What They Ate and Drank on the Titanic's Last Night-- Part 3: Dan Coxon and Adolphe Saalfeld

"Popcorn Dan" proved to be a real man.  His name was Dan Coxon and he was a one-armed popcorn vendor who had traveled to his native Britain to visit, but then delayed his return home so he could return aboard "a highly touted new steamer, the Titanic," according to Veronica Hinke.  

Traveling in steerage, Coxon boarded the Titanic in Southampton only to be lost forever in the disaster.  His body was never recovered.

"I was in awe of how this man was able to travel such a great distance from northern Wisconsin, and on board such a magnificent ship," said Hinke.  "Coxon's story led me to delve further into the story of the Titanic. to discover more about the on-board experiences of others like Cowon.

"What did they eat?   What did they drink?"  Hinke wanted to know.  "I found every piece of information I could about people who had tucked away menus or written letters home, like the splendid letter that passenger Adolphe Saalfeld wrote home to his wife, Gertrude telling in incredible detail, of the fabulous lunch that he ate on his first day aboard the Titanic."

--Cooter

What They Ate and Drank on the Titanic's Last Night-- Part 2: 'Popcorn Dan'?

On the evening before roughly 1,500 people would lose their lives in one of the worst maritime disasters of the 20th century, the first-class passengers aboard the Titanic sat down for an elaborate meal that included oysters, consomme Olga (a veal stock soup flavored with sturgeon marrow), filet mignon, poached salmon, chicken Lyonnaise, roast squab with cress, foie gras, roasted pigeon, lamb with mint sauce and punch romaine, a palate-cleansing granita flavored with oranges and drenched in Champagne.

If you've been wondering what they ate on the ship, author Veronica Hinke recreates the decadent meals, cocktails and dining protocol of history's most tragic voyage in "The Last Night on the Titanic: Unsinkable Drinking, Dining & Style."

Hinke's passion for the Titanic began back when she was a little girl growing up in the central Wisconsin town of Merrill.

She says she was haunted  by the local legend behind what turned out to be a real-life man, the so-called "Popcorn Dan."

--CooterDan

What They Ate and Drank on the Titanic's Last Night-- Part 1: Lots and Lots of Booze

From the October 16, 2019, Chicago Tribune by Amy Bizzarri.

Before it sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, the "Floating Mansion" that was the Titanic set the bar for luxurious dining.  

Four city blocks long and as tall as an 11-story building, this mega ship spoiled its first-class passengers with exquisite 10-plus course meals prepared by top chefs using state-of-the-art cooking equipment, including the toaster and the electric sorbet maker,  served in airy cafes and lavish dining halls that rivaled the finest restaurants in Paris.

More than 1,000 bottles of wine, 850 bottles of spirits and 20,000 bottles of beer were stocked in its hold, and the bartenders were well-versed in the hottest cocktails of the era-- the stirred, strained, bracing Manhattan and the gin and sparkling lemonade Tom Collins.

Enough Alcohol?  --Cooter

'The Godfather' Turns 50, Where Are They Now-- Part 7: Talia Shire, Diane Keaton and John Cazale

TALIA SHIRE

After playing the abused wife in "The Godfather", the actress was the ever-supportive Adrian in "Rocky."

Shire, now 75, reprised the role on "Rocky's" four sequels and appeared on others, including "I Hear Huckabees" (2004) and "Palo Alto" (2013).

DUANE KEATON

Now 76, Keaton played wife Kay in all three movies and established herself as one of Hollywood's premier actresses in films such as "Annie Hall" (1977), "Baby Boom" (1987) and "The First Wives Club" (1996).  Her latest charmers?  "Poms" (2019) and "Love, Weddings & Other Disasters" (2020).

JOHN CAZALE 

The Boston native, memorable as Fredo in two "Godfather" films, went on to other memorable performances in "The Conversation" (1974) and "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975).  He died of cancer atbv42 after completing his role for "The Deer Hunter" (1978).  He was in a relationship with his "Deer Hunter" co-star Meryl Streep at the time.

A Great Movie.  --CootFather

'The Godfather' Turns 50, Where Are They Now?-- Part 6: Robert Duvall and James Caan

ROBER DUVALL

Since his film debut as Boo Radley in "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962), Duvall -- who played the Corleone's legal consultant Tom Hagen -- has racked up seven Oscar nominations, including "The Judge" in 2015.  (He won in 1984 for "Tender Mercies.")

