ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
MAY 28, 1964 THE BEATLES, as they grow older, will lose their strong appeal to young girls, says a London psychiatrist. These girls, he says, see them as cuddlesome pets, objects of motherly rather than sexual feelings. Dr Frederick Casson, writing in Family Doctor, said of the Fab Four: ‘They look young and unspoilt . . . there is nothing aggressively masculine about them to suggest sex.’
MAY 28, 1975 STUNTMAN Evel Knievel, who announced his retirement after a 100mph motorbike crash at Wembley, said last night that his two-month tour of Britain will continue. In bed in a private ward in hospital, he said: ‘I am shaken up, but the show will go on.’ He has a fractured pelvis, crushed vertebrae, and hand injuries, but expects to be walking again in five days. The 35-year-old American landed badly on a ramp after leaping over 13 London buses on his motorbike.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
KYLIE MINOGUE, 52. The Australian singer-songwriter shot to fame in Neighbours. Her character Charlene’s wedding to Jason Donovan’s Scott in 1987 was watched by 20million Brits. Over three decades later, her Glastonbury set last year (right) became the festival’s most watched performance — with four million viewers. At just 5ft tall, Kylie struggles to find shoes to fit her size-three feet. MARY PORTAS, 60. The Watfordborn retail expert and star of TV show Mary Queen Of Shops joined the board of Harvey Nichols before she was 30. Portas had dreamed of being an actress, but gave up a place at Rada after her father died when she was 18, two years after her mother passed away.
BORN ON THIS DAY
ZELDA RUBINSTEIN (1933-2010). The 4ft 3in U.S. actress played psychic Tangina in Steven Spielberg’s 1982 horror film Poltergeist and two sequels. Spielberg said: ‘I thought it would be neat to show that someone’s size had nothing to do with her psychic powers.’ She later campaigned for other small stars in Hollywood, saying: ‘You’re not an actor if you’re just a person that fits into a cute costume. You’re a prop.’ DAME THORA HIRD (19112003). The actress (right) made her stage debut at just eight weeks old, appearing as the baby of a village maiden at Morecambe’s Royalty Theatre. She played nurses and cleaners so often that the costume department would phone her and ask: ‘Same sort of thing as usual, Thora — wrapover apron, head scarf and curl pins?’
ON MAY 28…
IN 1969, Mick Jagger and his girlfriend Marianne Faithfull were arrested and charged with possession of cannabis.
IN 2011, Malta voted ‘Yes’ in a referendum on whether to legalise divorce.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: lascar (c 1615)
A) An East Indian sailor. B) A conceited young man. C) A servant. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED Over a barrel: To be stuck in a helpless situation and be powerless to get oneself out of it or to be at someone’s mercy.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Here’s a rule I recommend: never practise two vices at once.
Tallulah Bankhead, U.S. actress (1902-1968)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT’S wrong with a man with jelly in one ear — and sponge cake and custard in the other? He’s a trifle deaf. Guess The Definition answer: A.