Thread: Unusual, unique, and uncommon facts about a diversity of subjects

Because of TV censorship, actress Mariette Hartley was not allowed to show her belly button on Gene Roddenberry's STAR TREK [episode #78 "All Our Yesterdays" in 1969] but later Roddenberry got even when he gave Hartley "two" belly buttons in the sci-fi movie Genesis II (1973).


Bette Midler, Barry Manilow and many other famous vocalists got their start in a New York City club called The Continental Baths.


Between 1931 and 1969 Walt Disney collected thirty-five Oscars.


"Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson was the first video to air on MTV by a black artist.


By the time a child finishes elementary school she will have witnessed 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence on television.

C3P0 is the first character to speak in Star Wars.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard's fish was named Livingston.


Captain Kirk never said "Beam me up, Scotty," but he did say, "Beam me up, Mr. Scott."


Carnegie Hall in New York City opened in 1891 with Tchaikovsky as guest conductor.


Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous 45 second shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's movie, Psycho, which actually took 7 days to shoot.


Comedian/actor Billy Crystal portrayed Jodie Dallas, the first openly gay main character on network television on ABC's Soap, which aired from 1977 to 1981.


Disneyland opened in 1955.

Donald Duck lives at 1313 Webfoot Walk, Duckburg, Calisota.

Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.

Elvis Presley made his first appearance on national television in 1956. He sang Blue Suede Shoes and Heartbreak Hotel on "The Dorsey Brothers Show."

Even though they broke up 25 years ago, the Beatles continue to sell more records each year than the Rolling Stones. Wow

Gaetano Albert "Guy" Lombardo did the first New Year's Eve broadcast of "Auld Lang Syne," from the Roosevelt Grill in New York City in 1929/1930.


George Harrison, with "My Sweet Lord," was the first Beatle to have a Number 1 hit single following the group's breakup. Nice song

Gunsmoke debuted on CBS-TV in 1955, and went on to become the longest-running (20 years) series on television.


"Happy Birthday" was the first song to be performed in outer space, sung by the Apollo IX astronauts on March 8, 1969.

In 1920, 57% of Hollywood movies billed the female star above the leading man. In 1990, only 18% had the leading lady given top billing.

In 1938 Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel sold all rights to the comic-strip character Superman to their publishers for $130.

In 1962, the Mashed Potato, the Loco-Motion, the Frug, the Monkey, and the Funky Chicken were popular dances.

In 1969, Midnight Cowboy became the first and only X-rated production to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. (Its rating has since been changed to R.)

In 1987 Playtex premiered the first US TV commercials with real lingerie models displaying their bras and underwear on national television.

In Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart never said "Play it again, Sam."

In Disney's Fantasia, the Sorcerer's name is Yensid, which is Disney spelled backward.

In October 1959 Elizabeth Taylor became the first Hollywood star to receive $1 million for a single picture. (for Cleopatra)

In the movie Casablanca Rick never says "Play it again, Sam." He says: "You played it for her, you can play it for me. Play it!". Ilsa says "Play it, Sam. Play `As Time Goes By"'.

In the US, federal law states that children's TV shows may contain only 10 minutes of advertising per hour and on weekends the limit is 10 and one-half minutes.

In The Wizard of Oz the Scarecrow was looking for a brain, the Cowardly Lion was looking for courage, and the Tin Man was looking for a heart. Duh

Jethro Tull is not the name of the rock singer responsible for such songs as "Aqualung" and "Thick as a Brick." Jethro Tull is the name of the band. The singer is Ian Anderson. The original Jethro Tull was an English horticulturalist who invented the seed drill.

Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison were all 27 years old when they died. All IMer's will die at this age! Yes V, you too!

Little Jackie Paper was the name of Puff the Magic Dragon's human friend.
Mickey Mouse is known as 'Topolino' in Italy. So that's where Topolo gets his name.

Movie detective Dirty Harry's badge number is 2211.

