Entertainment Facts

Entertainment Facts

The 7 Dwarfs are Happy, Grumpy, Dopey (the beardless one), Doc, Bashful, Sneezy, Sleepy. They were miners.

The first permanent movie theater was the 400-seat vitascope hall in New Orleans.

In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.

Hang On Sloopy is the official rock song of Ohio.

The airplane Buddy Holly died in was the "American Pie." (Thus the name of the Don McLean song.) MYTH - Dwyer's Flying Service did not name their planes. McLean made up the name.

The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It to Beaver".

Internationally, Baywatch is the most popular TV show in history.

David Prowse was the guy in the Darth Vader suit in Star Wars. He spoke all of Vader's lines, and didn't know that he was going to be dubbed over by James Earl Jones until he saw the screening of the movie.

Four people played Darth Vader: David Prowse was his body, James Earl Jones did the voice, Sebastian Shaw was his face and a fourth person did the breathing.

Gilligan of Gilligan's Island had a first name that was only used once, on the never-aired pilot show. His first name was Willy. The skipper's real name on Gilligan's Island is Jonas Grumby. It was mentioned once in the first episode on the radio newscast about the wreck. The Professor's real name was Roy Hinkley, Mary Ann's last name was Summers and Mrs. Howell's maiden name was Wentworth. 

The Les Nessman character on the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati wore a band-aid in every episode. Either on himself, his glasses, or his clothing.

John Larroquette of "Night Court" and "The John Larroquette Show" was the narrator of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

In Dutch vader means father

A walla-walla scene is one where extras pretend to be talking in the background -- when they say "walla-walla" it looks like they are actually talking.

Bela Lugosi died during the filming of "PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE". Director Edward D. Wood Jr. used a taller relative who held a cape in front of his face so the audience wouldn't know the difference so he could complete filming.

Bob May played the Robot on "Lost In Space" (1965-68) and Dick Tufeld was the voice.

Boris Karloff is the narrator of the seasonal television special "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

Casey Kasem is the voice of Shaggy on "Scooby-Doo."

Cheryl Ladd (of Charlie's Angels fame) played the voice, both talking and singing, of Melody Valentine in the 70s Saturday morning cartoon "Josie and the Pussycats."

Clark Gable used to shower more than 4 times a day.

Kermit the frog delivered the commencement address at Southampton College located in the state of New York in 1996.

Debra Winger was the voice of E.T.

James Doohan, who plays Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott on Star Trek, is missing the entire middle finger of his right hand. 

Jean-Claude Van Damme was the alien in the original "PREDATOR" in almost all the jumping and climbing scenes.

June Foray, the voice of Talking Tina from the classic Twilight Zone episode "Living Doll", was also the voice of Rocky the talking squirrel from "Rocky & Bullwinkle". 

Kathleen Turner was the voice of Jessica Rabbit, and Amy Irving was her singing voice. 

King Kong is the only movie to have its sequel (Son of Kong) released the same year (1933).

Lorne Greene had one of his nipples bitten off by an alligator while he was host of "Lorne Greene's Wild Kingdom." 

Lynyrd Skynard was the name of the gym teacher of the boys who went on to form that band. He once told them, "You boys ain't never gonna amount to nothin'." 

Melanie Griffith's mother is actress Tippi Hendren, best known for her lead role in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.

Of the six men who made up the Three Stooges, three of them were real brothers (Moe, Curly and Shemp.)

Sharon Stone was the first "Star Search" spokes model.

The "Grinch" singer and voice of Tony the Tiger is a man named Thurl Ravenscroft. 

The Andy Griffth Show was the first spin-off in TV history. It was spun-off from the Danny Thomas Show.

The band "Duran Duran" got their name from an astronaut in the 1968 Jane Fonda movie "Barbarella."

The famous split-fingered Vulcan salute is actually intended to represent the first letter ("shin," pronounced "sheen") of the word "shalom." As a small boy, Leonard Nimoy observed his rabbi using it in a benediction and never forgot it; eventually he was able to add it to "Star Trek" lore.

The first inter-racial kiss on TV was in an original "STAR TREK" episode entitled "Plato's Stepchildren". The kiss was between Nichelle Nichols and William Shatner.

