in January 2000, where The Lord of the Rings had been in production since October 1999.
Another ACME Safety Film
Today in History:
July 14 1789 -
Paris was not a happy city in 1789. Paris has never been an especially happy city, especially for those who don't speak French, but in that fateful year, it was especially grouchy. And it wasn't just the city, but the whole country. All of France was being cranky and irritable, and all the other countries were like, "What?"
Finally the queen said they should eat cake and the nation snapped. The people rose up in protest and, it being time for the French Revolution, they stormed the Bastille (Bastille) on July 14, 1789.
A mob of 20,000 people storms the Bastille Prison in Paris, killing its personnel and freeing all seven prisoners incarcerated therein: four forgers, an accomplice to murder, the Marquis de Sade (yes that guy), and an insane Irishman. The warden was decapitated and his head carried around on a pike. So begins the French Revolution.
It quickly became clear that the peasants were revolting. (Not that anyone ever thought they were all that attractive.) The storming of the Bastille gave way to a Rain of Terror, a meteorological cataclysm in its own right, which eventually caused Napoleon and led to both Waterloo and Able Was I Ere I Saw Elba, all of which have been covered in previous postings and can therefore be ignored for the time being. Eventually the French (who had always been whiners) immersed themselves in Bourbon.
On July 14, 1867, Alfred Nobel first demonstrated his newest invention: dynamite. Mr Nobel spent the rest of his life blowing things up in the interests of world peace.
Sadly, world peace was not achieved in his lifetime. Upon his death he therefore endowed a foundation with billions of dollars to give prizes to men and women of future generations who brought the world closer to peace by blowing things up. At the rate things have been blowing up lately, world peace is obviously just around the corner.
July 14, 1881 -
In the Summer of '81, at the New Mexico home of his friend Pete Maxwell, notorious outlaw Billy the Kid (Paul Newman/ Kris Kristofferson) stepped into a darkened bedroom and was shot dead by sheriff Pat Garrett (Thomas Mitchell/ James Coburn). Billy's last words were "Quién es?" (Who is it?).
How Jane Russell's breasts are involved in this story is another matter completely.
July 14, 1902 -
One day after workmen noticed a large crack in the structure, the Belltower of St. Mark's collapsed into a hill of white dust, on this date.
July 14, 1906 -
Tom Carvel, the gravelly-voiced ice cream mogul, was born on this date.
Please order a Cookie Puss or Fudgie the Whale ice cream cake in his honor.
July 14, 1933 -
German chancellor Adolf Hitler banned every political party on this date, except his own Evil Nazi Bastards from winning elections.
The Evil Nazi Bastards swept the next elections, demonstrating the public's strong support for this measure.
July 14, 1943 -
Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicated $30,000 to the George Washington Carver National Monument, on this date, the first US National Monument honoring a black man. The site, near Diamond, Missouri, is housed on the former plantation where Carver lived as a child.
July 14, 1965 -
The space probe Mariner 4 flew by Mars, sending back the first photographs of the planet — they took eight hours to arrive.
They were the first ever close-up photos of another planet. The photos reveal that the planet’s surface is cratered.
July 14, 1969 -
The United States government, directed by President Nixon, eliminated $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 US Dollar bills from circulation on this date.
(There also was a $100,000 gold certificate in 1934 which featured Woodrow Wilson.)
Although they are still technically legal tender in the United States, they have virtually disappeared from everyday use. I would be happy to give a home to any wayward $1,000 bills.
July 14, 1986 -
I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready...
And so it goes.
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