Today
is FUNNY MONDAY, and in the spirit of back to school, today's topic
is all about school once again.
Now,
if you remember last week, I posted a whole bunch of test answers from test
papers that make you laugh, chuckle, chortle, and think outside of the
box. I'll admit that some of the ways
that people answered the tests were quite clever, and had I been a teacher, I
would find it difficult to tell them that their answers were wrong!
I suppose that it's probably a good thing that I'm not a teacher.
Anyway,
test answers are fun, but do you want to know what else is fun? Preparing for back to school by advertising
back to school sales, welcoming students back for another year of classes, or
just some miscellaneous signs that have to do with school being posted all over
school hallways.
So,
it got me thinking. Surely there has to
be some examples of some school signs that got lost in translation, were
spelled incorrectly, or were just a really bad idea all around.
So,
that's what this post is all about. A
post I like to call "SCHOOL SIGNS 101".
Now,
I should note that some of these signs are funny. Some of them are wrong.
Some of them are funny AND wrong (I like those ones best of all). But of course, I can't take credit for the
images. So, I would like to give credit
to The Ellen DeGeneres Show official website, World
Wide Interweb, Smosh.com, Flickr, Pinterest, and Huffington
Post for the
inspiration behind the fifteen signs you're going to see today.
This
is going to be a fun post!
So,
are you ready to go back to school?
Let's go!
I'm
not sure what the big college fads were back in 2010, but if beer pong is just
as popular as it was a couple of decades ago, then the person who came up with
this endcap display deserves a huge raise simply for creativity!
Somehow
I feel really cheated. I had to get my
Brother printer for $150.00. Mind you,
it wasn't marked down from $10,000, but still...I'd like to find a printer for
that price, just so I could save more than 98% off!
Apparently
the class of 1990 didn't get in on the purchase of this high school sign. I'm guessing they were too busy spending
their money on the beer and pornography inside...
Ah,
yes. Colton High School. Their standards are high on everything...except
maybe, you know, the English language.
Okay,
I've heard of many different kinds of races, but I don't know how one could do
a race for "eduction" when I'm not exactly sure what
"eduction" is. I could
understand a race for education, or hell, even a race for
"reduction", but "eduction" doesn't exist.
Then again, I blame the fact that this sign seems to care more about when
school is CLOSED, rather than open.
Implementing
live music at a school for the deaf fundraiser is like implementing an art gallery
at a national institute for the blind.
Yes. Beware.
School is coming back in full force.
And this school is scared.
They're so scared, that they ran out of E's, and had to resort to
backwards 3's to get the message across.
Sweet
Jesus, some schools start earlier than I thought! The red background and "YOU WILL LEARN THINGS" sort of
makes it out like this is a school for the damned, doesn't it?
Oh
dear. Here's hoping that the
"differance" that these teachers are making aren't in their ability
to teach spelling...
Hmmm...well,
I suppose that in botany class, this deal would be one to jump all over. Or, at the very least, you could grow a
vegetable garden for extra credit in science class - well, in the precious time
before the first frost anyway.
Ahem...not
that I would actually know anything about this at all...but when you're in high
school, some schools offer these for free!
It's also a sad statistic on the state of the world, but not as sad as
the one that the next photo showcases.
See
what I mean?
Since
when do pharmacies sell beer? Maybe
it's an American thing? At any rate, it
seems like kind of a pointless deal, since anyone in high school would be too
young to legally purchase it. Unless
of course, it's for the teachers.
Ah...wine displays for Back to School.
Yep, it's definitely for the teachers!
On
that note, what a perfect quote to end this blog off! See you next Monday, everybody!
I
hope that you're all prepared to time travel, because for this edition of the Sunday
Jukebox, we're
going back in time a whole half-century!
Now,
I don't remember the year 1964, for obvious reasons. It was, after all, a good seventeen years before my birth. I don't even know if my parents had even met
each other yet. They didn't get married
until August 1965. But 1964 was one of
those years in which there was a lot of good music on the radio. As someone who is a huge fan of 1960s era
music, I find that 1964 was one of the better years of the decade. I would rank it third on my list.
(Personally, I always saw 1967 and 1969 as being slightly better, but 1964
ranks right up there.)
And
just what was it about 1964 that was so special? Well, it kind of links to another kind of music that I love
listening to.
I don't know what it is about classic Motown music, but I can't get enough of
it. From The Temptations and The
Spinners to Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell, and Mary Wells, there's very few
examples of Motown music that I don't like.
You know how in that Rod Stewart song from a few years back talked about
bringing over some of your old Motown records and putting the speakers in the
window? Well, I'll admit to doing
exactly that - only I was born a little too late for the record era. I mean, yes, records still existed in the
1980s, but cassette tapes were more common at that time. Regardless, Motown music is awesome. And even though many of the artists who were
the stars of Motown are now deceased, I still find the music coming out of that
record company to be some of the best pop music ever recorded. I can't get enough of it.
So, when I discovered that the #1 song on the Billboard Charts fifty years ago
was recorded by a group who epitomized the Motown charm, I simply couldn't
resist talking about it. And to make
this even sweeter, this song is considered one of this all girl group's biggest
and most remembered hits.