The actor, now 91, is also a skilled tango dancer.

JAMES CAAN

He auditioned for the role of Michael Corleone before Coppola chose him for brash older brother Sonny.  Now 81, Caan has stayed busy during the later decades with more than 90 film and TV credits -- most notably in the 2003 holiday classic "Elf."

--Cooter

'The Godfather' Turns 50-- Part 5: Where Are They Now? Al Pacino and Marlon Brando

AL PACINO

**  The New York City-born actor who starred in all three "Godfather" movies, has memorably portrayed intense characters from both sides if the law in films such as "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975), "Scarface" (1983), "Heat" (1995) and "The Irishman" (2019).

Still in demand at age 81, he most recently co-starred in "House of Gucci."

MARLON BRANDO

**  The mercurial star-- who made an explosive debut in the 1950s in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "On the Waterfront" -- refuse to appear in "The Godfather:  Part 2."

But he agreed to pull off a tongue-in-cheek version of a Godfather-lik mob boss in the 1990 comedy "The Freshman."

He died in 2004 at age 80.

--Cooter

'The Godfather' Turns 50-- Part 4: About That Horse's Head

THAT BLOODY HORSE HEAD

Discovered in the bed of the ruthless movie producer, it wasn't a prop:  it was a real horse's head from a dogfood plant in New Jersey.  That scream the producer let out was as good as Pacino's in "Godfather 3."

THE GODFATHER IN POP CULTURE

"Return of the Jedi" (1983)  It's no coincidence that Princess Leia kills Jabba the Hutt by strangling him with her chain.  Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan was inspired by Luca Brasi, whose eyes and tongue bulge out as he is garroted by an assassin.

"You've Got Mail" (1998)   Doing his best Vito impression, Tom Hanks insists that life's problems can be solved by one of the Godfather's credos, telling Meg Ryan to "go to the mattresses," to fight for her business to stay open.

"The Sopranos" (1999)   The TV series made several references to the original mob family, like when Tony Soprano gets shot after chugging orange juice near his car.

"Despicable Me"  (2010)   Even this G-rated kiddie movie includes a nod"  Villain Gru finds a doll's head in his bed and screams bloody murder.

--CootFather

'The Godfather' Turns 50-- Part 3: $100,000 and Set Hijinks

**  $100,000

That's what it cost to do Sonny's tollbooth death scene (all those bullets) and blood packers, you know.

**  Hijinx On Set

Caan and Duvall, initially intimidated by the legendary Brando, broke the ice on set by dropping their pants and mooning him.  "He made me!" Caan says of Duvall.

Brando upstaged them by dropping his own trousers while the crew was  setting up the wedding scene photo.

**  A Blond Michael?

The studio floated Robert Redford and Ryan O'Neal for the role of the youngest Corleone brother.

Martin Sheen also auditioned.

--CootMoon

'The Godfather' Turns 50-- Part 2: It Was a Family Affair and That Darn Cat, What? No Brando?

**  IT WAS A FAMILY AFFAIR

Director Francis Ford Coppola didn't just cast his sister, Talia Shire, in the movie.  Their father, Carmine Coppola composed the music for the soundtrack.  

And, the baby boy that was in the baptism scene was the director's daughter who grew up to appear in the sequels (in other roles) and has become a renowned writer and director herself.

Her brothers, Roman and Gian-Carlo, also had small background roles.

*********************************

**  THAT CAT

It was a stray that Coppola told Brando to improvise with.

**  NO MARLON BRANDO?

Paramount actually preferred to have Burt Lancaster, Laurence Olivier  or Anthony Quinn to play crime boss Don Vito Corleone.

--CootCat

'The Godfather' Turns 50-- Part 1

From the February 27, 2022, Parade Magazine by Mara Reunstein.

Some of the questions that arose during the filming of this movie classic released fifty years ago were:

The cast is all wrong.

The tone is too somber.

It needs to be shorter.

Does it have to be set in the 1940s?

Those were just some of the questions Paramount Pictures executives had about the adaptation of Mario Puzo's gangster movie about a powerful Italian American family as it lumbered to its March 1972 release.

