Elton John is one of a number of British pop/rock musicians who have been knighted by the monarchy. Others include Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, Barry Gibb, and Van Morrison.
David Bowie turned down a knighthood in 2003.
David Bowie played the antagonist, Jareth the Goblin King, in the film Labyrinth.
One of my favorite lines from the film:
Sarah: “It’s not fair!”
Jareth: “You keep saying that. I wonder what your basis for comparison is.”
Actress/choreographer Gates McFadden worked at the Jim Henson Company in the 1980s, as “director of choreography and puppet movement” on films such as The Muppets Take Manhattan and Labyrinth. At that point in her career, she chose to be credited using her first name, Cheryl, for work as a choreographer, and with her middle name, Gates, for work as an actress.
Pop Gates was a professional basketball player in the National Basketball League (NBL). As a guard, he joined the New York Harlem Yankees straight from high school in 1937, and won a championship with the New York Renaissance in 1950. In 1946 he and William “Dolly” King became the first African-Americans to break the color barrier in basketball, joining the Tri-City Blackhawks of the NBL. (Jackie Robinson would make his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers seven months later.) Gates’ career lasted 15 years, playing for several teams as well as the Harlem Globetrotters, which he coached from 1950-52.
Before she got into acting, actress Gates McFadden worked with the Jim Henson Company as a Muppeteer and choreographer, notably for the ballroom scene in the film Labyrinth.
Her son, James Cleveland McFadden-Talbot, was born in 1991.
The son’s Godfather?
Brent Spiner, or Data on Star Trek TNG.
In 1991, during the run of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, actor Brent Spiner, who played the android Data on the series, released an album of 1940s pop standards, entitled “Ol’ Yellow Eyes is Back.” The title was a humorous reference to Frank Sinatra’s 1973 album “Ol’ Blue Eyes is Back,” as well as the fact that the character Data had yellow irises.
Jaundice is due to high bilirubin levels. It is typically a liver dysfunction, or hepatic disease. The result can be yellow eyes, a yellowing of the sclera, the whites of the eyes.
The order “Don’t fire 'til you see the whites of their eyes” is said to have been giving to Patriot troops awaiting oncoming British infantry at the June 17, 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill, near Boston, and has been attributed to at least four different American officers. The modern historical consensus is that no one actually said it.
For more: Battle of Bunker Hill - Wikipedia
In 1936 James Morris (aka “Jimmy Driftwood”) wrote The Battle of New Orleans, and quoting then-colonel Andrew Jackson admonishing his troop not to fire their muskets “'til we looked 'em in the eye.”
In 1972 singer Arlo Guthrie sang a hit song, The City of New Orleans, describing a train ride from Chicago to New Orleans on the Illinois Central Railroad’s City of New Orleans train in bittersweet and nostalgic terms. Willie Nelson later sang the song in 1984.
As the story goes, songwriter Steve Goodman met Arlo Guthrie in a bar and wanted him to hear his new song. Guthrie really didn’t want to hear it but Goodman was insistent, so Guthrie said he’d listen to it only if Goodman bought him a beer.
Guthrie liked the song enough that he asked to record it. The song was a hit for Guthrie on his 1972 album Hobo’s Lullaby and it reached #4 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, and #18 on the Hot 100.
The City of New Orleans would prove to be Guthrie’s only top-40 hit, ever. In New Zealand, City of New Orleans spent two weeks at number one and continued to chart throughout the winter of 1973.
Here it is on YouTube, the Arlo Guthrie rendition.
Comment only — my play is an homage to my favorite teacher, Mike Healy in 6th grade at Latham Ridge Elementary School in Latham NY, way back in 1972-1973. You think I’m old? Yeah, well, Mike is older. 
Mike played this song for us in his class one day (sheesh that was over 50 years ago!!), then he quizzed us on the lyrics’ contents. I failed the quiz miserably. One question I vividly remember was this one, and I paraphrase the question because it’s been so many years.
