# Huh...Things I learned recently **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 1, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587 "2008-04-01T21:34:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2008, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/101 "2008-04-03T18:36:00Z")
From “[The Kid](http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2000/8/2000_8_50.shtml)” > [@](#): > > An enthusiastic pilot since his teens, Coogan sought assignment to the Army Air Corps. Soon after Pearl Harbor, he was made a glider instructor, and two years later he volunteered to pilot one of the lead gliders on a nighttime air assault 165 miles behind Japanese lines in the all-airborne March 1944 invasion of north Burma. As a member of the 1st Air Commando Force under British Brigadier General Orde Wingate, he made seven sorties behind enemy lines. Casualty and cap- ture rates were high: Out of 100 glider pilots, 65 were killed; 15 were wounded and taken prisoner. > > “He had some horrific war experiences,” recalls John Astin, who played Gomez in The Addams Family and heard Coogan’s war stories while traveling on promotional tours with him. “One time he had a crash. He was in the front of the transport glider, of course, and everyone that he was flying with was shoved up against him. He was sort of at the bottom of the pile. The Japanese soldiers came in and bayoneted everybody in the plane. And Jack was the only one that they missed. He lay alone at the bottom of this pile of dead and dying men, and eventually he got out and escaped. But he was plagued with nightmares much of his life. I know that when we were together, he would sometimes wake up with a nightmare, and all he needed was somebody to just speak to him. Then he would snap out of it and go back to sleep.” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2008, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/102 "2008-04-03T23:02:10Z")
[QUOTE=Noelq] Clancy Brown: 1. Kurgen in Highlander. 2. Mr. Krabs from Spongebob Squarepants. 3. Lex Luthor on Justice League. 4. Dr. West on ER. He seems to bounce from Good to Evil! [/QUOTE] And Mercy Graves, Luthor’s chauffeur/bodyguard was played by Lisa Edelstein, who currently plays Dr. Lisa Cuddy on “House.” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2008, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/103 "2008-04-03T23:07:51Z")
[QUOTE=fessie] Rosie Perez is Click! the Camera! on Diego cartoons. Tim Conway does the voice of Barnacle Boy on Spongebob. [/QUOTE] And Conway’s co-star from “McHale’s Navy,” Ernest Borgnine, plays Mermaid Man. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/104 "2008-04-03T23:27:25Z")
[QUOTE=cochrane] And Conway’s co-star from “McHale’s Navy,” Ernest Borgnine, plays Mermaid Man. [/QUOTE] Huh! Shelley Winters was once married to him, you know. I’m pretty sure it’s John Goodman doing the kindly neighbor on _Clifford_. Squiggy is one of the voices on _Osborne_. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2008, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/105 "2008-04-03T23:34:57Z")
[QUOTE=fessie] Shelley Winters was once married to him, you know. [/QUOTE] I don’t think Shelley Winters was ever married to Ernest Borgnine. Maybe you’re thinking of Ethel Merman? ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2008, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/106 "2008-04-03T23:39:08Z")
Poop. Looks like you’re right, sorry. I could’ve sworn it was Shelley Winters. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2008, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/107 "2008-04-03T23:49:50Z")
[QUOTE=fessie] Poop. Looks like you’re right, sorry. I could’ve sworn it was Shelley Winters. [/QUOTE] Shelley Winters was in the Poseidon Adventure with him. Maybe you’re thinking of that? ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/108 "2008-04-04T00:52:19Z")
True, I knew that. But actually what I was remembering was a story about him as a, well, kind of uncivilized husband. What he liked to do was have a lot of gas in bed (as in flatulant) and then stick his (then-)wife’s head under the sheet. And not let her out. I could’ve sworn it was Shelley Winters telling that story. But obviously I’m daft, so maybe I dreamt the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/109 "2008-04-04T01:00:08Z")
[QUOTE=fessie] True, I knew that. But actually what I was remembering was a story about him as a, well, kind of uncivilized husband. What he liked to do was have a lot of gas in bed (as in flatulant) and then stick his (then-)wife’s head under the sheet. And not let her out. I could’ve sworn it was Shelley Winters telling that story. But obviously I’m daft, so maybe I dreamt the whole thing. [/QUOTE] Dutch oven! HAW-HAW! ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/110 "2008-04-04T01:09:02Z")
[QUOTE=Chimera] So…do you have something you need to tell us? 😉 [/QUOTE] By an amazing coincidence, I myself am 2/3 gay! The actors in question btw are Ricky Schroeder, Neil Patrick Harris, and the older son from Dr Quinn (Chad Allen?). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/111 "2008-04-04T01:10:49Z")
[QUOTE=fessie] True, I knew that. But actually what I was remembering was a story about him as a, well, kind of uncivilized husband. What he liked to do was have a lot of gas in bed (as in flatulant) and then stick his (then-)wife’s head under the sheet. And not let her out. I could’ve sworn it was Shelley Winters telling that story. But obviously I’m daft, so maybe I dreamt the whole thing. [/QUOTE] Merman, I think. ---
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/112 "2008-04-04T03:06:42Z")
Phil LaMarr, The Voice or Mild Mannered Cleveland in Family Guy, is Marv, the guy John Travolta shoots in the head in Pulp Fiction. Actually, I’ve known this for a while; he also voices Vamp in the Metal gear Solid series. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/113 "2008-04-04T06:52:51Z")
[QUOTE=bubastis] Phil LaMarr, The Voice or Mild Mannered Cleveland in Family Guy, is Marv, the guy John Travolta shoots in the head in Pulp Fiction. Actually, I’ve known this for a while; he also voices Vamp in the Metal gear Solid series. [/QUOTE] Also Hermes Conrad on Futurama. 😉 Great Turkey of Albuquerque! ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/114 "2008-04-04T11:25:10Z")
