Birthdays: Solomon 970 BC, Noah Webster, Dr. Joseph Guillotine, William Pitt the Younger, General Pierre Beauregard, Ian Fleming, Jim Thorpe, The Dion Identical Quintuplets 1930, Gladys Knight, Jerry West, Dietrich Fisher-Deiskau, Sandra Locke, T-Bone Walker, Taffy Abel (one of the first professional hockey stars), John Fogarty is 79, Carey Mulligan is 39, Carol Baker.
1494- The official "birth" of Scotch - though it probably had been around much earlier, on this date, the Scottish Exchequer recorded a purchase of malt by a friar to make "aqua vitae", the first written reference to spirits in Scotland. Scottish King James IV particularly liked the stuff. Called in Gaelic “Uisge beatha”, this got corrupted by English speakers into “Whisky”
1892- The Sierra Club formed.
1928 - Dodge Brothers Automobile Inc & Chrysler Corp merged.
1929 - 1st all color talking picture, "On With the Show" exhibited (NYC).
1935- Tortilla Flat published. The first novel by John Steinbeck.
1941- THE WALT DISNEY STRIKE- Labor pressures had been building in the Magic Kingdom since promises made to artists over the success of Snow White were reneged on, and Walt Disney’s lawyer Gunther Lessing encouraged a hard line with his employees. The union claimed they had a majority of employee rep-cards signed, which Walt Refused to acknowledge. On this day, in defiance of the federal Wagner Act, Walt Disney fired animator Art Babbitt, the creator of Goofy, and thirteen other cartoonists for demanding a union. Babbitt had emerged as the union movements’ leader. Studio security officers escorted him off the lot. “Would you mind if I collect my pencils?”
That night in an emergency meeting of the Cartoonists Guild at Hollywood Legion Hall, Art’s assistant Bill Hurtz, made a motion to strike, and it was unanimously accepted. Bill Hurtz will later go on to direct award-winning cartoons like UPA’s "Unicorn in the Garden". Picket lines go up next day in Hollywood animation’s own version of the Civil War.
Walt Disney nearly had a nervous breakdown over the strike, and a federal mediator was sent by Washington to arbitrate. In later years, Uncle Walt blamed the studio’s labor ills on Communists. The studio unionized completely, but the hard feelings remained for their rest of their lives.
1951- The Goon Show premiered on BBC Radio. It made stars out of comedians like Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan and pioneered the type of irreverent anarchist sketch comedy later done by Monty Python’s Flying Circus and The Royal Canadian Air Farce.
1953-Disney released its first 3D film a short, titled Melody (Adventure in Music). Written by Dick Heumer and co-directed by Ward Kimball.
1954- Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder in 3D premiered.
1957- The National League Baseball owners voted to allow the Brooklyn Dodgers and NY Giants to move west to California.
1960- George Zucco 74, a character actor who specialized in horror movies like Blood from the Mummies Hand, died. One version says he died of fright in a mental hospital in San Gabriel California. He was convinced that H.P. Lovecraft's Great God Cthulu was after him. He actually died of natural causes in a nursing home.
1966- the It’s a Small World exhibit, which had been created for the 1964 NY Worlds Fair, reopened at Disneyland, California. Designed by Mary Blair and Alice Davis. Song by the Sherman Brothers.
1977- George Lucas film Star Wars opened in wide release across the country.
1983- “What a Feeling” the theme from the film Flashdance by Irene Cara and Giorgio Moroder reached the top of the pop charts. Everyone began dancing with leg warmers and baggy sweaters torn at the neck. Interesting that all the stylish dancing in the film was really done by Jennifer Beals stand in, Marine Jahan, but she got no credit on the film.
1998- After a dinner at Buca di Beppo in Encino, Saturday Night Live comedian Phil Hartman was shot to death by his wife Brynne as he slept. She was a heavy drinker and pill user. At 6:00am as the LAPD were knocking Brynne turned the gun on herself. Hartman’s last role was doing the English dub of Jiji the cat in Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service.
2004- Lorenzo, animated short came out with the Disney film Raising Helen. Directed by Mike Gabriel, from an idea created decades ago by 95 year old storyman Joe Grant.
2005- The great London clock Big Ben mysteriously stopped for 45 minutes.
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