A Winning Smile On The Cover

A winning smile from Cynthia Kowlessar, a 24-year-old clerk at Ealing Common rail depot, who was selected London Transport Charm Girl of 1964 at the annual sports gala at Osterley.

Image and text found on Leftover London

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The fourth Anglia Model, The 105E

The fourth Anglia model, the 105E, was introduced in 1959. Its American-influenced styling included a sweeping nose line, and on deluxe versions, a full-width slanted chrome grille in between prominent "eye" headlamps. (Basic Anglias featured a narrower, painted grille.) Its smoothly sloped line there looked more like a 1950s Studebaker (or even early Ford Thunderbird) than the more aggressive-looking late-’50s American Fords, possibly because its British designers used wind-tunnel testing and streamlining^. Like late-’50s Lincolns and Mercurys and the Citroën Ami of France, the car sported a backward-slanted rear window (so that it would remain clear in rain, according to contemporary marketing claims).

In fact, this look was imported from the 1958 Lincoln Continental, where it had been the accidental result of a design specification for an electrically opening (breezeway) rear window. As well as being used, by Ford, on the Consul Classic, this look was also copied by Bond, Reliant and Invacar, for their three wheelers. The resulting flat roofline gave it excellent rear headroom. It had muted tailfins, much toned-down from its American counterparts. An estate car joined the saloon in the line-up in September 1961. The instrument panel had a red light for the generator and a green one for the oil pressure.

The new styling was matched by a new engine, something that the smaller Fords had been needing for some time—a 997 cc overhead valve (OHV), straight-4 with an oversquare cylinder bore, that became known by its "Kent" code name. Acceleration from rest was still sluggish (by the standards of today), but it was much improved from earlier cars. Also new for British Fords was a four-speed (manual) gearbox with synchromesh on the top three forward ratios: this was replaced by an all-synchromesh box in September 1962 (on 1198 powered cars). The notoriously feeble vacuum-powered windscreen wiper set-up of earlier Anglias was replaced with (by now) more conventional windscreen wipers powered by their own electric motor. The Macpherson strut independent front suspension used on the 100E was retained.

In October 1962, twenty-four-year-old Tony Brookes (see also Ford Corsair GT) and a group of friends took a private Anglia 105E fitted with the £13 Ford Performance Kit to Montlhèry Autodrome near Paris and captured six International Class G World Records averaging 83.47 mph (134.33 km/h). These were 4,5,6 and 7 days and nights and 15,000, and 20,000 kilometres. The Anglia’s strength and durability meant that no repairs were required whatsoever other than tyre changes.

The car’s commercial success has subsequently been overshadowed by the even greater sales achieved by theCortina: in 1960, when 191,752 Anglias left Ford’s Dagenham plant in the 105E’s first full production year, it set a new production-volume record for the Ford Motor Company. From October 1963, production continued at Ford’s new Halewood plant at Merseyside alongside the newly introduced Corsair models. The Anglia Super introduced in September 1962 for the 1963 model year shared the longer stroke 1198 cc version of the Ford Kent 997 cc engine of the newly introduced Ford Cortina. The Anglia Super was distinguished by its painted contrasting-coloured side stripe.

A new Anglia saloon tested by the British Motor magazine in 1959 had a top speed of 73.8 mph (118.8 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 26.9 seconds. A fuel consumption of 41.2 miles per imperial gallon (6.86 L/100 km; 34.3 mpg_-US) was recorded. The test car cost £610 including taxes of £180.

The old 100E Anglia became the new 100E Popular and the four-door Prefect bodyshell remained available as the new Ford Prefect (107E) which had all 105E running gear, including engine and brakes, while the 100E Escort and Squire remained available, unchanged. In 1961 the Escort and Squire were replaced by the 105E Anglia estate. Both cars are popular with hot rodders to this day, helped by the interchangeability of parts and the car’s tuning potential. The 100E delivery van also gave way to a new vehicle based on the 105E. Identical to the Anglia 105E back to the B post, the rest of the vehicle was entirely new.

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On This Day In 1966: Football’s World Cup Stolen

The football World Cup has been stolen while on exhibition at Central Hall in Westminster, London. The £30,000 solid gold Jules Rimet trophy disappeared while a church service was taking place in another part of the building.

Thieves removed the cup from the "Sport with Stamps" display at the Stampex exhibition, but stamps worth £3m were left behind. At least two guards were in the hall at the time of the theft. Alsa-Guard, the security firm at the exhibition, was not available for comment.

Delegates from current cup-holders Brazil left the cup in custody of the Federation of International Football Association (Fifa) last week. The trophy was to be the centre-piece of the World Cup tournament being hosted by Britain later this year.

Vice-chairman of the Football Association Council, Jack Stewart, was reluctant to accept blame for the trophy’s disappearance.

Jack Stewart "We are responsible for it in the end because we are the organizing association."