The first time the word "hell" was spoken on TV was in an original "STAR TREK" episode entitled "City on the Edge of Forever". The exact quote was "...let's get the hell out of here...", spoken by William Shatner.

The mask used by Michael Myers in the original "Halloween" was actually a Captain Kirk mask painted white.

The name for Oz in the "Wizard of Oz" was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence "Oz."

The name of the Vulcan's heaven is Sha Ka Ree, this is a play on the name Sean Connery who was considered for the part of Sarek, Spock's father.

The spaceship 'Valley Forge' from "Silent Running" (1971) actually got it's name from the location used to film some of its interiors; a decommissioned aircraft carrier named the U.S.S. Valley Forge.

Video Killed the Radio Star was the very first video ever played on MTV.

One in every 4 americans has appeared on television!

Actress Jayne Mansfield accidentally exhaled her breast out of her dress during the telecast of the Academy Awards in 1957.

One of the many Tarzans, Karmuela Searle, was mauled to death on the set by a raging elephant!

In the original version of Cinderella the slipper was made out of fur, not glass!

In the movie 'The Wizard Of Oz', Toto the dog's salary was $125 a week, while Judy Garland was $500 a week.

In Mel Brooks' 'Silent Movie,' mime Marcel Marceau is the only person who has a speaking role.

Billie Jean by Michael Jackson was the first video to air on MTV by a black artist.

The General Lee cars used in the popular show The Dukes of Hazards were 1969 Dodge Chargers.

The Muppet Show was banned from TV in Saudi Arabia because one of its stars was a pig.

The first music video ever played on MTV Europe was by Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing."

The childhood word game Hangman was the inspiration for TV's Wheel of Fortune.

Kermit the Frog is left-handed and has eleven points on his collar.

A contestant who freezes before the camera on a TV game show is called a "Bambi," in reference to a deer paralyzed by the glare of headlights.

The first letter Vanna White ever turned on the game show Wheel of Fortune was the letter "T."

The total number of episodes for the sitcom "I Love Lucy" was 180.

Lenny Kravitz's mother played the part of Helen on the TV sitcom "The Jeffersons."

Daytime dramas are called Soap Operas because they were originally used to advertise soap powder.

Actress Jayne Mansfield accidentally exhaled her breast out of her dress during the telecast of the Academy Awards in 1957.

Adjusting for inflation, Cleopatra, 1963, is the most expensive movie ever made to date (mid-1999). Its budget of $44 million is equivalent to 270 million 1999 dollars.

After six months at the off-Broadway New York Shakespeare Festival Theater, Hair opened at the Biltmore Theater in New York, in 1968. It was the first rock-musical to play on the Great White Way.

Although identified with Scotland, bagpipes are actually a very ancient instrument, introduced into the British Isles by the Romans.

As of 1996, Hee Haw holds the record for the longest running weekly first-run syndicated show in the history of television. It spanned over 4 decades, from the late '60s to the early '90s, airing every Saturday night at 7:00.

Because of TV censorship, actress Mariette Hartley was not allowed to show her belly button on Gene Roddenberry's STAR TREK [episode #78 "All Our Yesterdays" in 1969] but later Roddenberry got even when he gave Hartley "two" belly buttons in the sci-fi movie Genesis II (1973).

Bette Midler, Barry Manilow and many other famous vocalists got their start in a New York City club called The Continental Baths.

Between 1931 and 1969 Walt Disney collected thirty-five Oscars.

"Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson was the first video to air on MTV by a black artist.

By the time a child finishes elementary school she will have witnessed 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence on television.

C3P0 is the first character to speak in Star Wars.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard's fish was named Livingston.

Captain Kirk never said "Beam me up, Scotty," but he did say, "Beam me up, Mr. Scott."

Carnegie Hall in New York City opened in 1891 with Tchaikovsky as guest conductor.

Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous 45 second shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's movie, Psycho, which actually took 7 days to shoot.

Comedian/actor Billy Crystal portrayed Jodie Dallas, the first openly gay main character on network television on ABC's Soap, which aired from 1977 to 1981.

Disneyland opened in 1955.

Donald Duck lives at 1313 Webfoot Walk, Duckburg, Calisota.

Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.

Elvis Presley made his first appearance on national television in 1956. He sang Blue Suede Shoes and Heartbreak Hotel on "The Dorsey Brothers Show."