So, what was the #1 song some fifty years ago?
Why, it would be this one, of course!
ARTIST:The
Supremes
SONG: Where Did Our Love Go
ALBUM: Where Did Our Love Go
DATE
RELEASED: June 17, 1964
PEAK
POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #1 for 2
weeks
So,
where did the love go? Actually, when
it comes to The Supremes, it didn't quite leave right away. If anything, this song marked only the
beginning for this Detroit, Michigan based group, as it was the first single of
theirs to top the Billboard charts.
Of
course, you all know that The Supremes at that time were made up of Diana Ross,
Florence Ballard, and Mary Wilson. But
what you probably didn't know was that the song was one that the group wasn't
initially enthused to sing.
Of
course, that could also be because the song wasn't initially given to The
Supremes to sing.
According to Mary Wilson, the song was originally offered to The Marvelettes
(the group behind the single "Please, Mr. Postman"). But Motown's main production team,
Holland-Dozier-Holland, refuted this claim.
The Marvelettes also denied that this was the case, although Marvelettes
member Katherine Anderson-Schnaffer would later state that the song wouldn't
have fit the group anyway. They were
more used to upbeat, fast songs, and "Where Did Our Love Go" was
considerably a lot slower.
And,
well...considering that "Where Did Our Love Go" is considered to be a
song that one might listen to when their relationships go on the rocks, I doubt
that I would classify this song as being upbeat.
So,
whether you believe Mary Wilson's tale or not, regardless, when The Supremes
were handed the song "Where Did Our Love Go", they recorded the
single, albeit begrudgingly. The group
had hoped for a stronger single that would have gotten them noticed, and they
didn't believe that the song had the hook necessary to get people interested in
the single.
Little
did they know that the single would become so popular that it would be the
group's first major success!
Coincidentally,
there is an interesting story behind the actual recording of the single
itself. And this story surrounds the
actual choice of who would record the lead vocals. The song's background music was arranged in such a way that it
fit Mary Wilson's vocals almost perfectly.
However, Motown president Berry Gordy seemed to recognize the fact that
Diana Ross was slowly becoming the leader of the group, and he decided to have
Ross sing the lead vocal, while Ballard and Wilson sang the word
"baby" at periodic intervals.
Poor Ballard and Wilson.
Now
this lead to some problems. Because
Diana Ross' vocals were at least a couple of registers higher than the song
called for, when the first recording was completed, she was told to sing it at
a lower register. Ross did so, and when
the group listened to the song's playback, they were all very pleased with how
it came out. Diana Ross reportedly ran
down to Berry Gordy's office in excitement and anticipation to hear his
thoughts on the song. His
thoughts? It had the potential to be a
Top 10 hit!
And it was. It became the group's first
#1!
Released
in June 1964, the single debuted at #77 on the Billboard Hot 100. It only took six weeks for the song to reach
the top of the charts - an impressive feat!
What was interesting about the timing of the song release was that
during this period, The Supremes were on tour with Dick Clark's "American
Bandstand Cavalcade of Stars" as one of the groups. At the beginning of their tour commitment,
they were one of the lesser-known groups on the tour. By the time the tour wrapped, they were considered the best of
the bunch!
What
a difference a month and a half makes!
The
Supremes would later go on to make a German language version of the single (as
Germany proved itself to be a huge Supremes supporter), and the song also
seemed to be released at exactly the right time in the United States. The song reached #1 just as the American
Civil Rights movement was beginning to pick up steam and as the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 was passed.
Over
the years, the song has continued to make an impact in the world of pop
culture, and in the last 50 years, quite a few artists have covered or sampled
the single for their own works. Perhaps
the most famous version of this comes from the British New Wave band Soft Cell,
whose 1981 single "Tainted Love" (itself a cover version of the
original performed by Gloria Jones) contains a version of "Where Did Our
Love Go" after the initial song played.
As well, the Pussycat Dolls redid the single in 2005 for their
"PCD" album. Other artists
who have sang the song include The J. Geils Band, Ringo Starr, The Spice Girls,
Sinitta, and Declan Galbraith.
Believe
it or not, it was even re-recorded by the fictional group Kidd Video for their
NBC Saturday Morning cartoon of the same name!
Oh, and one final piece of trivia? The footstomps that you hear in the
song? They weren't done by the
Supremes. They were performed by Mike
Valvano. And, yes, he did get credited
for it!
Well,
earlier in the week, I wrote a piece on the movie "Matinee", which
was one of the ten movies that were featured on the above compilation of family
favourites that I purchased from my workplace a few weeks ago.
I
was supposed to post this last Saturday, but a time crunch caused me to make a
change in plans. It was just as
well. "Matinee" was worth the
wait, as it happens to be the best of the lot of films that are featured on
this compilation, and I was really happy to do a film that was well-liked by
moviegoers. The movie itself was a
classic, and I really am glad that I waited to do a proper entry on it instead
of attempting to rush through it.
With
today's film selection, on the other hand, I can't say the same. In fact, this film currently holds a Fresh
Rating of ZERO per cent on the film review website "Rotten
Tomatoes". Of the ten films that
are on this compilation, it easily is the worst of the lot. And, after watching this movie, I would be
inclined to agree with that perspective.