Detectives and forensics experts are investigating the break-in and have appealed for anyone who was in Central Hall to contact Scotland Yard. Police say a suspicious-looking man was seen in the building at the time of the theft. He is described as being in his early 30s, of average height with thin lips, greased black hair and a possible scar on his face.

The Jules Rimet trophy is named after a French lawyer who was a president of FIFA and initiated the World Cup competition in 1929. Brazil have been holders of the Cup for the last eight years, after winning both the 1958 and 1962 competitions.

Photographers take photographs of Pickles, the dog who sniffed out
the missing Jules Rimet World Cup Trophy

In Context

Several days of anxiety and frustration followed the Cup’s theft. Brazil said it was a sacrilege that would never have been committed in Brazil where even its thieves loved football too much.

But the trophy was eventually found by Pickles, a mongrel dog, out for a walk with his owner, on 27 March in south London.

Pickles unfortunately passed away a year later in 1967 after choking
on his lead while chasing a cat. He was buried in his owner’s back garden and his collar is now on display in the National Football Museum in Manchester.

Later that year it was England who won the World Cup, but in 1970 Brazil was allowed to keep the trophy for ever, after winning the competition for the third time.The replacement trophy remains the prize for the World Cup to this day.

The Jules Rimet cup was stolen again in 1983 – in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It has never been recovered.

Text from BBC’s OnThisDay

I apologise for seeming to be more interested in Pickles than the stolen trophy, but to be honest, I’m much more fond of dogs than I am of football – Ted 😉

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Wolseley Hornet And Riley Elf (1961–1969)

The popularity of the original Austin and Morris Minis spawned many models that targeted different markets. These are two of them:

Built as more luxurious versions of the Mini, both the Wolseley Hornet and the Riley Elf had longer, slightly finned rear wings and larger boots that gave the cars a more traditional three-box design. Wheelbase of the Elf and Hornet remained at 2.036 m (6.68 ft), whereas the overall length was increased to 3.27 m (10.7 ft). This resulted in a dry weight of 638 kg (1,407 lb)/642.3 kg (1,416 lb) (rubber/hydrolastic suspension) for the Elf and 618 kg (1,362 lb)/636.4 kg (1,403 lb) for the Hornet respectively. Front-end treatment, which incorporated each marque’s traditional upright grille design (the Hornet’s grille with a lit "Wolseley" badge), also contributed to a less utilitarian appearance.

 

The cars had larger-diameter chrome hubcaps than the Austin and Morris Minis, and additional chrome accents, bumper overriders and wood-veneer dashboards. The Riley was the more expensive of the two cars. The name "Wolseley Hornet" was first used on a 1930s sports car, while the name "Elf" recalled the Riley Sprite and Imp sports cars, also of the 1930s. The full-width dashboard was a differentiator between the Elf and Hornet. This dashboard was the idea of Christopher Milner the Sales Manager for Riley. Both the Riley Elf’s and Wolseley Hornet’s bodies were built at Fisher & Ludlow under their "Fisholow" brandname. Plates in the engine compartment on the right side fitch plate bear evidence of this speciality. Very early Mark I versions of both cars (e.g. press photo of 445MWL) had no overriders on the bumpers and a single piece front wing (A-panel and wing in one piece, no outside seam below scuttle panel) that was soon given up again, allegedly due to cost. The Elf’s and Hornet’s special bumper overriders first appeared in 1962. Early production Mark I’s also had a combination of leather and cloth seats (Elf R-A2S1-101 to FR2333, Hornet W-A2S1-101 to FW2105) whereas all later models had full leather seats. Mark I models were equipped with single leading shoe brakes on the front.

Both the Elf and the Hornet went through three engine versions. Initially, they used the 848 cc (51.7 cu in) 34 bhp (25 kW) engine (engine type 8WR) with a single HS2 carburettor, changing to a single HS2 carburettor 38 bhp (28 kW) version of the Cooper’s 998 cc (60.9 cu in) power unit (engine type 9WR) in the Mark II in 1963. This increased the car’s top speed from 71 to 77 mph (114 to 124 km/h) . Therefore, Mark II cars also came with increased braking power in the form of front drum brakes with twin leading shoes to cope with the increased power output. Both Mark I and Mark II featured four-speed, gearboxes (three synchromesh gears) with rod gear change, a.k.a. "magic wand" type. Automatic gearboxes became available on the Mark II in 1965 as an option. The Mark III facelift of 1966 brought not only wind-up windows and fresh-air facia vents, but disc brakes replaced front drum brakes, too. Concealed door hinges were introduced two years before these were seen on the mainstream Mini. The gear selecting mechanism was updated to the rod type, as seen on all later Mini type cars. Automatic gearboxes were available to the Mark III in 1967 again. Full-four synchromesh gearing was eventually introduced during 1968. 30,912 Riley Elfs and 28,455 Wolseley Hornets were built. Production ceased in late 1969 when British Leyland discontinued the Riley and Wolseley brand names.

