The government of the Cardassians, recurring villains in several Star Trek series (especially Deep Space Nine, regarding their decades-long occupation of Bajor), was referred to variously as a union or an empire.
In Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959), Bela Lugosi appears in footage shot just before his death, but with no script in mind. Edward D. Wood Jr. wrote the script to accommodate all the footage shot in a cemetery and outside Tor Johnson’s house in the new production. Lugosi was doubled by Tom Mason, Wood’s wife’s chiropractor, who was significantly taller than Lugosi, and played the part with a cape covering his face.
Before Superman was created, Mandrake the Magician and The Shadow were comic book heroes who wore capes.
The first Shadow comic book was published in 1964 by Archie Comics (it had been in pulp magazines in the 30s and in comic strips in the 40s). Thus it did not predate Superman wearing a cape. Similarly, Mandrake was a newspaper strip, not a comic book. Superman was the first comic book character to wear a cape.
“Don Juan in Hell” is the third act of George Bernard Shaw’s four-part drama*** Man and Superman.
The phrase “truth is stranger than fiction” is an adaptation of “'tis strange but true, for truth is always strange; stranger than fiction”, from Byron’s Don Juan.
Don Juan in Hell is sometimes performed as a play unto itself. A production in the 1970s starred Agnes Moorehead who had also contracted to star in a series of commercials for Chrysler which she wasn’t able to honor because of her battle with cancer, so she recommended her co-star from the play, Ricardo Montalban (who played Don Juan). The rest is rich Corinthian leather history.
Chrysler Group, LLC is headquartered in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.
Although George Armstrong Custer was born in New Rumley, Ohio, he rose to fame during the Civil War as a leader of Michigan cavalry before meeting his end at the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876.
Bighorn Sheep are considered good indicators of land health because the species is sensitive to many human-induced environmental problems.
“The Surprising Sheep and Other Mind Excursions” was an album put out by the Harvard Lampoon parodying various musical styles of the time (late 60s): e.g., “Seventeen Miles from Waukeegan my Canteloupe Died” parodying Bob Dylan.
The TV series “Baa Baa Black Sheep” was based loosely on the exploits of real life Army Air Corps commander Greg “Pappy” Boyington/
“A Year at the Top” was a short lived series in 1977 starring Greg Evigan and Paul Shaffer as a pair of musicians who made a pact with the Devil for a year of fame. Only a few episodes were ever produced.
Tony winning playwrights Peter (“Amadeus,” “Equus”) and Anthony (“Sleuth”) Shaffer were twin brothers.
Austrian singer Falco, born Johann Holzel, had the only German-language song to ever top the U.S. charts with Rock Me Amadeus.
Famous musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had a filthy mind to go with his angelic music - reading his letters to his dear little cousin Maria-Anna is a hoot in that regard. He manages to string affectionate vows of brotherly love and protection, news about the marvels of the continent and so forth ; and ties them up quite matter-of-factly with stuff like “I shit on your face and it runs down your chin”. He even wrote a canon entitled “Lick my arse” (K. 231).
Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli’s son Wolfgang replaced Michael Anthony as the bass player of the band Van Halen.
Chef Wolfgang Puck’s favorite cookie is the macaroon.
A favorite insult of Don Rickles is to call someone a “hockey puck.”
A standrard hockey puck weighs between 5.5 and 6 ounces and is frozen before the game to reduce bouncing.