In fact, this may very well be the shortest movie entry that I ever do because
I can't find any sort of trivia on this movie whatsoever. At least any trivia that would salvage this
hot mess of a movie that I'll likely never watch again. Thank goodness that the other nine on the
compilation are somewhat decent.
This
is a movie in which the main star of the picture isn't a man, woman, or child,
but an animal. Now, I'm sure we all
have our favourite movies that have an animal as the star. "Flipper" made you laugh,
"Free Willy" gave you hope, "Homeward Bound: The Incredible
Journey" was nice, and "Old Yeller" broke your heart.
Mind
you, there have also been some absolute clunkers in the movie world. Did we really need all those "Air
Bud" movies? One would have been
plenty! And, don't even get me started
on that 1981 film "Going Ape".
It's a wonder that Danny DeVito and Tony Danza even got work after that
mess!
I
guess the point that I'm trying to make is that depending on who the director
is, and the cast members who are involved, and even the type of animal that is
used can have a huge factor in whether a movie does incredibly well at the box
office, or incredibly poorly.
In
this case, the film made four million at the box office...on a budget of $24
million. Ouch.
The
film also had the unfortunate distinction of being nominated for four Razzie
Awards, including nominations for main human star Matt LeBlanc (whom most of
you remember from "Friends" as Joey, the soap opera day player who
couldn't catch a break). Luckily for
LeBlanc, he lost out to Pamela Anderson.
And luckily for this movie, the awards that this movie was nominated for
lost to Demi Moore's "Striptease".
But that's not to say that the nominations weren't warranted though. Truth be told, I think if this movie had won
any Razzies, I would not be shocked.
You
see...this film has a dirty little secret.
One that isn't quite so secret now that it's been out for eighteen
years, but nevertheless, it's still pretty scandalous. You see, most movies that have animals in
the starring roles use real living animals.
They use real dogs, cats, mice, hamsters, elephants, porcupines,
rattlesnakes...whatever the animal that is needed for the scene, they usually bring
in the real thing. Sometimes the animals
are added in via CGI, which admittedly I find annoying, but I can at least
understand the reasoning behind it. You
wouldn't put a poisonous snake in the arms of a seven year old, so you'd
simulate it to protect the child.
Sometimes it doesn't work out, but other times it can look amazing (see
any and all of the Harry Potter series of movies).
But
when your idea of inserting an animal into a film involves using a part-time mechanical
chimpanzee model who plays baseball?
Yeah...that's a recipe for box office Kryptonite.
Such as the case of the film "Ed".
The film, directed by Bill Couturie, was released on March 15, 1996 to
scathing reviews.
The
most depressing part of the story?
Couturie is a multiple Emmy Award winner, and even won an Academy
Award!!!
Anyway,
the film in addition to Matt LeBlanc also starred Jim Caviezel (clearly BEFORE
he made it big in Hollywood), Jack Warden, and Jayne Brook. I wonder how each of these actors feel now
about being a part of the film back then.
(Well,
okay...we can't ask Jack Warden. He
died in 2006.)
It's just so unfortunate how this film turned out. I mean, if they did manage to find a monkey that could actually
play baseball. If anything, that would
have been cool to see, and might have salvaged some of the film. That said, the mechanical chimp that they
did use was so...what's the word I'm looking for...cheap, that it really
destroyed whatever little credibility the film had.
In fact...the plot can only really be summarized as this. Farm boy Deuce goes to an open baseball
tryout to join a minor league team. He
makes the team because of his natural talent and insanely wicked "rocket
arm" pitch. And as the newest member
of the team, he becomes the roommate of one of the other team members.
Did I mention that the roommate just happens to be a chimpanzee named Ed? Yeah, that's not contrived at all.
The rest of the movie pretty much goes as planned. Ed and Deuce develop their skills and become friends. Deuce falls in love with a woman who has a
little girl. Ed is sold by the owners
of the team, and Deuce tries to rescue him before it's too late.
Yeah, you know something? I think that's all I really want to
say. The less said about the film, the
better.
One final note. Matt LeBlanc's co-star
from "Friends", Matthew Perry, was offered this role. For some reason, Perry turned it down. I can't imagine why.
Sigh...you know, maybe I'll just hope that the next film that I review is
better than this one. Maybe one with
Burt Reynolds. Yeah, that might work.
Are
you ready for another edition of FOODIE FRIDAY? I hope you are! And
believe it or not, I have to say that someone else gave me the idea behind
today's blog post!
So, I want to give credit where credit is due, and I want to thank Viki
A. of Pincourt,
Quebec, Canada for the inspiration behind today's post! Thanks, Viki! What a great idea!
All
right. So, today's topic was inspired
by a post that I happened to come across on Viki's Facebook page. You see, she and I have known each other for
a few years from a mutual discussion group that we both belonged to years ago,
and somehow we decided that we would become friends. And, I'm glad we did because she's become quite a great pal.
Anyway,
back to the story.
