'Casablanca' Trivia-- Part 6: That Oscar and First Scene

MAGICAL TALISMAN

In 2006, David Copperfield paid $231,500 for director Michael Curtiz's Best Director Oscar for "Casablanca."

The Las Vegas showman, who kept it by his bed, said the statuette represented the excellence of old films that influenced his career:  "It keeps me hungry."

An unnamed seller later sold that statue at auction for more than $2 million.  Nice profit.

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THE FIRST SCENE

It wasn't the director's original plan to begin shooting the movie with a love scene, but when filming of "Now, Voyager" ran behind scedule and both Paul Heinreid and Claude Rains were unavailable, he had to change his mind.

The very first scene shot for "Casablanca" featured Rick and Ilsa standing over Sam's piano in Paris.

The Usual Suspects.  --Cooter

'Casablanca' Trivia-- Part 2: Lois Meredith? And, It Hit Home

**  A NEW NAME FOR A HEROINE

When "Casablanca" was being cast, the lead female role was to be an American named Lois Meredith.  But when Bergman got the role, the name of Rick's love interest was changed to Ilsa Lund; her nationality was switched to Norwegian.

Director Michael Curtiz came up with her name, taking it from a 19th-century travelogue called "The Harz Journey" by Heinrich Heine, which featured an enchantress named Princess Ilse.

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**  TEARS ON THE SET

Several extras and actors in the cast were from Europe, and the realities of war hit close to home.  While filming a flashback scene, Ilsa and Rick talked about how the Germans would soon storm Paris -- when a female extra burst into loud sobs, ruining the take.

Another extra walked over to the director to apologize.  "I am very sorry, sir, but that is my wife," he told Michael Curtiz of the crying woman.  "Please pardon her.  You see, our home was in Paris.  And we went through that awful day."

--Cooter

80th Anniversary of Casablanca-- Part 4: More Quotable Quotes 'I'm a Drunkard'

**  "I'm a Drunkard"

Major Strasser:  "What is your nationality?"

Rick:  "I'm a drunkard."

Captain Renault:  "That makes Rick a citizen of the world."

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**  "I remember every detail."

Ilsa:  "That was the day the Germans marched into Paris."

Rick:  "Not an easy day to forget."

Ilsa:  "No."

Rick:  "I remember every detail.  The Germans wore gray, you wore blue."

A World Citizen.  --CootDrunk

Ten April Days of Tragedy (April 11 to 20)-- Part 2: School Shootings and Industrial Accidents

**  APRIL 15, 2019:  Notre Dame Cathedral fire in Paris.

**  APRIL 16, 2007:  Mass shooting at Virginia Tech  (32 killed)

**  APRIL 17, 2013:  West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion  (15 killed)

**  APRIL 18, 1906:  San Francisco earthquake.  (Est. 3,000 to 6,000 killed)

**  APRIL 19, 1993:  Branch Dravidian Siege, Waco, Texas  (About 80 killed)

**  APRIL 19, 1995:  Oklahoma City Bombing  (168 killed)

**  APRIL 20, 1999:  Columbine High School in Colorado murders.  (13 students and one teacher killed)

**  APRIL 20, 2010:  Deepwater Horizon explosion in Gulf of Mexico (11 workers killed)

--DaCoot

That's Not the Statue of Liberty's Original Torch Up There

From the November 16, 2018, Northwest Herald  "Statue of Liberty's original torch moved  to a museum site."

The Statue of Liberty's original torch has been housed in the base of the statue (whose pedestal, by the way, is an old fort) since a replica replaced the original in the 1980s. was moved on Thursday to its new home in a museum that will open in 2019.  The museum is 100 yards from the statue on Liberty Island.

The base and detached flame of the 3,600 pound torch was moved very carefully.  It had been removed in 1984 because it had been too damaged by the elements and pollution to restore.

The torch left France for the United States in 1876 where it was exhibited at the Centennial Celebration of the U.S. in Philadelphia and then was taken to New York City and then to Madison Square Park where it was used to raise funds to pay for the statue's pedestal.  These were the first of many moves the torch has made.

It went back to Paris in 1882 and then returned to New York City along with other crated pieces of the statue in 1885.

The torch was held high by Lady Liberty from 1886 to 1984, but modifications to the flame changed its original design over the years.

--CooterStatue

On July 4... --Part 2: A Real Bad Day for the Confederacy, A Starry Day for the Flag

1845--  Author Henry David Thoreau began his two-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts.

1863--  Union troops under Gen. Ulysses Grant defeated Confederate forces at Vicksburg, Mississippi, ending a 14-month siege in the Civil War.  Occurring one day after the Confederate defeat at the Battle of Gettysburg.

