ON THIS DAY

FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE SEPTEMBER 18, 1963

AFTER an accident in a wrestling sketch in last week’s programme, Bruce forsyth has torn two back muscles and may appear in a wheelchair when he comperes ATV’s Sunday Night At The London Palladium.

SEPTEMBER 18, 1964

THE Prince of Wales and Prince Carl-Gustaf of Sweden today gave a ducking to three french photographers attempting to snap the British royal family sunbathing on a private beach near Athens from a pedal boat. The 15-year-old Prince of Wales and the 18-year-old Crown Prince of Sweden swam out to the vessel, capsized it and the three photographers fell into the sea.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TARA FITZGERALD, 50. The Sussex-born actress (right) has starred in Brassed Off, Waking The Dead and Game Of Thrones. She once described herself as ‘posh totty’ and said the part of her body she most dislikes is her bottom: ‘It’s behind you, so you don’t know what’s going on.’

DARREN GOUGH, 47. The former England fast bowler and Yorkshire captain won the third series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2005. In 2011, David Cameron phoned to invite him to stand for Parliament in a byelection in his home town, Barnsley. Gough thought it was a prank and hung up.

BORN ON THIS DAY

ROSSANO BRAZZI (1916-1994). Italian actor who starred in more than 200 films, including South Pacific and The Barefoot Contessa and on TV in Hawaii five-O, Charlie’s Angels and Hart To Hart. Brazzi, who worked with resistance groups in rome during World War II, was such a heartthrob that he once had his clothes ripped off him by 20 fans in an LA hotel.

GRETA GARBO (19051990). The screen idol (right) was born Greta Gustafsson in poverty in Sweden. She made only 27 films across a 19-year career. Described by the BBC’s Alistair Cooke as ‘every man’s fantasy mistress’, Garbo was known as Hollywood’s most enigmatic actress, who refused to sign autographs, grant interviews, attend premieres or respond to her fan mail.

ON SEPTEMBER 18…

IN 1970, rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix died of an overdose at age 27. IN 1981, the french parliament voted to abolish the death penalty — and the guillotine. The last man to die by guillotine was murderer Hamida Djandoubi in 1977. IN 2014, Scotland voted against independence from the UK in a referendum.

WORD WIZARDRY

GUESS THE DEFINITION Petrichor (coined 1964) A) Someone looking for an argument. B) One who remains more or less aloof from party politics, professing superior views. C) Pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell. Answer below PHRASE EXPLAINED Flea in one’s ear: Meaning a stinging rebuke, it refers to a common problem in the Middle Ages of being infested with fleas or other parasites. Getting a flea in the ear was particularly painful.

QUOTE FOR TODAY

LITERATURE is mostly about having sex and not much about having children. Life is the other way round.