I've just recently read Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War by Mark Harris.
September 6, 1925 -
The silent-film The Phantom of the Opera, starring, Lon Chaney (who considered it his crowning achievement) premiered in NYC on this date.
Lon Chaney's horrific, self-applied make-up was kept secret right up until the film's premiere. Not a single photograph of Chaney as The Phantom was published in a newspaper or magazine or seen anywhere before the film opened in theaters. Universal Pictures wanted The Phantom's face to be a complete surprise when his mask was ripped off.
September 6, 1936 -
The classic screwball comedy, My Man Godfrey, premiered on this date.
William Powell suggested his ex-wife Carole Lombard for the leading role with the explanation that his real -life romance with her had been much the same as it was for the characters of Godfrey and Irene.
September 6, 1944 -
Billy Wilder's film-noir classic, Double Indemnity, starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson, opened in NYC on this date.
The blonde wig that Barbara Stanwyck is wearing throughout the movie was the idea of Billy Wilder. A month into shooting Wilder suddenly realized how bad it looked, but by then it was too late to re-shoot the earlier scenes. To rationalize this mistake, in later interviews Wilder claimed that the bad-looking wig was intentional.
September 6, 1958 -
Steve McQueen debuted in the western series, Wanted: Dead or Alive, on CBS-TV on this date.
After getting offered the chance to star in The Magnificent Seven, McQueen found out that the only way he could do the film, which was being shot simultaneously with Wanted: Dead or Alive, was to fake an accident or illness and get a medical leave from the series. According to his first wife, Neile, McQueen accomplished this feat by "faking" a car crash in which he merely crashed his car into a tree, receiving minor cuts, muscle pulls, and bruises, and getting his medical leave. The series' production went on temporary hiatus while McQueen filmed The Magnificent Seven.
September 6, 1967 -
One of the seminal documentaries of the 60s, Don't Look Back directed by D. A. Pennebaker was released in NYC on this date.
The scene where Donovan visits Dylan in his hotel was generally viewed as Dylan putting the young singer-songwriter in his place when he grabs the guitar and performs It's All Over Now, Baby Blue. But a 2015 Criterion Collection remaster, with improved sound, revealed that Donovan actually requested Dylan play that song for him. That gave the entire scene a new meaning and revealed Dylan and Donovan as more friends than rivals.
September 6, 1975 -
After 13 Top 40 hits, Glen Campbell finally had his first No.1 hit with his song, Rhinestone Cowboy, on this date.
The song had a lot of meaning for Glen Campbell, and one he would call "maybe the best song I've ever sung." It came at a time when his career had gone flat: His popular TV show had been canceled, acting gigs dried up, and he hadn't had a hit since 1971. The story of the faded star who perseveres in the song held a lot of meaning for Campbell.
September 6, 1984 -
Milos Forman's adaptation of Peter Shaffer's play, Amadeus, starring Tom Hulce, F. Murray Abraham, and Elizabeth Berridge premieres in Los Angeles on this date
Tom Hulce only knew how to play the guitar before shooting. Milos Forman said they could cheat it, but it would be good if he learned how to play the piano. Hulce spent six hours a day for six months learning how to play the piano, and every Mozart symphony that was in the film.
September 6, 1986 –
Bananarama's cover of the Shocking Blue single, Venus hit no. 1 on this date
Bananarama's version was produced by the team of Stock, Aitken and Waterman, who worked on hits by Rick Astley (Never Gonna Give You Up), Dead or Alive (You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)) and Kylie Minogue (I Should Be So Lucky).
Today's moment of Zen
Today in History:
September 6, 1776 -
America's first submersible, David Bushnell's egg-shaped Turtle, piloted by Erza Lee (after Ezra Bushnell, David's brother, the submarine's initial captain, died the night before) unsuccessfully attacked the British-vessel HMS Eagle in New York harbor on this date.
The bomb was released into the water and resulted in a frightening explosion. While the American Turtle failed to destroy its target, the British recognized the threat and moved the fleet. Royal Navy logged and reported from this period make no mention of this incident, and it is possible that the Turtle's attack may be more submarine legend than historical event.
September 6, 1803 -
British scientist John Dalton (born on September 6, 1766,) begins using symbols to represent the atoms of different elements, which he considered to be the smallest parts of matter.
September 6, 1901 -
While shaking hands at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, President William McKinley was shot twice in the abdomen at point-blank range with a .32 caliber revolver, on this date. He, unintentionally, became the first President to ride in an automobile as a motorized ambulance takes him to a hospital.
The assassin, an anarchist by the name of Leon Frank Czolgosz, concealed his gun within a handkerchief, actually was a lone gunman (for once). McKinley died a week later and became the third American president assassinated.
September 6, 1916 -
Clarence Saunders opened the Piggly Wiggly® grocery store (the first self-service market,) at 79 Jefferson Street in Memphis, Tennessee, 105 years ago on this date. Piggly Wiggly's introduction of self-service grocery shopping truly revolutionized the grocery industry.
There were shopping baskets, open shelves and no clerks to shop for the customer – all unheard of at the time. There are still more than 600 Piggly Wiggly stores in the US today.
Although there can be no royalty in the United States, one young woman, is crowned each year as Miss America. The first such coronation was held for Margaret Gorman, on September 6, 1921.
September 6, 1951 -
During a drinking party in Mexico City, author William S. Burroughs instructed his wife Joan Vollmer to balance a glass of gin on her head. He then takes careful aim with his new .38 pistol, and unintentionally blows her brains out in front of their friends. The Mexican authorities later charge Burroughs with criminal imprudence.
So kids remember, when a drunken Beat drug addict writer asks you to play "William Tell" - Just Say No!!!
September 6, 1966 -
Parliamentary messenger Demetrios Tsafendas assassinated Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, considered to be the primary architect of Apartheid, by stabbing him in his chest on the floor of the South African legislature.
While Verwoerd died shortly thereafter, Apartheid tenaciously clung to life until 1994.
September 6, 1976 -
Years after their well-publicized break-up, Frank Sinatra privately orchestrated a surprise appearance of Dean Martin on Jerry Lewis' annual Labor Day telethon for the MDA. The two privately reconciled and maintained a relationship throughout the rest of their lives.
If only Sinatra could have knock off broads and booze long enough to deal with the whole Monkey Pox situation.
September 6, 1997 -
Princess Diana's funeral was held on this date. Over a million people lined the streets and the world-wide TV audience for the funeral ceremonies was estimated at over two billion.
Elton John sung a new version of his hit single Candle In The Wind at the funeral. The new version, which replaced "Goodbye Norma Jean" with "Goodbye England's Rose," became the best-selling single of all time. Diana was buried on an island at her ancestral home at Althorp.
Before you go: Kids, if it gives you any comfort, there are only 110 days until Christmas -
Remember, you have time, make good choices
And so it goes.
deposed or denuded. Indeed
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