Text from Wikipedia

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Jeanne Crain–American Actress

Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress whose career spanned from 1943 to 1975. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in the 1949 film Pinky, in which she played the leading role. She was also noted for her ability in ice skating.

Career

In 1944, Crain starred in Home in Indiana and In the Meantime, Darling. Her acting was critically panned, but she gained nationwide attention. It resulted in landing the leading role in The Shocking Miss Pilgrim in October 1944, a musical film which was eventually made with Betty Grable as the star.

Crain first received critical acclaim when she starred in Winged Victory (1944). She co-starred in 1945 with Dana Andrewsin the musical film State Fair, in which Louanne Hogan dubbed Crain’s singing numbers. After that, Crain often had singing parts in films, and they were invariably dubbed, in most cases by Hogan. Also in 1945, Crain starred in Leave Her to Heaven with Gene Tierney. Her ice skating ability was on display in the 1946 film, Margie, in which she and Conrad Janis danced around the ice rink as her boyfriend, Alan Young, slipped and stumbled his way along the ice.

In 1949, Crain appeared in three films — A Letter to Three Wives, The Fan, and Pinky, the latter earning her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Pinky was controversial, since it told the story of a light-skinned African American woman who passes for white in the Northern United States. Although Lena Horne and other black actresses were considered, producer Darryl F. Zanuckchose to cast a white actress for fear of racial backlash.

Crain starred opposite Myrna Loy and Clifton Webb in the 1950 biographical film Cheaper by the Dozen. Next, Crain paired with Cary Grant in the Joseph L. Mankiewicz film of the offbeat drama People Will Talk (1951). Despite Jeanne heavily campaigning for the female lead, Anne Baxter was initially cast in the part, but when she had to forfeit due to pregnancy, Crain was given the role after all. Shortly after, she starred in Charles Brackett‘s production The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951). Cast in May 1951, Crain was Brackett’s first choice for the role. Crain was reunited with Loy for Belles on Their Toes (1952), the sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen.

While still at 20th Century Fox, Crain played a young wife quickly losing her mind amidst high-seas intrigue in Dangerous Crossing(1953), co-starring Michael Rennie. Crain then starred in a string of films for Universal Pictures, including a notable pairing with Kirk Douglas in Man Without a Star(1955).

Crain showed her dancing skills in 1955’s Gentlemen Marry Brunettes co-starring Jane Russell, Alan Young, and Rudy Vallee. The production was filmed on location inParis. The film was based on the Anita Loos sequel to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Gentlemen Marry Brunettes was popular throughout Europe at the time and was released in France as A Paris Pour les Quatre (To Paris for the Four), and in Belgium as Cevieren Te Parijs. Later in the 1950s, Crain, Russell, and another actress formed a short-lived singing and dancing lounge act on the Strip in Las Vegas.

In 1956, Crain starred opposite Glenn Ford, Russ Tamblyn, and Broderick Crawford in the Western film The Fastest Gun Alive directed by Russell Rouse. In 1957, she played a socialite who helps a floundering singer and comedian (Frank Sinatra) redeem himself in The Joker Is Wild.

In 1959, Crain appeared in a CBS special television production of Meet Me in St. Louis. Also starring in the broadcast were Loy, Walter Pidgeon, Jane Powell, and Ed Wynn, with top billing going to Tab Hunter. Film roles became fewer in the 1960s as Crain went into semiretirement. She appeared as Nefertiti in the Italian production of Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile (1961) with Edmund Purdom and Vincent Price. During this period, Crain appeared – for the second time – as one of the mystery guests on the CBS game show, What’s My Line?, and made guest appearances on the NBC Western series, Riverboat, with Darren McGavin, and the ABC detective series,Burke’s Law, starring Gene Barry.

She starred again with Dana Andrews in Hot Rods To Hell (1967). Her last films were Skyjacked (1972) and The Night God Screamed (1975).