In
Canada (the country where both of us were born), we just wrapped up a contest
sponsored by Lay's Potato Chips. Lay's,
of course, is one of the biggest potato chip makers in the Western Hemisphere,
and certainly you can see all sorts of different flavours of Lay's chips over
the years from Original to Sour Cream and Onion. From Barbecue to Dill Pickle.
From Smokey Bacon to Sea Salt and Pepper. And many many more.
Well,
over the last couple of years, Lay's has come up with a contest that allowed
Canadians to come up with their own flavours of potato chip. By going online to the Lay's "Do Us a
Flavour" website, you could choose a variety of different ingredients and
flavour combinations to make your own flavour of potato chip and give it a creative
name.
The
stakes were quite high for having the winning chip flavour. The winning chip would get $50,000 in cold
hard cash, plus 1% of all future bags of chips sold. I know that percentage doesn't seem like a lot, but if, say,
75,000 bags of your flavour sold in a week, you'd get $750 that week. And, if that trend continued, you could make
$39,000 a year. Not a bad chunk of
change for just coming up with a flavour idea.
I
remember entering that contest last year.
I would have thought that my flavour idea of Spaghetti and Meatballs
would have done extremely well in the competition, but alas, it was not chosen.
In
fact, last year, the four top contenders were Grilled
Cheese and Ketchup,
Perogy Platter, Maple Moose, and Creamy Garlic Caesar.
I
certainly had my favourite flavour (Perogy Platter received my vote), and I
really wanted it to win. Alas, the
concoction known as Maple Moose (which was reportedly inspired by adding maple
syrup to roadkill), ended up pulling off the biggest upset ever, winning the
whole kit and kaboodle. To be honest,
it wasn't my favourite flavour, although I didn't dislike it.
And, well...to be honest, the flavour was pulled after ninety days due to low
sales. But hey, you had to admire the
fact that the person who created the winning chip added a Canadian flair to the
flavour combo.
The
contest has also been held in America, and lets just say that some of the
flavours they came up with are just as strange. Chicken and Waffles, Cheesy Garlic Bread (yum), Sriracha, Wasabi
Ginger, and Cappuccino.
Somehow,
I don't see potatoes and coffee going very well.
Well,
in Canada, they once again have come up with four brand new flavours to choose
from. This year's choices? Bacon Poutine, Cinnamon
Bun, Jalapeno
Mac 'n Cheese,
and Tzatziki. Once again, I have my
favourite (go Bacon Poutine!), and once again, I have the flavour that I really
question (surprisingly enough it isn't Cinnamon Bun, but Tzatziki). It's too soon to tell which flavour will
win, but it looks like a fairly close contest.
So,
this leads to the main body of the blog entry.
If you could come up with your own potato chip flavour, what would you
make it taste like? Would it be
salty? Sweet? Bitter? Spicy? Or, would it be absolutely gross?
Well, once again, I submitted a couple of choices to the Lay's people...and
once again, I was denied. I keep saying
that one of these days, my flavour will get chosen.
Anyway,
I'll share my two rejected flavours, as well as other ideas that I came up
with. Many of them I think are
tasty...but I threw in one flavour that is kind of a joke one. Would you try any of my creations?
1.
SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS
Yes,
this was the very first flavour idea that I came up with for the Lay's contest,
and I thought that it had real promise.
If anything, I thought that it would have a real Italian kick to
it. After all, the ingredients I
selected were cheese, tomatoes, and beef.
Really, if anything, it would have been a combination that nobody else
would have thought of.
2.
HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN WING
Okay,
so whenever I grab an order of chicken wings from a deli or a restaurant, I
typically like mine to have a little bit of sweetness to it. I tend to gravitate towards honey garlic
flavouring. Surprisingly, I think this
flavour would work very well as a potato chip flavour, and this was the flavour
that I submitted this year. Again, it
got ignored. Probably considered too
safe a flavour.
3.
PRETZEL AND MUSTARD
Okay, bear with me folks. If you've
ever tried one of those fresh baked pretzels that you see on the streets of any
major metropolitan city in North America, you know that for some reason, they
always taste a little better with mustard.
It would definitely be a weird flavour for a potato chip, but I would
eat them.
4.
SESAME CHICKEN
Okay, maybe it's the "I love Chinese food" part of me talking here,
but colour me crazy - I think sesame chicken could be potentially a delicious
flavour for a chip. If you combine it
with the right dip, it could be a flavour explosion of pure joy.
5. LEMON
POPPYSEED
Well, if Creamy Garlic Caesar can be a finalist last year, you could try other
salad dressing combinations. Somehow, I
think Lemon Poppyseed would work better than Raspberry Vinaigrette.
6.
TOOTHPASTE AND ORANGE JUICE
(Heh.
Just kidding.)
Okay, so what flavours of chip do you think you would create?
Before
we kick off today's edition of the Tube Talk Thursday for this week, I have some
condolences that I wish to leave in this entry.
How many of you are fans of "Saturday Night Live"? I imagine some of you watch it every
Saturday on NBC. I know I used to watch
it all the time when I was old enough to laugh at and understand all the
jokes. Hard to believe that the show
will celebrate it's fortieth anniversary next year.
I
found it even more unbelievable that one man was on the show's cast for thirty-eight
of those forty years! But yet, you
might not remember him for any sketches.
