Interesting & Amazing Facts
Entertainment
Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show was the first spin-off in TV history. It was spun-off from the Danny Thomas Show.
Ben Hur
During the chariot scene in 'Ben Hur' a small red car can be seen in the distance.
Cast (Largest)
The largest cast ever assembled was 300,000, for the funeral scene in the movie Ghandi.
Chaplin, Charlie
In 1916, Charlie Chaplin was making $10,000 a week, making him the highest paid actor of his time.
Combs, Ray
Ray Combs (Family Feud) hanged himself on the night of June 2, 1996, with bed sheets in his hospital room at Glendale Adventist Hospital while on a 72-hour "suicide watch."
Curtis, Jamie Lee
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis invented a special diaper for babies that has a pocket.
Disney World
Disney World in Orlando, Florida covers 30,500 acres (46 square miles), making it twice the size of the island of Manhattan, New York.
Drive-In Theatres
The first movie to be shown in a Drive-In Theatre was "Wife Beware" in 1933.
Elvis
* It was at a concert in Minneapolis in 1954 that Al Dvorin first closed Elvis's concerts with: "Ladies and Gentleman, Elvis has left the building. Thank you and good night."
* Elvis was an avid gun collector. His collection of 40 weapons included M-16s and a Thompson submachine gun.
Fields, W.C.
During World War II, W.C. Fields kept US $50,000 in Germany 'in case the little bastard wins'.
Flintstones
The Flintstones cartoon was the first thirty-minute cartoon to be aired during prime time.
Freddy Krueger
Wes Craven reportedly named the evil character of his Nightmare on Elm Street film after a kid at high school who harassed and bullied him.
Gable, Clark
Clark Gable worked 71 days on Gone With The Wind and earned $120,000.00. Vivien Leigh worked 123 days and earned $25,000.00.
Greene, Lorne
Lorne Greene had one of his nipples bitten off by an alligator while he was host of "Lorne Greene's Wild Kingdom."
Halloween
The mask used by Michael Myers in the original "Halloween" was actually a Captain Kirk mask painted white.
Happy Birthday
Warner Communications paid $28 million for the copyright to the song "Happy Birthday".
Hathaway, Donny
Donny Hathaway in 1979 committed suicide by jumping from his room on the 15th floor of New York's Essex House Hotel.
Hollywood
The are six fictional characters that have stars on Hollywood's "Walk of Fame."
Hubbock, Chris
Chris Hubbock (Newscaster) in 1970, shot herself in the head during a prime time news broadcast on Florida TV station WXLT-TV. She died 14 hours later.
Hutchence, Michael
Michael Hutchence (Inxs) in 1997, hanged himself with a belt in his room in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, in Sydney, Australia.
India
India's movie industry, Bollywood, is the largest in the world producing over eight hundred movies a year. Hollywood only produces half of this number in a year.
Joel, Billy
Billy Joel's CD, "52nd Street" was the first CD to be released to the public. This occurred in Japan in October of 1982.
Kath, Terry
Terry Kath (Chicago) rock musician, in 1978 committed suicide playing Russian roulette.
Kiss (Longest)
The longest Hollywood kiss was from the 1941 film, "You're in the Army Now." It lasted for three minutes and three seconds.
Leave It To Beaver
The first television show to show any portion of a toilet was on "Leave it to Beaver." After fighting for ten weeks to show the toilet, CBS would only allow the producers to show the toilet tank, and not the whole toilet.
Lucci, Susan
Susan Lucci is the daughter of Phyllis Diller.
Michelin Man
The first Michelin Man costume (Bidenbum) was worn by none other than Col. Harlan Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame
Mickey Mouse
* The most reproduced image in the world is Mickey Mouse, which can be found on over 7,500 different items.
* Walt Disney named Mickey Mouse after Mickey Rooney, whose mother he dated for some time.
Movies
A theater manager in Seoul, Korea felt that The Sound of Music was too long, so he shortened it by cutting out all the songs.
Movie Lines That Were Never Said
* Smile when you say that, pardner.
* Me Tarzan, you Jane.
* Play it again, Sam.
* Judy, Judy, Judy.
* I want to be alone.
* Come with me to the Casbah.
* No, Luke, I am your father.
* Come up and see me some time.
Mr. Potato Head
In 1946, the first TV toy commercial aired. It was for Mr. Potato Head.
Muppets
The name "Muppet" was coined by Jim Henson. The word was made from a combination of the word "marionette" and "puppet."
Oscars
* The first television broadcast of the Oscars took place in 1953, hosted by Bob Hope on NBC.
* The longest acceptance speech in the history of the Oscars was by Greer Garson in 1942. She received an Oscar for Best Actress for the movie Mrs. Miniver, and her speech was five minutes and 30 seconds long.
Pamela Lee-Anderson
Pamela Lee-Anderson is Canada's Centennial Baby, being the first baby born on the centennial anniversary of Canada's independence.
Psycho
The first toilet being flushed in a motion picture was in the movie "Psycho."
Redford, Robert
Robert Redford attended the University of Colorado on a baseball scholarship.
Rocket Launch
The concept of a countdown before a rocket launch originated as a tension-building device in the 1929 movie "The Woman on the Moon".
Seinfeld
In every episode of TV's Seinfeld, there is a Superman somewhere in at least one scene.
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is the most portrayed character on film, having been played by 72 actors in 204 films.
Stallone, Sylvester
Actor Sylvester Stallone once had a job as a lion cage cleaner.
Star Trek
* The first time the word "hell" was spoken on TV was in an original "STAR TREK" episode entitled "City on the Edge of Forever". The exact quote was "...let's get the hell out of here...", spoken by William Shatner.
* The first inter-racial kiss on TV was in an original "STAR TREK" episode entitled "Plato's Stepchildren". The kiss was between Michelle Nichols and William Shatner.
Star Wars
Four people played Darth Vader: David Prowse was his body, James Earl Jones did the voice, Sebastian Shaw was his face and a fourth person did the breathing.
Theatres
The first theatre to show motion pictures was the Nickelodeon on June 19, 1905 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was opened by Harry Davis on Smithfield Street.
Television
* The first TV commercial was a 20-second ad for a Bulova clock, broadcasted by WNBT, New York during a game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies in July 1941.Bulova paid $9 for that first TV spot. Bulova also was the first watch in space.
* The first televised sporting event was a Japanese elementary school baseball game, broadcast in September 1931.
UB40
The music band UB40 got its name from an unemployment form in England.
Walt Disney
* Walt Disney's autograph bears no resemblance to the famous Disney logo.
* The Walt Disney company was founded in 1923, and in 1927 Walt came up with the idea for an animated mouse called Mortimer Mouse. His wife Lillian convinced him to change it to Mickey Mouse.
Wayne, John
John Wayne holds the record for the most leading roles in movies at 141.
White, Vanna
The first letter Vanna White ever turned on the game show Wheel of Fortune was the letter "T."
Wilcox, Harvey & Daeida
In 1888, Hollywood was founded by Harvey and Daeida Wilcox, who named the city after their summer home in Chicago
Williams, Robin
Robin Williams got no money for being the voice of the genie in the Disney film Aladdin. He was, however, given a Picasso painting worth $7 million
Wizard Of Oz
* In the movie "The Wizard Of Oz," Toto the dog's salary was $125 a week, while Judy Garland was $500 a week.
* The name for Oz in "The Wizard of Oz" was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence "Oz."
* The ruby red slippers in the movie "The Wizard of Oz" were sold off at an auction for $660,000.
Young, Gig
Gig Young in 1978 shot and killed his wife of 3 weeks, Kim Schmidt, then shot himself.