[QUOTE=bubastis] Phil LaMarr, The Voice or Mild Mannered Cleveland in Family Guy, is Marv, the guy John Travolta shoots in the head in Pulp Fiction. Actually, I’ve known this for a while; he also voices Vamp in the Metal gear Solid series. [/QUOTE] Also, the Buddy Holly waiter is Steve Buscemi. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/115 "2008-04-04T14:46:31Z")
[Cree Summer](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0838588/) , who got her start as the voice of Penny in the Inspector Gadget cartoon, is apparently the hardest working female voice artist in the business, most recently appearing as the sexy-voiced robot tour guide in Mass Effect. I keep recognizing her voice in snippets of cartoons and video games everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Fun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@Mike\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Fun)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/116 "2008-04-04T20:16:16Z")
Toni Tenille of Captian & Tenille fame sings backup on Pink Floyd’s The Wall. ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/117 "2008-04-05T04:31:43Z")
[QUOTE=lisacurl] “Danny Noonan” (i.e., Michael O’Keefe) was married to Bonnie Raitt through the nineties, too. He sang with her and wrote lyrics for her “Luck of the Draw” album. [/QUOTE] [Johnny Carson]I didn’t know that![/Johnny Carson] When I was in-between wives, I had a mad crush on Bonnie and used to play her two albums incessantly. I knew she had married Michael, and at a concert in Charlotte, talked about how anxious she was to finish so she could meet him in D.C. Here’s one I just learned today: In the “Josie and the Pussy Cats” TV show (which ran only 16 episodes; funny, it seem like much longer when I was _mumble mumble_ years old, the woman who sang the drummer’s part was Cheryl Ladd. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/118 "2008-04-05T04:59:47Z")
Just learned tonight (when I was watching _The Phantom Menace_ on TV for the first time since I saw it in the theater and in so doing remembered just how awful the acting was all around): The original choice to play Annakin Skywalker was Justin Berfield, best known as thoroughly obnoxious Number 2 Son Reese on _Malcolm in the Middle_. Justin (or his agent) turned down the role in _Star Wars_ because it was known that ‘boy Annakin’ would only be in the first film and had no points in the film’s gross, while _Malcolm_ [which he was offered around the same time] could run for years, thus Malcolm would probably make him a lot more money; in retrospect he probably chose wisely. (As hard as it is to imagine Reese being a Jedi, he can’t possibly have been worse than Jake Lloyd.) ## Not learned recently but since it’s another “original choice but took a sitcom instead” trivia: The original choice to play Kunta Kinte in _ROOTS_ was Ernest Thomas, who had to bow out when he signed to star as Raj in _What’s Happening!!_ just before shooting. He instead took a lesser part in _ROOTS_ as one of Kunta’s friends/fellow tribe members in Africa while the role of Kunta went to Levar Burton. I didn’t know until very recently that Jon Heder of _Blades of Glory_ and _Napoleon Dynamite_ fame is a devout Mormon. * * * Phyllis Diller is soooooooooooooooo old (and her parents were so old when she was born) that her uncles (not great-uncles, but her father’s older full-brothers) fought in the Civil War. (Source: her autobio _Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse_.) * * * I knew that Jerry Lee Lewis married his third wife (the one played by Winona Ryder) when she was disgustingly young (as did his cousin Jimmy Swaggart, who married Frances when she was 13 or 14 as well), but I was surprised to learn that Roy Orbison also liked them young; depending on the source his first wife, Claudette, was either 15 or 16 when they married; when she died the 30-something Orbison married 16 year old German born Barbara Jakobs. (More disturbing in the cradle-robbing romances but one that I already knew about is James “Scotty” Doohan, who was 54 when he married 17 year old Wende B., though the union was evidently happy- they were married 30 years and were apparently still having sex when Jimmy was 79 [when their last child was conceived].) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/119 "2008-04-05T05:10:30Z")
[QUOTE=Earl Snake-Hips Tucker] Psst! That’s Walter Brennan from “The Guns of Will Sonnet.” [/QUOTE] Who I recently learned was one of the richest stars in show business: among other holdings he owned a 30,000 (that’s thirty-_thousand_) acre ranch in Oregon and negotiated an ownership percentage of _Guns of Will Sonnet_ that made him another fortune even though the show didn’t last long. (I loved his performance when he was an old man and played against type as a murdering daughter-pimping river pirate in _How the West Was Won_.) Speaking of _HTWWW_, I did not know until a few days ago (when his 96th birthday was announced on the news) that Karl “Don’t Leave Home Without It” Malden is still alive. That’s somehow reassuring, what with so many big stars from my childhood having dropped like flies in recent years. I did not know until recently that Rob Riggle of _The Daily Show_ really is a major [not active obviously] in the Marine Corps and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. (I knew he’d mentioned his USMC service on TDS, but I thought it was like Stephen Colbert mentioning his time as a porn star and Bush advisor.) ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2008, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587/120 "2008-04-05T05:15:32Z")
[QUOTE=furryman] Walter Houston did the voice of Gandalf in “The Hobbit” cartoon. This is one of my picks for perfect casting in a movie. [/QUOTE] I am the last person who should be correcting anyone, as this type of error is my stock in trade, but I’m pretty sure you mean [John Huston](http://imdb.com/name/nm0001379/). Other than that, I completely agree with your choice. I had the record of this when I was a kid, and his voice is still the one I hear in my head for Gandalf. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huh-things-i-learned-recently/443587.md?page=7)