2012: ‘Veep’ Premieres
After a successful run on the sitcoms Seinfeld (1989-1998) for NBC and The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006-2010) for CBS, Julia Louis-Dreyfus turned to HBO for her next project. Created by Armando Iannucci as an adaptation of his sitcom The Thick of It, Veep focused on Selena Meyer, the first female vice president of the United States albeit a fictional one. Debuting on this day in 2012, Veep also starred Anna Chlumsky, Tony Hale, Reid Scott, Timothy Simons, Matt Walsh, Sufe Bradshaw, Kevin Dunn, Gary Cole, Sam Richarson, Sarah Sutherland and Clear DuVall. Over its seven-year run, Veep won numerous awards including six Emmys which belonged to Julia. The show’s finale episode aired on May 12, 2019.
2023: Fire-Breathing Dragon is Bad for Business
On this day in 2023, thousands of fans watching the show Fantasmic! along the shores of Disneyland’s “Rivers of America” had to be evacuated when the evil character, Maleficent (from the movie Sleeping Beauty) had turned into a fire-breathing dragon – and proceeded to burn herself down to the ground. While the dragon became extra-crispy, no one else was hurt by the blaze. As it turns out, the dragon (aka Murphy) had been feeling under the weather and didn’t appear for a few performances in 2022. She was replaced by fuzzy images being projected in front of a water mist “screen” for a few months before being restored in place and many months before the fiery inferno.
This incident is not the first time that Murphy has caught herself on fire. In 2018, over at the Magic Kingdom in Florida, the dragon was featured in the Festival of Fantasy parade traveling down Main Street U.S.A. and promptly engulfed into flames for no apparent reason. Again, no one was hurt except the park’s reputation.
1864: America’s Two-Cent Coin
On this day in 1864, US federal law changed the design of the penny coin actually authorizing the minting of a two-cent coin with the Coinage Act. As a result of the law, the phrase, “In God We Trust” was first minted on the coin. Later the next year on March 3rd, Congress allowed the Mint Director to place the phrase on all gold and silver coins. In 1956, “In God we Trust” replaced “E Pluribus Unum” as the nation’s motto.
Movies Released
- Elvis & Nixon (2016)
- Jane-Eyre (2011)
- The Bad Guys (2022)
- The Meddler (2016)
- The Northman (2022)
- The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)
- Water for Elephants (2011)
TV Series Debuts
- Veep (2012)
Famous Birthdays
- 1923: Bettie Page (model)
- 1923: Aaron Spelling (TV producer)
- 1936: Glen Campbell (singer)
- 1943: Janet Evanovich (author)
- 1950: Peter Frampton (singer)
- 1959: Ryan Stiltes (actor)
- 1966: Jeffrey Dean Morgan (actor)
- 1967: Sherri Shepherd (actress)
- 1986: Amber Heard (actress)
- 1986: Marshawn Lynch (football player)
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