This Day in Pop Culture for February 6

1951: Now We Know the Rest of the Story

Legendary radio personality Paul Harvey loved to tell stories that had a twist. He would frequently feature his The Rest of the Story stories during his News and Commentary broadcasts that aired on ABC News Radio from the 1950s to 2008, but usually they didn’t involve himself.

On this day in 1951 at around 1:00 a.m., guards at the Argonne National Laboratory (a nuclear research facility in Chicago) were called to apprehend young Paul Harvey who had climbed over the laboratory’s perimeter fence in snowy weather but got caught in barbed wire. It was known that Harvey had concerns over the facility’s security and he wanted to make a point.

According to Argonne, the guards searched Harvey’s car and “Searching his car, guards “found a previously prepared four-page broadcast detailing the saga of his unauthorized entrance into a classified ’hot zone.’ He was brought before a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to obtain information on national security and transmit it to the public but was not indicted.” (Image: Argonne National Laboratory)

1914: The Voice of Tony the Tiger

Thurl Ravenscroft was born on this day in Norfolk, Nebraska. Many years later, he moved to California to study at the Otis Art Institute. In the late 1940’s, Thurl joined the singing group The Mellomen who sang back up for the likes of Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. The Mellomen also sang for a few of Walt Disney’s animated films including Pinocchio, Lady and the Tramp and Alice in Wonderland.

Thurl had a very distinctive voice that has always been easy to pick out. He was the voice of Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger until 2004. He also sang “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” for the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas TV special. He also sang, “No Dogs Allowed” in the film, Snoopy Come Home.

In addition, Thurl’s voice can also be heard in many of Disney’s theme park attractions including The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Country Bear Jamboree and the Enchanted Tiki Room.

Sadly, Thurl passed away on Mary 22, 2005. (Image: Wikimedia)

1981: The Brady Girls Get Married

On this day, NBC aired what was the start of a short-lived sitcom revival. Originally planned as a full-length Brady Bunch reunion movie where the two oldest daughters had a double wedding, the network decided that maybe a revival of the classic show could work.

The Brady Brides series featured, at least initially, the entire cast of the original show. The first three episodes focused on the wedding, and the remainder of the 10 episodes focused on Marcia and Jan (Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb) and their new husbands (Jerry Houser and Ron Kuhlman) settling in their new house the foursome would share together.

Marcia and her husband, Wally were a fun-loving pair while Jan and her husband, Philip, were a more serious and conservative couple. What could go wrong? Low ratings. Even with Florence Henderson and Ann B. Davis appearing regularly, the series was cut short and this time, they couldn’t blame the ratings on Cousin Oliver.

1921: Charlie

Charlie Chaplin appears in his first full-length feature film, The Kid.

1943: Frank

Frank Sinatra joins Your Hit Parade on the radio as the star vocalist.

2014: Jay

Jay Leno hosted The Tonight Show on NBC for the last time.

1788: Massachusetts Becomes the 6^th U.S State

1937: ‘Of Mice and Men’ is Published

Both the novella and the stage play of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men were published during the same year, but it was the Novella that was published for the first time on this day in 1937. In 1939, Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Prize for The Grapes of Wrath and it is said that his work became more sentimental with the following works of Cannery Row and The Pearl. In the 1940’s he tried his handwriting movie scripts with good success for Forgotten Village (1941) and Viva Zapata (1952). In 1962, he wrote Travels with Charlie, a non-fiction book which chronicled his travels across the states with Charlie – his poodle and he won the Nobel Prize. He died in 1968.