Legacy

Crain’s career is fully documented by a collection of memorabilia about her assembled by Charles J. Finlay, a longtime publicist at 20th Century Fox. The Jeanne Crain Collection resides at the Cinema Archives at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. These archives also hold the papers of Ingrid Bergman, Frank Capra,Clint Eastwood, and others.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1943	The Gang’s All Here	Chorus Girl/Pool Party Guest	uncredited
1944	Home in Indiana	‘Char’ Bruce
	In the Meantime, Darling	Margaret ‘Maggie’ Preston
	Winged Victory	Helen
1945	State Fair	Margy Frake	a.k.a. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s State Fair also Soundtrack
	Leave Her to Heaven	Ruth Berent
1946	Centennial Summer	Julia Rogers	also Soundtrack
	Margie	Marjorie ‘Margie’ MacDuff	also Soundtrack
1948	You Were Meant for Me	Peggy Mayhew
	Apartment for Peggy	Peggy Taylor	also Soundtrack
1949	A Letter to Three Wives	Deborah Bishop
	The Fan	Lady Margaret ‘Meg’ Windermere	a.k.a. Lady Windermere’s Fan
	Pinky	Patricia ‘Pinky’ Johnson	Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
1950	Cheaper by the Dozen	Ann Gilbreth
	I’ll Get By	Jeanne Crain	uncredited Cameo appearance
1951	Take Care of My Little Girl	Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Erickson
	People Will Talk	Deborah Higgins
	The Model and the Marriage Broker	Kitty Bennett
1952	Belles on Their Toes	Ann Gilbreth	a.k.a. Belles on Their Toes: The Further Adventures of the Gilbreth Family
	O. Henry’s Full House	Della Young	Segment The Gift of the Magi
1953	Dangerous Crossing	Ruth Stanton Bowman
	Vicki	Jill Lynn
	City of Bad Men	Linda Culligan
1954	Duel in the Jungle	Marian Taylor
1955	Man Without a Star	Reed Bowman
	Gentlemen Marry Brunettes	Connie Jones/Mitzi Jones	also Soundtrack
	The Second Greatest Sex	Liza McClure	also Soundtrack
1956	The Fastest Gun Alive	Dora Temple
1957	The Tattered Dress	Diane Blane
	The Joker Is Wild	Letty Page	a.k.a. All the Way
1960	Guns of the Timberland	Laura Riley
1961	Twenty Plus Two	Linda Foster	a.k.a. It Started in Tokyo
	Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile	Tenet/Nefertiti	Original title: Nefertiti, regina del Nilo
1962	Madison Avenue	Peggy Shannon
	Pontius Pilate	Claudia Procula	Original title: Ponzio Pilato
1963	Invasion 1700	Helen	Original title: Col ferro e col fuoco a.k.a. Daggers of Blood a.k.a. With Fire and Sword
1967	Hot Rods to Hell	Peg Phillips	a.k.a. 52 Miles to Terror
1971	The Night God Screamed	Fanny Pierce	a.k.a. Scream
1972	Skyjacked	Mrs. Clara Shaw	a.k.a. Sky Terror
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1955	Star Stage	Nancy	1 episode
1956	The Ford Television Theatre	Joyce Randall	1 episode
1958	Playhouse 90	Daisy Buchanan	1 episode
	Schlitz Playhouse of Stars	Ruth Elliot	1 episode
1959	Meet Me in St. Louis	Rose Smith	TV movie
	Goodyear Theatre	Lila Babrek Barnes	1 episode
	Riverboat	Laura Sutton	1 episode
1960-62	G.E. True Theater	Hope/Marion Miller	3 episodes
1963	The Dick Powell Theatre	Elsie	1 episode
1964-65	Burke’s Law	Amy Booth / Lorraine Turner / Polly Martin	3 episodes
1968	The Danny Thomas Hour	Frances Merrill	1 episode
	The Name of the Game	Mrs. McKendricks	1 episode
1972	Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law	Lily MacMurdy	1 episode

Text and filmography table from Wikipedia

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You’ll Rocket Over The Highways, I Can Just See It ;-)

If it never needs repairs, why do they have complete spare part service

Image found on Casa de Ricardo

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The Mikrus MR-300

The Mikrus MR-300 was a Polish microcar produced between 1957 – 1960 with a body built by WSK Mielec and engines by WSK Rzeszów. Only 1,728 units were built.

Model history

The MR-300 was designed as a cheap car for the masses. The idea to design this construction, one of very few automobile manufactured in Poland, arose coincidentally. At the end of 1956 the authorities decided to make use of spare production capacity at the aerospace manufacturers WSK Mielec and WSK Rzeszów. At the time, both plants were only producing planes and motorcycles. The new plan was to add automobile manufacture as well. During the initial period WSK Rzeszów prepared plans for the engine, while WSK Mielec focused on the chassis and bodywork. The project was presented at the beginning of 1957, during the National Automotive Meeting. The first prototypes were presented on July 22, 1957 in Warsaw. The new car was named Mikrus MR 300 (taking its name from the initials of the words Mielec and Rzeszów). By the end of the year, the first cars left the assembly plant. In addition, two convertible models were available.

Press reports at the time stated Taking into consideration the price, which should not exceed the price of a similar cubic capacity motorcycle by more than 25 – 30% we may assume that it will constitute a very popular means of transportation for a wide spectrum of users. The Mikrus turned out to be very popular. However, the high cost of manufacture prevented the idea from developing into a mass, individual motorization. At the same time, the high price of the vehicle was meant few could afford it. The Mikrus cost 50 thousand Polish Złoty, the average of 50 salaries. The much larger Warszawa cost 120 thousand Polish Złoty.

