Pointless Facts Thread

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the first musical for which an original cast album was recorded: Oklahoma! (1943). They also wrote the first musical about Chinese-Americans: Flower Drum Song (1958).

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

Loretta Lynn was country music's first female millionaire, at age 30 in 1965.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

Beatle John Lennon appeared on the first cover of "Rolling Stone" magazine, which debuted on November 9, 1967.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

As a result of Russian copyright law changes in 1975, the Rolling Stones were the first rock group to receive Russian royalties.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

During their 1976 tour, The Who was the first rock group to use lasers in a live performance.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

The first American pop group to tour the U.S.S.R. was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band during their 1977 concert tour.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

In 1990, Irish rock singer Sinéad O'Connor became the first musical recording artist to refuse a Grammy Award, which she won for her recording of, ironically enough, "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got." She claimed that too much emphasis was placed on the pop charts, and not enough on the ills and abuses of the world. O'Connor, already controversial because she shaved her head, was savagely lambasted by the press and the public for her controversial statements.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

In 1992, singer Peabo Bryson became the first artist to have three separate records at the top of four different charts (Hot 100, Hot Adult Contemporary, Classical Crossover, and Contemporary Jazz). The songs were "A Whole New World," "We Kiss in a Shadow," and "By the Time This Night Is Over".

 

[Cyclops]

Somewhat related, Frank Sinatra said he wanted to kick O'Connor's ass for her notorious SNL "Pope" incident.

To.... whenever that Sinead O'Connor stuff was posted.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

At a ceremony in Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria in 1998, Carlos Santana became the first Hispanic to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

Dennis Quaid read with Debra Winger for the title role in "Urban Cowboy" (1980), and was assured that he had the part of Bud. But soon after, director James Bridges had to break the bleak news to him that John Travolta was interested in the role. Travolta's successful track record in films at that time meant $33 million in advance film rentals for "Urban Cowboy." Quaid was out, Travolta was in. Being replaced in the film embittered Quaid for a number of years, as his movie career was going nowhere fast at the time. It didn't improve matters for Quaid when "Urban Cowboy" was a hit at the box office.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

For the role of Jake Brigance, a white lawyer defending a black man in the big-budget film "Time to Kill" (1996), Hollywood newcomer Matthew McConaughey was selected after Kevin Costner, Brad Pitt, Ralph Fiennes, Bill Paxton, Aidan Quinn, Woody Harrelson, and Val Kilmer had been seriously considered. McConaughey convinced Hollywood executives that he was not only talented, but also had an extra dimension of that illusive "star quality."

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

Ali MacGraw was a huge success in the blockbuster tear-jerker, "Love Story" as the tragic, sassy Jenny Cavilleri. As a result, "golden girl" MacGraw was the first choice to play Daisy in Paramount's upcoming "The Great Gatsby" (1974). She turned down the plum role because she was soon to wed Steve McQueen, whom she'd met and fell in love with during filming of "The Getaway" (1972). Macho McQueen made it clear that he expected his young wife-to-be, not yet divorced from Robert Evans, to cut back on her film commitments once they were married. Ultimately, the part went to Mia Farrow. Critics weren't impressed nor kind in their appraisal of Farrow or the film. Time magazine cruelly ripped her performance apart, calling it "...a catastrophe. She works up a mannered creature with bulging eyes and squeaky voice who never suggests Daisy's strength, her greed, or even her gaiety and charm." The film had a mediocre showing at the box office. It's tempting to speculate as to whether MacGraw as Daisy would have saved the film, or if she, too, would have been grilled mercilessly by reviewers because of the bland script.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

Charles Laughton gave a brilliant performance as Captain Bligh in MGM's Academy Award-winning "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935), but he almost didn't get the part. The meaty role was originally slated for character actor Wallace Beery. Laughton was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, but lost to Victor McLaglen in "The Informer." Laughton was, however, honored by receiving a Best Actor New York Film Critics Circle award.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

Tina Turner was the first choice to play the part of the provocative blues singer in Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple" (1985). After she turned it down, the role of Shug went to actress Margaret Avery, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

Meryl Streep won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, Golden Globe, and New York Film Critics award for her poignant portrayal of Joanna Kramer in the film "Kramer vs Kramer" (1979). However, the role of the deserting mother was originally intended for Kate Jackson, a hot property at the time due to the success of TV's The Rookies and Charlie's Angels. Jackson turned down the part. Streep was still not well known in the industry, but had turned in an elegant performance as Inga Helms Weiss the previous year in the acclaimed TV mini-series "Holocaust" For that role, she won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series. Her performance in "Kramer vs Kramer" catapulted her film career into stardom.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

Weight Watchers, step aside! When a film role calls for a plumper look, dedicated actors have accepted the challenge to heap more victuals on their plates. The following cinema stars willingly gained weight for film roles:


Margaret Avery and Oprah Winfrey for The Color Purple (1985).


