Animation Fun Facts for July 7, 2013

Birthdays: Joseph Jacquard- of the Jacquard Loom 1752, Gustav Mahler, Satchel Page, Ringo Starr is 73, Doc Severinsen, Robert Heinlein, William Kuntsler, Gian Carlo Menotti, Warner Bros animator Ken Harris, Shelley Duval is 64, Ted Cassidy-Lurch in the Adams Family, Michelle Kwan, David McCullough, Pierre Cardin, and according to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle this is the birthday of Sherlock Holmes’ sidekick Dr. John Watson 1949-"I’m Friday"- The program Dragnet first debuted on radio. Jack Webb conceived, wrote, directed and starred in the show. His hardest job was urging actors "not to act" but to speak the lines normally like the average person does. 1960- First demonstration of a practical laser beam. In Russia it had been theorized since 1951. Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation or LASER. 1967- Vivien Leigh, the actress who played Scarlet O’Hara in Gone with the Wind and Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, died in a mental institution at age 53. 1967 - Beatles' "All You Need is Love" is released. Queen Elizabeth II said it was one of her favorite songs. 1967 – The Doors' "Light My Fire" hits #1.