Rosemary’s Baby, a tale of devil worship, was filmed in the Dakota and directed by Roman Polanski. Polanski’s wife Sharon Tate and their unborn son would be killed by Satanist’s Charles Manson’s followers, inspired by the Beatles song “Helter Skelter.” Years later, ex-Beatle John Lennon would be killed outside the Dakota.
A"roman à clef" is a novel where the characters and situations are based on real life individuals, but the names and action have been modified to some extent. A reader who is well-enough informed to understand who the author is referring to has the “key” to the novel. (“Clef” is French for “key.”)
In 1859, Congressman Dan Sickles shot and killed Philip Barton Key II, son of Francis Scott Key, who Sickles had discovered was having an affair with his young wife. Sickles was later acquitted in what is thought to be the first successful use of a temporary-insanity defense, and went on to a relatively distinguished Civil War career.
Dan Sickles actions at Gettysburg nearly lost the battle for the Union. Ignoring orders, he left his assigned position on Little Round Top to move forward to the Peach Orchard. This left Josiah Chamberlain’s unit the only like of defense for the entire end of the Union defensive line. Though some now think the advance might have helped, at the time he was nearly court martialed for insubordination, though the idea was dropped because Sickles lost his leg in the battle and had powerful political connections. He was not given a combat command again, even though he was eager to get back into the fight.
U.S. Colonel Jefferson C. Davis commanded the 4th Division, Army of the Mississippi, at Corinth. He went on sick leave, but left his hospital bed to serve in the defenses of Cincinnati, Ohio. During this time of convalescence, on September 29, 1862, Davis got into an argument with his superior officer, Maj. Gen. William “Bull” Nelson, in the Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky. Davis had been offended by insults on prior occasions and when his face was slapped by Nelson, Davis shot and killed him. He was arrested and imprisoned, but Maj. Gen. Horatio G. Wright and Indiana Governor Oliver Morton came to his aid and were able to get him released from prison. He avoided conviction for the murder because there was a need for experienced field commanders in the Union Army, though he never reached a higher rank than Brigadier General because of it.
Jefferson Rock at Harper’s Ferry, W.Va., so-called because the Sage of Monticello once visited the area and praised the view from there, was propped up by Army personnel not long before the Civil War when it looked like it might topple over onto houses below. The rock, and its props, are still in place (I saw them on Thursday).
Jefferson Airplane was the only band to appear at the three major pop festivals of the 1960s – Monterey, Woodstock and Altamont.
Leslie Nielsen had only played dramatic roles until Airplane??? Surely you can’t be serious.
[All together now: DON’T CALL ME SHIRLEY!]
Lesley Ann Warren’s first major television success was in the title role of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s television special Cinderella in 1965.
Only two men named Warren have served as Chief Justice of the United States, and they did so one after another - Earl Warren was succeeded by Warren Burger.
The student-run late-night cafeteria at Yale Law School in the mid-80s was known as the Burger Court.
The Yale lock was the first device mass produced in a non-identical form.
On Vinnie Jones’ first day of filming Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), he had just been released from police custody after being arrested for beating up his neighbor.
In 1998, Bill Clinton became only the second U.S. President to be impeached. Like Andrew Johnson, however, he was acquitted after a trial in the U.S. Senate, and remained in office.
Bill Murray accidentally broke Robert De Niro’s nose during the filming of Mad Dog and Glory (1993).
In 1982 producers Ivan Reitman, Joe Medjuck and Michael C. Gross were planning to make a film of the sci-fi novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas Adams wrote three drafts for them per his contract. On this occasion Medjuck and Gross were considering Bill Murray or Dan Aykroyd to play Ford Prefect, but then Aykroyd sent them his idea for Ghostbusters, and they decided to do it instead.
The C in Michael C Hall stands for Carlyle.
Future Massachusetts governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis served in the U.S. Army in South Korea after the 1953 armistice, and never came under enemy fire.
His cousin Olympia Dukakis had her Best Supporting Actress Oscar statuette stolen from her home kitchen in 1989. The burglar left only her nameplate.
Charlie Chaplin only won one competitive Oscar (he was given two honorary ones), for the best original score for his film Limelight. He won in 1973, twenty years after the film was originally released. However, under the rules of the time, only films that played in the Los Angeles area for a week were eligible for Oscar consideration. The film was not run in LA until 1972.