Lauren Bacall, for How to Marry a Millionaire (1953).


Robert De Niro, for Raging Bull (1980) to look more like former boxing-great Jake La Motto.


Janet Jackson, for her film debut in Poetic Justice (1993) to give her a "homegirl" look.


Christopher Reeve gained 30 pounds, primarily muscle, for the title role in Superman (1978).


Rod Steiger, for In the Heat of the Night (1967).


Elizabeth Taylor, to look older and less glamorous, for her Oscar-winning role in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966).


John Travolta, for Pulp Fiction (1994).


Toni Collette, for Muriel's Wedding (1994).


Sylvester Stallone, for Cop Land (1997).

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

NBC affiliates in Port Arthur, Texas and Lima, Ohio decided not to broadcast a January 1996 episode of NBC's hit sitcom Friends, which showcased a lesbian wedding. The episode, which contained a highly-publicized cameo of Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich's gay sister, Candace, in the role of a minister, was determined to be "not in good taste" by the two stations.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

The Emmy-winning The Rockford Files, which ran from 1974 to 1980 on NBC-TV and starred James Garner, was condemned by the National P.T.A. as one of TV's ten worst shows, due to its "excessive violence."

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

In October 1994, the children's action TV show Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was banned by a horrified Scandinavian network after a 5-year-old Norwegian girl was brutally kicked and stoned by playmates and left to freeze to death. While Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland and other national officials did not directly attribute the youngster's death to the action program, growing concern over TV violence led to the decision to ban the show in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. The show was later reinstated once no link was found between the crime and the show. However, the Prime Minister cautioned that Norwegians should think twice before allowing free-market violence to be broadcast.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

CBS, despite high viewership ratings, abruptly cancelled the weekly TV comedy show The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1969. It was believed that the talented, irreverent team of Tom and Dick Smothers had challenged and satirized the network's censors one time too often. The decisive skit which prompted the cancellation was - ironically -- a televised spoof on censorship that the insubordinate twosome had deliberately concocted to irritate CBS management. It worked too well. Later, in 1973, a Los Angeles jury awarded the Smothers brothers $776,300 in damages from the network.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

The Mississippi State Commission for Educational TV banned the showing of the children's educational television program, Sesame Street. With a harmonious, multi-racial neighborhood as its hub, the award-winning show was shocking and deplorable to many bigoted conservatives in the U.S. when it first aired. The state's decision to ban was reversed in 1970.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

In June 1994, the sitcom Roseanne was condemned by the Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog, as the most biased and liberal show on U.S. television. Its chairman stated that the show had "a lack of positive role models, the frequent promotion of homosexuality, and the condoning of drug use." Roseanne was one of ABC's top-ranking shows in the 1990's.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

Michael Jackson's worldwide television premiere of his Black or White music video outraged thousands of home viewers with its violence and sexual innuendo. Millions of viewers watched the highly-publicized video debut when it aired in November 1991. During a 4-minute dance segment at the video's end, Jackson simulated *********ion, smashed a car with a crowbar, and grabbed his crotch repeatedly. Following the weighty criticism from parents and religious organizations, Jackson released a formal apology through his press agent, and announced that he would delete the offensive footage. The music video, which was directed by John Landis and used an extensive amount of computer graphics, cost $4 million to produce, an industry record.

 

[Erik Magnus Lehnsherr]

In 1994, the popular pre-schooler show Barney and Friends went under attack and was boycotted by members of the Ku Klux Klan. It was revealed in the spring that Bob Joyner, the actor who donned the massive purple-and-green costume to portray beloved Barney the Dinosaur, was black. Upon learning this, KKK parents were enraged, publicly denouncing the show because they'd never been told that their small children were enamored with and being influenced by a black man.