Modesty Blaise!
I love this stuff!!
Isaac Newton was born the same year that Galileo died.
Speaking of big ships and Disney theme parks, the Tokyo DisneySea is the home of the S.S. Columbia.
Tom Baker was marredi to Lalla Ward who both appeared in Dr Who
Lalla Ward later married Richard Dawkins who also appeared in Dr Who. (as himself)
Singer Petula Clark was the first person to be called Petula.
The introductory narrator of the tv series “The A-Team” was the producer John Ashley, best known for his supporting roles in the 1960s “Beach” movies.
J. M. Barrie invented the name ‘Wendy’.
My sister-in-law has a sister named Wendy. They have a cousin named Barrie.
I totally know who he is! Handsome and great pipes. I hate him.
Sir Walter Scott supposedly was the first person who used “Dale” as a name.
John F. Kennedy, C.S. Lewis and Aldous Huxley all died on the same day, Nov. 22, 1963.
Petula also had a successful singing career starting when she was only 12 years old. Most Americans think her career started with the “Downtown” single, but by the time she recorded that song, she was already an international celebrity with a long list of hit records in Britain and in France (sung in French.)
She was first “discovered” when she & other Londoners were holed up in an air raid shelter during WWII. The makeshift shelter they were taking refuge in was actually a BBC radio broadcasting studio. As the bombs were dropping nearby, the studio manager (in an effort to calm everybody down) invited anyone to try singing, and offered to record them. Petula volunteered. Her performance (especially in such nerve-wracking conditions) was so good, she was invited to come back and sing for a real broadcast sent out to troops on the continent. She very quickly became a huge phenomenon among British troops.
Isn’t this pretty much unprovable?
So many famous musicians died at the age of 27, there is a term for it. The 27 Club.
Robert Johnson founded it. Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison are all members, as is Kurt Cobain.
Brad Pitt has taken German scalps in both World Wars. WWI in Legends of the Fall and WWII in Inglorious Basterds
Well feel free to disprove it as with the census records on the name Wendy (see previous link/post by fachverwerrt)
Wiki says this:
I actually took my knowledge of it from a 1970s Book Of Lists if I remember correctly.
The actress who played Penny in Dirty Dancing is married to my secret boyfriend Richard Marx. They call their three sons “The Marx Brothers.”
A quick google shows bunches of Petulas in the 1920 and 1930 U.S. census born as early as 1860. Maybe he coined it, but their were certainly previous Petulas.
Name: Petula E Steinle
Spouse: George A
Birth: abt 1868
Residence: 1930 - city, Dane, Wisconsin
Name: Petula V Stroud
Spouse: Ernest E
Birth: abt 1896
Residence: 1930 - city, Columbia, New York
Name: Petula E Warner
Spouse: John F
Birth: abt 1885
Residence: 1930 - city, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Name: Petula M Bodies
Birth: abt 1860 - location
Residence: 1920 - city, Alachua, Florida
Shakespeare and Cervantes both died on April 23, 1616.
However, Shakespeare died 10 days after Cervantes! That’s because Spain had adopted the Gregorian calendar and had dropped 10 days, but England was still using the Julian calendar.
Some of my favorite trivia:
Bill Paxton and Lance Henrikson are the only two actors who have been killed by a Terminator, a Predator, and an Alien. Both were killed by a Terminator in the first film, don’t blink or you’ll miss Paxton as the gangster/punk who gets his clothes stolen by Arnold at the very beginning of the film. Lance took some effort to die to a Predator, he had to wait until Alien Vs Predator.
One of the great mysteries in the literary world is what is Heathcliff’s name (from Wuthering Heights.) The regular answer is that he only has one name (no first or last name, just Heathcliff.) However, in the book he has a handkerchief with the initials “H.H.” on it, meaning his name could be Heathcliff Heathcliff. However, if the trivia question ever comes up, “What is Heathcliff’s first/last name in the book Wuthering Heights,” the generally accepted answer is that he has only one name.
Tom Selleck was cast (not just tried out for the role, but had a contract to do it) as Indiana Jones, but delays in shooting caused him to pull out of the production because he needed to get back to his TV show, Magnum PI, leaving Harrison Ford the iconic role, and some very scary pictures online. (Search yourself, but don’t gouge your eyes out when you find it.)
The desert in Raiders of the Lost Ark is the same desert used as Tatooine in Star Wars.
The movie Grease is based on the smash stage musical of the same name. However, on stage, the iconic role of Danny Zucko was actually played by Jeff Conaway, who ended up playing Kenikie in the film.
The best selling type of Campbell’s soup is Tomato, but nobody knows why. We assume it’s added to spaghetti sauce in restaurants.
I know why…people buy more cans of it than their other soups.