ANIMATION FUN FACTS FOR AUG 11, 2016

Birthdays: Antonio Salieri, Frederick Ludwig Jahn 1778- founder of the Gymnastics Movement, Alex Haley, Jack Haley, Rev Jerry Falwell, Hulk Hogan- real name Terry Bollier-is 67, Dick Browne the creator of Hagar the Horrible, Steve Wozniak the co-founder of Apple Computers, Raymond Leppard, Lloyd Nolan, Mike Douglas, Patti Duke Astin, Chris Hemsworth is 32

1932- Rin Tin Tin died. The German shepherd dog was the first animal movie star. Before sound he was the mainstay of struggling little Warner Bros studio.  Jack Warner called him “our little rent check.”

1934- Mickey Mouse cartoon The Orphan’s Benefit. The first cartoon where Donald Duck lost his temper and did his fighting stance, and they started calling Dippy Dog by his new name- The Goof, or Goofy.

1946- Playwright Moss Hart married Miss America Kittie Carlisle.

1949- Margaret Mitchell, author of "Gone With the Wind" was hit by a taxicab and died 5 days later.

1956- Abstract Artist Jackson Pollack died when he drunkenly crashed his car into a tree near East Hampton Long Island. He was 44.

1962- Actor Sir Lawrence Olivier founded the National Theatre in London.

1965- BURN, BABY, BURN- THE WATTS RIOTS- 6 days of urban warfare began when an angry crowd attacked some LAPD apprehending a black motorist named Marquette Frye. 34 deaths, 1000 injured. Similar riots erupted in a number of U.S. cities that year including Detroit, Newark and Washington D.C.

1972- San Antonio Texas holds it’s first annual Cheech & Chong Day.

1973-With the tag line “Where were you in ’62?” the film American Graffiti opened in theaters. The hit made skinny young director George Lucas a player in Hollywood, and made stars of kids like Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfus, Susanne Somers and former child star Ron Howard.

1991- John Kricfalusi's Ren & Stimpy premiered.

1995- The Walt Disney short Runaway Brain, featuring Mickey Mouse, premiered.

1997- LA police wrestle down and arrest actor Christian Slater. They encountered him in a drug-induced delirium, shouting “The Germans are coming to kill us all!”

2001-First day shooting on the film Hero, directed by Zhang Yimou.

2014- Comedian Robin Williams committed suicide in his San Francisco home.  He had been battling depression over a diagnosis of early onset Parkinson’s disease. He was 63.