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On This Day In 1964 – Jack Ruby Sentenced To Death

Jack Ruby has been sentenced to death after being found guilty of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F Kennedy.  Ruby’s defence team is to launch an appeal after the jury in the Dallas court returned the guilty verdict and decided he should die in the electric chair.

The jury of eight men and four women deliberated for two hours and 19 minutes.

Oswald, who was accused of firing the gun that killed the president, was shot two days later by Ruby in the basement of the Dallas police headquarters.

There was uproar in court and Ruby’s defence said the verdict was "a victory for bigotry".

"This was a kangaroo court, a railroad court and everyone knew it."

Melvin Belli, chief defence counsel:

At 12:23 local time, Judge Brown read out the verdict: "We the jury find the defendant guilty of murder with malice as charged in the indictment and assess his punishment as death."

When the judge asked if this was a unanimous decision, all the jurors raised their right hand to signal that it was. They were then discharged. Ruby, who pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, was quickly led away to prison, where he will remain as his appeal gets under way.

The district attorney said after the trial that he thought the jury had been persuaded by Dallas police officers who reported that Ruby had planned to kill Oswald for two days and had meant to shoot him three times instead of once.

The jury had been asked to consider its verdict after hearing more than five hours of summing up by prosecuting and defence barristers. Prosecutors argued that Ruby should die in the electric chair "because he mocked American justice while the spotlight was on Dallas".

Defence lawyers had suggested that the prosecution wanted Ruby to go to the electric chair to compensate for their frustrations due to their inability to try Lee Harvey Oswald. They also argued that there was medical evidence to suggest that Ruby suffered from epilepsy and was subject to seizures and mental blackouts.

In Context

Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested after John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in 1963, but he was murdered before facing trial.

Following Jack Ruby’s trial for killing Oswald, three psychiatrists recommended that he should have a "sanity hearing" amid reports that he was mentally ill.

In an appeal to the Texas Supreme Court, Ruby’s lawyers argued that he could not have received a fair trial in Dallas due to the excessive publicity.

The court agreed and ruled that his motion for a change of venue before the original trial court should have been granted, and so Ruby’s conviction and death sentence was overturned.

While awaiting a new trial, Ruby died of a pulmonary embolism in hospital on 3 January, 1967.

Text from BBC’s OnThisDay

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Mazda R360

The R360 was Mazda‘s first real car – a two-door, four-seat coupé. Introduced in 1960, it featured a short 69 inch (1753 mm) wheelbase and weighed just 838 lb. (380 kg). It was powered by a rear-mounted air-cooled 356 cc V-twin engine putting out about 16 hp (12 kW) and 16 lb·ft (22 Nm) of torque. The car was capable of about 52 mph (84 km/h). It had a 4-speed manual or two-speed automatic transmission. The suspension, front and rear, was rubber “springs” and torsion bars.

Within a few years of introducing the R360, Mazda had captured much of the lightweight (kei car) market in Japan. It was augmented by the Mazda P360 “Carol” 2+2 in 1962, as well as a convertible version in 1964. Production of the R360 lasted for six years.

Text from wikipedia

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Fran Ormand in “Frills, Freckles & Flesh”

A digital recreation of an article published in Cocktail magazine vol 4 No 4 1965

Frills, Freckles & Flesh

When Fran Ormand first aspired to a career as a professional model, some friends gloomily predicted her freckles would either eliminate her completely from consideration, or else limit her severely. The many appearances of Fran’s lovely features in commercial ads is proof of just how wrong everyone was.

Read the whole article an
see all the pictures HERE

Warning: Nudity do occur in this article. If you are under age or live in a country where watching images of nude women for some reason  are against the law  I take no responsibility if you click the link above. In other words you’re flying solo from here on – Ted 😉

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On This Day In 1965 – Goldie The Eagle Evades Capture Again

A golden eagle which escaped from Regent’s Park Zoo is still on the loose after outsmarting his keepers’ latest attempts to recapture him.

Goldie the Eagle escaped from the central London zoo eight days ago and has been dodging his captors ever since. He has spent most of the past week flying round the park – although he has also been spotted in Tottenham Court Road, Euston and Camden Town.

A crowd of about a thousand gathered in Regents Park today to watch the bird being chased by keepers, police, fire fighters and even a BBC reporter. The Navy has also been consulted about supplying a net and line-firing rifles.

Goldie, who has lived at the zoo for five years, escaped while his cage was being cleaned. He left behind his mate, Regina.

Joe McCorry, deputy head keeper of birds of prey at London Zoo, has predicted Goldie will be caught once he gets hungry.

The zoo has received hundreds of telephone calls and letters offering advice for his capture. Two teams of keepers have been tracking his progress using two way radio sets on loan from the Civil Defence.

The closest Goldie has so far come to being recaptured was yesterday while he was devouring a Muscovy duck in the grounds of the American Ambassador’s residence in Regent’s Park. But he was scared off at the last minute when a reporter tried to throw a coat over him and the bird abandoned his meal half-eaten.