MTV (Music Television) made its debut at 12:01 a.m. on August 1, 1981 The first music-video shown on the rock-video cable channel was, appropriately, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles. MTV's original five veejays were Martha Quinn, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, J.J. Jackson and Alan Hunter.

Napoleon Bonaparte is the historical figure most often portrayed in movies. He has been featured in 194 movies, Jesus Christ in 152, and Abraham Lincoln in 137.

On February 9, 1993, "Dateline NBC" was forced to publicly apologize, and NBC president Michael Gartner resigned for a scandal caused by "Dateline" rigging a GM truck with explosives to simulate a "scientific" crash-test demo.

Penny Marshall was the first woman film director to have a film take in more than $100 million at the box office - she accomplished this with the 1988 flick Big.

Pierce Brosnan's first appearance as James Bond was in 1995 Golden Eye.

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, was created in 1939, in Chicago, for the Montgomery Ward department stores for a Christmas promotion. The lyrics were written as a poem by Robert May, but weren't set to music until 1947. Gene Autry recorded the hit song in 1949.

Santa's reindeer are: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen.

The "Miss America" pageant made its network TV debut on ABC In 1954. Miss California, Lee Ann Meriwether, was crowned the winner.

The "Twelve Days of Christmas" gifts: A partridge in a pear tree, two turtledoves, three French hens, four calling birds, five gold rings, six geese laying, seven swans swimming, eight maids milking, nine ladies dancing, ten lords leaping, eleven pipers piping, and twelve drummers drumming. (There are 364 gifts altogether)

The 1st Academy Awards ceremony to be telecast was the 25th, in 1953.

The 1st Academy Awards were presented in 1927.

The 1st annual Grammy Awards were awarded in 1959. The Record of the Year was "Volare" by Domenico Modugno, the Album of the Year was "Peter Gunn" by Henry Mancini and the winner of the best R&B performance was "Tequila" by Champs.

The 1st CMA (Country Music Association) Awards, hosted by Sonny James and Bobbie Gentry, were presented at an awards banquet and show in 1967.

The 1st comic strip was "The Yellow Kid," in the New York World in 1896. The cartoonist was Richard Felton Outcault.

The 1st feature-length animated film, released by Disney Studios in 1937, was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

The 1st inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961 were Jimmie Rodgers, Fred Rose and Hank Williams were.

The 1st interracial kiss on TV took place Nov. 22, 1968 between Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Lt.Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) on an episode of "Star Trek."

The 1st kiss in a movie was between May Irwin and John Rice in "The Widow Jones," in 1896.

The 1st live televised murder was in 1963, when Jack Ruby killed JFK's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald while millions of viewers watched.

The 1st performance of Handel's "Messiah" was on April 13, 1742 at the New Music rooms in Fishamble St., Dublin. Because of the demand for space, the men were asked not to wear their swords and the ladies not to wear hooped skirts.

The 1st presidential news conference filmed for TV was in 1955. Eisenhower was the president.

The 1st televised presidential debate was September 26, 1960, between Nixon and Kennedy.

The 1st time the "f-word" was spoken in a movie was by Marianne Faithfull in the 1968 film, "I'll Never Forget Whatshisname." In Brian De Palma's 1984 movie, "Scarface," the word is spoken 206 times - an average of once every 29 seconds.

nice

Originally Posted by min0 lee

The 1st presidential news conference filmed for TV was in 1955. Eisenhower was the president

...or was it JFK?

Originally Posted by DOMS

...or was it JFK?

