Gore Vidal (1925-2012) is well known for his writings, both fiction and nonfiction. He was also heavily involved in politics, twice running for national office as a Democrat. In 1960, he unsuccessfully ran for the US House of Representatives in New York; then, in 1982, he again failed in a bid for the Senate, this time from California.
In addition to his writing, Gore Vidal occasionally acted. For instance, he played an aging liberal lion of the U.S. Senate in the 1992 dark political satire Bob Roberts, costarring Tim Robbins.
In land surveying, a « gore » is an odd-shaped piece of land, often triangular.
Frank Gore was an American football running back, who played 16 seasons in the National Football League. Gore primarily played for the San Francisco 49ers, but in the latter portion of his career, he also played for the Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and New York Jets.
Gore, who retired from the NFL last month after signing a one-day contract with the 49ers (so he could retire as a member of that team), finished his career with exactly 16,000 yards rushing – this places him in third place on the league’s all-time rushing list, behind only Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton.
In 1958, WL Gore and his wife, Genevieve formed their own company. After working with the DuPont Company for many years, and after a few other products, the Gore and his WL Gore company was trying to stretch PTFE, polytetrafluoroethylene (or, Teflon), for an application to insulate wiring when they mistakenly disccovered that if PTFE was stretched quickly it formed a microporous structure that was mostly air. In the early 1970s that product was given the name of Gore-Tex expanded PTFE, or ePTFE. Today ePTFE accounts for most of their product line and Gore-Tex is their trademarked name for it.
In late April of 1958, Vice President Richard Nixon embarked on a goodwill tour of South America. Reactions to his visit were mixed. Nixon was well-received in Argentina and Colombia, but was met with protestors in Uruguay and Peru. The last stop on the tour was in Caracas, where Nixon’s motorcade was to travel from the airport to the American embassy. Along the way, Nixon’s car was attacked by an angry mob. While Nixon and his wife escaped injury, several of his staff members, including secretary Rose Mary Woods, suffered minor injuries.
In 1948 when he was up for re-election, President Harry Truman went on a whistle stop tour. We know now that he won that election, but in the spring of that year his approval rating was only 36% and it was considered that he could never win re-election.
His town to town appearances drew large crowds that largely went unnoticed by the national press corps and by the national polls. Most of the gatherings at his whistle stops were spontaneous, and the large crowds signaled a shift in momentum.
Here’s a map of his route:
Truman’s eventual victory over his opponent Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York was a surprise, especially to the Chicago Daily Tribune, who’s headlines the next morning declared Dewey the winner.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/28/Deweytruman12.jpg
Harry S Truman, Democrat of Missouri, was the last President of the United States to always wear glasses in public.
Harry S Truman, Democrat of Missouri, was the last President of the United States who had previously been an artillery officer.
Harry R Truman, Curmudgeon of Washington state, died in the eruption of Mount St Helens on May 18, 1980.
Author Truman Capote, born in 1924, began working as a copyboy in the art department at The New Yorker, while attending the Franklin School in 1942. He held the job for two years, but his employment came to an end when he was fired for angering the poet Robert Frost.
Authors Truman Capote and Harper Lee were childhood friends; Capote spent time as a child with his relatives in Monroeville, Alabama, the town where Lee grew up.
The character of Dill Harris in Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is generally believed to have been based, at least in part, on Capote, while the character of Idabel Thompkins in Capote’s first novel, the semi-autobiographical Other Voices, Other Rooms was likely based on Lee.
Actor Lee Majors beat out Burt Reynolds for the role of Heath Barley in The Big Valley. Before that he played football at Indiana University and Eastern Kentucky. After college he was offered an NFL tryout with the St. Louis Cardinals but he turned it down.
The theme song The Unknown Stuntman of the TV series The Fall Guy was sung by Lee Majors himself.
South African singer/guitarist/composer Trevor Rabin first gained fame outside of his native country when he joined the progressive rock band Yes in 1983; his song “Owner of a Lonely Heart” became the band’s only #1 hit in the U.S.
In the 1990s, Rabin became known for writing movie theme music, composing the soundtracks for numerous films, including Armageddon, Remember the Titans, and National Treasure.
In the film National Treasure, while Ben Gates is attempting to decipher the first clue on board the Charlotte, after Shaw suggests “Prison”, Riley says, “Albuquerque. See, I can do it too. Snorkel”. This is a reference to the 1998 ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic song, “Albuquerque”, which talks about a man’s journey to Albuquerque to retrieve his lucky snorkel.
William James “Gates” Brown is considered one of the best pinch-hitters in MLB history. Brown spent his entire 13-year career with the Detroit Tigers, and he holds the American League records for pinch hits (107) and pinch hit home runs (16). His 414 career pinch-hit at-bats is an MLB record. Brown, who passed away in 2013, was discovered by the Tigers while playing baseball as an inmate in the Ohio State Reformatory, where he was serving time after being convicted of armed robbery.
Both The Shawshank Redemption and Air Force One had key scenes filmed at the old Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield.
« The Earl of Mansfield » is a pipe tune named for Lord Chief Justice Mansfield, one of the pre-eminent judges of the 18th century.
The Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield was also used in the movies for Harry and Walter Go To New York, and Tango & Cash.