Goldie has also attacked two Cairn terriers but members of the watching crowd managed to beat him off.

BBC reporter John Timpson recently returned from covering the Queen’s trip to Ethiopia tried to charm Goldie back to earth using an Ethiopian bird pipe – perhaps not surprisingly this ploy also failed.

In Context

Goldie the eagle was recaptured, as predicted, once he became hungry.

After 12 days of freedom in the park, the deputy head keeper, Joe McCorry, lured him with a dead rabbit tied to a rope near one of the eagle’s favourite haunts, the wild fowl sanctuary.

An hour and a half later, Goldie swooped down for his last picnic in the park. The keeper quietly walked up and caught him with his bare hands, secured his legs and took him back to the zoo.

He was declared unhurt after his ordeal and returned to his cage with his mate. London Zoo subsequently reported a big increase in visitor numbers, up to 6,500 from 3,700 on the corresponding Sunday the previous year.

Goldie made a second bid for freedom in December 1965 – but was recaptured after four days.

John Timpson, who was best known as a presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, died in November 2005 at the age of 77.

Text from BBCs OnThisDay

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Could Make A Hell Of A Camper……

…… with a couple of hundred hours work 🙂

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Brigitte Bardot – 1960s

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Not A Minute Too Late

Test Pilot George Aird, flying an English Electric Lightning F1
ejected  from his plane at only about 100 feet in the air in 1962.

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“God Forever, The Beatles Never” – When Lennon Compared the Beatles to Jesus in 1966

Christianity will go,” said Lennon. “It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that. I’m right and I’ll be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now. I don’t know which will go first, rock ’n’ roll or Christianity.

Birmingham disc jockeys Tommy Charles, left, and Doug Layton of Radio Station WAQY rip and break materials representing the British singing group the “Beatles” on August 8, 1966. The broadcasters started a “Ban the Beatles” campaign after Beatle John Lennon was quoted as saying his group is more popular than Jesus. Charles took exception to the statement as “absurd and sacrilegious.” (AP Phot

 

The Beatles went up in smoke near Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., on August 12, 1966 as neighborhood youngsters severed once and for all their two–year friendship with the four world figures. The Beatlemania bonfire, planned by Chuck Smith, 13, was in protest against John Lennon remark to the effect that the Beatles a
re “more popular than Jesus.” (AP Photo)

 

The Beatles appear to have lost their popularity at Beaver Meadows, a small community in northeastern Pennsylvania according to the sign, “God Forever, Beatles Never”, posted along Route 93, near Hazleton on August 10, 1966. A proposal in the Pa. legislature asks the ban of any future appearance of the Beatles in this state because of a remark attributed to one of the Beatles that they are more popular than Jesus Christ. (AP Photo)

Young churchfolk from nearby Sunnyvale on the San Francisco Peninsula protest against the Beatles and John Lennon’s remark that the Beatles are more popular than Jesus.

Text and image from flashbak

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Formica – The Plastic Fantastic Sixties

Images found on OhSoLovely

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On This Day In 1961: End of the road for Monroe and Miller

The Hollywood screen star Marilyn Monroe has divorced her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, after less than five years of marriage. The divorce was granted in Mexico, where a judge signed the decree. The grounds of divorce were listed as "incompatibility".

It has been rumoured that the pair have had frequent quarrels over their differing lifestyles. Mr Miller has recently been working with his wife on her most recent film, The Misfits, based on a short story he wrote, although the pair were reported to be barely speaking on set. The film is due to be released this month.

Affair

The divorce was officially announced last November, and a spokesman at the time said they had already separated. Sources close to the couple said Arthur Miller had in fact left Miss Monroe for German-born photographer Inge Morath, whom he met on the set of The Misfits.

The couple married in 1956, five years after they first met. Marilyn Monroe converted to Judaism for her new husband, who rose to prominence with his play "Death of a Salesman" in 1949, which won the Pulitzer Prize.

Soon after they were married, Arthur Miller told journalists: "Marilyn will only make one film in every 18 months or so, which will take her about eight weeks."When asked what she would do for the rest of the time, he replied, "She will be my wife. That’s a full-time job."

Risked career

Marilyn Monroe disagreed, and continued to pursue her film work to the full, travelling to England to shoot "The Prince and the Showgirl" with Laurence Olivier shortly after the wedding. However, she used her influence – and risked her own career – to help her husband after he was found guilty of contempt of Congress by the House Un-American Activities Committee for refusing to reveal the names of a literary group suspected of Communist sympathies.

Marilyn Monroe went with him to Washington to speak in his favour at the contempt hearings, and her intervention is widely thought to have contributed to the overturning of his conviction the following year.

Marilyn Monroe had been married twice before. Her first husband was Jimmy Dougherty, whom she married aged 16. The marriage did not survive her "discovery" and subsequent rise to fame. In 1954, she met and married baseball star Joe DiMaggio, but it was a tempestuous partnership and ended just nine months later.