He never really appeared on any.
I mean, yes, we all know of names forever linked to "Saturday Night
Live". Chevy Chase, Mike Myers,
Tracy Morgan, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Dana Carvey, and the late
Phil Hartman. But this guy took on a
more behind the scenes role. You might
not have known it, but you heard his voice on nearly every single episode of
Saturday Night Live.
And
on Monday, August 18, 2014, he breathed his last breath.
Although
longtime announcer Don Pardo has passed away, he did so at the ripe old age of
96. And would you believe that his
career in radio and television lasted a grand total of SEVENTY years? I don't even think Regis Philbin has lasted
that long yet! But again, you probably
wouldn't have known that because he liked to work on shows as the
announcer. And, of course,
"Saturday Night Live" was his most well known work. But I bet you didn't know that he began his
career in 1938 as a radio announcer for Providence, Rhode Island station
WJAR. He was hired by NBC six years
later, and spent the rest of his life working for the station in some form or
another.
Would
you believe that he also was an official announcer for a series of game shows
before the game shows became popular?
It's absolutely true! Don Pardo
was one of the very first announcers for the game show "Jeopardy!"
(Well, the old version of the show. Not
the modern one that's been hosted by Alex Trebek the last three decades.)
He
also served as an announcer for "The Price Is Right",
"Jackpot", and even the NBC Nightly News!
So,
the death of Don Pardo got me thinking about a possible topic for today. What about other television and game show
announcers who made a career of working behind the scenes announcing all of
those fabulous prizes that you could win by answering questions, solving
puzzles, or deciding whether you'll take the deal or not? We've had quite a few talented people who
made a living on those shows off camera, and sadly many of those famous voices
have since passed on.
So,
I suppose you could make this an "In Memoriam" of all the game show
announcers we've lost over the years.
Let's
begin by talking about one of my favourite announcers that I remember from my
childhood.
ROD RODDY (1937-2003)
Okay,
so anyone who watched "The Price Is Right" sometime in the 1990s
knows who this guy is. This Texas born
announcer had a voice as loud as his brightly coloured suits. Seriously, this guy could have given Don
Cherry a run for his money in the style department. But, regarding his wild style, he started wearing the wild
colours on "The Price Is Right" merely by accident, and Bob Barker's
encouragement helped him keep his bright fashion sense for good. He even flew to Bangkok, Thailand to have
his suits custom made.
So,
naturally, because of his wild attire, he was dressing to get noticed. Certainly he made more on-screen appearances
than any other announcer that I can remember.
And those of you who were into game shows know that he appeared on
several over his career. Of course, the
ones that he was most associated with were "Press Your Luck" (which
he announced between 1983 and 1986), and "The Price Is Right" (which
he announced between 1986 and 2003).
Sadly,
on September 11, 2001, Roddy was diagnosed with colon cancer, and despite
battling the disease courageously for two whole years, Roddy lost his battle on
October 27, 2003 - just one month after turning 66 years of age.
JOHNNY OLSON (1910-1985)
Interestingly
enough, Rod Roddy secured the permanent announcer job on "The Price Is
Right" for a couple of reasons.
One because "Press Your Luck" had not been renewed for the
1986-1987 season, and another because he had been hired to replace the previous
announcer, who passed away on October 12, 1985 at the age of 75.
But here's the interesting thing about Johnny Olson. Although his most well-known gig was announcer of "The Price
Is Right" between 1972 to 1985, he had his hand announcing a grand total
of THIRTY-TWO different game shows during his career! That is mighty impressive.
Sadly, I don't really remember Olson that well. I was only four when he died, and anything
before 1986 is pretty hazy for me. But
anyone who was alive during the 1950s and 1960s would remember him very well as
the voice behind "Name That Tune", "What's My Line",
"To Tell The Truth", "Match Game", and selected episodes of
"Supermarket Sweep" (the original, not the ones hosted by David
Ruprecht or Tino Monte).
One
final footnote. Several of Olson's
final episodes of "The Price Is Right" were aired posthumously, as
his death of a cerebral hemorrhage was so sudden. His final episode aired November 8, 1985 - almost a month after
his death.
GENE WOOD (1925-2004)
Of
all the game show announcers on this list, I thought that Gene Wood had one of
the coolest voices. Here he is in
action from a classic episode of "Family Feud" - the show that he is
best known for.
Oh,
but Mr. Wood did so much more, yes he did.
He served as the announcer for "Beat The Clock", "Card
Sharks", "Tattletales", "Match Game-Hollywood
Squares", "Classic Concentration", and "Win, Lose, or
Draw". Many of those shows I
remember watching as a kid. I
particularly loved "Win, Lose, or Draw" myself.
Anyway, Gene Wood's career lasted quite a long time - almost three and a half
decades total. After retiring from game
show announcing in 1999, he passed away on May 21, 2004 at the age of 78.
CHARLIE O'DONNELL (1932-2010)
The
last name on our list, this man's voice was almost as much of a staple on
"Wheel of Fortune" as Pat Sajak and Vanna White. For two separate stints, O'Donnell served as
announcer for the program. The first
one lasted from 1975-1980, back in the days in which Chuck Woolery hosted the
program. He left for a few years to do
other projects, and returned to the show at the tail end of the 1980s,
remaining there until his death from heart failure on November 1, 2010 at the
age of 78.
