Join the new world

Instead of bombarding you with an assortment of election propaganda and the like, I’ll simply mention that I’m running for Congress in Alberta and if you can find some time between the gift opening, the hoards of relatives, the Turkey and the resulting post-feast drowsiness, and heading off to the Boxing Day sales before whatever rerun or football game the networks are serving up tonight is finished to vote for me I would be most appreciative.

With that political message out of the way, I’ll get on with my real business of the day, which is to offer some slight amusement with some funny, little known facts about famous people.
Did you know that:
- John Wayne briefly owned Lassie? He did. He won the dog – probably the second Lassie – in an alcohol fuelled Poker game from the animal’s owner and trainer Rudd Weatherwax. He gave ownership of the dog back the next day.
- Albert Einstein was known in some circles as “Little Al from Princeton”? Einstein visited Las Vegas in 1948 for a conference of Physicists at the same time that Nick "The Greek" Dandalos was playing in a legendary Poker game with Johnny Moss. Dandalos took to calling Einstein “Little Al from Princeton. He controls a lot of action around Jersey.”
- During the same conference Einstein was seen gambling heavily at the Roulette tables? One of the other physicists watching him supposedly commented that Einstein was “betting like there was no tomorrow, to which his colleague responded, “Do you think he knows something we don’t?”
- Annie Duke finished tenth at the 2000 World Series of Poker Main Event? She was 8 months pregnant at the time. But that wasn’t the highest Main Event finish by a woman. That honour goes to Barbara Enright who finished fifth in the 1995 tournament. She was also the first woman to win a bracelet in an “open” tournament at the World Series of Poker.
- I probably have a lower Kevin Bacon number than anyone reading this? My high school friend Darwyn Peachey is Vice President of R&amp😉 at Pixar and is credited in Toy Story along with Tom Hanks, who was in Apollo 13 with Kevin Bacon.
- Actor Lawrence Harvey made a drunken pass at John Wayne? During the filming of The Alamo Harvey, who had been drinking heavily, suggested that Wayne go to bed with him, and that Wayne would probably like it.
- John Wayne’s real name was not Marion Michael Morrison? Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison, named after his two grandfathers. When his mother gave birth to a second son, she appropriated the name Robert for new baby (Robert was her father’s first name) and demanded that her elder child be called Marion Mitchell Morrison after his paternal grandfather. Years later, when signing his first Hollywood contract, the secretary typing the contract decided that “Mitchell” must have been a typo, and wrote his name as Marion Michael Morrison. Wayne signed the contract unchanged saying that one name was a good as another.
- Ronald Reagan really was a cavalryman? Much was made of Reagan’s lack of overseas service during World War II by political opponents, but his military history is interesting to say the least. Reagan joined the Army reserves as an enlisted man in 1937, and was promoted to Second Lieutenant in the 323 rd Cavalry. He later transferred to the Army Air Corps. On being ordered to report for active duty it was discovered that he was so nearsighted that separation papers were drawn up that would have removed him from the military. He sought a special presidential order that would keep him in the Army, but he given only limited service.
- Johnny Carson’s sidekick Ed McMahon was a Brigadier General? McMahon was a Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves and served in both World War II (as a fighter pilot instructor) and Korea where he flew observer aircraft for the artillery and won 6 Air Medals. After his retirement from the Marines in 1966 he was appointed a Brigadier General in the California Air National Guard. He spoke extensively of being a Marine on the Tonight Show, but almost never about his Air National Guard commission.
- John Glenn’s wingman was during the Korean War was Baseball superstar Ted Williams? Williams had joined the Marines as a fighter pilot and served primarily as an instructor at Pensacola during World War II. Called up for the Korean War, despite the fact that he hadn’t flown in 8 years he was assigned to fly F9F Panther jets with VMF-311 with Major John Glenn. About half of William’s 39 combat missions were flown with Glenn as his wingman.
- Alan Hale Sr. played the role of Little John in three different movies 28 years apart? Probably best known today for his roles in numerous Errol Flynn movies or as the father of Alan Hale Jr. (The Skipper on Gilligan’s Island) he first played Little John in Douglas Fairbanks Sr.’s 1922 film Robin Hood. In 1938 he played Little John in The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn. His final screen role before his death in 1950 was in Rogues of Sherwood Forest with John Derek.
- Trigger, Roy Rogers’s horse, was in The Adventures of Robin Hood? Then known as Golden Dawn he was ridden by Olivia de Havilland. Soon after Roy Rogers – then making his first movie was offered the use of one of five rented horses. He chose Golden Dawn who he renamed Trigger.
- Lassie has never been played by a female Collie? Male Collies have a thicker summer coat which looks better on film or TV. Also male collies tend to be larger which allow children to work longer with the dog before the kid has to be replaced. The original Lassie from the 1943 movie was a dog named Pal who was originally hired as a stunt dog. With only two exceptions Lassie has always been played by a male descendant of Pal.

I hope you found this at least a little amusing.