Entertainment Facts

Entertainment Facts

• Ed SullivanThe first permanent movie theater was the 400-seat vitascope hall in New Orleans.
• In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.
• Hang On Sloopy is the official rock song of Ohio.
• The airplane Buddy Holly died in was the "American Pie." (Thus the name of the Don McLean song.) MYTH - Dwyer's Flying Service did not name their planes. McLean made up the name.
• The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It to Beaver".
• Internationally, Baywatch is the most popular TV show in history.
• David Prowse was the guy in the Darth Vader suit in Star Wars. He spoke all of Vader's lines, and didn't know that he was going to be dubbed over by James Earl Jones until he saw the screening of the movie.
• 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.
• Gilligan of Gilligan's Island had a first name that was only used once, on the never-aired pilot show. His first name was Willy. The skipper's real name on Gilligan's Island is Jonas Grumby. It was mentioned once in the first episode on the radio newscast about the wreck. The Professor's real name was Roy Hinkley, Mary Ann's last name was Summers and Mrs. Howell's maiden name was Wentworth.
• The Les Nessman character on the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati wore a band-aid in every episode. Either on himself, his glasses, or his clothing.
• John Larroquette of "Night Court" and "The John Larroquette Show" was the narrator of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."
• In Dutch vader means father
• A walla-walla scene is one where extras pretend to be talking in the background -- when they say "walla-walla" it looks like they are actually talking.
• Bela Lugosi died during the filming of "PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE". Director Edward D. Wood Jr. used a taller relative who held a cape in front of his face so the audience wouldn't know the difference so he could complete filming.
• Bob May played the Robot on "Lost In Space" (1965-68) and Dick Tufeld was the voice.
• Boris Karloff is the narrator of the seasonal television special "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."
• Casey Kasem is the voice of Shaggy on "Scooby-Doo."
• Cheryl Ladd (of Charlie's Angels fame) played the voice, both talking and singing, of Josie in the 70s Saturday morning cartoon "Josie and the Pussycats."
• Clark Gable used to shower more than 4 times a day.
• Kermit the frog delivered the commencement address at Southampton College located in the state of New York in 1996.
• Debra Winger was the voice of E.T.
• James Doohan, who plays Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott on Star Trek, is missing the entire middle finger of his right hand.
• Jean-Claude Van Damme was the alien in the original "PREDATOR" in almost all the jumping and climbing scenes.
• June Foray, the voice of Talking Tina from the classic Twilight Zone episode "Living Doll", was also the voice of Rocky the talking squirrel from "Rocky & Bullwinkle".
• Kathleen Turner was the voice of Jessica Rabbit, and Amy Irving was her singing voice.
• King Kong is the only movie to have its sequel (Son of Kong) released the same year (1933).
• Lorne Greene had one of his nipples bitten off by an alligator while he was host of "Lorne Greene's Wild Kingdom."
• Lynyrd Skynard was the name of the gym teacher of the boys who went on to form that band. He once told them, "You boys ain't never gonna amount to nothin'."
• Melanie Griffith's mother is actress Tippi Hendren, best known for her lead role in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.
• Of the six men who made up the Three Stooges, three of them were real brothers (Moe, Curly and Shemp.)
• Sharon Stone was the first "Star Search" spokes model.
• The "Grinch" singer and voice of Tony the Tiger is a man named Thurl Ravenscroft.
• The Andy Griffth Show was the first spin-off in TV history. It was spun-off from the Danny Thomas Show.
• The band "Duran Duran" got their name from an astronaut in the 1968 Jane Fonda movie "Barbarella."
• The famous split-fingered Vulcan salute is actually intended to represent the first letter ("shin," pronounced "sheen") of the word "shalom." As a small boy, Leonard Nimoy observed his rabbi using it in a benediction and never forgot it; eventually he was able to add it to "Star Trek" lore.
• The first inter-racial kiss on TV was in an original "STAR TREK" episode entitled "Plato's Stepchildren". The kiss was between Nichelle Nichols and William Shatner.
• 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 mask used by Michael Myers in the original "Halloween" was actually a Captain Kirk mask painted white.
• 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 name of the Vulcan's heaven is Sha Ka Ree, this is a play on the name Sean Connery who was considered for the part of Sarek, Spock's father.
• The spaceship 'Valley Forge' from "Silent Running" (1971) actually got it's name from the location used to film some of its interiors; a decommissioned aircraft carrier named the U.S.S. Valley Forge.
• Video Killed the Radio Star was the very first video ever played on MTV.
• One in every 4 americans has appeared on television!
• One of the many Tarzans, Karmuela Searlel, was mauled to death on the set by a raging elephant!
• In the original version of Cinderella the slipper was made out of fur, not glass!
• In the movie 'The Wizard Of Oz', Toto the dog's salary was $125 a week, while Judy Garland was $500 a week.
