ON THIS DAY
April 17, 2018
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
APRIL 17, 1953 THE Prime Minister will introduce the Queen in her worldwide broadcast on the night of Coronation Day [June 2], the BBC announced last night. He will go on air at 8.55pm as the prelude to the climax of the first of two major programmes of homage to the newly-crowned Queen. All of Britain, and millions abroad, will be tuned in when Mr Churchill sets the seal on a broadcast day of pageantry. APRIL 17, 1969 TINA, the famed Brooke Bond Tea TV chimp, is taking part in the great Daily Mail Transatlantic Air Race. Tina, who has appeared as a tea hostess, golfer and policewoman, put her thumbprint on an official form yesterday to enter the £61,000 race. She will cross the Atlantic in a travelling case in the hold of a Vickers VC10 jet.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
OLIVIA HUSSEY, 67. The English-Argentine actress was 15 when she was chosen to star in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film Romeo And Juliet ( pictured). Overwhelmed by her sudden fame, she became a recluse — until swept off her feet by Dean Martin’s son Dino, who tracked her down at her mother’s home in Wimbledon. She now lives on a ranch near LA with her third husband (Dino was her first), rock singer David Eisley. NICK HORNBY, 61. The author from Surrey, a former English teacher, has written several bestselling novels, including About A Boy and Fever Pitch. He says his working day involves smoking a lot and writing ‘in horrible little two-and-three sentence bursts’, before going home for lunch. ‘It’s all pretty grim! And so dull!’
BORN ON THIS DAY
WILLIAM HOLDEN (19181981). The American actor starred in Sunset Boulevard ( pictured, with co- star Gloria Swanson) and won an Oscar for his role in Stalag 17. He was Ronald Reagan’s best man when he wed nancy Davis in 1952. The U.S. President said on Holden’s death: ‘I have a great feeling of grief. Our friendship never waned.’ BILLY FURY (1940-1983). The singer from Liverpool, born Ronald Wycherley, had 24 hits in the Sixties — the same number as The Beatles — including Jealous and Halfway To Paradise. Having suffered rheumatic fever as a child, Fury was told he would not live past 30. He died of a heart attack at 42.
ON APRIL 17…
IN 1951, the Peak District was designated as the UK’s first national Park.
IN 1986, British journalist John McCarthy was abducted in Lebanon, where he would be held captive by militant group Islamic Jihad for more than five years.
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Shillibeer (coined eponymous 1835)
A) A street brawl. B) Someone posing as a happy customer to encourage other buyers. C) A horse- drawn hearse with seats for mourners. Answer below PHRASE EXPLAINED
High seas: Refers to all the sea which is not the property of any particular country. The sea, until three miles out, belongs to the adjacent coast.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
I Intend to live for ever. So far, so good. Steven Wright, U.S. comedian
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHY don’t I like idioms? they’re not my cup of coffee. Guess the definition answer: C.