One of Lewis’s films, Linda and Abilene, was a lesbian western. It was filmed on the Spahn Ranch, which would soon become home to the notorious Manson Family.
A few years ago, the mayor of the largest town on the Greek island of Lesbos sued in court to try to prevent a Gay and Lesbian organization from using the term “Lesbian” which he argued properly belonged to the inhabitants of Lesbos, regardless of their sexual orientation.
John Gay’s play The Beggar’s Opera, was a major success from when it first was performed in 1728. Kurt Weill and Bethold Becht adapted it for their own play, The Threepenny Opera. Both plays had songs, though the Weill and Brecht songs – especially “Mack the Knife” – are far better known.
Michael Caine played world-weary Luftwaffe paratrooper Lt. Col. Kurt Steiner in the 1976 film of Jack Higgins’s novel The Eagle Has Landed, about a Nazi plot to kidnap Winston Churchill.
Winston Churchill was the first person to be made an Honorary Citizen of the United States, enacted on April 9, 1963.
President John F. Kennedy presented the certificate of honorary U.S. citizenship in a White House ceremony to Churchill’s son and grandson, both of whom went on to serve in the House of Commons. Churchill himself did not attend, as he was too ill. The certificate is now displayed at Blenheim Palace, historical seat of the Dukes of Marlborough, where Churchill was born.
Despite its name, the Blenheim Orange is a cultivar of apple. The Blenheim apricot, however, is indeed an apricot.
Despite its nickname of “apple pear,” the Asian pear is indeed a species of pear, and not an apple-pear hybrid.
Apple Inc.'s clever address is 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, Ca.
The Cupertino Effect refers to the incorrect replacement of words by spellcheckers. It got its name for the tendency of early Microsoft spellcheckers to change the word cooperation to Cupertino.
The Cocktail Party Effect is the name given to the ability to focus your listening onto a single conversation when multiple conversations are in progress.
Louis Malle’s 1981 film My Dinner With Andre consists of a single conversation over dinner, between actor/directors Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn, about their life experiences and the conflict between dreams and reality. The film was shortly satirized by Andy Kaufman and wrestler Classy Fred Blassie in My Breakfast with Blassie.
As inconceivable as it may seem, Wallace Shawn is a successful playwright in addiction to acting in films like The Princess Bride.
Grace Kelly, former Philadelphia socialite and Hollywood actress, was entitled to the style “Her Serene Highness” as Princess of Monaco.
The Grand Prix of Monaco along with the 24 Hours at LeMans and the Indianapolis 500 are considered the the three jewels in the Triple Crown of racing. Graham Hill is the only driver to have won all three. It is particularly difficult since Indy and Monaco often conflict.
The sinking of the USS Indianapolis during World War II, and the depredations by sharks among its survivors, are memorably described by Quint in the movie Jaws.
The Jaws of Life™ originated in a hydraulic tool first used in 1963 to free race car drivers from wrecked cars; the current, trademarked tool used by first responders to vehicle accidents was developed in the early 70s. The name came in opposition to the phrase the “jaws of death”.
Richard Kiel became a icon to bad movie buffs as the caveman in the title of the film Eegah! He still had a successful career in Hollywood, and became a minor star playing “Jaws” in James Bond films.
The Kiel Canal is a key component of the game map for Diplomacy.
During the debate over the Carter Administration’s proposed treaty to turn over the Panama Canal to Panama, several strips of Doonesbury were dedicated to the twisty-turny tale of how the U.S. came to build it in the first place.