ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE DECEMBER 4, 1972
CHRISTMAS viewers to BBC1 will be treated to a Morecambe And Wise special, guest starring Glenda Jackson. There will also be a circus show, seasonal editions of The Generation Game and The Good Old Days, with Ken Dodd topping the bill.
DECEMBER 4, 1992
THE computer game Sonic the Hedgehog has already sold 750,000 copies since its launch on November 24. His Japanese creators claim to have beaten their rival, Nintendo’s Mario, into second place.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
TYRA BANKS, 50. She was the first AfricanAmerican model on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue in 1996 and became its oldest aged 45. After a tabloid newspaper published unflattering pictures of her in a swimsuit in 2007, she appeared on her own chatshow wearing one and told her detractors: ‘I have one thing to say to you: kiss my fat a**’. PAMELA STEPHENSON, 74. The former actress and comedian from New Zealand now works as a clinical psychologist and sexologist. In 1986, three years before marrying Billy Connolly, she hired policewomen’s costumes for herself, Princess Diana and the Duchess of York for Prince Andrew’s stag night. The manager of Mayfair nightclub Annabel’s said they were mistaken for ‘kiss-o-gram girls’.
BORN ON THIS DAY
RONNIE CORBETT (1930-2016). The comedian and one half of The Two Ronnies had reportedly been approved for a knighthood shortly before his death. The Edinburghborn star once quipped: ‘This week I was asked to do a very important after-dinner speech. I said: “Do you want me to be funny?” They said: “No, just be yourself.”’ His wife of 50 years, the former West End star Anne Hart, died last month at the age of 90. GARY ROSSINGTON (1951-2023). The U.S. guitarist was the last surviving founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd and co-wrote their biggest hit, Sweet Home Alabama. The rock band was inspired by English music. He once said: ‘We’d listen to the Yardbirds and Clapton, Jeff Beck, The Beatles and the Stones . . . They were our idols and gods.’
ON DECEMBER 4 . . .
IN 1937, The Dandy, the comic that brought us Desperate Dan, was first published by D.C. Thomson.
IN 2011, giant pandas Tian Tian and Yang Guang — on loan from China — arrived at Edinburgh Zoo. They are due to return home this month.
WORD WIZARDRY GUESS THE DEFINITION: Beeswing (coined 1860)
A) Stand at a shop-door and invite customers in. B) Scum found at the surface of aged wine. C) To speak in a prissy manner.
Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
To bury one’s head in the sand: Wrongly ascribed to the ostrich’s real habit of bending their necks parallel to the ground to listen when a threat approaches.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
When in doubt, do right.
Claude A. Swanson, U.S. politician (1862-1939)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHICH dog loves to take bubble baths?
A shampoodle.
Guess The Definition answer: B.