What day isn't a good day to play a Steely Dan song.
It's sad to think that celebrations will be muted today in some isolated jungle villages in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu, who usually celebrate the birthday of everyone's favorite itinerant Greek sailor Philip Mountbatten (Prince Philippos of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.)
The Duke of Edinburgh was worshipped as a god there.
It must have been nice for him to be worshipped somewhere. But it is sad to think his Grace didn't make it to his 100th birthday this year.
June 10, 1939 -
MGM released the first cartoon in the Barney Bear series, The Bear That Couldn't Sleep, on this date.
Barney Bear was a character patterned after actor Wallace Beery, a character actor known for playing gruff but lovable characters, as well as the occasional villain.
June 10, 1953 -
Arguably, one of the worse films ever (save those of auteur Ed Wood), Robot Monster was released upon an unsuspecting public, on this date.
Most of the movie was shot at Bronson Canyon. The scenes in the ruined home were shot in a hilly residential area. Reportedly, the film was shot entirely outdoors, without sets, in four days.
Close examination of the Ro-Man's helmet reveal it to be very similar to the helmets worn by the moon-men on the lunar surface in Republic Pictures' serial Radar Men from the Moon.
June 19, 1966 -
The Beatles song Paperback Writer was released in UK, on this date.
This claimed the top spot in the US for two non-consecutive weeks; it was interrupted for one week by Frank Sinatra's Strangers in the Night.
June 10, 1983 -
United Artists released the 13th (or the 12th or the 14th, depending on how you count 'em) James Bond film, Octopussy, starring Roger Moore in the US on this date.
In his book, As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride, Cary Elwes states that before he was an actor, he worked as a production assistant on this movie. One of his jobs was to drive Roger Moore to work on the set of the movie. He further goes on to say that he was "a nervous wreck" being constantly afraid of getting in a car accident and accidentally killing Roger Moore. On one occasion, Mr. Moore looked up from the newspaper he was reading while being driven to work by Elwes and stated calmly, "You can speed up a little if you want to."
June 10, 1985 -
On May 23, 1985, Francis Albert Sinatra, native son of Hoboken received an honorary degree of engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology. Garry Trudeau decided to take his life into his own hands when he rudely reminded the American public that Mr. Sinatra was a friend of 'organized crime' in a Doonesbury comic strip on this date.
June 10, 1989 -
De La Soul's debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, peaks at #24 on the Billboard 200 chart.
On the same day, Me, Myself and I hits #1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
June 10, 1994 -
Jan de Bont's breezy summer thriller, Speed, starring Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Daniels, and Dennis Hopper, premiered in the US on this date.
A Fox producer realized they might have a hit movie on their hands when he noticed that, during test screenings, audience members would walk backwards when they needed to go to the bathroom, so they would miss as little as possible.
June 10, 2007 -
The final episode of (what could arguably have been the greatest television series ever broadcast) The Sopranos aired on this date.
I'm not even going to comment upon what actual happened in the last few moments of the broadcast.
Coincidence or not, Italian Businessman John Gotti died on this date in 2002.
Another job opportunity in case your pandemic relief checks have ended
Today in History:
June 10 1190 -
Sometimes, it is not good to be the king ...
While en route to the Holy Land for a jolly vacation of pillaging and sodomy (The Third Crusade) with his fellow sovereigns, Richard (of the Lionheart fame) and Phillip II of France, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa drowned near Silifke Castle in the Saleph river, on this date. Accounts of the event are conflicting. He either:
b.) Thrown from his horse and the weight of his armor dragged him down
c.) Drowned from exhaustion (that's what comes from a day of jolly pillaging and sodomy.)
Some historians believe he may have had a heart attack which complicated matters. Some of Frederick's men put him in a barrel of vinegar to preserve his body (which apparently did not work at all.)
Some sources of this legend indicate that Barbarossa implemented his revenge for this insult by forcing the magistrates of the city to remove a fig from the anus of a donkey using only their teeth. Another source states that Barbarossa took his wrath upon every able-bodied man in the city, and that it was not a fig they were forced to hold in their mouth, but excrement from the donkey. To add to this debasement, they were made to announce, "Ecco la fica", (meaning behold the fig), with the feces still in their mouths. It used to be said that the insulting gesture, (called fico), of holding one's fist with the thumb in between the middle and forefinger came by its origin from this event.
June 10, 1692 -
Bridget Bishop, owner of two taverns, was hanged at Gallows Hill near Salem, Massachusetts after having been convicted of "certaine Detestable Arts called Witchcraft and Sorceries" on this date.
June 10, 1935 -
God, grant me the serenity ...
It's the anniversary of the establishment of A(lcoholics) A(nonymous), in Akron, Ohio. It was founded by a stockbroker named Bill Wilson and a surgeon, Bob Smith, who found that the best way to keep from drinking was to spend time with other people who were trying to keep from drinking. Between the two of them, they developed the main traditions of AA: anonymity, confession and mutual support.
June 10, 1940 -
Italy entered the Second World War on the side of the Axis countries on this date. After initially advancing in British Somaliland and Egypt, the Italians were defeated in East Africa, Greece, Russia and North Africa.
For all his troubles, Benito Mussolini attempted to resign as Head Rat Bastard of Italy but Hitler thought better of it and busted him out of his retirement home (prison). He tried to feign interest in his old job as dictator but his heart just wasn't in it. The partisans of Italy tried to relieve his ennui by machine-gunning him to death, suspended upside down, and urinated on his corpse.
One again bunkie, sometimes, it is not good to be the king (or at least Head Rat Bastard)...
June 10, 1973 -
The 17-year-old grandson of J. Paul Getty was abducted in Rome on this date. When the kidnappers demand a $17 million ransom, the billionaire refuses. "I have 14 other grandchildren, and if I pay one penny now, then I will have 14 kidnapped grandchildren." After the grandson's severed ear arrives in the mail, Getty finally coughs up the money.
Even if he had to pay $17 million dollars for each of his grandchildren, it still would have left him well over $750 million dollars of his estimated $1 billion dollar fortune.
This is the kind of love you can only find in wealthy families.
June 10, 2004 -
Ray Charles Robinson known by his stage name Ray Charles, American pianist and musician who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues, died on this date.
In February 2005, Ray was awarded with the Congressional Gold Medal.
And so it goes.
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