That’s Entertainment
Potential first episodes of TV shows are called “pilots.” Sometimes a TV show will try to launch a spinoff via a “backdoor pilot”—a sample of a new series that airs as an episode of the mother show. Successful backdoor pilots: NCIS from JAG, and Private Practice from Grey’s Anatomy. Unsuccessful ones? These. Tales from Springfield […]
Okay, they don’t have “real” names because they’re fictional characters. These are merely the full, given names of fictional individuals you may have known only by their nicknames that you didn’t know were their nicknames. Scoobert Of the Mystery Inc. gang on Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? the two most notable characters were known by nicknames. […]
The ‘50s-set movie musical Grease theaters in 1978, and it became a blockbuster and an instant classic. As Rizzo might say, “there are worse things you can do” than read an interesting fact or two…about Grease. Up for Sandy Up for the role of Sandy: Carrie Fisher from Star Wars, rock star Linda Ronstadt, Susan […]
You’re likely aware that a lot of classic Disney movies are based on old, often dark fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm in Germany a couple of centuries back. How much did Disney change those stories? A lot. Cinderella The title character’s wicked stepsisters are even more unhinged in the Grimm version. To try […]
After 27 years and more than 4,000 episodes, The Jerry Springer Show is coming to a close. While Springer conducted himself with the dignity and poise of a talk show predecessor like Phil Donohue, the show usually involved angry people confronting each other about a personal issue, and then fighting each other. Here’s a look […]
Right now there’s probably a bar or club where a cover band is performing well-known songs originally made famous by other musicians. These stories are not about cover bands—they’re about people who tried to convince the world that they actually were those famous musicians…and they nearly got away with it. Fake Fleetwood Mac Before Fleetwood […]
Sometimes a film director or other entertainment creative is so unhappy with the way a movie turned out that they don’t even want their names publicly associated with it. For decades, the solution was to attribute the movie to a fictional, pseudonymous director named “Alan Smithee.” Here are some entries from “his” filmography. City in […]
There are certain tunes out there you’ve heard a million times but you never know the name of…because they don’t have any lyrics. But they’re just as familiar as “Hey Jude” or “White Christmas.” At long last, here’s what those songs are called. Black tie string quartet When a rough-around-the-edges character in a movie finds […]
The beloved chef, food writer, and TV host who brought the world—and its flavors—into our homes has passed away at the age of 61. Here’s a look back on the life of a man who lived with No Reservations. Don’t Eat Before You Read This After working for years in some of New York’s best […]
Solo, a Star Wars prequel about the early days of Han Solo—played in the original films by Harrison Ford—is currently filling up multiplexes. Here are some things you might not have known about the galaxy’s most charismatic space smuggler. The space pirate ship In early drafts of the movie that became Star Wars: A New […]
It’s the end of an era for Ronco, an era they created. Ron Popeil’s company virtually invented the as-seen-on-TV product, sold via informercials. And in the process, they made millions…but that’s all in the past now. As the company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, here’s a look back on some of the crazy gadgets Popeil […]
Some celebrities are as famous for their shocking deaths as they were for the work they did during their lives. As it turns out, the collective knowledge of their deaths…turned out to not be true. JAMES DEAN Dean was a brooding, charismatic, and magnetic screen presence. His mystique likely grew because he starred in only […]
Avengers: Infinity War is filling up movie theaters around the country, irresistible to audiences for how it assembles literally dozens of well-known superheroes from Marvel’s “Avengers” team, including Captain America, the Incredible Hulk, Dr. Strange…but definitely not these characters from old Avengers comic books. Big Bertha Ashley Crawford is another member of the Great Lakes […]
Here’s are some facts about the one thing keeping your feet from the inside of your shoes—socks. (Today is actually “No Socks Day,” but still.) Old Socks The word sock comes from an Old English word socc, part of the language since about the year 1400. It means “light slipper,” and comes from the Latin […]
Movie stars are movie stars because millions of people want to go see their movies…well, almost all of their movies. Here are some stars and their movie that flopped the hardest. Sandra Bullock In 1994, Sandra Bullock became a star thanks to her role in the action classic Speed. The sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control, […]
This week in 1987, The Simpsons debuted in the form of a series of shorts on the young Fox network’s The Tracey Ullman Show. Following a 1989 Christmas special, The Simpsons is still running. Here are some facts about the series on this, its 31st birthday. Disrespect for authority figures A big part of Bart […]
…the opening act, who had a hard time on stage because the audiences gave them such a hard time. Royal Rejection To promote its album Tattoo You in 1981, the Rolling Stones set out on one of biggest tours in rock history to that point, playing some of the biggest stadiums in the country, including […]
According to superstition and modern folklore, “Friday the 13th” is a day where weird stuff is destined to happen. There’s no truth to that, of course…or is there? Lighting Strikes On Friday, August 13, 2010, a boy was at the Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival in England. That’s when lightning struck him. He was hospitalized with […]
