# Obscure but interesting celebrity trivia. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 1, 2015, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392 "2015-06-01T22:16:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/181 "2015-06-15T15:12:40Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I assume you scrolled down aways to the photo of Booth? :dubious: > > Yeah, I know the caption is not great, but this photo had the clearest image of Booth himself out of all the others I could find. If you Google “Booth Lincoln Inauguration Photo,” you’ll find many more images that show the entire scene on the steps of the Capitol, though it’s sometimes hard to distinguish either the President or the assassin. Yes, but the context of the photo and caption come close to being nonsense, or maybe woo-ey CTism. They are alleging photocomposition putting Booth in the picture twice, with the casual assurance that the reader knows exactly what they’re talking about. "Here’s the grassy knoll. The third gunman stood next to the fence board with the knothole. " - that’s the vibe I get. It’s hard to take even your claim seriously based on what is presented as a doctored photo. Or have I really missed the point here? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/182 "2015-06-15T19:06:41Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/183 "2015-06-15T19:10:04Z")
Try this link: > **[Abraham Lincoln/John Wilkes Booth Photo | Period Photos & Examinations](https://civilwartalk.com/threads/abraham-lincoln-john-wilkes-booth-photo.81783/)** > > I had heard that Lincoln and Booth were once caught in the same photo together but had never looked into it. Upon closer examination of a photo of Lincoln's second inaugural address its true. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/184 "2015-06-24T05:31:56Z")
At the suggestion of Stephen King’s son, Owen, King and the GI Joe staff developed a character named [Crystal Ball](http://gijoe.wikia.com/wiki/Crystal_Ball_(RAH)). As a way of thanking King and his son, the GI Joe people created a character named [Sneak Peak](http://gijoe.wikia.com/wiki/Sneak_Peek_(King)). This character’s real name was Owen King, and his facial features are rumored to be based off of King’s son. Oddly enough, these are two of the more reviled characters from the 80’s GI Joe period. Sneak Peak was actually believed to be [killed in action](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_G.I._Joe:_A_Real_American_Hero_characters_(S%E2%80%93Z)#Sneak_Peek) in the comics. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/185 "2015-06-25T15:06:02Z")
While most people think Ann Rule got to write the book The Stranger Beside Me because she knew Ted Bundy, the simple truth of the matter is she got the contract to write the book _before_ Bundy was even a suspect. She maintained his innocence for a while, before she finally realized she only knew one side of Bundy. All the while he was only showing his courtly, gentlemanly side to her, he was out abducting young women, doing unspeakable things to them, and killing them. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/186 "2015-06-25T17:49:41Z")
Charlie Chaplin composed the music for the song “Smile,” the instrumental theme from his 1936 movie _Modern Times_. The lyrics and title came later. This song was supposedly Michael Jackson’s favorite song. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Kad2UnNaZIQ/hqdefault.jpg "Michael Jackson singing his favorite song - Smile") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kad2UnNaZIQ) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/187 "2015-06-26T01:26:26Z")
Annie-Xmas writes: \> While most people think Ann Rule got to write the book The Stranger Beside Me \> because she knew Ted Bundy, the simple truth of the matter is she got the \> contract to write the book before Bundy was even a suspect. She maintained his \> innocence for a while, before she finally realized she only knew one side of Bundy. \> All the while he was only showing his courtly, gentlemanly side to her, he was out \> abducting young women, doing unspeakable things to them, and killing them. I know that she took a while after he was captured to admit even to herself that he was guilty, but how could she possibly have gotten a contract for the book before he was even a suspect? How could she go to a publisher and say something like, “I’d like to write a book about Ted Bundy, who was a friend of mine. He’s nobody famous. I’d just like to write a book about him.” I suspect that what you really mean is that she went to the publisher after he had been captured. She told the publisher that she had been a friend of Bundy and that she didn’t believe that he did the murders he was accused of. It was then only after she got the contract and examined all the evidence that she realized that he indeed did those murders. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/188 "2015-06-26T17:21:04Z")
Bob Barker, long-time former host of The Price is Right, is an official member of the Sioux tribe. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/189 "2015-06-26T17:23:32Z")
> [@saucywench](#): > > Bob Barker, long-time former host of The Price is Right, is an official member of the Sioux tribe. He grew up on a reservation, if I’m not mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/190 "2015-06-26T18:03:48Z")