• In Mel Brooks' 'Silent Movie,' mime Marcel Marceau is the only person who has a speaking role.
• Billie Jean by Michael Jackson was the first video to air on MTV by a black artist.
• The General Lee cars used in the popular show The Dukes of Hazards were 1969 Dodge Chargers.
• The Muppet Show was banned from TV in Saudi Arabia because one of its stars was a pig.
• The first music video ever played on MTV Europe was by Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing."
• The childhood word game Hangman was the inspiration for TV's Wheel of Fortune.
• Kermit the Frog is left-handed and has eleven points on his collar.
• A contestant who freezes before the camera on a TV game show is called a "Bambi," in reference to a deer paralyzed by the glare of headlights.
• The first letter Vanna White ever turned on the game show Wheel of Fortune was the letter "T."
• The total number of episodes for the sitcom "I Love Lucy" was 180.
• Lenny Kravitz's mother played the part of Helen on the TV sitcom "The Jeffersons."
• Daytime dramas are called Soap Operas because they were originally used to advertise soap powder.
• Saved by the bell trivia
• The show originally was going to have three guys and two girls, but the character of Jesse was created when Elizabeth Berkley had a successful audition.
• Some episodes are actually re-edited episodes of "Good Morning, Miss Bliss".
• One of the degrees in Mr. Belding's office is for Kung Fu.
• Lisa's last name is Turtle, Jessie's middle name is Myrtle, and
• Zack's pet turtle's name is Myrtle.
• The same classroom was used each time but rearranged for the subject being taught
• Throughout the show, Screech had different lockers. In the first two seasons, his locker was near Belding's office; in the later seasons his locker was near the stairs.
• Friends trivia
• Courteney Cox was originally asked to play Rachel, but she asked to play Monica instead after reading the parts.
• Other titles considered for the show were "Friends Like Us," "Six of One," and "Across the Hall."
• Phoebe is the oldest of the friends.
• Rachel's favorite flowers are lilies.
• In Chandler's and Joey's room there is a poster with boxing kangaroos which says "Kangaroo Boxer" in Russian.
• Before the show was cast, the main love interest was intended to be Monica and Joey.
• Central Perk is based on the Manhattan Cafe in New York's West Village.
• Gunther didn't have a name until the middle of the second season.
• The artwork in Central Perk is changed every three episodes.
• The first member of the cast to get a role in a Hollywood film was Marcel the Monkey.
• The opening credits sequence in which the stars dance in a fountain was shot in Warner Bros LA lot at 4am.
• The final episode aired on 6 May 2004.
• Seinfeld trivia
• The original script was called "Stand Up".
• Jerry is the only character to appear in every episode
• In Jerry's apartment, he has a picture on the wall of a black Porsche 911 catching air going over a hill.
• As Kramer became more popular, his entrance applause grew so prolonged that the cast complained it was ruining the pacing of their scenes.
• Jerry's real first name is Jerome.
• Danny DeVito was considered for the role of George Costanza.
• Throughout the series, there are numerous references to Kramer's friend Bob Saccamano, but the character is never seen.
• Out of the four main characters, Kramer is the only one to have never had an "inner monologue".
• Simpsons trivia
• In 1997, The Simpsons broke "The Flintstones" (1960) record for longest-running prime time animated TV show.
• Bart Simpson was ranked  number one in TV Guide's list of "TV's 10 Biggest Brats"
• Homer works in sector 7-G in the power plant
• Bart's hair has 9 spikes.
• According to Bart, he is 2 years and 38 days older than Lisa.
• What Bart writes on the chalkboard in the opening credits is different in every episode.
• The main characters were given a yellow coloring to attract the attention of channel hoppers.
• The Alamo
• The huge Alamo set took two years to construct.
• Alien
• The alien's habit of laying eggs in the stomach is similar to the life cycle of the tsetse fly. An early draft of the script had a male Ripley.
• Crocodile Dundee
• The wild and ferocious buffalo that Mick Dundee pacified was drugged.
• Clueless
• The band playing during the party scene are the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The episode of "Beavis and Butt-Head" that Cher and Josh watch is called The Great Cornholio.
• Braveheart
• Wallace's real wife was named Marian, but it was changed to Murron to avoid confusion with the Robin Hood character. Real life Wallaces are extras in the movie.
• Payback
• Almost all of the telephones in the movie are rotary.
• Pretty Woman
• The opera in the movie is La Traviata, which is about a prostitute who falls in love with a wealthy man.
• Richard Gere composed the piece of music that is played on the piano.
• Daryl Hannah turned down the role of Vivian as she felt it denigrates women.
• My Best Friend's Wedding
• There was actually an alternative ending to the movie, where Julianne and Michael end up together, but after test audiences didn't like it, the director changed ending.
• Notting Hill
• Anna Scott was asked how much she made on her last film, and her reply was $15 million, the the amount she was paid for her role in Notting Hill.