Broadcast Firsts

Political Broadcasts - (Cabinet Session) - A special meeting of the Eisenhower administration cabinet held October 25, 1954 was the first time a US cabinet session was televised. The event featured then Secretary of State John Foster Dulles conveying his summary report on agreements signed in Paris, France. With the exclusion of vice-president Richard M. Nixon, all members were present. The meeting was carried over all ABC, NBC and CBS radio and television networks. (Congress) Television was first brought from Washington to the homes of the American people on the opening of the joint session of the 80th Congress on Jan 3, 1947. In 1986 television cameras were placed in the Senate chambers on a trial six month experiment, thus allowing the American public see their politician's earn their paycheck. CSPAN the cable network that now covers Congress, is watched by 81% of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention who have access to it. According to a survey conducted by the University of Maryland, 28% of the delegates who watched the political channel changed their opinion on either a candidate or an issue after hearing/viewing information on CSPAN. (Conventions) The Republican National Convention held in Philadelphia on June 24-29, 1940, became the first political convention to be televised. It broadcast the nomination of Wendell Lewis Willkie (New York) and Charles Linza McNary (Oregon) as the Republican Party's choice for president and vice-president. Broadcast was covered by New York City station W2XBS. (Debates) The first televised presidential political debate was telecast September 26, 1960 at 9:30 P.M.. The contestants included the Republican candidate, vice-president Richard M. Nixon and Democratic candidate, Senator John F. Kennedy. This face-to-face discussion originated live from Chicago and was telecast nationally into the homes of all American citizens lucky enough to own a television. Howard K. Smith of CBS Network was the moderator of these debates of which Kennedy opened and Nixon closed. (Inauguration) Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first president sworn in on national television on January 20, 1953. (Interviews) Edward R. Murrow the host of the popular 1950s televised interview program PERSON TO PERSON conducted an interview with Cuban Leader, Fidel Castro who appeared in his pajamas on February 6, 1959. On October 22, 1974 Castro gave his first in-depth interview since 1968 when Dan Rather visited with him on the CBS Network report "Castro, Cuba & the U.S.A." (Press Coverage) President John F. Kennedy's first press conference (covered by all three networks) was the first live telecast of a presidential news conference. Broadcast on January 25, 1961, the conference was held in the auditorium of the State Department building in Washington, D.C.. A total of 31 questions were asked over a 38-minute period. Before this press conference, the typical Presidential conferences had been filmed and scheduled for later broadcast to the public. The first such filmed news conference for television was held on January 19, 1955 in the treaty room of the State Department building.. It featured President Dwight D. Eisenhower talking to the press for the total of 33 minutes. The conference was edited to 28 minutes before the broadcast. (Presidential Appearances) Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the first President to appear on television. On April 30, 1939, Roosevelt spoke at the opening session of the New York World's Fair on the exposition grounds in Flushing, Long Island. The event was transmitted/received via two mobile vans owned by station WNBT of the National Broadcasting Company. President Harry S. Truman made his first "live" television appearance at a Navy Day speech in New York's Central Park on October 27, 1945. The first regular coast-to-coast telecast on September 4, 1951 was President Harry S. Truman's address at the opening of the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference in San Francisco. Broadcast by all four networks (ABC, DuMont, CBS, NBC). President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first President to appear in "color" on television over the NBC network. This historic event occurred during his June 7, 1955 commencement address to the graduates of the Military Academy at West Point, New York.

Phew!!

Originally Posted by min0 lee

Broadcast Firsts!

It was a bit of joke. It's a line from a song.

Originally Posted by DOMS

It was a bit of joke. It's a line from a song.

Who sings it?

Originally Posted by min0 lee

Who sings it?

William Shatner.

Originally Posted by DOMS

William Shatner.

Please tell me you don't own that CD! Your coolness level will surely suffer.

Originally Posted by min0 lee

Please tell me you don't own that CD! Your coolness level will surely suffer.

His new one, Has Been? Hell yes I own it. Have you listened to it? The song with him and Henry Rollins is fucking hilarious.

Originally Posted by DOMS

His new one, Has Been? Hell yes I own it. Have you listened to it? The song with him and Henry Rollins is fucking hilarious.

I thought musical career was meant to be taken seroiusly?

Originally Posted by min0 lee

I thought musical career was meant to be taken seroiusly?

His album is all over the map. It has a song for nearly every mood. It ranges from funny as hell to very somber.

OK...your still cool.

Originally Posted by min0 lee

The 1st time the "f-word" was spoken in a movie was by Marianne Faithfull in the 1968 film, "I'll Never Forget Whatshisname." In Brian De Palma's 1984 movie, "Scarface," the word is spoken 206 times - an average of once every 29 seconds.

