This Day in Pop Culture for February 24

2017: Time to ‘Get Out’

It’s not often that a horror film gets nominated for any kind of Academy Award let alone for Best Picture with 1973’s The Exorcist being the most notable. But in 2017, actor and comedian Jordan Peele really impressed critics and audiences alike with his psychological horror film Get Out. The film which starred Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams, dared to tackle race relations when a black man discovers surprising secrets of his white girlfriend’s family’s side business.

Released by Universal Pictures, this was Peele’s debut movie as a director and writer. It was filmed in 23 days and made with a budget of $4.5 million. It grossed $255 million. Get Out was nominated for four Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. Peele won for Best Original Screenplay which was impressive as he became the first African-American to win this award. Since 2017, Peele has also written and directed 2019’s Us and 2022’s Nope.

1985: Yul Brynner Becomes King … Again

Actor Yul Brynner first performed on Broadway in a role in Shakespeare’s Twelth Night in 1941. Three years later he appeared in Lute Song with Mary Martin. In 1951, it was Martin who encouraged Brynner to audition for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical, The King and I where he starred as King Mongkut alongside Gertrude Lawrence for 4,625 performances. He won his first Tony for that role.

Brynner later appeared in the 1956 film version in which he starred with Deborah Kerr (and won an Oscar). In 1972, CBS began airing the short-lived sitcom, Anna and the King in which Brynner starred once again in the king role, this time with Samantha Eggar.

Five years later, he reprised the role back on Broadway for a revival and again in 1979 for a London production and then one more time on this day in 1985 where he won yet another Tony.

Sadly, Brynner passed away a little over seven months after his last stage performance on October 10, 1985.

1920: The Nazi Party is Founded

On October 16, 1919, Adolf Hitler first spoke to The German Worker’s Party (DAP) which supported national socialism. Praised for his speaking talent, Hitler became the chief of propaganda for the party. His Hofbräuhaus speech given on this day in 1920 led to the name change the “National Socialist German Workers’ Party” or Nazi Party. It was then that the party officially announced that persons of “pure Aryan descent” could become members and their spouses had to be “racially pure” as well.

1868: First Impeached President

The impeachment of Andrew Johnson was initiated on this day in 1868. There were 11 articles of impeachment listed for the 17^th president of the United States including the primary charge of violating the Tenure of Office Act which was passed by Congress in 1867. Johnson had removed the secretary of war, Edwin M. Stanton, from office and had attempted to replace him with Brevet Major General Lorenzo Thomas. He became impeached a week later. (Image: Wikipedia)