Q — who sings his song?
A — My answer: what? What are you talking about? Arlo Guthrie sings this song, of course. What a dumb question, Mr. Healy (it was Mister back then).
The correct answer is, The Conductor. (It’s in the lyrics. DUH)
I give thanks to all teachers who have positively encouraged and impacted our lives. What a gift, a treasure!, to be able to do that in their careers! Those are lives well led. Do we have any teachers here? I sincerely thank you.
To this day, this song remains one of my favorites. It’s the only Arlo Guthrie song I know.
Also not in play:
Not familiar with Alice’s Restaurant Massacree?
Nope.
Wow, okay. Thought everybody knew that song, but evidently not!
In play:
Steve Goodman was born in Chicago to a middle-class Jewish family. He was a high school classmate of Hillary Clinton. Another song that he wrote was You Never Even Call Me By My Name, which became a big hit for David Allen Coe. Goodman died of leukemia in 1984 at the age of 36.
Singer/songwriter Steve Goodman was an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs; he composed three songs about his favorite team: “When the Cubs Go Marching In,” “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request,” and “Go, Cubs, Go.”
The latter of those three has served as the team’s official song, while some of Goodman’s ashes were scattered at Wrigley Field, in accordance with “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request.”
On October 14, 2003, the Cubs were on the cusp of winning their first National League Pennant since 1945 when a fan interfered with Cubs’ outfielder Moisés Alou’s attempt to catch a foul ball and making an out against the visiting Miami Marlins. The umpire ruled there was no fan interference, but the Cubs’ defense fell apart as they proceeded to lose 8-3, and lose the following Game 7 and the series.
The fan who (did not) interfere with that play was Steve Bartman, and while he remained in his seat for a while, eventually the fans surrounding him forced him out, and he had to be escorted by security, as fans threw cups of beer and other objects at him as he left. Afterwards his name and address were posted online, and police converged at his Northbrook, Illinois home to protect him and his family. Bartman apologized several times to Cubs’ fans, and turned down several offers to capitalize on his notoriety, including several hundred thousand dollars to appear in a 2011 Super Bowl commercial. On July 31, 2017 Bartman received a championship ring, courtesy of the club owners after the Cubs won the World Series in November, 2016.
Three U.S. Navy warships have borne the name USS Miami, the last as recently as 2014. The fourth, a Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine, was announced last year by Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro during the Miami Fleet Week, with city native and singer Gloria Estefan as her sponsor. There is no estimated completion date.
Cool trivia! I did not know that.
Some of you know I’ve been going to all the MLB ballparks. I’ve been to them all except for one, the Atlanta Braves (note, I’ve been to Shea but not to Citi Field; so I count the NY Mets as one that I’ve been to but I don’t need to go to Citi Field).
In 2016 I finally went to Wrigley Field. I got a nice Cubs blue t-shirt celebrating Wrigley’s 100th year. In October I wore that to a bar to watch game 7 with some Cubs fans friends, and when they won it we were all singing Go, Cubs, Go!
Very fun memory.
(Comment only)
In play —
The third USS Miami (SSN-755) was a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine of the Los Angeles class. She was launched back in 1988 and served until she was decommissioned in 2014.
Her motto was, “No Free Rides, Everybody Rows!”
In August of 1984, the NBC television network produced a TV special for the introduction of their schedule for the 1984-85 season.
One segment of the special, used to introduce the then-new drama Miami Vice, featured actresses Selma Diamond (who was co-starring in NBC’s Night Court) and Doris Roberts (then in Remington Steele) in a parody skit entitled Miami Nice, in which the two of them played retirees living in Miami.
NBC executive Warren LIttlefield was amused by the skit, and thought there might be potential for a situation comedy based on the premise; he approached producers Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas to see if they would be interested in developing a pilot. Witt and Thomas gave the project to Witt’s wife, writer Susan Harris, who developed what became The Golden Girls.