Radio and television personality Arthur Godfrey (1903-1983) is credited with starting the ukulele fad of the 1950s. Godfrey taught viewers how to play the instrument on "Arthur Godfrey and His Ukulele” (1950). Viewers could buy the "TV Pal” ukulele and strum along during the show.
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Another of Arthur Godfrey’s television series, "Talent Scouts” (1948-1958), was a consistent top 10 hit. The show, which began as a radio show, featured live performances by people hoping to get their big break.
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"60 Minutes” star Andy Rooney (born 1919) first joined CBS in 1949 as a writer for Arthur Godfrey’s "Talent Scouts.”
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Actor Mickey Rooney (born 1920) was married eight times. He has been married to his current wife, Jan Chamberlin, since 1978.
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A popular pair, Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland (1922-1969) starred in 10 films together. Their first movie together was "Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry” in 1937.
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Judy Garland was named Frances Ethel Gumm when she was born in Grand Rapids, Minn. in 1922. She was named after both of her parents, her father’s name was Francis Gumm and her mother was named Ethel Milne.
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Young Judy Garland became famous after starring as Dorothy in the 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz,” based on the books of L. Frank Baum. Do you know Dorothy’s last name in the movie? The state where she lived? The names of her aunt and uncle? The name of her dog? See answers at end.
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The first three Wizard of Oz books, all written by L. Frank Baum (1856-1919), were "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (1900), "The Marvelous Land of Oz " (1904) and "Ozma of Oz” (1907).
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Frank Baum’s inspiration for creating the word "Oz” was the filing cabinet in his office. One drawer was labeled A-N, the other drawer was labeled O-Z.
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A pair of ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz” movie are on display in Washington, D.C. at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. They have been on display since they were donated in 1979.
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The ruby is a precious red gem that comes from the mineral corundum. Corundum is the second hardest mineral after diamond.
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The quality of a diamond is often evaluated by the four C’s: cut, color, clarity and carat.
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The Hope Diamond is the world’s largest blue diamond. It is 45.5 carats.
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American heiress Evalyn Walsh McLean (1886-1947) bought the Hope Diamond from Pierre Cartier (born 1932) in 1912 for $185,000. Harry Winston (1896-1978) bought the Hope Diamond from the McLean estate in 1949, and donated it to the Smithsonian Institute in 1958. It is still on display there.
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NASCAR held the Winston Cup championship from 1972 to 2003. Last year, the championship had a change in sponsorship. The championship is now called the Nextel Cup.
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The winner of NASCAR’s Nextel Cup in 2004 was Kurt Busch (born 1978).
Answer: Dorothy Gale lived in Kansas with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. Her pet dog was Toto. The first line of the book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (1900), on which the movie was based, is "Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer’s wife.”
Know It All is by Kerry McArdle. It runs in the weekend and Wednesday editions of the Daily Journal. Questions? Comments?
E-mail knowitall@smdailyjournal.com or call 344-5200 x114.
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