trifletruffles

trifletruffles OP t1_j0uqgty wrote on December 19, 2022 at 3:55 PM

Reply to TIL Frank Sinatra was convinced that Johnny Fontane, a singer with mob associations, in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather was based on his life leading Sinatra to shout abuse and threaten physical violence when he met Puzo at a restaurant. by trifletruffles

"Sinatra was convinced that Johnny Fontane, a mob-associated singer in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather (1969), was based on his life. Puzo wrote in 1972 that when the author and singer met in Chasen's, Sinatra "started to shout abuse", calling Puzo a "pimp" and threatening physical violence. This was recreated in the miniseries The Offer with Sinatra portrayed by Frank John Hughes. Francis Ford Coppola, director of the film adaptation, said in the audio commentary that "Obviously Johnny Fontane was inspired by a kind of Frank Sinatra character".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Sinatra

trifletruffles OP t1_j0byef0 wrote on December 15, 2022 at 3:21 PM

Reply to TIL Vincent Price published various cookbooks including a five volume series titled Mary and Vincent Price present a National Treasury of Cookery. Price promoted the cookbooks on TV shows including on the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson where he demonstrated how to poach a fish in a dishwasher. by trifletruffles

"Price also spent time working as an art consultant for Sears-Roebuck: From 1962 to 1971, Sears offered the "Vincent Price Collection of Fine Art", selling about 50,000 fine-art prints to the general public. Works which Price selected or commissioned for the collection included some by Rembrandt, Pablo Picasso, and Salvador Dalí. Public access to fine art was important to Price, who according to his daughter Victoria, saw the Sears deal as an "opportunity to put his populist beliefs into practice, to bring art to the American public." In the 1960s, portraits painted by Charles Bird King, of Native Americans were secured for Jacqueline Kennedy's White House restoration. Through the efforts of Vincent Price these five paintings were paid for and donated to the White House Collection by Sears-Roebuck."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Price

trifletruffles OP t1_iy49z85 wrote on November 28, 2022 at 5:19 PM

Reply to TIL Mickey Mantle insisted that promoters of his baseball card show appearances include lesser-known Yankees of his era such as Moose Skowron or Hank Bauer with him so they could also earn money for their autographs. by trifletruffles

"In the mid-1980s Mantle became the prime beneficiary of the exploding market for baseball memorabilia, as baseball fans and collectors began shelling out huge sums for game balls, bats, uniforms, and other artifacts. Players’ signatures became a very hot commodity, and none were more sought-after than Mantle’s. He attended card shows and was paid better than any of his contemporaries. He didn’t forget his old teammates either, bringing them along with him to signing shows, where the likes of Moose Skowron and Phil Linz would sign more autographs and make a lot more money simply by sitting next to Mickey."

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/mickey-mantle/

trifletruffles OP t1_iu8p9m0 wrote on October 29, 2022 at 12:50 PM

Reply to TIL Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone is widely credited with introducing percussive playing on the electric bass in the 1969 song Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again). He stated that he developed bass slapping in an earlier band in order to compensate for that band's lack of a drummer. by trifletruffles

"Later, when I was fourteen, I was in a group called Al Lewis and the Modernistics. I was playing lead guitar and this guy used to make me stand back behind the amplifier, and he would act like he was doing the playing -- he'd be out in front with the guitar behind his head, scootin' on the floor, putting on a show and going crazy, but it was me playing. (Laughs). Then my mother and I started working together as a duo, and because we didn't have any drums I developed my thumb-slapping style to compensate. And this lady who used to come in all the time, she was a big fan of ours but she was also a big fan of Sly Stone because he was a DJ, and she found out that he was gonna be starting a band and she just took it upon herself to constantly call him and say, "You gotta come hear this bass player!" And he finally came over to the club, which was right on the corner of Haight and Ashbury, heard me playing my stuff and asked me to join his band."

https://web.archive.org/web/20061205210528/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/larrygraham/articles/story/5920205/bass_legend_graham_lays_down_the_millennial_funk

trifletruffles

trifletruffles OP t1_j0uqgty wrote on December 19, 2022 at 3:55 PM

TIL Frank Sinatra was convinced that Johnny Fontane, a singer with mob associations, in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather was based on his life leading Sinatra to shout abuse and threaten physical violence when he met Puzo at a restaurant.

TIL Richard M. Daley authorized the midnight bulldozing of Meigs Field, a small, downtown, lakefront airport in Chicago. This stranded 16 planes on the ground including several Fire Department helicopters. The FAA fined the city $33,000 for not giving 30 days notice ahead of an airport closure.

trifletruffles OP t1_j0byef0 wrote on December 15, 2022 at 3:21 PM

TIL Vincent Price published various cookbooks including a five volume series titled Mary and Vincent Price present a National Treasury of Cookery. Price promoted the cookbooks on TV shows including on the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson where he demonstrated how to poach a fish in a dishwasher.

TIL in a 2009 episode, Michael Schumacher appeared on BBC's Top Gear as the Stig. Jeremy Clarkson hinted that Schumacher was not the regular Stig which was later confirmed by BBC. Schumacher was there because Ferrari would not allow anyone else to drive the Ferrari FXX featured in the show.

TIL boxer Jack Johnson was once pulled over for a $50 speeding ticket and gave the officer a $100 bill. When the officer said he couldn't provide change, Johnson told him to keep it as he was going to make his return trip at the same speed.

TIL Tom Seaver was named on 425 out of 430 ballots for the Baseball Hall of Fame. 3 were blank as a protest against Pete Rose being ineligible. One was sent by a writer recovering from surgery who did not notice Seaver's name and one never voted for any player in their first year of eligibility.

trifletruffles OP t1_iy49z85 wrote on November 28, 2022 at 5:19 PM

TIL Mickey Mantle insisted that promoters of his baseball card show appearances include lesser-known Yankees of his era such as Moose Skowron or Hank Bauer with him so they could also earn money for their autographs.

TIL Willie Mays wore his cap one size larger so it would fly off while running and would also deliberately slip to the ground to make catches look tougher. He stated his flashy style of play began early in his career where he felt his job was to give fans something to talk about each game.

TIL Blondie's music video for the 1981 song Rapture featured Jean-Michel Basquiat as Grandmaster Flash did not show up for the video shoot and Basquiat was hired instead.

TIL Billy Joel's 1993 album River of Dreams' cover is a painting by his then-wife Christie Brinkley. Rolling Stone later gave Brinkley the Top Picks award for "The Best Album Cover of the Year."

trifletruffles OP t1_iu8p9m0 wrote on October 29, 2022 at 12:50 PM

TIL Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone is widely credited with introducing percussive playing on the electric bass in the 1969 song Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again). He stated that he developed bass slapping in an earlier band in order to compensate for that band's lack of a drummer.