The Tyburn Tree was a triangular structure used as a hanging scaffold that could handle three convicts at a time. The Marble Arch in London, formerly located outside Buckingham Palace, now stands on the site.
According to celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, a huge percentage of the grill men and fry cooks at elite restaurants (including his own) are former convicts.
Episodes of the 1940’s radio sitcom “Duffy’s Tavern” traditionally began with “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,” performed either solo on an old-sounding piano or by a larger orchestra, which was interrupted by the ring of a telephone and Ed Gardner’s New York accent as he answered, “Hello, Duffy’s Tavern, where the elite meet to eat. Archie the manager speakin’. Duffy ain’t here—oh, hello, Duffy.” Duffy himself never appeared on the show.
A line from Duffy’s Tavern: “Fate has fickled its finger at me.” Ed Gardner hired Dick Martin as a writer on Duffy’s Tavern, and, years later, when Dick starred with partner Dan Rowan on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, a catchphrase of that show was “the fickle finger of fate”. They even had an award.
Don Martin, cartoonist for Mad Magazine from 1956-1988 was billed as Mad’s Maddest Artist.
He was inducted into The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2004.
David Bowie shared writing credit with John Lennon and with guitarist Carlos Alomar, for his 1975 #1 hit “Fame.”
Sandy and Roberto Alomar are the only father and son combination to both play for the New York Mets.
In the 8th round of a 1980 title bout with Sugar Ray Leonard, a bout that Leonard was winning with surprising ease, welterweight champ Roberto Duran groaned “No mas (no more),” and gave up the fight.
Manny Pacquiao, also a former welterweight champion, was elected to the the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress of the Philippines, representing the province of Sarangani, in 2010.
Manny Pacquiao’s wrists measure 8 inches around - the same as heavyweights Joe Louis and Mike Tyson.
Will Smith came to fame as half of the rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, after he met Jeff Townes in their hometown of Philadelphia. One of their best-beloved performances was “I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson”.
When Will Smith first started acting in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, he would mouth the lines of the other actors in his scenes. You can see this if you watch the early episodes.
SFC Schwartz
Will Smith turned down the role that eventually went to Jamie Foxx in Django Unchained, as he did not think Django was the actual lead of the movie - King Schultz, the German dentist and bounty hunter, was, he recently told an interview.
Tim Conway as the new dentist and Harvey Korman as the hapless patient is the funniest sketch in recorded history.
W.C. Fields made five films as short subjects: The Golf Specialist, The Dentist, The Pharmacist, The Barber Shop and The Fatal Glass of Beer. At least three of these are funnier than anything Tim Conway ever did.
In W. C. Fields’ movie Million Dollar Legs, he stars as the President of Klopstokia, where all the women are named Angela and all the men are named George. Susan Fleming (who later married Harpo Marx) played his daughter.
WC Fields was the son of a Civil War infantryman who served with the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regimen.
Newcastle’s own Eric Burdon, former lead singer of the Animals, recorded the hit “Spill the Wine” backed by the American soul band War.
Although Neil Diamond wrote “Red Red Wine”, it is best known for its cover by English reggae artists UB40. Diamond himself now performs that version live rather than his original.
Richard Dreyfuss played ex-hippie detective Moses Wine and young F. Murray Abraham played a thinly disguised Abbie Hoffman in the political mystery movie The Big Fix.