It's Veterans Day in the United States and Armistice Day for many in Europe -
(and it's Singles Day in China, 11/11- it's considered China's Anti-Valentine's Day, but we're not going to discuss that now.)
November 11, 397 -
St. Martin of Tours, another in the series of anorexic visionaries, patron saint of France, soldiers (he is known as the he man's saint), reformed alcoholics and winemakers, died on this date. When the armistice fell on the Saint Martin’s Day, November 11, 1918, the French people saw it was a sign of his intercession in the affairs of France.
And now you know.
November 11, 1943 -
The under-appreciated wartime-drama Sahara, starring Humphrey Bogart premiered on this date.
Humphrey Bogart had recently signed a new contract with Warner Brothers and one of the perks of his new deal was that he was allowed to act in one film per year outside of his home studio. Bogart quite liked Harry Cohn, head of Columbia Pictures, and decided that he would enjoy working on a Columbia produced film. Bogart's friendly relationship with Cohn was noteworthy, as many members of the film industry found Cohn to be notoriously unpleasant and abrasive. Bogart's decision to work for Columbia, even in a one film per year deal, was massive for the studio, which lacked the star power of its rivals. This film marked the first of several film collaborations between Bogart and Columbia Pictures, at the rate of one per year. While he was on loan to Columbia, Bogart was the studio's biggest star.
November 11, 1947 -
Elia Kazan's searing expose of anti-Semitism, Gentleman's Agreement, starring Gregory Peck premiered in New York on this date.
The role of Phillip Green was first offered to Cary Grant, but he turned it down. Grant refused the role because he contended he was Jewish and thought he looked Jewish. He maintained, "The public won't believe my portrayal of a gentile trying to pass himself off as a Jew."
November 11, 1958 -
The (relatively unknown) British-comedy The Horse's Mouth, starring Alec Guinness, opened in the US on this date.
Joyce Cary, the author of the novel which inspired this movie, based the role of the self-destructive painter on his good friend, the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.
Do yourself a favor and watch this one.
November 11, 1959 -
The beginning of American independent cinema can be traced to this date when Shadows, directed by John Cassavetes, premiered in NYC.
John Cassavetes screened the movie in 1957 and 1958, but because of poor response he went back and re-shot about half of the film in 1959. The first version of the film was believed to be lost for almost 50 years. In the mid-1980s Prof. Ray Carney began his search for the film after talking to Cassavetes about the first version. Carney searched almost everywhere but was led to dead ends for 20 years. Finally, in 2002, he was contacted by a woman who said her father, a junk dealer, had a cardboard box with a film called Shadows. It turned out to be the first version and not the second one. The print was in pristine condition.
November 11, 1978 -
Donna Summer started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with her version of Jimmy Webb's MacArthur Park, which was also a hit for actor Richard Harris in 1968, (made No.5 in the UK). (Sorry for the earworm.)
Donna Summer recorded her disco version in 1978 with her producers, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. Moroder had been searching for a song to rework with Summer, and when Richard Harris' version of MacArthur Park came on the radio, he knew it was the one, perfect for Summer's vocal range. Packed with synthesizers, horns and washes of background vocals, Summer's version ran 8:27 and was the first part of the MacArthur Park Suite, which took up the entire D-side of her 1978 2-disc Live And More album.
November 11, 1985 -
One of the first major films dealing with AIDS, An Early Frost, starring Aidan Quinn, Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, and Sylvia Sidney, premiered on NBC-TV on this date.
This was the first feature film about AIDS made either for TV or theater release. Producer Perry Lafferty said that NBC lost $500,000 in revenue because clients were afraid to have their advertisements shown during the broadcast.
November 11, 1994 -
Billy Vera, Micky Dolenz of The Monkees and Rick Neilsen of Cheap Trick all appear on the TV show Boy Meets World in the episode Band on the Run, on this date.
Cory names his fake band The Exits. Fourteen years following the airing of this episode, a indie folk rock group from Brooklyn, New York actually named their band The Exits.