• Independence Day
• When David Levinson opens his laptop computer it greets him with the message, "Good Morning Dave." - a reference to the talking computer HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey
• The fire engine seen tumbling through the air was simply a toy.
• Men in Black
• John Turturro was offered the role of Edgar.
• The line Will Smith says after jumping on the bus, "It just be raining black people in New York", was improvised on the set, but the producers like it so much that they kept it.
• The Devil's Advocate
• The character of John Milton is named for the author of "Paradise Lost," the classic about man's fall from God's grace.
• When Lomax is in Milton's office at the end of the film, he says "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven". That is from the epic poem "Paradise Lost" by John Milton.
• The Matrix
• Before Keanu Reeves starts his furious attacks on Morpheus, he rubs his nose with the thumb finger, a similar mannerism of Bruce Lee.
• Will Smith was approached to play Neo but turned it down in favor of Wild Wild West.
• The Big Lebowski
• The screenplay was written with Jeff Bridges and John Goodman in mind.
• A lot of the Dude's clothes in the movie were Jeff Bridges's own clothes.
• The Dude never actually bowls.
• Pulp Fiction
• The shot of Vincent plunging the syringe into Mia's chest was filmed by having John Travolta pull the needle out, then running the film backwards.
• Knoxville, Tennessee, where Butch was meeting his connection and where his great-grandfather bought the gold watch, is also Quentin Tarantino's birthplace.
• Uma Thurman originally turned down the role of Mia Wallace. Quentin Tarantino was so desperate to have her as Mia, he ended up reading her the script over the phone, finally convincing her to take on the role.
• Vincent Vega's 1964 Chevelle Malibu convertible belongs to Quentin Tarantino and was stolen during the production of the film.
• Kill Bill
• Uma Thurman was offered the script to Kill Bill, and her role as "The Bride", as a Birthday present from Tarantino.
• Uma Thurman's yellow track-suit is a direct homage to the one worn by Bruce Lee in Game of Death.
• The production spent $65,000 on swords.
• It took six years to write the entire script before being split into two parts.
• Harry Potter
• - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
• The tabby cat ran away during filming and came back two days later.
• When Harry can be seen playing a wind instrument he is playing the Hedwig's Theme.
• The Hogwarts motto, "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus" means "never tickle a sleeping dragon".
• - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Hugh Grant was originally cast as Gilderoy Lockhart.
• The train station interior used in the film is Kings Cross in North London, whereas the exterior shot is St Pancras. The two stations are adjacent to one another, but not the same building. This was done because the architecture of St Pancras is more visually appealing.
• The salute Harry and Draco make during their duel in the Dueling Club scene is a modified version of the salute made in fencing.
• Full-size models replaced the actors in scenes where their characters have been petrified.
• - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Full-size models were used in scenes which required teen actors to keep completely still for long periods.
• At least one full-scale dragon was constructed on set.
• Features the largest underwater set ever constructed. It has the capacity of up to 500,000 liters of water.
• - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Emma Thompson accepted the role of Professor Trelawney to impress her four-year-old daughter, Gaia.
• The effects team spent six months creating the dementors.
• The tattoos on Sirius Black's body and hands are borrowed from Russian prison gangs.
• A fire near the Glenfinnan viaduct in Scotland delayed filming of the Hogwarts Express scenes for a day.

Music Trivia

• A rat's performance in a maze can be improved by playing music written by Mozart.
• The real Maria von Trapp makes a brief cameo appearance in the film The Sound of Music during the musical number "I Have Confidence,".
• The song "Happy Birthday" brings in about $2 million in revenue to Warner Communications who hold the copyright.
• A glockenspiel is a musical instrument that is like a xylophone.
• Rapper LL Cool J's name is short for "Ladies Love Cool James."
• Yul Brynner was considered for the role of Captain Von Trapp in the film The Sound of Music (1965).
• Billie Jean by Michael Jackson was the first video to air on MTV by a black artist.
• Studies indicate that listening to music is good for digestion.
• Before he pursued a career in the music industry, Elvis Costello worked as a computer operator at a cosmetics factory.
• The biggest disco ball in the world has a diameter of 2.41 meters and 137.89 kilograms.
• The Wizard of Oz was a Broadway musical 37 years before the MGM movie version was made.
• Gordon Sumner, the rock star and actor known as Sting, got his nickname from the yellow-and-black jerseys he used to wear.
• The music band UB40 got its name from an unemployment form in England.
• Most cows give more milk when they listen to music.
• Natalie Cole, daughter of music legend Nat "King" Cole, became the first black to win the Best New Artist Grammy Award.
• Aretha Franklin was sued for breach of contract in 1984 when she was unable to open in the Broadway musical "Sing, Mahalia, Sing," mainly because of her phobia of flying.
• At just four years old Mozart was able to learn a piece of music in half an hour.