Charles of Luxembourg was crowned German king, Charles IV, on this date.
Each year, the president of the U.S. pardons a turkey and spares it from being eaten for Thanksgiving dinner.
November 26, 1922 -
The Toll of the Sea, starring Anna Mae Wong, the second two-strip Technicolor feature (it was the first one able to be projected through a normal movie projector and consequently the first to be given a wide release) was released on this date.
The film's story is a variation of Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, which premiered in 1904; except, the film takes place in China and the opera is set in Japan.
November 26, 1934 -
John M. Stahl's adaptation of Fannie Hurst's novel, Imitation of Life, starring Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Rochelle Hudson, Louise Beavers, and Fredi Washington, premiered on this date.
Although cast as the daughter of Louise Beavers (Delilah), Fredi Washington (Peola,) was in reality less than two years younger than her onscreen mother. She was, however, considerably slimmer than the matronly Beavers, which enabled the pair to "pass" as mother and daughter.
November 26, 1938 -
Michael Curtiz's crime drama, Angels with Dirty Faces, starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, and The Dead End Kids, premiered on this date.
To play Rocky, James Cagney drew on his memories of growing up in New York's Yorkville, a tough ethnic neighborhood on the upper east side, just south of Spanish Harlem.. His main inspiration was a drug-addicted pimp who stood on a street corner all day hitching his trousers, twitching his neck, and repeating, "Whadda ya hear! Whadda ya say!"
November 26, 1942 -
One of the classic films of the 40s - Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, premiered at the Hollywood Theatre in New York City, on this date.
Because the film was made during WWII the production was not allowed to film at an airport after dark for security reasons. Instead, it used a sound stage with a small cardboard cutout airplane and forced perspective. To give the illusion that the plane was full-sized, they used little people to portray the crew preparing the plane for take-off.
November 26, 1952 -
In Thrilling Color!
Arch Oboler traveled to Africa in 1948 to make audio recordings of native peoples. While in Africa, Oboler met William D. Snyder, a 16mm cameraman with his own industrial filmmaking company in Fargo, North Dakota. During their travels throughout Africa, Mr. Snyder shot the African footage that appears in Bwana Devil.
November 26, 1953 -
MGM released the first musical in 3-D, Kiss Me Kate on this date.
The original stage show was based upon the backstage bickering of the illustrious married stage couple Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne during their 1935 Broadway production of Taming of the Shrew.
November 26, 1988 –
Russian cosmonauts took the Pink Floyd cassette version of Delicate Sound Of Thunder and play it in orbit, making Pink Floyd the first rock band to be played in space.
David Gilmour and Nick Mason both attend the launch of the spacecraft. The cosmonauts had requested the album to listen to as they completed their mission of docking with the orbiting Mir space station. Delicate Sound Of Thunder was also the only Pink Floyd album to receive an official release in the Soviet Union. “To say that we are thrilled at the thought of being the first rock band to be played in space is something of an understatement,” said Gilmour.
Today's moment of Zen
Today in History:
November 26, 1789 -
The first national Thanksgiving Day was observed in the United States in 1789, when recommended by President George Washington and approved by Congress on this date, but we spoke all about this the other day.
The holiday wouldn't become an annual event until 1863 and wouldn't be signed into law until 1941 when US President Franklin D. Roosevelt made it an official, national holiday.
November 26, 1865 -
Oxford Don and nude child photographer, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, sends the manuscript for the psychedelic novel Alice in Wonderland to his 12 year old special friend Alice Liddell as an early Christmas present.
For some reason her parents did not notify the authorities.
November 26, 1965 -
After cleaning a church in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where they had Thanksgiving dinner the day before, Arlo Guthrie and a friend clean up the place, but toss the trash down a hill when they can't find an open dump. They are arrested, fined $25 each, and forced to pick up the garbage.
When they return to the church, Guthrie writes Alice's Restaurant Massacree about the incident, embellishing some details. The director of the film, Arthur Penn, who owns a home in Stockbridge where the story takes place, realized it was for the most part based on events that had actually taken place. Therefore, what appears to be a continuity problem is in fact a correct representation of the facts. The movie portrays the actual photos used as evidence at the trial. The real life "blind judge" in Guthrie's song, Judge James Hannon, was played by James Hannon, himself in the film. Sheriff William Obanhein demanded that he play the role himself. His reason: "If anyone is going to make a fool out of me, it might as well be me!"
November 26, 1976 -
Anarchy in the UK, (as a single) by the Sex Pistols is released.
This was the Sex Pistols' first single, and it caused quite a stir in England with its lyrics advocating violence against the government. Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols was not released until a year later, partly because of distribution concerns: after hearing Anarchy In The UK, some organizations refused to ship the album.
And so it goes
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