1917--  In a ceremony in Paris, France honoring the French hero of the American  Revolution, U.S. Lt. Colonel Charles Stanton declared, "Lafayette, we are here!"

1946--  The Philippines became an independent republic after 48 years of U.S. rule.

1959--  America's 49-star flag was unveiled honoring Alaska's statehood.

1960--  America's 50-star flag was unveiled honoring Hawaii's statehood.

--CootDec

American Legion Paris Caucus of 1919

At the conclusion of the fighting in World War I,  officers were asked how the morale of the troops could be improved.  One officer, Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. suggested an organization of veterans be formed.  He was the oldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt.

The organization's first meeting took place in Paris, France, in March 15-17, 1919, where a temporary constitution was adopted, the name American Legion selected and an executive committee formed.  Three hundred were expected to attend but it is thought that more than a thousand, both officers and enlisted, were there.

Twelve possible names were nominated, including:

Comrades of the Great War
Liberty League
Society of the Great War
American Legion
American Comrades

Well, We Know Which One Was Selected.

Come on down to the Fox Lake American Legion on Friday, March 15, where we will be having a joint  St. Patrick's Day and 100th Anniversary party.

The Bicentennial of Illinois Statehood, December 3, 2018: World War I

From the November 4, 2018, Sauk Valley.Com.

ILLINOIS SENT MORE THAN 350,000 SOLDIERS TO EUROPE TO FIGHT DURING WORLD WAR I

By Tony Reid.

Artie Bennett, a Marine from Clinton, Illinois, was cut down by a hail of bullets in France.  A letter home from a fellow Marine said Bennett, age 18, had been attacking a German machine gun nest as Marines fought to stem a enemy advance that was threatening Paris in June 1918.

He lingered an hour before dying, one of the first casualties from Illinois.

The letter was typed by fellow Marine  Private John  W. Olsen, said:  "He passed away quietly, without complaint, and was laid to rest near where he fell."

Statue of Liberty's Original Torch Removed To Museum-- Part 2

The move on Thursday, November 15 was the latest chapter for the icon that "has crossed many miles in its lifetime,"  according to Stephen Briganti.

The torch left France in 1976 and was brought to the United States where it was exhibited at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and then it went to New York City's Madison Square Park.  The torch made the trip to help raise funds to pay for the statue's pedestal.

It went back to Paris in 1882 and then returned to New York Harbor along with the other pieces of the crated statue in 1885.

The torch was held high by Lady Liberty from 1886 to 1984, but modifications to the flame changed the original design over the years.

Glad the Original Is Going Inside.  --DaCoot

Today's Marine Corps Came of Age in WW I-- Part 3: Rushed Into Battle

It was then that the Marine Corps would undergo a radical transformation to do what it was asked to do.  Following boot camp (for the enlisted men) and Officer Candidate School (for officers), Marines would take a more advanced garrison and field training both stateside and following their arrival in France.

Before this Marines were primarily attached to ships and used in smaller operations.  (I attended Officer Candidate School in 1971 in Quantico, Virginia.)

However, the German Spring Offensive of 1918 altered that training, causing an immediate movement of undertrained troops to the outskirts of Paris.  The Marine mission was to stop the German Army breach into the Chateau-Thierry, the front line at a place known as Belleau Wood.

--Cooter

The World's Most Visited Art Museum (Go Ahead, Guess)

From Time Magazine.

And, I've been to two of the three listed, thanks to Mom and her family trips.

Annual attendance.

#1. LOUVRE-- Paris-- 9.7 million
#2. METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART-- New York City-- 6.1 million
#3. BRITISH MUSEUM-- London-- 5.5 million

I've been to the Louvre and British Museum.

I Have S-O- Much Culture. --Cooter

French Build a Replica Paris to Fool Germans in World War I

From the Daily Mail.

An incredibly-detailed second Paris was built at the end of World War I to fool German bombers who they hoped would be fooled into destroying the fake one.  It was built on the northern outskirts of Paris in the Maisons-Laffitte area, about fifteen miles from the city centre and on the Seine River and was a project of the French Army.  Very little is known about it and it included many bright lights.

The electrical engineer of the project was designer Ferrand Jacopazzi who would later get fame for illuminating the Eiffel Tower.

At the time, the Germans were using long-range Gotha bombers where a crew member would hold a small bomb by its fins and drop it over the side.

The last German air raid on Paris was September 1918, while the project was not yet finished.

Paris, however, was largely unscathed in both wars.

Poor London didn't do as well in either war.  In June 1917, it was severely damaged by Gotha bombers with 162 killed (46 at a kindergarten).  Up to 500 were injured.   Part of the reason for the high casulaties was that it was a novel thing and large crowds had gathered to watch the attack.

