ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
MAY 30, 1960 ACTRESS Sophia Loren (right), robbed of jewellery said to be worth £185,000 in Britain’s biggest-ever gem theft, lay drugged under a doctor’s care last night at her home near elstree, where she is filming The Millionairess. To the 24-year-old girl who rose from a Naples slum to be a sultry idol of the screen, the stolen gems were milestones along her path to success. Most of them were not insured. MAY 30, 1967 JUST two of the 500 delegates at the conference of the National Association of Head Teachers voted against keeping the cane in schools, so rejecting a key recommendation of the Plowden Report, which aims for a ban on corporal punishment.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
KEIR DULLEA, 82. The Golden Globewinning American actor was dismissed by Noel Coward, on the only occasion they met, with the phrase: ‘Keir Dullea, gone tomorrow’. Three years later, in 1968, Dullea appeared in his biggest film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. His line: ‘Open the pod bay doors, please, HAL,’ was listed by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 greatest movie quotes of all time. HELEN SHARMAN, 55. The astronaut (right), from Sheffield, became the first Briton in space, aged 27 in 1991, inside the Soviet Soyuz TM-12 space capsule — after answering an advert on the radio which declared: ‘Astronaut wanted. No experience necessary’. She is one of only 59 women ever to have gone into space.
BORN ON THIS DAY
GLADYS HORTON (1945-2011). The American was the lead singer of girl group The Marvelettes, whose 1961 hit Please Mr Postman was the Motown record label’s first No1. Released when Horton was just 15, and featuring a young Marvin Gaye on drums, the song was covered by The Beatles and topped the U.S. charts again when released by The Carpenters. MEL BLANC (1908-1989). The ‘man of 1,000 voices’ was the American actor behind cartoon characters including Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Barney Rubble, Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird. He also sang the 1950 novelty song I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat. He won his job at the company that produced Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies for Warner Bros. after being asked to do an impression of a drunken bull.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Crizzles (1876) A) White specks under the finger nails. B) Sunburnt places on face and hands. C) Wax drips from a candle. Answer below PHRASE EXPLAINED Alma mater: Refers to the university or college at which you formerly studied. From the Latin for ‘fostering mother’.
ON MAY 30...
IN 1842, John Francis tried to assassinate Queen Victoria as she sat in her carriage going along London’s Constitution Hill.
IN 1966, U.S. country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton married Carl Dean, having met outside a laundrette. Today is their 52nd wedding anniversary. Dean is thought to have only seen his wife perform once.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
IMPARTIALITY is a pompous name for indifference, which is an elegant name for ignorance G.K. Chesterton, writer (1874-1936)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHY was the jazz movie X-rated? It had too much sax and violins. Guess the Definition answer: B.