I wonder how often it was said in Reservoir Dogs.

Originally Posted by Triple Threat

I wonder how often it was said in Reservoir Dogs.

I never got to see this movie, I have to see it they say it's good.

The 1st winner of the Academy Award for best picture, and the only silent film to achieve that honor, was the 1927 film, "Wings."

The 7 Dwarfs are Happy, Grumpy, Dopey (the beardless one), Doc, Bashful, Sneezy, Sleepy. They were miners.

The bagpipe was originally made from the whole skin of a dead sheep.

The Beatles' 1st song to hit the UK charts was 'Love me do' on 11th October 1962.

The Beatles were depicted in wax at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London, in 1964, the first pop album stars to be honored.

The Beatles were George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. But there were also two lesser known, previous members of the band: Pete Best and Stu Sutcliffe.

The Black Hole, 1979, was Disney's first PG-rated movie.

The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's "Its A Wonderful Life."

The characters of Homer, Marge, Lisa, and Maggie were given the same first names as Simpsons creator Matt Groening's real-life father, mother, and two sisters.

The first CD pressed in the US - for commercial release - was Bruce Springsteen's 'Born in the USA'. Great song!

The first film granted permission by the Chinese government to be filmed in the Forbidden City was The Last Emperor, 1987.

The first issue of People Magazine, in 1974, cost 35 cents and featured actress Mia Farrow on the cover.

The four principal characters from the cartoon series "The Chipmunks" are Alvin, Simon, Theodore, and Dave.

The Jazz Singer, 1927, was the first movie with audible dialogue.

The Lone Ranger's "real" name is John Reid.

The longest Oscar acceptance speech was made by Greer Garson for 1924's "Mrs. Miniver." It took an hour. Try that now, they would pull him off with a hook.

The Looney Tunes song is actually called "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down."

The Mills Brothers have recorded the most songs of any artist: about 2,250.

The Monty Python movie "The Life of Brian" was banned in Scotland.

The official state song of Georgia since 1922 has been "Georgia on My Mind".

The Oscar statuette was designed by MGM's art director, Cedric Gibbons, in 1928. The design has remained unchanged, except for getting a higher pedestal in the 1940's.

The Professor on "Gilligan's Island" was named Roy Hinkley. The Skipper was named Jonas Grumby. Both names were used only once in the entire series, on the first episode. After all these years of watching that show I never knew that.

The rock music video channel MTV made its debut in 1981.

The Russian Imperial Necklace has been loaned out by Joseff jewelers of Hollywood for 1,215 different feature films.

The science-fiction series "Lost in Space" (set in the year 1997) premiered on CBS in 1965.

The song "Happy Birthday to You" was originally written by sisters Mildred and Patty Hill as "Good Morning to You." The words were changed and it was published in 1935.

The song "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" was written by George Graff, who was German, and was never in Ireland in his life.

The term karaoke means "empty orchestra" in Japanese, and the karaoke machine was designed originally to provide backing tracks for solo cabaret performers.

The title role of Dirty Harry, 1971, was originally intended for Frank Sinatra. After he refused, it was offered to John Wayne, and then Paul Newman, finally being accepted by Clint Eastwood. Can't say it was a bad choice.

The Wizard of Oz was a Broadway musical 37 years before the MGM movie version was made. It had 293 performances and then went on a tour that lasted 9 years.

There are 11 points on the collar around Kermit the Frog's neck.

There have been about 30 films made at or about Alcatraz, the now-closed federal prison island in San Francisco Bay, including The Rock (1996), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), and Escape from Alcatraz (1979).

Time magazine's "Man of the Year" for 1938 was Adolf Hitler.

Walt Disney's first cartoon character was called Oswald the Rabbit.

Walter Huston and his son John become the first father-and-son team to win Oscars as director of and an actor in "Treasure of Sierra Madre" in 1949.

When Bugs Bunny first appeared in 1935, he was called Happy Rabbit.

Soap was a good show.