Bombing Civilians During World War I?  Where Would This Go?  --DaCoot

Paris' Notre Dame Spruced Up for Its 850th

From the Dec. 13, 2012, Chicago Tribune, by Alexandria Sage- Reuters.

"Quasimodo would be overjoyed.  Notre Dame Cathedral has had its lighting improved, a new platform to admire its Gothic facade erected, its organ renovated and is about to have new bells made for a nearly yearlong 850th anniversary celebration that kicks off this week."

Built in the 12th century, it has survived the Hundred Years War, the French Revolution and two world wars.  It is in an island in the Seine River.

"With its graceful flying buttresses, imposing facade and famous bells -- immortalized in Victor Hugo's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" by the bellringer Quasimodo..."  The first stone was laid in 1163 in the presence of Pope Alexander III.

Some important things that have happened at Notre Dame:  where France's King Henry IV converted to Catholicism, Napoleon crowned himself emperor and Joan of Arc was beatified.

I had the opportunity to see the cathedral in 2000 during a boat trip on the Seine.  believe me, it's impressive.

Cooter

Radium Craze Still Haunting Paris-- Part 2

Continued from 8-3-12.

Cancerous cells are more sensitive to radiation than healthy ones.  Curie died at age 66 from prolonged, unprotected exposure to radium.

France has identified about 130 sites suspected of raving radiation risks.  Old addresses on vintage advertising posters were even used to locate them.  About 40 of them are in the Paris area.

In Chaville, a suburb about seven miles away from central Paris, a two-story detached house has men in white bio-hazard suits drilling holes in wooden floors of what had been an aircraft altimeter factory before World War II.  Factory workers colored the dials with glow-in-the-dark paint made from radium powder and zinc sulfide.

These workers suffered a similar plight as the so-called Radium Girls in the U.S. who contracted radiation poisoning around 1917 from licking their paintbrushes to sharpen them.

Traces of radium were srtill present at the site.  Though the amount is too small to present risk, it will still have to be collected and sent to a nuclear waste storage facility.

The cost for a house like this will be around 260,000 euros, about $318,000.

So, Be Careful in Paris If You See Something Glowing in the Dark.  --Cooter

Radium Craze Still Haunting Paris-- Part 1

From the August 2nd Chicago Tribune by Michel Rose and Marion  Douet, Reuters.

"The Belle Poche, France's golden era at the turn of the 19th century, bequeathed Paris elegant landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, but also a more sinister legacy of radioactive floors and backyards that the capital is only now addressing."

After Marie Curie discovered the radioactive element radium in 1898, it set off a craze for the luminescent material that led for using it for everything from clock dials to lipsticks to water fountains.  The companies that produced them are long out of business, but their sites have left small doses of radium that can be dangerous over prolonged exposure.

Marie Curie never patented her discovery and a lot of people jumped in to make money from it.  After she proved that it could destroy cancerous cells, people assumed it had healing powers and started putting it in everything from body lotions to cough syrups.

And There I Was Playing With the Mercury.  --Cooter

Liberation of Paris Flag Returned-- Part 1

From September 19th Chron World News "Remorseful US vet returns French war flag to Paris" by Angela Doland.

The day Paris was liberated from the Germans in 1944, a young American soldier nabbed himself a souvenir, the French flag hanging from the Arc de Triomphe. Now, 26 years later, the 13 yard tricolor flag has come back home. A ceremony in southern France was held and the flag flown from town hall.

The American soldier remains anonymous and is embarrassed for what he did back then. The French government just wants to thank him for returning it and plans no punishment.

The cotton flag is still in excellent shape and has been carefully preserved.

Members of the French Resistance had placed the flag at the Arch August 25, 1944 after General Phillipe Leclerc's 2nd Armored Division, backed by American troops, rolled into Paris. The German occupiers had ignored Hitler's orders to destroy the city and surrendered.

More to come.

It's Great to Have It back Where It Belongs. --DaCoot

United States WW II Tank Discovered in France

Back in June, a US tank from WW II was discovered under a street in a town in northern France. Bomb experts were brought in to check to see if there could be an explosion.

It is thought that the tank was part of the 31st Tank Battalion. Old-timers in Chartres, about 55 miles southwest of Paris remember that it broke down or ran out of gas. After France was liberated, it was pushed down a hole and covered. Several tanks have been found in such a way in France over the years.

Ten years ago, a British 27 ton Mark 4 WW I tank was found in Flesquires near the Belgium border. It had been abandoned at the Battle of Cambroi.

Anybody Want to Buy a Slightly Rusted and Used WW II Tank? --Cooter