In the city of Moose Jaw, Canada on this date in 1913, W.S. Fiddler, who was moving some theatre equipment, died as a result of his excessive overindulgence in cheese. He fell down dead in from of the Majestic Theatre at the age of 50. Doctors claimed that acute indigestion from eating excessive amounts of cheese led to heart failure.
So now you know
It's that damn time of year
The amateur drinkers (in various shades of holiday undress) are once again back in Manhattan this year: they will be in Midtown and Lower Manhattan, stating at 10 AM. I can take comfort that some of them may die, choking on their own (or someone else's) vomit later in the day. (Ask me how I feel about Santacon.)
I implore all who live in the East Village to begin collecting buckets of waste (both pet or otherwise) to rain down upon the drunken revelers. I am always, absolutely, in cranky old man mood when this event comes around - be warned!
December 11, 1957 -
The movie Peyton Place, based on the novel by Grace Metalious, had its world premiere in Camden, Maine, on this date, where most of it had been filmed.
David Lynch and Mark Frost viewed this film to guide their creation of Twin Peaks. Both are concerned with the secrets and scandals of people in a small town, and both ultimately reveal the sexual abuse and exploitation of a young woman by a family member. Russ Tamblyn also appeared in both.
December 11, 1961 -
Please, Mr. Postman by the Marvelettes was released on this date
Marvin Gaye played drums on this song. He was 22 at the time and trying to break into the business.
December 11, 1968 –
Filming begins on The Rolling Stones‘ Rock And Roll Circus movie. Conceived by Mick Jagger, the event was comprised of two concerts on a circus stage and included such acts as John Lennon and his fiancée Yoko Ono performing as part of a supergroup called The Dirty Mac, along with Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell, Keith Richards, Jethro Tull and The Who, as well as clowns and acrobats.
Filmed at a studio in Wembley using an unusual hybrid type of camera, supporting both 16mm film and monochrome video. The idea was that TV production techniques could be used, with the cameramen framing shots on the video camera viewfinders, whilst a vision mixer inter-cut the camera feeds "on the fly", simultaneously controlling the film stop/start mechanisms in the cameras. Output was thus on film and could be easily edited, and prepared for final program sales. However the system was still in development and was unreliable. Equipment problems caused the tight filming schedule to overrun and the Stones finally went on stage in the small hours of the morning, after much delay. It was originally meant to be aired on the BBC, but the Rolling Stones withheld it because they were unhappy with their performance. The film was eventually released in 1996.
December 11, 1980 -
Hawaiian shirts and outrageous mustaches came back in style when Magnum PI, starring Tom Selleck, premiered on CBS-TV on this date.
This is one of a very small number of shows in which an actor "breaks the fourth wall" and looks right into the camera. Thomas Magnum does this on occasion when presented with a ridiculous situation.
December 11, 1982 –
Toni Basil's surprise hit Mickey reached No. 1 of the Billboard charts on this date.
This was originally recorded as Kitty by a group called Racey, which released it in 1979. In the original lyric, Kitty is a girl. Toni Basil changed the title from Kitty to Mickey and the gender from female to male. Basil choreographed the 1968 Monkees movie Head, but insists the song is not named after group member Micky Dolenz. She also says there's nothing dirty about the song - it's just a peppy tune about a girl who really likes a guy.
December 11, 1987 -
Greed is Good.
20th Century Fox released Oliver Stone's drama, Wall Street, starring Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen, and Daryl Hannah on this date.
At the time, Michael Douglas was better known as a producer. Oliver Stone was warned that Douglas would micromanage the film and undermine Stone. Stone hired Douglas anyway, and Douglas did not micromanage.
December 11, 1992 -
Walt Disney Pictures and Jim Henson Productions' musical comedy adaptation of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, The Muppet Christmas Carol, directed by Brian Henson (in his feature directorial debut) and starring Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, alongside Muppet performers Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, and Frank Oz, premiered on this date in the US.
This was the first major Muppet project after creator Jim Henson's death. The role of Kermit the Frog was handed down to Steve Whitmire. He said he was incredibly nervous about taking over such an iconic character. The night before he recorded Kermit's songs for the movie, he had a dream where he met Henson in a hotel lobby and told him how unsure he was. In the dream, Henson reassured Whitmire that the feeling would pass. After waking up, Whitmire was confident and able to do the part.
Don't forget to tune in to ACME's Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour today
Today in History:
December 11, 1688 -
King James II attempting to flee London as the "Glorious Revolution" replaced him with King William (of Orange) and Queen Mary, threw the Great Seal of the Realm into the River Thames.
December 11, 1882 -
Fiorello Enrico La Guardia, Mayor of New York for three terms from 1934 to 1945, was born on this date.
With a boundless enthusiasm and energy to match that of Teddy Roosevelt, La Guardia could be the last Mayor of NYC who really loved his job.
December 11, 1919 -
The citizens of Enterprise, Alabama, erected a monument to the boll weevil. The only monument dedicated to an agricultural pest!!
The invasive insect devastated their fields but forced residents to end their dependence on cotton and to pursue mixed farming and manufacturing.
December 11, 1931 -
Rita Moreno (Rosa Dolores Alverio,) winner of an Peabody, Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, was born on this date.
She is currently one of only three PEGOT winners; she is the only Puerto Rican PEGOT winner.
December 11, 1936 -
Britain's King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Spencer Simpson. Edward VIII had been king of Great Britain and Ireland for less than a year when he abdicated the throne to marry "the woman I love."
After his abdication, Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor became George VI, King of the United Kingdom and Edward was awarded the title Duke of Windsor by his brother, the king. Edward and Mrs. Simpson married on June 3, 1937.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II.
UNICEF provides many types of assistance and help to children and mothers. It receives money from different governments and private persons. It works in almost all countries of the world.
December 11, 1964 -
Sam Cooke, popular singer, was shot to death by Bertha Franklin, manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California. Franklin claimed that he had threatened her, and that she killed him in self-defense.
The shooting was ultimately ruled to be a justifiable homicide, though there have been arguments that crucial details did not come out in court, or were buried afterward.
December 11, 1967 -
The Beatles' Apple Music signs its first group - Grapefruit, on this date.
With unwise business decisions like this, I'm sure the Beatles must have gone broke very shortly after this.
More Christmas Trivia:
Christmas decorating sends nearly 15,000 people to the ER.
In fact, the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 14,700 people visit hospital emergency rooms each November and December from holiday-related decorating accidents. So please, be careful when you're putting up the holly and the ivy.
So now you know.
And on a personal note: Happy Birthday Julietta
And so it goes
1 comment:
a monument to the boll weevil. indeed
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