Director Francis Ford Coppola, who had co-written the big war biopic "Patton" after Elia Kazan and Arthur Penn turned it down.

Today Coppola's "The Godfather" is considered a true cinematic masterpiece and a pop culture touchstone.

It grossed $136 million in all, surpassed at the time only by "Gone With the Wind" and "The Sound of Music.  Adjusted for inflation, that's $711 million, making it the 26th highest-grossing film of all time.

Well, add another $6 to that when I had my own private showing at the Fox Lake Theatre.  (I was the only one in the theater back in March.  This was my first theater seen movie since February 28, 2020 for some reason.)

--CootBrando

Eight Things About the Titanic That You Might Not Know

From the April 15, 2022 Buzz "These 8 Titanic secrets surfaced 110 years after the wreck."

The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, 110 years ago.  It wasn't until 36 years ago that the wreck was discovered.

**  The 700+ third class passengers had to share just two bathtubs.

**  One of the ship's musicians wasn't officially declared dead until 2000.  As a matter of fact, the French Army declared him a deserter when he failed up to serve during World War I.

**  The ship's lookouts relied on their eyesight alone as the ship's second officer was replaced at the last minute and forgot to hand over the key to unlock the locker where the binoculars were stored.  In 2010, that key was auctioned for $130,000.

**  One of the richest men in the world, if not the richest, died in the wreck.  John Jacob Astor's worth was $3.5 billion in today's dollars.  His body was one of the ones recovered and had $60,000 on his pocket.

**  One of the ship's cooks survived at least two hours in the frigid North Atlantic waters thanks to copious amounts of whiskey he had drunk.

**  Most people died of hypothermia within 15 minutes.

**  The 1997 movie cost more to produce than what it cost to build the Titanic.

**  Despite what eyewitnesses said, it wasn't until the wreck was found that it was officially confirmed that the ship had split in two pieces.

**  The wreck could vanish by 2030.  Scientists believe bacteria will eat it away by then.

And, Who Says Drinking Is Bad for You?  --Cooter

Four Once-Popular Restaurant Chains on the Down Side

From the April 9, 2022, MSN "4 once popular  burger chains that are currently shrinking" by Owen Duff.

1.  FRIENDLY'S

Founded 1935.  At peak in 1980s, had about 850 locations.  Currently at about 125.

2.  JOHNNY ROCKETS

Founded 1986.  About 147 remain.

3.  RUBY TUESDAY

Founded 1972.  Between 2016 and 2020 it shrank from 673 stores to 209.

4.  TGI FRIDAYS

Founded  1965.  Between 2017 and 2020 shrunk by more than 140 restaurants.  Now at just 311 locations.  

I used to go to the TGIF near Gurnee Mills in Gurnee, Illinois, quite often to play NTN trivia on the TVs..  Back then, all TGIFs had NTN.  Great food, reasonable beer prices and good times back then.

I'd never been to one of the first two on the list.

--Cooter

50 Things About 'The Godfather'-- Part 8: Joel Grey?

47.  Caan, Duvall and Pachino were all nominated in the supporting actor category, but the winner was Joel Grey for "Cabaret."

48.  All deep and abiding respect for Joel Grey, but the fact that Pacino didn't win for playing Michael Corleone is mind-boggling.

49.  Two years later, the Academy had the opportunity to get it right when Pacino was nominated for best actor for "The Godfather Part II" - but the Oscar went to Art Carney for "Harry and Tonto."

50.  "The Godfather" is the most memorable, most influential, most beloved, most discussed, most imitated, most entertaining American movie ever made (with the possible exception of "The Godfather II."

--Cooter

50 Things About "The Godfather"-- Part 7: Killing Sonny

42.  Some 400 squibs were affixed to Caan to produce one of the bloodiest scenes since "Bonnie & Clyde,"  Possibly a case of overkill.

43.  The killing of Sonny at the Long Beach Causeway took three days to film and cost about $650,000 in today's dollars.

44.  Brando famously refused to learn his lines, so cue cards were taped on lamps, desks, bushes and even other  actors.

45. "The Godfather" is still the 25th highest grossing film of all time, with an adjusted-for-inflation gross of $722 million.

