The silent-film classic, Blood and Sand, starring Rudolph Valentino and Lila Lee, was released on this date.
The film's editor was Dorothy Arzner, who would later go on to become Hollywood's first female director. Arzner impressed the producers by cannily interspersing stock bull-fighting footage with shots of Rudolph Valentino to make it look like the actor was actually in the ring with real bulls. This was quite a progressive technique in its day.
August 5, 1953 -
Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr got busy in the surf and someone may have gotten a horse head telegram delivered to their bedroom - From Here to Eternity, also starring Montgomery Cliff, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, and Ernest Borgnine, premiered in NYC on this date.
Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and author James Jones were very close during the filming, frequently embarking on monumental drinking binges. Clift coached Sinatra on how to play Maggio during their more sober moments, for which Sinatra was eternally grateful.
August 5, 1955 -
Alfred Hitchcock's surprisingly light comedic touch is on full display in, To Catch A Thief, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, when it opened in NYC on this date.
While working on this film in the French Riviera, Grace Kelly met Prince Rainier of Monaco. It wasn't love at first sight for Kelly, but the prince initiated a long correspondence, which led to their marriage in 1956. Afterward, she became Princess Grace of Monaco, and retired from acting.
August 5, 1966 -
This was a big day in Beatles history:
The Beatles released their Revolver album in UK on this date.
and they also released Yellow Submarine and Eleanor Rigby as a double A single in UK. A lot of kids weekly allowance must have flown out the door on this date.
August 5, 1967 -
Pink Floyd released their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, on which most songs were penned by Syd Barrett, on this date.
Two tracks on the album are credited to the band collectively and one track was written by Roger Waters. The studio album borrows its name from the title of chapter seven of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows, which refers to the nature god Pan, who plays his pan pipes at dawn.
August 5, 1976 -
NBC aired a very bizarre TV special celebrating the the 15th anniversary of the Beach Boys, It's OK, directed by Gary Weis and starring the Beach Boys on this date.
The special featured cameos by John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Paul and Linda McCartney and Van Dyke Parks.
August 5, 1978 -
The Rolling Stones had their eighth US No.1 hit with the single Miss You, on this date.
The song was written by Mick Jagger after jamming with keyboardist Billy Preston during rehearsals for forthcoming club dates the Stones were playing.
August 5, 1998 -
The American spin-off of the British series Whose Line Is It Anyway?, hosted by Drew Carey and starring Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, and Wayne Brady, premiered on ABC-TV, on this date.
The Whose line crew was such a well-oiled machine that they could shoot 9 to 12 episodes on a single weekend. Shooting a whole season took only three or four weekends every year. The cast revealed it was one of the reasons they were so great together and had great relationships with each other, because they didn't have to spend that much time together.
Word of the Day
Today in History:
August 5, 1861 -
Folks, please note: The US government established the first income tax on US citizens on this date (Abraham Lincoln was president at the time.) The Revenue Act of 1862 established a tax of 3 percent on incomes of more than $800 Dollars.
The tax, which was used for financial aid during the Civil War, was rescinded in 1872.
August 5, 1884 –
The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was laid on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor on this date.
August 5, 1914 -
The first electric traffic signal, based on a design by James Hoge, was installed on this date.
August 5, 1924 –
The comic strip, Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray, debuted the Chicago Tribune on this date.
Now you know.
August 5, 1926 -
Harry Houdini stayed in a coffin, submerged in the swimming pool of New York's Hotel Shelton for one hour and a half, on this date.
On August 4, 1955, Carmen Miranda suffered a heart attack during a segment of the live TV show The Jimmy Durante Show, although she did not realize it. After completing a dance number, she fell to her knees, and Durante instinctively told the band to "stop da music!".
He helped Miranda up to her feet as she laughed "I'm all out of breath!". "Dat's OK, honey, I'll take yer lines", Durante replied. Miranda laughed again and quickly pulled herself together, finishing the show. At the end of the broadcast, she smiled and waved, then exited the stage. She died later that night, on August 5, 1955, after suffering a second heart attack at her home in Beverly Hills.
As with all great performers - the show had to go on.
August 5, 1957 –
American Bandstand, a local Philadelphia show dedicated to the teenage "baby-boomers" by playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, hosted by Dick Clark, debuted nationally on the ABC television network on this date.
Please be careful, Zombie Mr. Clark still roams the nation in search of brains to feast upon.
August 5, 1962 -
62 years ago today, a very unhappy Marilyn Monroe (Norma J. Mortenson) died of natural causes, aggravated by sleeping pills, in her Brentwood home.
Unless she was murdered.
August 5, 1981 -
As dementia continued to take its karma toll, President Ronald Reagan began firing 11,359 air-traffic controllers striking in violation of his order for them to return to work on this date.
The executive action, regarded as extreme by many, significantly slows air travel for months.
Feel free to sing Happy Birthday, unencumbered by the whole copyright issue thing, to the Curiosity Rover parked on Mars, at the moment.
NASA has programmed the Curiosity Rover to sing itself Happy Birthday every year, on the anniversary of it’s landing date on Mars at 10:32 p.m. PDT on August 5, 2012.
And so it goes.
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