Even though they broke up 25 years ago, the Beatles continue to sell more records each year than the Rolling Stones.

Gaetano Albert "Guy" Lombardo did the first New Year's Eve broadcast of "Auld Lang Syne," from the Roosevelt Grill in New York City in 1929/1930.

George Harrison, with "My Sweet Lord," was the first Beatle to have a Number 1 hit single following the group's breakup.

Gunsmoke debuted on CBS-TV in 1955, and went on to become the longest-running (20 years) series on television.

"Happy Birthday" was the first song to be performed in outer space, sung by the Apollo IX astronauts on March 8, 1969.

In 1920, 57% of Hollywood movies billed the female star above the leading man. In 1990, only 18% had the leading lady given top billing.

In 1938 Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel sold all rights to the comic-strip character Superman to their publishers for $130.

In 1962, the Mashed Potato, the Loco-Motion, the Frug, the Monkey, and the Funky Chicken were popular dances.

In 1969, Midnight Cowboy became the first and only X-rated production to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. (Its rating has since been changed to R.)

In 1987 Playtex premiered the first US TV commercials with real lingerie models displaying their bras and underwear on national television.

In Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart never said "Play it again, Sam."

In Disney's Fantasia, the Sorcerer's name is Yensid, which is Disney spelled backward.

In October 1959 Elizabeth Taylor became the first Hollywood star to receive $1 million for a single picture. (for Cleopatra)

In the movie Casablanca Rick never says "Play it again, Sam." He says: "You played it for her, you can play it for me. Play it!". Ilsa says "Play it, Sam. Play `As Time Goes By"'.

In the US, federal law states that children's TV shows may contain only 10 minutes of advertising per hour and on weekends the limit is 10 and one-half minutes.

In The Wizard of Oz the Scarecrow was looking for a brain, the Cowardly Lion was looking for courage, and the Tin Man was looking for a heart.

Jethro Tull is not the name of the rock singer responsible for such songs as "Aqualung" and "Thick as a Brick." Jethro Tull is the name of the band. The singer is Ian Anderson. The original Jethro Tull was an English horticulturalist who invented the seed drill.

Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison were all 27 years old when they died.

Little Jackie Paper was the name of Puff the Magic Dragon's human friend.

Mickey Mouse is known as 'Topolino' in Italy.

Movie detective Dirty Harry's badge number is 2211.

MTV (Music Television) made its debut at 12:01 a.m. on August 1, 1981 The first music-video shown on the rock-video cable channel was, appropriately, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles. MTV's original five veejays were Martha Quinn, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, J.J. Jackson and Alan Hunter.

Napoleon Bonaparte is the historical figure most often portrayed in movies. He has been featured in 194 movies, Jesus Christ in 152, and Abraham Lincoln in 137.

On February 9, 1993, "Dateline NBC" was forced to publicly apologize, and NBC president Michael Gartner resigned for a scandal caused by "Dateline" rigging a GM truck with explosives to simulate a "scientific" crash-test demo.

Penny Marshall was the first woman film director to have a film take in more than $100 million at the box office - she accomplished this with the 1988 flick Big.

Pierce Brosnan's first appearance as James Bond was in 1995 Golden Eye.

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, was created in 1939, in Chicago, for the Montgomery Ward department stores for a Christmas promotion. The lyrics were written as a poem by Robert May, but weren't set to music until 1947. Gene Autry recorded the hit song in 1949.

Santa's reindeer are: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen.

The "Miss America" pageant made its network TV debut on ABC In 1954. Miss California, Lee Ann Meriwether, was crowned the winner.

The "Twelve Days of Christmas" gifts: A partridge in a pear tree, two turtledoves, three French hens, four calling birds, five gold rings, six geese laying, seven swans swimming, eight maids milking, nine ladies dancing, ten lords leaping, eleven pipers piping, and twelve drummers drumming. (There are 364 gifts altogether)

The 1st Academy Awards ceremony to be telecast was the 25th, in 1953.

The 1st Academy Awards were presented in 1927.

The 1st annual Grammy Awards were awarded in 1959. The Record of the Year was "Volare" by Domenico Modugno, the Album of the Year was "Peter Gunn" by Henry Mancini and the winner of the best R&B performance was "Tequila" by Champs.

