Know it all

Bruce Lee (1940-1973) began his acting career as the sidekick Kato in the television series “The Green Hornet” (1966-1967). The show was called “The Kato Show” in Hong Kong, where Lee is from.

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“Enter the Dragon” (1973) was the last film that starred Bruce Lee before his death at age 33 due to swelling of the brain. Lee died one month before the movie’s release.

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Steve McQueen (1930-1980) was a pallbearer at Bruce Lee’s funeral. Lee was McQueen’s martial arts instructor.

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In the funeral industry, a hearse is called a funeral coach or casket coach.

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The OK Corral is legendary because of a gunfight. Do you know where the OK Corral was? The year of the gunfight? How many people were killed? See answers at end.

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Law officer and saloonkeeper Wyatt Earp (1848-1929) has been the subject of many movies. Kurt Russell (born 1951) played Earp in “Tombstone” (1993), Kevin Costner (born 1955) had the leading role in “Wyatt Earp” (1994) and Henry Fonda (1905-1982) was Earp in “My Darling Clementine” (1946).

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Goldie Hawn (born 1945) was the ditzy, bikini clad blonde girl in the television sketch comedy show “Laugh-In” (1968-1973). She received more fan mail than any other actor in the show.

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Ernestine, the snorting telephone operator played by Lily Tomlin (born 1939), was a recurring character on “Laugh-In.” Her punch line was “We don’t care. We don’t have to. We’re the phone company.”

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The first telephone operators in the 1870s were teenage boys. Boys had worked in telegraph offices and they worked for low wages. However, they did not have the patience required for phones. The boys were soon replaced by young women, who also worked for low wages and presented a more gentile image to callers.

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The first female telephone operator was Emma Nutt (1848-?). She began working for Edwin Holme’s Telephone Despatch Co. Exchange at Boston in 1878. She worked as an operator for 33 years.

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AT&T first introduced direct dialing for long distance calls in 1951 in New Jersey. Direct dialing became possible throughout the country by 1959. Prior to direct dialing, operator assistance was required for all long distance calls.

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The number to call for emergencies — 911 — was established in 1968. The emergency number had to be three numbers that were not being used in any phone number or area code in the United States or Canada.

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In 1876 Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) filed a patent for the transmission of sounds telegraphically. Ten years later 150,000 people in the United States owned telephones.

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Answer: The famous gunfight at the OK Corral was on Oct. 26, 1881 in Tombstone, Arizona. There were three deaths in a gunfight that lasted 30 seconds. Allies Wyatt Earp and his brothers, Morgan and Virgil (1843-1905) and Doc Holliday (1851-1887) killed Billy Clanton (1862-1881) and brothers Frank McLaury (1848-1881) and Tom McLaury (1853-1881). Today, the OK Corral is a tourist draw with daily reenactments of the famous shootout.

Know It All is by Kerry McArdle. It runs in the weekend and Wednesday editions of the Daily Journal. Questions? Comments? Email knowitall(at)smdailyjournal.com or call 344-5200 ext. 114.