In November of 1966, The Monkees‘ first single, “Last Train to Clarksville”, went to number one on the charts two months (to the day) after The Monkees TV series premiered. The Partridge Family (a series about a fictional singing family/rock group) actually beat that mark. The Partridge Family premiered on ABC on September 25, 1970. The Partridge Family single, “I Think I Love […]
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Today I found out four of the five Marx brothers got their nicknames during a poker game. The famed Marx family comedy act was made up of Julius, Adolph, Leonard, Milton, and Herbert Marx. But to all of us who know and love this delightful comedy group, we know these five characters better as Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Gummo, and Zeppo […]
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Today I found out Mark Hamill currently holds the record for playing the Batman character of “Joker” longer than any other actor and in more spinoffs. “I’ve never seen him play the Joker”, you say? It’s because Mark Hamill has been doing the voice of the Joker on a variety of animated TV shows, movies, and video games for the […]
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Today I found out Caryn Elaine Johnson, better known as Whoopi Goldberg, was once a phone sex operator. On the December 16, 2011 episode of “The View”, which Goldberg is a co-host of (since 2007), Elisabeth Hasselbeck was doing a segment on stay at home moms working as phone sex operators. Specifically, she was covering the fact that the number […]
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Miss Piggy’s full name is “Pigathia Lee”, as revealed on episode 106 and 116 of The Muppet Show. ‘Pigathia’ is derived from ‘Piganthius’, which is Greek for “river of passion”. Reference
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Caryn Elaine Johnson, better known as Whoopi Goldberg, chose the first part of her stage name from often being called “like a whoopee cushion” due to her fondness for frequent flatulence when performing. The second part of her stage name, Goldberg, was suggested by her mother as she felt using a Jewish last name would help Caryn in Hollywood. Bonus […]
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Kirk Douglas was born Issur Danielovitch Demsky. His parent’s original surname was Danielovitch, but they changed it to Demsky when they immigrated to the U.S. in 1912. When Douglas first started acting on Broadway, he went by Isadore Demsky, then changed it completely to Kirk Douglas just before enlisting in the navy during WWII. I couldn’t find any reliable source […]
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Eric Marlon Bishop, better known as Jamie Foxx, picked this somewhat androgynous name due to the fact that early in his career he noticed that female comedians, also known as comediennes, often got picked to perform over male comedians at comedy clubs. Reference
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Today I found out the actress who played TV’s “Blossom” has a PhD in Neuroscience. After starring in the TV show Blossom, Mayim Bialik decided to go to college rather than continue her acting career full time at that point. She was accepted to both Harvard and Yale, but decided to stay closer to home and go to UCLA where […]
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Myth: Marilyn Monroe was a size 12-16. From Roseanne Barr stating, “I’m more sexy than Pamela Lee or whoever else they’ve got out there these days. Marilyn Monroe was a size 16. That says it all”, to Elizabeth Hurley stating, “I’ve always thought Marilyn Monroe looked fabulous, but I’d kill myself if I was that fat…I went to see her […]
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Cirroc Lofton, who played Jake Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, is the nephew of six time All Star in the Major Leagues Kenny Lofton. Cirroc starred in Deep Space Nine from 14 years to 20 years old. Outside of Deep Space Nine, he has appeared in The Hoop Life, on Showtime, and Soul Food, also on Showtime. […]
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Today I found out Chuck Norris’ first name is actually Carlos. “Chuck” Norris was born Carlos Ray Norris all the way back in 1940 (yes, he’s 72 years old now and even recently had to have a hip replaced). Carlos Norris was named after Carlos Berry, a minister who was close to Norris’ father. He didn’t acquire the nickname “Chuck” […]
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Note: This is a guest article contributed by frequent TIFO visitor and owner of Daily Random Facts, Jon. Today I found out Charlie Sheen once bought 2,615 tickets to a single Angels’ baseball game, hoping he’d be able to catch a home run ball. Charlie grew up with a love for acting and baseball. As with acting, Sheen started out […]
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Today I found out Mark Wahlberg was a drug dealer and was tried for attempted murder before forming Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Wahlberg, born the youngest of nine children all living in a three bedroom apartment, dropped out of school around the age of fourteen and joined a gang. During this time, he was reportedly in trouble with […]
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Today I found out It’s a Wonderful Life was based on a “Christmas Card” short story by Philip Van Doren Stern, which was originally sent out to around 200 of Stern’s friends and family in December of 1943. The short story was called The Greatest Gift and was inspired by a dream Stern had one night in the 1930s. Stern, […]
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Today I found out Rowan Atkinson, the guy who played “Mr. Bean”, has a master’s degree in electrical engineering. Atkinson originally received an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering (EE) at Newcastle University before enrolling in an EE master’s program at The Queen’s College Oxford in 1975. While working towards this degree, he also pursued acting on the side with a […]
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Olivia Wilde’s real name is Olivia Cockburn. She took the professional name “Wilde” in high school in homage to famed writer Oscar Wilde. Olivia Wilde’s mother is 60 Minutes producer and award winning journalist, Leslie Cockburn. Her father, Andrew Cockburn, is also an award winning journalist. In addition to that, her aunt and her grandfather were also professional writers. Source
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