Burl Ives - 9-19

Vinyl.  Records.  That invention that allowed the average person the chance to listen to the music previously heard only in concerts, live performances, or orchestrions.  Singers have come and gone, but their music lives on.  One such survivor is Burl Ives, known by many as the narrator for the classic Rankin & Bass Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but also an accomplished musician.  Like so many others, his records adorn the walls of the ATT Music Room.

While Ives reached the big screen in movies including Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon and Two Moon Junction, he also performed live on stage as well as on television.  His recording career spanned the 1940s through the 1970s.  "Sings ... for Fun" was released in 1956, and included such tracks as "Woolie Boogie Bee," "The Three Jolly Huntsmen," "Big Rock Candy Mountain," and "Goober Peas."  

Question:

In 1950, Burl Ives was accused by what federal committee of having Communist leanings?

a)  House Un-American Actvities Committee

b)  Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Committee

c)  Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board

d)  Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States

e)  Chocolate

Answer below

Today in History

September 19th, 1881 was a day of mourning for the United States of America, as the country struggled with the loss of its sitting president, James Garfield.

Garfield lingered for months after being shot by Charles Guiteau at a train station in Washington, DC.  His injuries did not directly cause the death of Garfield, however.  It was more likely the poor practice of the doctors who aided him that allowed for infection to set in that proved fatal for the 20th president.  His vice president, Chester Arthur, took over the seat of government upon his passing. 

In 1946, Cannes, France held their first annual film festival, which had been held up a few years because of World War II.  It has since become an important event for movie makers and distributors.  Many films both international and American have been discovered at this event.

Births

Born on this date in 1913, Frances Farmer was an American actress who starred in a number of movies between the 1930s and 1940s, but who is more famous for her life off-screen. 

In 1943, Farmer was arrested in Hollywood for erratic behavior and placed in psychiatric care. Diagnosed a paranoid schizophrenic, her family checked her into a psychiatric hospital where she received a number of electro-convulsive shock treatments.  Upon her release, she promptly ran away and decried her therapy and her experience at the asylum as an "unbearable terror."  Repeated visits to the asylum afterwards led to questions that remain unresolved as to whether she was illegally lobotomized.  Her life after her institutionalization went well as long as she remained even tempered.  She died of cancer at the age of 56.

The American comedian Jimmy Fallon turns 39 today.  While some critics consider him crazy, others embrace his wacky sense of humor.  Skilled at impersonations, Fallon was hired for Saturday Night Live after doing stand-up shows.  He was a member of the cast for five years, prior to taking on feature films and becoming host for his own talk show.  His popularity remains high, and he is slated to replace Jay Leno next year as the host of NBC's The Tonight Show.

Quote:

If a person is treated like a patient, they are apt to perform like one.  -- Frances Farmer.

Answer:  a)