So,
when he wasn't describing trips, cars, or those really wacky shopping spree
segments during the 1980s where people would buy lamps for $500 and elephant
statues for $1,111, he was working on other game shows.
You might have heard him as the announcer for such game shows as
"Tic-Tac-Dough", "The Joker's Wild", and "The $100,000
Pyramid".
But here's an interesting fact as well. Did you know he also served as the official
announcer for many awards shows such as "The American Music Awards",
"The Emmy Awards", and even "The Academy Awards"? How about that?
Can you think of any other names to add to the list?
Well,
today is Wednesday, and normally I would be doing a WHO
AM I WEDNESDAY
entry in this space. However, this
week, we'll be taking a look at a movie instead, as my crazy schedule prevented
me from doing a proper blog on a movie last Saturday. I promise, my schedule will be back to normal next week.
Besides,
sometimes it's good to switch it up every once in a while.
Okay,
so if you have been keeping up with this blog for the last three weeks, you'll
know that I'm in the middle of a 10-part movie series in which I review one of
the movies featured in this 10-film compilation that I picked up at my
workplace for five dollars. I'm on film
#4 this time around, and let's just say that from a critical standpoint, these
films didn't do so hot at the box office, or they were completely trashed by
film critics.
So
far, I've taken a look at "The Wizard", "A Simple Wish",
and "Ghost Dad". One I still
love, one I'm indifferent on, and the last one I used to like twenty some years
ago, but can't really stand now.
I
think it's time that I choose a film that was critically acclaimed, don't
you? How about a film that has a 93%
Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes? How
about a film that made nine million dollars at the box office? How about a film that has not one but two
films within the film?
Interestingly
enough, the name of the film happens to be a term for a type of movie that you
might go to in the middle of the afternoon.
In fact, its film title was a part of the old themed movie day that I
used to have back when Mondays were the movie discussion day.
You
remember? It was called the Monday
Matinee.
Well,
today, we're going to take a look at the 1993 film called "Matinee". The film - released in January 1993 - stars
John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, Omri Katz, Kellie Martin, Lisa Jakub, Jesse Lee
Soffer, and Simon Felton in a film that depicts going to the movies during the
scary and uncertain times of the beginnings of the 1962 Cuban Missile
Crisis. The film was directed by Joe
Dante (who also directed the two Gremlins films, "The 'Burbs", and
"Small Soldiers"), and written by Jerico Stone and Charlie Haas.
What
made "Matinee" different from the standard films released during the
early 1990s was the film structure.
There was a main plotline, but inside the film, there were movies within
the movie. Two, to be exact. One was "Mant!", and the other one
was "The Shook-Up Shopping Cart".
Now,
I suppose that you're thinking that this structure might seem quite confusing,
but it really did blend together beautifully.
The film is also separated into two separate parts, which I'm briefly
going to summarize, as if I reveal too much about it, I'm going to be breaking
my promise about never revealing a movie ending.
Okay,
so as I mentioned, the film takes place in 1962, during the early phases of the
Cuban Missile Crisis, and what many people declare was the catalyst behind the
commencement of the Cold War, which lasted for nearly three decades. If anyone was around during that time, they
knew that nuclear weaponry was gaining in popularity, and they also knew the
total devastation that nuclear weapons could have on the world.
In Key
West, Florida, a boy named Gene (Fenton) and his brother Dennis (Soffer) live
on a military base. Their father is out
at sea, and they are completely bored out of their minds over what to do.
But
then they hear word that Lawrence Woolsey (Goodman) will be in town exclusively
to promote his latest picture - a thrilling horror show that depicts what might
happen when atomic radiation turns a man into a half-man, half-ant. It's a classic masterpiece known as
"Mant!" (a brilliant spoof of those B-movies that you often would see
on Mystery Science Theatre 3000). And,
naturally, Gene and Dennis want to go and see the film. Unfortunately, with President Kennedy
announcing on television that Soviet missiles have been located in Cuba, it
puts the movie premiere in jeopardy, as concerned citizens don't feel that a
movie that features atomic radiation is appropriate to air.
Naturally,
this sets the stage for the main plot of the movie. The quest to bring the movie to Key West despite all the protests
and the fear that is being brought by the Cuban Missile Crisis. Oh, and there's also the challenges of first
love, the desire to try and find freedom and joy in a world gone mad, and of
course, lots of popcorn, goobers, and bonbons.
Seriously,
I can't really go into much more than that, but check this film out. It's certainly a wonderful film, and it
showed us all that John Goodman could play other roles than blue-collar worker
Dan Conner from "Roseanne".
Now
since I can't go into too much plot detail, I'll have to make up for it with
trivia. Ready to hear it?
1 -
This film was one of the first American films that Naomi Watts appeared
in. Look for her in the shopping cart
movie scene.
2 -
Lisa Jakub would go on to make another successful movie in 1993 - "Mrs.
Doubtfire". She would play the
eldest daughter of Sally Field and Robin Williams.