November 11, 2001 -
The Warner Bros. produced megahit based on the J.K. Rowling novel Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and just about every other English actor, premiered in NYC on this date.
The filmmakers originally wanted to use Canterbury Cathedral as a filming location for some of the Hogwarts scenes, but the Dean of Canterbury refused to allow it, saying that it was unfitting for a Christian church to be used to promote pagan imagery. Gloucester Cathedral agreed to take its place; the Dean of Gloucester, the Very Reverend Nicholas Bury, admitted to being a fan of the books. Nonetheless, there was a huge media outcry in Gloucester when it was decided to use the local Cathedral as a filming location. Protesters wrote letters by the sack load to local newspapers, claiming it was blasphemy, and promising to block the film crew's access. In the end, only one protester turned up.
Another moment of edifying culture
Today in History:
November 11, 1634 -
Following pressure from Anglican bishop John Atherton, the Irish House of Commons passes "An Act for the Punishment for the Vice of Buggery". Seven years later, the good Bishop Atherton is himself is found well hanged under the Act.
November 11, 1821 -
The cleverest of all, in my opinion, is the man who calls himself a fool at least once a month.
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, Russian novelist who wrote Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, was born on this date.
November 11, 1862 -
Joe Green's (stage name - Giuseppe Verdi) Opera, La Forza Del Destino premiered in St Petersburg, Russia on this date.
La Forza Del Destino is an opera that many old school Italian singers felt was "cursed" and brought bad luck. The very superstitious Luciano Pavarotti avoided accepting a role in the opera for this reason.
November 11, 1920 -
One of the most famous tombs in Westminster Abbey is that of The Unknown Warrior. A tomb of an unknown British soldier who was killed on the battlefield during World War I. He was buried in Westminster Abbey on this date. (Another unknown soldier was buried on this date at the Arc de Triomphe in France.) The tomb is in the far western end of the nave and is covered by a slab of black Belgian marble. It is the only tomb in the abbey on which it is forbidden to walk.
One year after unknown soldiers were simultaneously buried at Westminster Abbey, London, and the Arc de Triomphe in France, President Warren G. Harding dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (a white marble sarcophagus in Arlington National Cemetery.)
The tombstone itself, designed by sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones, was not completed until 1932, when it was unveiled bearing the description “Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Known but to God.” The World War I unknown was later joined by the unidentified remains of soldiers from America’s other major 20th century wars and the tomb was put under permanent guard by special military sentinels.
November 11, 1920 -
According to James Bond's authorized biography, the fictional Secret Service agent was born on this date. James Bond’s father was Andrew Bond, a Scottish businessman. His mother was Monique Delacroix, from Switzerland.
Both of his parents were killed in a mountain climbing accident during a holiday in the French Alps when he was only 11. He was educated at Eton, like his creator Ian Fleming.
November 11, 1925 -
Something I'll always remember - when I was a kid, I shook hands with Orville Wright. Forty years later, I shook hands with Neil Armstrong. The guy that invented the airplane and the guy that walked on the moon. In a lifetime, that's kinda wild when you think about it.
Jonathan Winters, the great improvisational comedian and actor, was born on this date.
November 11, 1978 -
Before you go - Another British retailer, Very (think Target) has dropped a humorous advert for their festive campaign, allowing people to cut themselves some slack this Christmas.
So remember you're allowed to forgive yourself for all of your bad behaviour this year because of Xmas, according to Very (please do not blame me or ACME if you get in trouble, we didn't give you a get-out-of jail card.)
The tree will arrive at Rockefeller Center on Saturday, November 13. Crews will start decorating the tree and wrapping more than 50,000 multi-colored, energy-efficient LED lights. Then it will be topped with a Swarovski crystal star. This year’s official lighting ceremony will take take place on Wednesday, December 1 and will be broadcast nationally as part of NBC’s Christmas at Rockefeller Center. As always, we here at ACME warn you to avoid the area at all cost.
And so it goes
the Punishment for the Vice of Buggery indeed
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