46.  At the 45th Academy Awards, the film won best picture, best actor for Brando and best adapted screenplay for Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo.

--CootWhat'sMyLine?

Fifty Things About "The Godfather"-- Part 6: Who Sleeps with the Fishes?

37.  "Do you know who I am?  I'm Moe Greene!  I made my bones when you were going out with cheerleaders!"

38.  "Fredo, you're my older brother and I love you.  But don't ever take sides with anyone  against the family again.  Ever."

39.  "That's a Sicilian message.  It means that Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes."

40.  Pacino and Keaton got hammered after the big wedding scene because they were both convinced the movie was going to be terrible and potentially career-damaging.

41.  James Caan recently tweeted a black and white photo of himself covered with "blood" after filming the scene in which Sonny was killed.  (Two girls are seen looking through the window of the toll booth.  They appear to be either confused or horrified.)  Wrote Caan:  "Jimmy, that's a wrap!  Yeah, yeah I know.  End of Tweet."

--CootShot

Fifty Things About "The Godfather"-- Part 5: 'I'm Gonna Make Him An....'

30.  A  generation later,  "The Sopranos" would pay tribute to "The Godfather" by having  the strip club named "Bada Bing."

31.  "Modern Family" paid tribute to "The Godfather" in an episode titled "Fulgencio," which features a baptism ceremony intercut with scenes of revenge.  (Nobody is actually killed, because "Modern Family" was a sitcom and that would have been insane.

32.  Don Corleone's cat was a stray found on the Paramount lot.

33.  Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman all reportedly turned down the role of Michael.

********************************

REMEMBER THESE QUOTES.

34.  "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

35.  "I believe in America.  America has made my fortune.  And I raised my daughter in the American fashion."

36.  "A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."

--CootFather

Fifty Things About 'The Godfather'-- Part 4: Don't Want No Oscar, No Way, No How

24.  Brando skipped the Academy Awards and sent Sacheen Littlefeather in his stead to explain why he was declining the Oscar to protest Hollywood's treatment of Native Americans.

25.  Pachino was also a no-show at the Oscars because he felt he should have been in the best actor and not supporting actor category given that he had more screen time than Brando.

26.  Robert De Niro and Marlin Brando win Oscars for playing the same character at different points in his life.  (Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix won Oscars for playing the Joker -- but two very different versions of the character in two standalone movies.

27.  That was a real horse's head.

28.  James Caan's Sonny favored the nonsensical phrase "bada bing."

29.  Caan had overheard the real-life mobster Carmine Persico using the phrase.

--RoadBing

McHenry Area Hist. Soc. Meeting Today: History of Board Games

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 12, the McHenry Area Historical Society will be having a meeting at the McHenry Savings Bank at 353 Bank Drive, McHenry, Illinois. (On Route 31 south of town toward the hospital.)

The meeting will be held in the room downstairs.

The program will be presented by board game expert Patrick Wirtz who has a large collection of board games dating back to the early 1900s.  He will bring about two dozen and place them on display while he shares a brief historical sketch about each of them.

The meeting starts at 10 am.

I especially liked war games of any sort like Risk and Stratego.  Also Dogfight and Broadside.

A Gaming to Go.  --Cooter

50 Things About 'The Godfather'-- Part 3: Same Gal, Three Movies (and Related)

15.  Marlon Brando was 47 years old when he played Don Corleone -- the same age as Bradly Cooper, Leonardo DiCaprio and Joaquin Phoenix are today.  (He sure looked a lot older than that to me.)

16.  Before Brando was cast, the top choices tp play Don Corleone included Ernest Borgnine and Laurence Olivier.

17.  Joe Spinell, who played the hitman Will Cici, went on to portray the loan shark Gazzo in "Rocky."

18.  When Clemenza recites the ingredients for his spaghetti sauce ("You start off with a little bit of oil, then you fry some garlic, then you throw in some tomatoes...", that's in the Coppola family recipe.

19.  Nearly every critic in America praised the family, but Stanley Kauffman of the New Republic slammed Brando's performance, said Al Pacino "rattles around in a part too demanding for him" and opined James Caan was merely "OK as his older brother."

20.  Sofia Coppola was in all three "Godfather" films.

21.  In the original, she was Michael Francis Rizzi, the infant son of Connie and Carlo who is getting baptized.

22.  In "Godfather II," Sofia can be seen very briefly as an immigrant girl on the ship taking Vito Corleone to Ellis Island.