3 -
Many of the actors who appeared in the fictional "Mant" film were
actual actors from 1950's sci-fi movies.
These actors included Robert Cornthwaite, Kevin McCarthy, and William
Schallert.
4 -
The theatre that was used in the film was a real theatre. Well, at least it was on the exterior. The interior was built entirely on a
soundstage in Universal Studios Florida.
5 -
The seat gimmicks that were used in the movie were actually used by William
Castle for screenings of 1959's "The Tingler".
6 -
Three schools in Central Florida were combined together to depict Gene's high
school in the movie.
7 -
Jesse Lee Soffer became a huge star after this movie was released. He went on to play the role of Will Munson
on "As The World Turns", and is currently on the series "Chicago
Fire".
8 -
You might not be able to tell this because of the film, but Simon Fenton was
born in the UK, and has appeared in the UK television series "Grange
Hill" and "The Bill" after wrapping up "Matinee".
9 -
Jerico Stone lost an arbitration on "Matinee" and received only a
shared story credit. He was so upset,
he tried to replace his credit with a four letter word that began with
"F". His request was denied.
10 - John Goodman filmed this movie in between the fourth and fifth seasons of
"Roseanne".
All
right. The curtain closes on another
"Matinee". We have another
movie discussion coming up this Saturday, and we're going to be taking a look
at a film that features a former "Friend"...and a monkey?
Hello,
everyone! Today is August 19, and it
happens to also be the day where we flip back through the fabric of time to
look at another Tuesday Timeline entry.
I
think I've got a pretty good topic lined up for this week, and I don't want to
waste any time here. Let's get on with
this entry by getting down to the other business for today which includes the
history happenings and celebrity natal days!
All
right. So, what happened on this date
in history? Lots of things!
1561 - Mary, Queen of Scots - then eighteen years of age
- returns to Scotland after spending thirteen years in France
1612 - Accused of practicing witchcraft in Britain, the
"Samlesbury Witches" go on trial
1692 - The Salem Witch Trials take place, in which one
woman and four men are executed after being accused of performing witchcraft
1768 - Saint Isaac's Cathedral is founded in St.
Petersburg, Russia
1839 - The French government announces that Louis
Daguerre's photographic process is a "free gift to the world"
1871 - Orville Wright, one of the Wright brothers (d.
1948) is born in Dayton, Ohio
1909 - The first automobile race is held at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
1914 - The Ottoman-Bulgaria Alliance is signed in Syria
1921 - Gene Roddenberry (d. 1991), creator of Star Trek,
is born in El Paso, Texas
1930 - Angela's Ashes author Frank McCourt (d. 2009) is
born in Brooklyn, New York
1934 - Dayton, Ohio becomes the host city for the first
official Soap Box Derby
1940 - The first flight of the B-25 Mitchell medium
bomber
1942 - Dozens of Canadian troops are killed or captured
during Operation Jubilee
1955 - 200 people are killed when severe flooding caused
by Hurricane Diane takes place in the Northeast United States
1960 - The Korabi-Sputnik 2 satellite is launched into
space by the Soviet Union
1977 - Actor Groucho Marx (b. 1890) passes away at age
86
1987 - Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with a
semi-automatic rifle and then turns the gun on himself in the Hungerford
Massacre
1989 - The British and Dutch governments raid pirate
radio station Radio Caroline
1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest
while on holiday in Ukraine
2005 - A series of strong storms in Southern Ontario
spawns dozens of tornadoes and causes flash floods to occur within the city of
Toronto
2010 - The official end of "Operation: Iraqi
Freedom"
2012 - Director Tony Scott, aged 68, commits suicide by
leaping off of a bridge in San Pedro, California
And,
let's have a look and see who is celebrating a birthday today. Blowing out candles today are...L.Q.
Jones, Renee
Richards, Bobby
Richardson, Joe
Frank, Diana
Muldaur, Johnny
Nash, Jill
St. John, Buzz
Kilman, Ian
Gillan, Bill
Clinton, Gerald
McRaney, Tipper
Gore, Jonathan
Frakes, Peter
Gallagher, Adam
Arkin, Kevin
Dillon, Kyra
Sedgwick, Lee
Ann Womack, Matthew
Perry, Clay
Walker, Fat
Joe, Sammi
Cheng, Jaime
Zubairi, Callum
Blue, Tracie
Thoms, Erika
Christensen, Tammin
Sursok, Christina
Perri, and Travis
Tedford.
And,
just to let you know...today's Tuesday Timeline subject is also celebrating a
birthday today.
Their
date of birth and today's Timeline date?
August 19, 1963.
Now
if you took a look at him now, you might be hard-pressed to believe that this
man is turning fifty-one years old.
However, you have to also keep in mind that one of his first roles was
well over thirty years ago on a daytime soap opera. He's since appeared in a successful sitcom, was part of one of
the most successful medical dramas of all time, and once substituted as a
drummer for one of the most recognized bands of the 1960s.
Oh,
and he sells Greek yogurt too. But I
suppose that makes sense, given that he comes from a Greek background.