In Context

Marilyn Monroe’s divorce was part of a decline which was marked by her erratic behaviour on set and persistent abuse of alcohol and drugs.  The Misfits was to be her last completed film. Soon after, in 1962, she also made her last major public appearance, singing "Happy Birthday" to President John F Kennedy at a televised party for him.

On 5 August 1962 she was found dead in her Los Angeles home, aged 36. Her death was officially attributed to suicide by drug overdose, but has been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories. She had been due to re-marry her second husband, baseball star Joe DiMaggio, three days later.

Arthur Miller married photographer Inge Morath a month after his divorce from Marilyn Monroe. He later wrote compassionately of Monroe in his autobiography, referring to his marriage to her as "the best of times, the worst of times".

He stayed with Inge Morath until her death in 2002. Arthur Miller died in 2005.

Text from BBC’s OnThisDay

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The Forgotten Ones – Filiz Akın

Filiz Akın (born Suna Filiz Akın, 2 January 1943 in Ankara, Turkey) is a Turkish film actress. She is one of the famous actresses in the history of Turkish cinema with more than 120 films, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s.

Biography

She graduated from TED Ankara College and then studied archeology at the Faculty of Arts at Ankara University. In 1962 she won a competition held by the "film star" magazine and made debut the same year in Akasyalar Açarken. Then she acted with Ajda Pekkan in the film “Kadın Berberi (Ladies’ Hairdresser) and established herself with roles in Kadın Terzisi (The Tailor) and Yankesici Kız (The Snatcher Girl) in 1964 where she successfully played characters in different genres. A year later in 1965, she acted in Kolejli Kızın Aşkı (The Love of the Young Girl) opposite Ayhan Işık.

Then Akın appeared in Çıtkırıldım (Softy) opposite Cuneyt Arkin where she played a rebellious girl to Arkin’s character of a strict teacher. The same year, she acted as a rich girl in Tamirci Parçası (The Penniless Repairman) with Ayhan Işık. Akın’s next films included Hindistan Cevizi (Coconut) and Gül ve Şeker (Rose and Candy) withZeki Müren and Efkarlı Sosyete (Blue Riches) with Sadri Alışık.In 1967, Akın acted in a film adaptation of Peyami Safa’s Sözde Kızlar (So-called Girls). Then she appeared in a series of films opposite Cuneyt Arkin such as Seni Seviyorum (I Love You), Silahlı Paşazade (Armed Pasha), Hüzünlü Aşk (Sad Love), Lekeli Melek(Stained Angel) and Affedilmeyen (The Unforgiven).

She married director Türker İnanoğlu and they had a son İlker İnanoğlu who would go on to become a prominent child actor, appearing with Akın in the Yumurcak film series. In 1969, she starred opposite Kartal Tibet in Reyhan and opposite Ayhan Işık in Karlı Dağın Eteği (Foot of the Snowy Mountain). Then Akın played twins inAğlıyorum (I am Crying) with Ediz Hun. She performed songs on the films ‘Cilveli Bir Kız (The Demure Girl), Oyun Bitti (Game Over), Cambazhane Gülü Fadime(Fadime: The Rose of the Circus) ve Oyun Bitti (Game Over). Other prominent films in this period were Aşka Tövbe (Remorse of Love), Acı Hatıralar (Bitter Memories) and Seni Sevmek Kaderim (Doomed to Love You).

In 1971, she won the Golden Orange for best actress for her performance in Ankara Ekspresi (Train to Ankara) where she starred opposite Ediz Hun. Then she acted in Tatlı Dillim (Sweet Honey) and Memleketim (Homeland) with Tarık Akan and Beyaz Gül (White Rose) with Kartal Tibet

After her divorce from Türker İnanoğlu (who went on to marry Gülşen Bubikoğlu), she married former MİT director and diplomat Sönmez Köksal. After her retirement from acting in 1975, she appeared in television in the TRT series Geçmiş Bahar Mimozaları.

Text from Wikipedia

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Lynn Bari – American Actress

A curvaceous, dark-haired WWII pin-up beauty (aka “The Woo Woo Girl” and “The Girl with the Million Dollar Figure”), “B” film star Lynn Bari had the requisite looks and talent but few of the lucky breaks needed to penetrate the “A” rankings during her extensive Hollywood career. Nevertheless, some worthy performances of hers stand out in late-night viewings.

She was born with the elite-sounding name of Margaret Schuyler Fisher on December 18, 1913 (various sources also list 1915, 1917 and 1919), in Roanoke, Virginia. She and her younger brother, John, moved with their mother to Boston following the death of their father in 1926. Her mother remarried, this time to a minister, and the family relocated once again when her stepfather was assigned a ministry in California (the Institute of Religious Science in Los Angeles).

