Archive for the ‘sesame street’ Tag
Today is a good day for a little innocent and harmless pop culture trivia. Whenever I find something odd or strange that catches my interest I make note of it and today is the day that I’m going to publish some of those notes. Some are interesting and some not so much. You decide.
- Although Sean Connery played Harrison Ford’s father in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Connery is just 12 years older than Ford.
- Among the actors who auditioned for the Han Solo role in the original Star Wars were Kurt Russell, Robert Englund, and even Sylvester Stallone.
- The state of Maine is really a popular state for fictional murders. It has been used as the setting for a surprising number of mysteries and thrillers by Stephen King.
- According to legend, hard rocking band Alice Cooper chose their name after using a Ouija board to communicate with a spirit named Alice Cooper.
- Yoda from Star Wars, the cookie monster from Sesame Street, and Miss Piggy from the Muppet Show were all voiced by the same person, Frank Oz.
- Sir Paul McCartney once released an album under the name Thrills Thrillington.
- Sean Connery turned down the role of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings because he didn’t understand the script.
- In the Wizard of Oz movie, the dog playing Toto was paid an actual salary of $125 a week. Ironically this was more money than many of the film actors were paid.
- The first interracial kiss in television history happened on Star Trek.
And last but not least . . . .
- Actor Nicolas Cage was named after the comic book hero Luke Cage. Oddly enough my youngest grandson was named Cage after Nicolas Cage.
POP GOES THE WEASEL
The internet has become famous for anonymous facts claiming to be true as well and out-and-out fake news and scams of all kinds. Here are ten facts that are surprising and amazingly TRUE.
- More tickets were sold to see the movie Gone With the Wind in theaters than people living in America at its release.
- John Lennon signed the official paperwork formalizing the split of the Beatles while staying at a Disney World hotel.
- Yoda from the movie Star Wars, cookie monster from Sesame Street, and Miss Piggy from the Muppet Show were all voiced by the same person.
- The leading role in the movie Forrest Gump was originally offered to John Travolta.
- Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t draw the sketch of Kate Winslet in Titanic, but director James Cameron did.
- Gene Roddenberry originally wanted Patrick Stewart to wear a wig for his iconic Star Trek role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
- Stephen Spielberg submitted Schindler’s List as his final project for film school.
- Brad Pitt’s first acting gig was dressing up as a giant chicken.
- The NFL, NBA, and MLB have all had one player win the championship MVP while playing for the losing team.
- Violet Jessop was the one passenger who was aboard both the Titanic and its sister ship the Britannic when they were sunk.
TIME FLIES WHEN YOU’RE SWEARING
Most of us are considered members of TV generations. We were all raised in front of a TV, ate supper while watching TV, and knew nothing about current events that wasn’t told to us by all of the famous talking heads like Walter Cronkite.
Since I love all things trivia and also old TV shows I thought for a change of pace I’d give you all an opportunity to flex your trivia muscles. I’ll give you ten questions and then in my next posting on Ground Hog Day I’ll supply the answers. Most of these questions are tough and they’ll certainly test your trivia knowledge. Here we go:
Questions
1. What was the address of Big Bird’s nest on TV’s Sesame Street?
2. How many fingers does Mickey Mouse have on each hand?
3. What was the name of the church to which comedian Flip Wilson’s character Reverend Leroy belonged?
4. What role did Art Carney play in the Jackie Gleason’s first Honeymooner’s sketch?
5. What famous Hollywood star turned down the part of Marshall Mat Dillon on TV’s Gunsmoke before James Arness was offered the part?
6. On what TV show did comic Robin Williams first appear as the alien Mork?
7. How did the TV sitcom Sanford and Son get it’s name?
8. What was the name of the USS Enterprise in the original draft for the Star Trek series?
9. On TV’s sitcom Petticoat Junction, what were the names of the three Bradley girls and their uncle?
10. What was the name of the attorney on the Flintstones who never lost a case?
BONUS QUESTUION - At what age did Lucille Ball become a redhead?
For all of the answers check my posting for 2-2-2016. If anyone gets more than five answers correct, they are true trivia champs.
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