Yes,
today marks the fifty-first birthday of actor John Stamos, a man who has been in the
entertainment industry for almost as long as I've been alive. And, in celebration of John Stamos' life, I
thought that I would provide fifty-one factoids about his life and times. I've done this before with other celebrity
spotlights, and it's a fun way to bring up some little known facts about
celebrities that you may or may not have known.
So,
let's get started, shall we?
1 -
John Stamos was born in Cypress, California.
2 -
His mother was raised in England and was a former swimsuit model.
3 -
His family's original surname was "Stamatopoulos". His paternal grandparents shortened it to
Stamos when they immigrated to the United States from Greece.
4 -
His very first role on television was on the soap opera "General
Hospital", where he played aspiring rock singer Blackie Parrish.
5 -
Stamos was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for his role in 1984 - the same
year he left "General Hospital".
6 -
He had a short-lived role on a sitcom called "You Again?", which
starred Jack Klugman.
7 -
When he was cast as Uncle Jesse on "Full House", his character's name
was supposed to be Adam Cochran. Before
the pilot was filmed, Stamos convinced the producers to change the character's
name to Jesse. By the beginning of the
second season, Jesse's last name was changed to Katsopolis to reflect his Greek
heritage.
8 -
Stamos is still really close with all of his "Full House"
castmates. He recently attended the
wedding of "Full House" co-star, Dave Coulier a few months ago.
9 -
Ever wonder why John Stamos and Lori Loughlin had such chemistry with each
other? It's because they once dated
before "Full House" debuted!
The relationship didn't work out, but they remained good friends.
10
- John wore a wig in the last few episodes of season one. He had cut his hair for a movie role. The debut of season two was the first to
show off his new look.
11
- John Stamos once guest-starred on "Friends" - a show that began
filming in the old studio where "Full House" once filmed after the
show was cancelled in 1995.
12
- He was cast as Dr. Tony Gates for the final three years of "ER".
13
- Prior to that, he starred in a couple of shows that didn't last one whole
season - "Thieves" and "Jake in Progress".
14
- Stamos learned how to play the drums when he was four.
15
- Stamos even had his own band - Destiny.
16
- This could explain why Jesse's main storyline on "Full House" was
making it big with his band "Jesse and the Rippers".
17
- Jesse and the Rippers reunited with each other on an episode of "Late
Night with Jimmy Fallon". Lori
Loughlin made a cameo appearance.
18
- In the spirit of reunions, Stamos reunited with former co-stars Bob Saget and
Dave Coulier for another skit on Jimmy Fallon...
19
- ...and in this commercial for Oikos Greek Yogurt.
20
- He has only been married once - to model Rebecca Romijn for nearly seven
years. The marriage ended in 2005.
21
- He made an appearance in the Beach Boys video for "Kokomo".
22
- Truth is that John Stamos has occasionally jammed with the Beach Boys for
almost thirty years.
23
- This could explain why members of the Beach Boys periodically appeared in
episodes of "Full House" between seasons two and five.
24
- Oh, and the song that Jesse sang for Becky at their "Full House"
wedding? It was a Beach Boys song!
25
- I wonder if John Stamos was also partly responsible for the time the show
filmed in Walt Disney World? He is a
self-confessed Disney fan.
26 - John Stamos even has a lifetime pass to Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
27
- And, Stamos even bought a Disneyland sign for over $30,000!
28
- He directed the video for Diamond Carter's song "Let Yourself be
Loved".
29
- And, Stamos is also credited as a co-writer for the above song!
30
- He's also appeared in Broadway musicals "Cabaret", "How to
Succeed in Business Without Really Trying", and "Bye Bye
Birdie".
31
- He was awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in November 2009.
32
- In 1984, he won a Young Artists Award for his role on "General
Hospital".
33
- He is six feet tall.
34
- He was originally considered for the role of Cyclops in the 2000 film,
X-Men. James Marsden would eventually
get the role.
35
- He is a huge fan of Elvis Presley in real life.
36
- He has two younger sisters.
37
- His ancestry is predominantly Greek, but he is also part English and part Irish.
38
- He played the drums at the wedding reception of good friend Howard Stern.
39
- He worked as a spokesperson for long distance carrier 10-10-987 in 2003.
40
- His production company is called St. Amos Productions.
41
- His middle name is Phillip.
42
- He was chosen as one of People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive.
43
- He was once romantically linked to Paula Abdul while he starred on "Full
House".
44
- While he worked on "General Hospital", he also held down a job at
his father's restaurant!
45
- He is a regular poster on Twitter.
46
- According to an US Weekly article, he once played the bongo drums with Willie
Nelson.
47
- He also claims to do Pilates three to four times per week.
48
- He and Bob Saget filmed a hilarious YouTube video demonstrating the joys of
cuddling!
49
- However, in Bob Saget's memoir "Dirty Daddy", Saget reveals that he
really did once share a bed with Stamos.
After having a few too much to drink, Stamos stayed with him to help him
sober up. Though Saget maintains that
nothing happened between them.
50
- His last name is pronounced STAY-mohs.
51 - He is currently starring in the USA Network
television series "Necessary Roughness".
And, there you have it. Fifty-one facts
for each and every year of John's life!
Happy 51st, John Stamos!