Gene Kelly didn’t think much of Debbie Reynolds as a dancer, and had the sound of her taps dubbed in in “Singin’ in the Rain.”
Not so. Although the book was set there, the movie was filmed elsewhere: Grand Hotel (Mackinac Island) - Wikipedia
Debbie Reynolds took her daughter Carrie to meet and be photographed with President Richard Nixon.
One of the eulogies at Richard Nixon’s funeral was delivered by then-California Governor Pete Wilson
When Richard Nixon’s daughter Julie married David Eisenhower (Ike’s grandson for whom Camp David was named) the best man was Fred Grandy, best known for playing Gopher on The Love Boat and later a Congressman from Iowa.
Camp David was originally known as Shangri-La, after the hidden paradise in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton.
The role of George Conway in the 1973 film version of Lost Horizon was played by Michael York, who later would play Basil Exposition in the Austin Powers film series.
When soaked in water the seeds of several basil varieties become gelatinous, and are used in Asian drinks and desserts such as falooda or Sherbet.
The formal name of Moscow’s St. Basil’s Cathedral is Cathedral of Intercession of Theotokos on the Moat.
The silly novelty song “Winchester Cathedral” by the New Vaudeville Band won the 1966 Grammy award for Best Rock and Roll Recording.
[not for dominoes, just for trivia: Winchester Cathedral was the Number 1 hit the day I was born.]
Winchester Cathedral was where Bloody Mary married her cousin King Philip I of Naples, who later became King Philip II of Spain (among many other titles) when his father retired. While married to Mary he was also styled King Philip I of England jure uxoris (“by right of marriage”) but this ended the moment Mary died.
Queen Mary thought she was pregnant twice; the second time it turned out to be what historians now believe is the tumor that killed her.
The Queen Mary is now permanently docked in Long Beach, California.
One of the people burned for heresy under Queen Mary was Perrotine Massey, who gave birth while being burned at the stake (woodcut); the child was also tossed into the flames, which led to charges of murder being levied twenty years later.
Jeanne d’Arc was burned for heresy after a trial where her testimony was so precocious that George B. Shaw used it word-for-word in a play.
John Dark was associate producer of the 1967 film “Casino Royale”, which had a movie tie-in book that followed a completely different plot.
Barry Nelson played James Bond in the 1954 broadcast version of Casino Royale.
David Niven played James Bond in the 1967 Casino Royale with Woody Allen as Bond’s nephew Jimmy Bond.
Early in his career, Woody Allen was a writer for television shows, including The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show and the Sid Caesar Hour.
At seven months, Conan O’Brien’s tenure as host of “The Tonight Show” was the shortest ever.
Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan the Barbarian, committed suicide.