> [@saucywench](#): > > Charlie Chaplin composed the music for the song “Smile,” the instrumental theme from his 1936 movie _Modern Times_. What’s even more interesting is that Chaplin could not read music nor play any instrument. He hummed the tune to his music director, who wrote it down. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/191 "2015-06-26T18:07:48Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > What’s even more interesting is that Chaplin could not read music nor play any instrument. He hummed the tune to his music director, who wrote it down. And he wrote tons of music that way. He provided soundtracks to all his middlin’-to-large silent movies after the advent of the talkie. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/192 "2015-06-26T22:51:23Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Annie-Xmas writes: > > \> While most people think Ann Rule got to write the book The Stranger Beside Me > \> because she knew Ted Bundy, the simple truth of the matter is she got the > \> contract to write the book before Bundy was even a suspect. She maintained his > \> innocence for a while, before she finally realized she only knew one side of Bundy. > \> All the while he was only showing his courtly, gentlemanly side to her, he was out > \> abducting young women, doing unspeakable things to them, and killing them. > > I know that she took a while after he was captured to admit even to herself that he was guilty, but how could she possibly have gotten a contract for the book before he was even a suspect? How could she go to a publisher and say something like, “I’d like to write a book about Ted Bundy, who was a friend of mine. He’s nobody famous. I’d just like to write a book about him.” I suspect that what you really mean is that she went to the publisher after he had been captured. She told the publisher that she had been a friend of Bundy and that she didn’t believe that he did the murders he was accused of. It was then only after she got the contract and examined all the evidence that she realized that he indeed did those murders. Of course she could have got a contract for the book before Bundy was a suspect. Books are written about unsolved crimes all the time. What I’ve read is that she’d been selling true crime articles for a while, and then got a contract to write a book about a series of terrible local murders where there was no real suspect. And then, as she worked on the book, this guy she knew became the prime suspect. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2015, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/193 "2015-06-26T23:10:43Z")
Jeanette MacDonald, famed musical actress, and Blossom Rock, Grandmama from the Addams Family, were sisters. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/194 "2015-06-27T00:39:25Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > What’s even more interesting is that Chaplin could not read music nor play any instrument. He hummed the tune to his music director, who wrote it down. FYI, I found a picture of Charlie Chaplin playing a violin “Jimi Hendrix Style”—that is, it’s a right-handed instrument but he played it left-handed anyway. ) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/195 "2015-06-27T01:44:37Z")
If it only became known that Bundy was the suspect for these murders after Rule was given a contract to write about the murders, that would be a bizarre coincidence. Is that really true? Please, I don’t want to hear anyone’s guesses or vague memories of what they’ve read. I want a link to or a quotation from a book or something similar in which it says _specifically_ that Rule got a contract for the book to write about this series of murders and only later found out that, bizarre as it seems, the murders were committed by a very good friend of hers. I’ve checked some online references, and there’s nothing specific in the ones I checked. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/196 "2015-06-27T15:00:09Z")
Read The Stranger Beside Me. Rule had written true crime articles, and got a contract to write a book about the disappearances and murders of several local “girls” by a “mass murderer” (now we know they were young women, and Bundy was a serial killer. A term that hadn’t been invented at the time). The publisher who gave her the contract admitted he didn’t know if there would be a market for the book, but he wanted her to follow the story from beginning to end. Ted was not a suspect because there were none. When he was arrested, Rule wrote that “You couldn’t write a story where a person gets a contract to write a book about an unknown murderer, only to find out it’s her friend. It wouldn’t wash.” [Click here](http://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/True-crime-writer-Ann-Rule-sees-Ted-Bundy-story-2113259.php) for an interview on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/197 "2015-06-27T16:27:24Z")
Thanks, Annie-Xmas, that answers my question. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/198 "2015-06-27T20:47:28Z")
Cirroc Lofton, who played Jake Sisko on _Star Trek: Deep Space Nine_, is the nephew of former MLB All-Star Kenny Lofton. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/199 "2015-06-27T23:20:30Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > When he was arrested, Rule wrote that “You couldn’t write a story where a person gets a contract to write a book about an unknown murderer, only to find out it’s her friend. It wouldn’t wash.” Nonsense! Why do people keep saying things like that? People write, and get published, hokey, unbelievable, bullshit plots all the time. “You can’t make this up,” and such really means, “I’d be too embarrassed to show this to my publisher.” Rule should read more popular fiction and watch more TV. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392/200 "2015-06-27T23:25:40Z")
Also Bob Barker donated a lot of money to anti whaling group Sea Shepherds so they named a boat in his honor. He donated $5 mil or so. He’s very big animal rights guy. And BTW Drew Carey still says to spay and neuter your pets. (unless he stopped recently) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-but-interesting-celebrity-trivia/721392.md?page=11)