23. In "Godfather III," she was Mary Corleone, daughter of Michael and Kay.

--Cootleone

April Events of the American Revolution: Paul Revere's Ride and Battles of Lexington and Concord

From the American Battlefield Trust April 2022 calendar.

APRIL 12, 1776

**  Halifax Resolves, North Carolina.  First colony to authorize its delegates to vote for independence.

APRIL 18, 1775

**  Revere and Dawes ride.

APRIL 19, 1775

**  Battles of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts

APRIL 19, 1782

**  Netherlands recognizes American independence

APRIL  27, 1777

**  Battle of Ridgefield, Connecticut

APRIL 25, 1781

**  The Battle of Hobkirk's Hill, South Carolina

--Cooter

50 Things About 'The Godfather'-- Part 2: 'Leave the Gun, Take the ...'

8.  The studio wanted "The Godfather" to be set in modern times (the 70s back then) and perhaps Kansas City to save in the budget, but Coppola insisted on keeping it in New York from 1945 to 1955.  Aren't we glad he did.

9.  Actor Richard Castellano, playing Clemenza, improvised one of the most memorable lines in the film:  "Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

10.  Francis For Coppola's good friend, George Lucas was in charge of the montage of newspaper headlines and crime scene photos depicting the bloody war between the five families.

11.  Lucas' contributions was his way of saying thanks to his friend Francis, who helped raise funds for his "American Graffiti."

12.  Coppola's father Carmine is the piano player in the aforementioned montage.

13.  The combined salaries of Al Pacino, James Caan and Diane Keaton was $105,000.  They were each paid $35,000.

14.  Robert Duval was paid $36,000 for his two months of work.  He must have had a better agent.

--Cooter

50 Things About 'The Godfather' on Its 50th Anniversary-- Part 1: Dem Oranges

 The movie "The Godfather" was released on March 15, 1972.  I don't remember if I saw it on the big screen back then or not.  Most likely not.  But on March 24 this year I finally got my chance to see it at the theater and took advantage of it at the Fox Lake Theatre in Fox Lake, Illinois.  

I was expecting a big crows and was surprised when I found myself the only one there.  Oh, well, my own private screening.

I have seen it many times on TV.  That was just one magnificent film.

Chicago Sun-Times movie columnist Richard Roeper wrote an article "50 Ways to Love 'The Godfather.' "

Here they are:

1.  ORANGES.  Beware the oranges.  When you see one in the movie, death and heartbreak are sure to follow.

2.  CONNIE'S WEDDING:  The soon-to-be-late Tessio juggles an orange.

3.  STREET WHERE DON CORLEONE gets shot:  Oranges spilled.  "I'm gonna buy some fruit."

4.  PRODUCER JACK WOLTZ's dining room table with a giant bowl or oranges.

5.  THE FIVE FAMILIES' MEETING:  An orange atop the bowl of fruit on the table.

6.  DON COREONE's DARDEN:  Oranges

7.  PRODUCTION DESIGNER DEAN TAVOULARIS used the oranges to brighten the otherwise muted hues of the sets.

Beware the Oranges.  --CootFather

Looking Back at the Old Puppet Bar in Fox Lake

This place sure meant a lot to me back in the 1980s as I was starting my deejay business and this was one of the first places I had a regular job from 1982 to 1988 or so.  If it was still open and owned by Joe Gates, I might very well still be deejaying there,  I had some mighty good times.

At the Fox Lake Historical Society meeting on March 19th, a man brought in a book for the 75th anniversary of the Fox Lake Fire Department printed in 1983.  He passed it around and I quickly leafed through it and, guess what, I found an ad from the old Puppet Bar (actual name Eagle Point Park).

The ad had some prices which I found of particular interest.

Friday Fish Fry was $3.95 in 1983.

On Wednesdays you could get AUCE bbq ribs, crab legs, shrimp, soup, potatoes and salad bar for $7.95.

And, it mentioned that it was shown on the "Real People" TV show.

I found out about this place when I saw it on that TV show.

I know my buddy Frank will like this.  Right Frank?

I Think I Could Afford to Eat There.  --RoadPuppet