Lela McMath with young Virginia...how awesome is this pic?
...so, I was just wondering, what ELSE happened in nineteen-hundred and eleven? Well, I have rounded up a few facts of that year that is dear to all Gingerologists...here's what I got:
Also born in MCMXI (there are plenty of other ones, but these are the ones I know, for better or worse):
- Butterfly McQueen (Scarlett's 'Prissy' maid in GWTW) (1/7)
- Ronald Reagan (40th President of the U.S. - and co-starred w/ Ginger in "Storm Warning") (2/6)
- Jean Harlow (awesome actress who left us too soon) (3/3)
- L. Ron Hubbard (founder of Scientology) (3/13)
- Josef Mengele (Nazi war criminal)(3/16)
- Joseph Barbera (of Hanna-Barbera cartoon fame) (3/24)
- Jack Ruby (killed Lee Harvey Oswald) (3/25)
- Tennessee Williams (playwright - Streetcar named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) (3/26)
- Robert Johnson (blues performer - 'Crossroads' fame) (5/8)
- Phil Silvers (actor - with Ginger in "Tom, Dick and Harry" and "Roxie Hart") (5/11)
- Maureen O'Sullivan (Irish actress perhaps best known as Tarzan's Jane) (5/17)
- 'Big Joe' Turner ('the Boss of the Blues') (5/18)
- Barbara West (second to last living survivor of the Titanic (died in 2007)) (5/24)
- Hubert Humphrey (Lyndon Johnson's Vice President and Senator) (5/27)
- Vincent Price (king of horror movies in the 50's and 60's) (5/27)
- 'Babe' Didrikson Zaharis - (U.S. athlete - she won two golds and one silver in track on the 1932 Olympics) (6/26)
- Mitch Miller (musician, bandleader, record producer) (7/4)
- LaVerne Andrews (one of the Andrews Sisters) (7/6)
- Hume Cronyn (actor - married to Jessica Tandy) (7/18)
- Lucille Ball (actress who practically invented the 'sitcom' - and starred w/Ginger in "Follow the Fleet", "Stage Door", and "Having Wonderful Time") (8/6)
- Ruth Hussey (actress - starred w/Ginger in "Tender Comrade") (10/30)
- Roy Rogers (American humorist, singer and actor) (11/5)
And now, as for the 'Big stories' from 1911:
- Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- Machu Picchu (ancient Incan city in the Peruvian mountains) is 're-discovered'.
- The Mexican Revolution was cooking...
- International Women's Day was celebrated for the first time.
- The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in NYC occurred - 146 killed, with MAJOR violations of safety codes.
- The 'Mona Lisa' was stolen from the Louvre (I guess they got it back, eh?)
- Explorer Roald Amundsen reaches the South Pole - first one to do so.
- The first Indianapolis 500 was held, with Ray Harroun winning with an average speed of 74.59 MPH.
- The CTR (Computing-Tabulating-Recording) company was founded; in 1924 it would be renamed IBM.
- Niagara Falls freezes over.
- Italy declares war on the Ottoman Empire (Turkey).
- First public elevator goes into service in London.
- William Howard Taft was the U.S. president (the 27th).
- U.S. sales of gasoline surpassed kerosene for the first time.
- The Chevrolet Motor Car Company was incorporated.
- Standard Oil Company and American Tobacco Company are each found to be in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
- U.S. Population hits 94 million.
- The City of Las Vegas, Nevada is incorporated.
Tunes of 1911:
- "Alexander's Ragtime Band" (Irving Berlin's first major hit)
- "I Want a Girl (Just Like the Girl who Married Dear Old Dad)" by Dillon/Von Tilzer
- "On Moonlight Bay" by Madden/Wenrich
- "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" by Brown/Ayer
- "Roamin' in the Gloamin'" by Lauder
- "The Oceana Roll" by Lewis/Denni (mentioned because I have the sheet music to it...hopefully worth a bit...)
- "Any Little Girl, That's a Nice Little Girl, is the Right Little Girl for Me" performed by Billy Murray
- Turn Off Your Light, Mr. Moon Man" performed by Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth
Well, there's probably lots more stuff that went on this time a century ago, but as long as ya save that one date, that's probably all ya need to worry about, right? :-]
KIG, y'all...
VKMfanHuey
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Thanks for reflections on 1911, a year when film was just beginning to become a notable commercial industry and Los Angeles was on the verge of becoming its prime home in America (something that wouldn't be cemented until the end of the decade). The concept of the movie star still hadn't quite reached fruition, so I doubt Lela envisioned that for Virginia -- but I'm sure she aimed to have her daughter excel at something...and that she certainly did.
ReplyDeleteInteresting you note the Triangle Shirtwaist fire; a TV movie about it was made in the 1980s, and the people in charge of research didn't do their homework. You can see a poster promoting Charlie Chaplin movies, three years before his film debut and four before he became a worldwide phenomenon. Eventually, we'll probably see a film set in 1961 America that contains a Beatles reference. (Oh, those anachronisms.)
I love the pic with Ginger and her mother! My goodness, it looks like Ginger holding a miniature version of herself! Thanks for the wonderful post!
ReplyDeleteI concur on the picture of Ginger and her mother. The camera loved Ginger...even as a baby. What a precious look on her face. Where on earth did you find that photo?
ReplyDeleteThe whole post was very entertaining...all the events that occurred in 1911. It's interesting to know that Lucille Ball was born the same year as Ginger, two superstars of the same age whose careers evolved so differently. Good stuff, Huey!
VP: Thanks for the kind words! I have always thought it was cool Ginger was amongst the 'first generation' of movie fan in the 'nineteen-teens', and among the first actresses to 'premiere' in 'talkies'.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Triangle fire, that is one of the 'watershed' moments for building codes in the U.S. - I work for the International Code Council, and we deal with life safety among other issues - and it's sad that a tradegy has to occur before folks get 'serious' about it... the fire in the nightclub in Rhode Island 6-7 years ago that killed 80-90 folks, I believe, resulted in more striengent requirements for nightclub/bar/restaurant occupancies. As for the 'inaccuracies' in the movie, it bugs ya when you know it's wrong - and that most folks don't know any better. Of course, the Chaplin thing would have probably slipped by me, but any Ginger inacuracies drive me nuts! Suprised? :-]
Sarah: Thanks for the kind words! Yes, that pic is just so cool... it is actually from Ginger's bio - that's why it is a bit 'fuzzy' being a scan and all... but the story behind it is that the picture was actually used for an adverisement for a Kansas City bank (I think...someone call me out on this one if I have it wrong..:-] ).
Lady F: Thanks for the kind words! Well, it is actually out of Ginger's bio, but I have seen a pic of it elsewhere... but yeah, I just did a bit of research for posting - figured it would be a cool topic. it would have been cool to see Ginger and Lucy in a movie in the fifties... weird they didn't get together, as they were friends throughout, I believe. Of course, Ginger shows up on 'the Lucy Show' (or is it ('Here's Lucy'? ) - but I think they would have been a great 'team'. I guess Ginger was into the stage at that point, and Lucy was TV...
KIG, y'all!
VKMfanHuey
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