Ronald Reagen was once mentioned as being considered for the starring role in Casablanca, the title of which translates to “White House.”
The ending of Casablanca is sometimes considered a surprise but, in fact. the only way for Rick and Ilsa to stay together would have been for Victor to die: Hollywood’s The Production Code of 1930 insisted that “The sanctity of the institution of marriage and the home shall be upheld.”
Rick was played in Casablanca by Humphrey Bogart. The character’s last name, not known by everyone, was Blaine.
The Hardy Boys book The Mysterious Caravan is partially set in Casablanca. Other locations featured in the mystery are Jamaica, Marrakesh, and the lads’ hometown of Bayport.
“The Boys of Summer” was a Grammy-winning hit single for Don Henley, formerly of the Eagles, from his 1984 solo album Building the Perfect Beast.
The next to last song on the Eagles’s Desperado LP is Doolin-Dalton, followed by Desperado Reprise
The queen of dimonds let you down
She was just an empty fable
The queen of hearts you say you never met
Your twisted fate has found you out and it’s finally turned the tables
Stole your dreams and paid you with regret
The Lunar Module which took the Apollo 11 astronauts - Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins - to the Moon in July 1969 was the Eagle. The Command/Service Module was named Columbia.
John Ritter died on September 11, 2003, six days short of his 55th birthday. This was also the fifth birthday of his daughter Stella, as well as one day before his wife Amy Yasbeck’s 41st birthday.
September 11, 2001 was the primary election day for the New York City mayoral election.
At the Broadway on Broadway concert held on Sunday, September 9, 2001, Mayor Guiliani stated that “Half of the New York City economy is the tourist dollar, and half of the tourist dollar comes from Broadway.”
It took Broadway three years to return to pre-9/11 financial status.
Rudy Giuliani served as a top Reagan Justice Department official and as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York before being elected Mayor of New York City.
Rudy Giuliani is one of the world’s highest paid speakers, charging an average of $250,000+ expenses (which includes transportation in a private jet) for his speeches. The highest paid is Donald Trump who receives $1 million+ for his. Most of the others on the list of highest paid speakers are former heads of state in the U.S. and U.K…
William Jay Gaynor is the only Mayor of New York City to survive an assassination attempt, after being shot in the throat. A photographer was taking a routine picture of the mayor at the time, and captured the moment on film.
Here’s the photo by the way. Gaynor’s granddaughter Jean Reynard married actor Fred Gwynne in 1952.
Fred Gwynne was 6’5" tall. To play the part of Herman Munster in the 1960’s TV series, he wore platform shoes built up another 4 inches.
Fred Gwynne received his final film role- Judge Chamberlain Haller in My Cousin Vinnie- because director Jonathan Lynn (most famous for the Britcom Yes, (Prime) Minister, wanted “the bodyguard from Cotton Club” as he thought the height contrast twixt Gwynne-Pesci would be great. Execs originally balked saying he was too recognizable as Herman Munster, a role that Lynne didn’t know of, but Lynne got his way and cast Gwynne who had never even auditioned for the role.
Fred Gwynne was editor of The Harvard Lampoon in his undergraduate days. He also wrote and illustrated a series of successful children’s books, starting with The King Who Rained.
Saul Bellow’s novel Henderson the Rain King is a comedy-drama about a wealthy middle aged man who goes to Africa on a quest for meaning and after a series of misadventures unwittingly becomes, as the title implies, the rain king of the Wariri tribe.
There are no living former heads of state of the U.K. The British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is the head of state. The Prime Minister, now David Cameron, is the head of government.
Elessar, formerly known as Aragorn, was succeeded as High King of Gondor and Arnor by his and the Elven-princess Arwen’s only son, Eldarion, about whose reign very little is known.
Elendil Voronda, 1st High King of Arnor & Gondor, defeated Sauron in the year 3441 of the Second Age, but lost his life during the battle. His Heir still thrives at SDMB, during the Fifth Age.