April 19, 2019 ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
APRIL 19, 1930 VISITORS to seaside resorts this Easter are shocked at the suggestiveness of a certain type of picture postcard for sale. Angered by the purveyors of this filth, many readers have written to the Daily Mail to condemn the outrage on public morals. There is not the slightest pretension of humour in these postcards, apart from their double meanings, the second of which is bald indecency.
APRIL 19, 1956 THIRTY million televiewers in nine countries watched the 40-minute civil ceremony that transformed actress Grace Kelly into her Serene Highness, wife of Prince Rainier of Monaco. After yesterday’s ceremony, the question every Monegasque was asking was: why did the Prince look so glum? They called it ‘the marriage without a smile or a kiss’.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
SUE BARKER, 63. The British tennis star-turned-BBC presenter won the French Open at just 20 and reached No 3 in the world. Her coach in her teens was so strict that he would give her a one-way ticket for tournaments abroad, ordering her to earn the fare home in prize money. ‘He was always at the end of a phone and would wire the money if absolutely necessary,’ she said. ‘But he wanted me to have to make that grovelling call.’ MICHEL ROUX, 78. The French-born restaurateur (father of Alain and uncle of TV’s Michel Jr) and his brother Albert opened Le Gavroche — the first UK eatery to win three Michelin stars. He said British food was in the dark ages when he arrived in Britain in the Sixties, but says he loves scones, treacle tart and many of our cheeses.
BORN ON THIS DAY
JAYNE MANSFIELD (19331967). The U.S. star was dubbed the ‘working man’s Marilyn Monroe’. Married three times, she dated Anton LaVey, head of the Church of Satan, who gave her the title ‘High Priestess of San Francisco’s Church of Satan’. She died aged 34 in a car crash. Three of her five children were sitting in the back and survived, but two of her four chihuahuas died alongside her. ELIOT NESS (1903-1957). The Prohibitionera crime fighter headed the group of agents called the ‘Untouchables’, who dedicated themselves to catching Al Capone and his Chicago network of criminals. Played by Kevin Costner in the Hollywood story of Capone’s downfall, Ness turned down a bribe from the gangster of $2,000 a week — more than £20,000 in today’s money.
ON APRIL 19…
IN 1997, tennis player Andre Agassi married actress Brooke Shields. Their marriage lasted two years.
IN 2011, Fidel Castro resigned as head of the Communist Party of Cuba after more than 45 years. He died aged 90 in 2016.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: gig (2016) A) A short-term job. B) A laugh. C) special. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Buy the farm: Meaning to die, it seems to be related to sayings such as ‘buy it’, which was fighter pilot slang for being wounded or killed in combat. It comes from when a pilot crash-landed in a farmer’s field, destroyed the crops and reimbursement was paid.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
STORIES of imagination tend to upset those without one. Sir Terry Pratchett, author (1948-2015)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT do you get if you cross a teacher with a vampire? A blood test. Guess the Definition answer: A.