Animation Fun Facts for Jan 17, 2015

Birthdays: Benjamin Franklin, Max Sennett-1880, Al Capone,  Ethan G. Hodell 1883- the inventor of the Tow-Truck, Constantin Stanislavsky, Moira Shearer, Shari Lewis, James Earl Jones is 85, Vidal Sassoon, Claude Coats, Denny Doyle, Kevin Reynolds, Muhammad Ali is 73, Jim Carrey is 53, Michelle Obama is 51, Zooey Deschanel is 35, Betty White is 93

1904- Chekov's The Cherry Orchard opened in St. Petersburg.

1926- George Burns married Gracie Allen.

1929- First appearance of Popeye the Sailor in E.C. Seegar's comic strip the Thimble Theatre.

1949- The first Volkswagen beetles arrive in North America.

1949- The Goldbergs, a radio comedy show about a Jewish family in the Bronx, moved to television and became the first true sitcom. The show ended when Mrs. Goldberg was accused by the House UnAmerican Activities Committee of being a Communist.

1994-The Great Northridge Earthquake rocked Los Angeles. 72 deaths and 20 billion dollars in damage.  It was officially listed as 6.8 on the Richter Scale, although many persist that in some areas it was as high as 7.2. The epicenter was in the San Fernando Valley, so the valleys two major industries, animated cartoons and pornography, were temporarily disrupted.