Leopold von Singer was the impresario behind the Singer Midgets, a group of little people who played vaudeville in the 1920s and 30s. They are best known for their appearance as the Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz, though many of the performers were not part of the regular troupe and were hired only for the movie.
Leopold I, a German Prince, became the first king of the newly created nation of Belgium, in 1831. He had earlier rejected an offer to become king of Greece.
Belgium’s neutrality was guaranteed by the Treaty of London in 1839. The invasion of Belgium by Germany in 1914 was one of the grounds for Britain declaring war on Germany. The Chancellor of Germany, Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, was said to have exclaimed his disbelief that Britain would go to war with Germany over a “scrap of paper.”
Singer Julie “Cry Me a River” London, played nurse Dixie McCall on the TV series ***Emergency! *** Her husband, Bobby Troup, played an E.R. doctor on the show, while her ex-husband, Jack Webb, was the executive producer.
Andrew Lloyd Webber currently owns six London theatres: Cambridge Theatre, Her Majesty’s Theatre, London Palladium, New London Theatre, Theatre Royal, and Drury Lane.
The British Union Jack displays the cross of St. Patrick (representing Ireland), the cross of St. George (representing Engand) and the cross of St. Andrew (representing Scotland).
There have been periodic attempts to change the flags of Australia and New Zealand, as both have the Union Flag (or Jack) in the canton or upper-left corner, a reflection of both nations’ origins as British colonies.
The first two Heisman Trophy winners to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, were Roger Staubach and O.J. Simpson, both elected in 1985.
During his time at the U.S. Naval Academy, Roger Staubach was found to be color-blind. Since this condition made him unfit to serve in a piloting capacity (where the ability to distinguish red lights from green is crucial) or as an electrician (due to the range of colors used in circuitry), Staubach became the first Academy midshipman to be commissioned into the Supply Corps upon graduation. He subsequently spent most of his “hitch” playing football on various service teams.
One of the early developers of atomic theory, John Dalton, was color blind, and was the first to describe the condition. The word “Daltonism” was coined as a name for color blindness.
Among famous people who are color blind are Mr. Rogers, Paul Newman, and Jack Nicklaus.
Noah Webster began a mis-spelling of “colour” which has continued to this day.
Chicago Bulls basketball player Joakim Noah is the son of French tennis star Yannick Noah.
Arguably the top father-son sports duo of all time is Bobby Bonds and Barry Bonds. Bobby Bonds was the first player in baseball history to surpass both 300 home runs and 400 stolen bases. Barry is the only other player to accomplish this feat and he is the only one to surpass both 500 home runs and 500 stolen bases.
The only father and son who are both enshrined in a major North American team sport’s Hall of Fame are hockey players Bobby and Brett Hull. They are also the only father and son who have both won the Hart Trophy as NHL Most Valuable Player.
Silent film actor/screenwriter/director/producer William S Hart was supposed to have been the fifth founding partner of United Artists in 1919, but pulled out at the last minute. The other four partners were Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks Sr, Charlie Chaplin, and DW Griffith.
Besides helping to found United Artists, Douglas Fairbanks was one of the original members of the Motion Picture Academy. In 1929, he hosted the first Oscars ceremony.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was originally formed with an eye to being a company union for the movie industry as competition to the Screen Actors Guild. While setting it up, someone suggested they have a dinner and give out awards. Company unions were outlawed several years later (and the Academy never really got off the ground as one), but the awards have continued.
The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) was the first non-US-made movie to both earn a Best Picture nomination and win an Oscar of any sort (Best Actor for Charles Laughton, in this case).
The first non-Hollywood (foreign-made) film to win Best Picture was Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet (1948).