Most of the paintings that JJ “produced” during the run of the sitcom Good Times were actually the work of Ernie Barnes, a former pro football player who had been selected by the Baltimore Colts in the 10th round in the 1959 NFL draft. Barnes had been picked two rounds earlier by the Washington Redskins, who subsequently renounced rights to the lineman after realizing he was (to use the preferred term of the day) a Negro.
In January 1903, The New York Times Saturday Review published a brief article in which it was urged that the term “negro” be capitalized. “Negro” superseded “colored” as the polite terminology at a time when “black” was considered offensive. This usage was accepted as normal even by people classified as Negroes, until the Civil Rights movement of the late 1960s.
Saturday, November 8, 1975 was the last full day the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was in port, at Superior, Wisconsin, prior to its sinking on November 10th.
Therefore, Saturday night was the last night on land for its crew, together with their families.
Saturday Night Live was a short-lived variety show on ABC, hosted by Howard Cosell. It first aired a month before the more famous show of that title. Until it was cancelled, NBC called SNL “Saturday Night” to avoid confusion, which is why the intro is “Live, from New York, it’s Saturday Night.”
The big attraction on the first episode of “Howard Cosell’s Saturday Night Live” was The Bay City Rollers, a Scottish rock group who were (without the slightest justification) being hailed as “the next Beatles.” They performed their hit single “Saturday Night” before a crowd of screaming teenage girls.
Elton John’s 1973 hit “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” was covered by The Who in 1991.
“NBC’s Saturday Night” was the original name of “Saturday Night Live” when it was conceived by Lorne Micheals and Dick Ebersol in 1975.
Jeff Saturday is a football player who played college ball at the University of North Carolina. He was not drafted in 1998 out of college, but he then went on to play for more than 10 years in the NFL for the Ravens, Colts and Packers. He won a Super Bowl ring with Peyton Manning and the Colts in Super Bowl XLI. He has been a five-time Pro Bowler and continues to play up to this season, and he is currently signed to a contract with the Packers.
Not bad for an undrafted player!
Walt Michaels was one of the New York Jets few successful coaches, taking a terrible football team and slowly turning it into a playoff contender, ending with a loss in the AFC championship (partly caused by the fact that Miami let a storm soak the field, cutting down the Jets speed attack). Just after the game, he retired as coach. Some find the retirement baffling; the rumor at the time was that they wanted to name offensive coordinator Joe Walton as coach before some other team hired him. Michaels coached a couple of years in the WFL, but never got another NFL job.
On “Cheers!” Coach’s real name (in the series) was Ernie Pantusso. He was played by Nicholas Colasanto, whom co-star Ted Danson once described as “a comic genius.”
John Ratzenberger was the only Cheers cast member to attend Nicholas Colasanto’s funeral.
John Ratzenberger has had a part in every Pixar feature.
Roland Ratzenberger was a race driver from Salzburg Austria who was killed trying to qualify for the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. To my knowledge he was not related to John Ratzenberger.
John Ratzenberger is a conservative Republican who has appeared at fundraisers for a number of Ohio Republican statewide candidates.
Ohio and Virginia are the two states that have produced the most US presidents.
Virginian George Washington was sent to protect workers of the Ohio Company building a fort near Pittsburgh in 1753. In a battle with French troops, their commander, Jumonville was injured and subsequently died under questionable circumstances - an incident which helped launch the Seven Years War.
Herb Washington appeared in 105 major league baseball games (plus 5 postseason games) without pitching, hitting, or fielding. He was the Oakland A’s “designated runner,” used only as a pinch runner.
Contrary to popular belief, WWI was not the last war in which large numbers of horses were used. The German Wehrmacht relied heavily on horse-drawn transport (especially toward the end of the war, when gasoline and diesel fuel were in short supply), and the Red Army fielded mounted cavalry that was devastatingly effective in winter when German arms and motor vehicles froze solid.
Baseball player Lou Gehrig was nicknamed “The Iron Horse” (to combine the last two).
“The Iron Horse” was a short-lived TV Western starring Dale Robertson on the ABC network (1966-67).