The 1st CMA (Country Music Association) Awards, hosted by Sonny James and Bobbie Gentry, were presented at an awards banquet and show in 1967.

The 1st comic strip was "The Yellow Kid," in the New York World in 1896. The cartoonist was Richard Felton Outcault.

The 1st feature-length animated film, released by Disney Studios in 1937, was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

The 1st inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961 were Jimmie Rodgers, Fred Rose and Hank Williams were.

The 1st interracial kiss on TV took place Nov. 22, 1968 between Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Lt.Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) on an episode of "Star Trek."

The 1st kiss in a movie was between May Irwin and John Rice in "The Widow Jones," in 1896.

The 1st live televised murder was in 1963, when Jack Ruby killed JFK's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald while millions of viewers watched.

The 1st performance of Handel's "Messiah" was on April 13, 1742 at the New Music rooms in Fishamble St., Dublin. Because of the demand for space, the men were asked not to wear their swords and the ladies not to wear hooped skirts.

The 1st presidential news conference filmed for TV was in 1955. Eisenhower was the president.

The 1st televised presidential debate was September 26, 1960, between Nixon and Kennedy.

The 1st time the "f-word" was spoken in a movie was by Marianne Faithfull in the 1968 film, "I'll Never Forget Whatshisname." In Brian De Palma's 1984 movie, "Scarface," the word is spoken 206 times - an average of once every 29 seconds.

The 1st winner of the Academy Award for best picture, and the only silent film to achieve that honor, was the 1927 film, "Wings."

The bagpipe was originally made from the whole skin of a dead sheep.

The Beatles' 1st song to hit the UK charts was 'Love me do' on 11th October 1962.

The Beatles were depicted in wax at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London, in 1964, the first pop album stars to be honored.

The Beatles were George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. But there were also two lesser known, previous members of the band: Pete Best and Stu Sutcliffe.

The Black Hole, 1979, was Disney's first PG-rated movie.

The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's "Its A Wonderful Life."

The characters of Homer, Marge, Lisa, and Maggie were given the same first names as Simpsons creator Matt Groening's real-life father, mother, and two sisters.

The first CD pressed in the US - for commercial release - was Bruce Springsteen's 'Born in the USA'.

The first film granted permission by the Chinese government to be filmed in the Forbidden City was The Last Emperor, 1987.

The first issue of People Magazine, in 1974, cost 35 cents and featured actress Mia Farrow on the cover.

The four principal characters from the cartoon series "The Chipmunks" are Alvin, Simon, Theodore, and Dave.

The Jazz Singer, 1927, was the first movie with audible dialogue.

The Lone Ranger's "real" name is John Reid.

The longest Oscar acceptance speech was made by Greer Garson for 1942's "Mrs. Miniver." It took 5 minutes, 30 seconds.

The Looney Tunes song is actually called "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down."

The Mills Brothers have recorded the most songs of any artist: about 2,250.

The Monty Python movie "The Life of Brian" was banned in Scotland.

The official state song of Georgia since 1922 has been "Georgia on My Mind".

The Oscar statuette was designed by MGM's art director, Cedric Gibbons, in 1928. The design has remained unchanged, except for getting a higher pedestal in the 1940's.

The Professor on "Gilligan's Island" was named Roy Hinkley. The Skipper was named Jonas Grumby. Both names were used only once in the entire series, on the first episode.

The rock music video channel MTV made its debut in 1981.

The Russian Imperial Necklace has been loaned out by Joseff jewelers of Hollywood for 1,215 different feature films.

The science-fiction series "Lost in Space" (set in the year 1997) premiered on CBS in 1965.

The song "Happy Birthday to You" was originally written by sisters Mildred and Patty Hill as "Good Morning to You." The words were changed and it was published in 1935.

The song "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" was written by George Graff, who was German, and was never in Ireland in his life.

The term karaoke means "empty orchestra" in Japanese, and the karaoke machine was designed originally to provide backing tracks for solo cabaret performers.

The title role of Dirty Harry, 1971, was originally intended for Frank Sinatra. After he refused, it was offered to John Wayne, and then Paul Newman, finally being accepted by Clint Eastwood.

The Wizard of Oz was a Broadway musical 37 years before the MGM movie version was made. It had 293 performances and then went on a tour that lasted 9 years.

There are 11 points on the collar around Kermit the Frog's neck.