Paying her dues for years as a snappy bit-part chorine secretary, party girl and/or glorified extra while being groomed as a starlet under contract to MGM and Fox, her first released film was the MGM comedy Meet the Baron (1933), in which she provided typical window dressing as a collegiate. For the next few years there was little growth at either studio, as she was usually standing amidst others in crowd scenes and looking excited. Finally in Amour d’espionne (1937), she received her first billing on screen for a minor part as “Miss Fenwick”. Though more bit parts were to dribble in, the year 1938 proved to be her breakthrough year. She finally gained some ground playing the “other woman” role in glossy soaps and musicals, first giving Barbara Stanwyck some trouble in Adieu pour toujours (1938).

Fox Studios finally handed her some smart co-leads and top supports in such second-tier films as Return of the Cisco Kid (1939), Pack Up Your Troubles (1939), Hôtel pour femmes(1939), and Hollywood Cavalcade (1939). Anxiously waiting for “the big one”, she made do with her strong looks, tending toward unsympathetic parts. She enjoyed the attention she received playing disparaging society ladies, divas, villainesses, and even a strong-willed prairie flower in such films as Pier 13 (1940), Earthbound (1940), Kit Carson (1940), and Tu seras mon mari (1941), but they did little to advance her in the ranks.

The very best role of her frisky career came with the grade “A” comedy The Magnificent Dope (1942), in which she shared top billing with Henry Fonda and Don Ameche. But good roles were hard to find in Lynn’s case, and she good-naturedly took whatever was given her. Other above-average movies (she appeared in well over 150) of this period came withLa pagode en flammes (1942), Hello Frisco, Hello (1943), The Bridge of San Luis Rey(1944), and Nocturne (1946).

With diminishing offers for film parts by the 1950s, she started leaning heavily towards stage and TV work. She continued her career until the late ’60s and then retired. Her last work included the film The Young Runaways (1968) and TV episodes of “The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.” and “The F.B.I.” Divorced three times in all, husband #2 was volatile manager/producer Sidney Luft, better known as Judy Garland‘s hubby years later, who was the father of her only child.

Her third husband was a doctor/psychiatrist, and she worked as his nurse for quite some time. They divorced in 1972. Plagued by arthritis in later years, Bari passed away from heart problems on November 20, 1989. Although she may have been labeled a “B” leading lady, she definitely was in the “A” ranks when it came to class and beauty.

– IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh

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On This day In 1966 – Future Of Monte Carlo Rally In Doubt

The Monte Carlo rally has ended in uproar over the disqualification of the British cars expected to fill the first four places. The first four to cross the finishing line were Timo Makinen (Finland) driving a British Motor Corporation Mini-Cooper, followed by Roger Clark (Ford Lotus Cortina), and Rauno Aaltonen and Paddy Hopkirk, both also driving BMC Minis.

But they were all ruled out of the prizes – with six other British cars for alleged infringements of complex regulations about the way their headlights dipped. The official winner was announced as Pauli Toivonen, a Finn who lives in Paris, driving a Citroen.

BMC and Ford have lodged protests but even if they are upheld, the reputation of the rally has been severely dented. After the race, a British official said: "This will be the end of the Monte Carlo rally. Britain is certain to withdraw."

Timo Makinen said: "None of us dreamed that the stewards would turn the results upside down – and for such a stupid reason."

This will be the end of the Monte Carlo rally

British team spokesman

The British cars were disqualified because they used non-dipping single filament quartz iodine bulbs in their headlamps, in place of the standard double filament dipping glass bulbs, which are fitted to the series production version of each model sold to the public.

According to new rules introduced at the end of last year, any car entering the rally must come off a standard production line, with at least 5,000 cars being built to a similar specification. The British cars were equipped with standard headlamps – but the only way of dipping them was to switch to non-standard fog lamps.

Richard Shepherd, from the BMC, said: "There is nothing new about the lights at all. They have been used in our rallies, on rally cars, including the Monte for two years now and we’ve had no trouble at all in the past."

The confusion arose because the rally organisers initially said the race would be run under the old rules – and only announced the switch after entries had been accepted. The BMC says it spent £10,000 on preparing for the Monte Carlo rally – and is now considering withdrawing from next year’s race.

In Context
The British teams’ protest to the race organisers was rejected. They boycotted the official farewell dinner held at the International Sporting Club. Prince Rainier of Monaco showed his anger at the disqualifications by leaving the rally before attending the prize-giving which he had always done in previous years.

On 13 October 1966, the supreme motor racing and rally tribunal upheld the disqualifications. The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile in Paris said the iodine quartz headlights fitted on the British cars were not standard.

The Citroen declared the official winner, which had similar lamps, was approved because the bulbs were fitted as standard on some models.

Pauli Toivonen never drove for Citroen again. In 1986, his son Henri won the Monte Carlo rally.

Text from BBCs OnThisDay

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