There have been about 30 films made at or about Alcatraz, the now-closed federal prison island in San Francisco Bay, including The Rock (1996), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), and Escape from Alcatraz (1979).

Time magazine's "Man of the Year" for 1938 was Adolf Hitler.

Walt Disney's first cartoon character was called Oswald the Rabbit.

Walter Huston and his son John become the first father-and-son team to win Oscars as director of and an actor in "Treasure of Sierra Madre" in 1949.

When Bugs Bunny first appeared in 1935, he was called Happy Rabbit.

Saved by the bell trivia
The show originally was going to have three guys and two girls, but the character of Jesse was created when Elizabeth Berkley had a successful audition.

Some episodes are actually re-edited episodes of "Good Morning, Miss Bliss".

One of the degrees in Mr. Belding's office is for Kung Fu.

Lisa's last name is Turtle, Jessie's middle name is Myrtle, and

Zack's pet turtle's name is Myrtle.

The same classroom was used each time but rearranged for the subject being taught

Throughout the show, Screech had different lockers. In the first two seasons, his locker was near Belding's office; in the later seasons his locker was near the stairs.

Friends trivia
Courteney Cox was originally asked to play Rachel, but she asked to play Monica instead after reading the parts.

Other titles considered for the show were "Friends Like Us," "Six of One," and "Across the Hall."

Phoebe is the oldest of the friends.

Rachel's favorite flowers are lilies.

In Chandler's and Joey's room there is a poster with boxing kangaroos which says "Kangaroo Boxer" in Russian.

Before the show was cast, the main love interest was intended to be Monica and Joey.

Central Perk is based on the Manhattan Cafe in New York's West Village.

Gunther didn't have a name until the middle of the second season.

The artwork in Central Perk is changed every three episodes.

The first member of the cast to get a role in a Hollywood film was Marcel the Monkey.

The opening credits sequence in which the stars dance in a fountain was shot in Warner Bros LA lot at 4am.

The final episode aired on 6 May 2004.

Seinfeld trivia
The original script was called "Stand Up".

Jerry is the only character to appear in every episode

In Jerry's apartment, he has a picture on the wall of a black Porsche 911 catching air going over a hill.

As Kramer became more popular, his entrance applause grew so prolonged that the cast complained it was ruining the pacing of their scenes.

Jerry's real first name is Jerome.

Danny DeVito was considered for the role of George Costanza.

Throughout the series, there are numerous references to Kramer's friend Bob Saccamano, but the character is never seen.

Out of the four main characters, Kramer is the only one to have never had an "inner monologue".

Simpsons trivia
In 1997, The Simpsons broke "The Flintstones" (1960) record for longest-running prime time animated TV show.

Bart Simpson was ranked  number one in TV Guide's list of "TV's 10 Biggest Brats"

Homer works in sector 7-G in the power plant

Bart's hair has 9 spikes.

According to Bart, he is 2 years and 38 days older than Lisa.

What Bart writes on the chalkboard in the opening credits is different in every episode.

The main characters were given a yellow coloring to attract the attention of channel hoppers.

The Alamo
The huge Alamo set took two years to construct.

Alien
The alien's habit of laying eggs in the stomach is similar to the life cycle of the tsetse fly. An early draft of the script had a male Ripley.

Crocodile Dundee
The wild and ferocious buffalo that Mick Dundee pacified was drugged.

Clueless
The band playing during the party scene are the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The episode of "Beavis and Butt-Head" that Cher and Josh watch is called The Great Cornholio.

Braveheart
Wallace's real wife was named Marian, but it was changed to Murron to avoid confusion with the Robin Hood character. Real life Wallaces are extras in the movie.

Payback
Almost all of the telephones in the movie are rotary.

Pretty Woman
The opera in the movie is La Traviata, which is about a prostitute who falls in love with a wealthy man.

Richard Gere composed the piece of music that is played on the piano.

Daryl Hannah turned down the role of Vivian as she felt it denigrates women.

My Best Friend's Wedding
There was actually an alternative ending to the movie, where Julianne and Michael end up together, but after test audiences didn't like it, the director changed ending.

Notting Hill
Anna Scott was asked how much she made on her last film, and her reply was $15 million, the the amount she was paid for her role in Notting Hill.

Independence Day
When David Levinson opens his laptop computer it greets him with the message, "Good Morning Dave." - a reference to the talking computer HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey

The fire engine seen tumbling through the air was simply a toy.

Men in Black
John Turturro was offered the role of Edgar.

The line Will Smith says after jumping on the bus, "It just be raining black people in New York", was improvised on the set, but the producers like it so much that they kept it.

The Devil's Advocate
The character of John Milton is named for the author of "Paradise Lost," the classic about man's fall from God's grace.

When Lomax is in Milton's office at the end of the film, he says "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven". That is from the epic poem "Paradise Lost" by John Milton.

The Matrix
Before Keanu Reeves starts his furious attacks on Morpheus, he rubs his nose with the thumb finger, a similar mannerism of Bruce Lee.

Will Smith was approached to play Neo but turned it down in favor of Wild Wild West.

The Big Lebowski
The screenplay was written with Jeff Bridges and John Goodman in mind.

A lot of the Dude's clothes in the movie were Jeff Bridges's own clothes.

The Dude never actually bowls.

Pulp Fiction
The shot of Vincent plunging the syringe into Mia's chest was filmed by having John Travolta pull the needle out, then running the film backwards.

Knoxville, Tennessee, where Butch was meeting his connection and where his great-grandfather bought the gold watch, is also Quentin Tarantino's birthplace.

Uma Thurman originally turned down the role of Mia Wallace. Quentin Tarantino was so desperate to have her as Mia, he ended up reading her the script over the phone, finally convincing her to take on the role.

Vincent Vega's 1964 Chevelle Malibu convertible belongs to Quentin Tarantino and was stolen during the production of the film.

Kill Bill
Uma Thurman was offered the script to Kill Bill, and her role as "The Bride", as a Birthday present from Tarantino.

Uma Thurman's yellow track-suit is a direct homage to the one worn by Bruce Lee in Game of Death.

The production spent $65,000 on swords.

It took six years to write the entire script before being split into two parts.

Harry Potter
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 
The tabby cat ran away during filming and came back two days later.

When Harry can be seen playing a wind instrument he is playing the Hedwig's Theme.

The Hogwarts motto, "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus" means "never tickle a sleeping dragon".

- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Hugh Grant was originally cast as Gilderoy Lockhart.

The train station interior used in the film is Kings Cross in North London, whereas the exterior shot is St Pancras. The two stations are adjacent to one another, but not the same building. This was done because the architecture of St Pancras is more visually appealing.

The salute Harry and Draco make during their duel in the Dueling Club scene is a modified version of the salute made in fencing.

Full-size models replaced the actors in scenes where their characters have been petrified.

- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 
Full-size models were used in scenes which required teen actors to keep completely still for long periods.

At least one full-scale dragon was constructed on set.

Features the largest underwater set ever constructed. It has the capacity of up to 500,000 liters of water.

- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 
Emma Thompson accepted the role of Professor Trelawney to impress her four-year-old daughter, Gaia.

The effects team spent six months creating the dementors.

The tattoos on Sirius Black's body and hands are borrowed from Russian prison gangs.

A fire near the Glenfinnan viaduct in Scotland delayed filming of the Hogwarts Express scenes for a day.

Leave it to Beaver Facts
Leave it to Beaver premiered on October 4, 1957 the same day Sputnik I was launched.

The first episode filmed was delayed by network censers because it showed a toilet bowl.

The producers of Leave it to Beaver also produced the Munsters.

The show was originally entitled Wally and the Beaver.

Jerry Mathers was cast as the Beaver when he was eight. He had already appeared in an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

Tony Dow was cast accidentally, he merely accompanied his friend to auditions but the producers preferred him.

Ken Osmond ( Eddie Haskell ) joined the LAPD in 1970 and was decorated for his valor.

Although one of the most remembered shows of the fifties Beaver never ranked among the top 25 shows in its day.

I Love Lucy Facts
Desi Arnaz was the son of a Cuban senator and a beautiful model.  He was born to great wealth, but he was forced to leave his homeland at the age of 16 during the Batista revolution.

Lucille Ball dropped out of high school when she was 15 to pursue a career as an actress.

The only reason that Lucy became pregnant on the show was that she was pregnant in real life.  The network insisted the word expecting be used instead of the word pregnant.

After I Love Lucy came to an end, Desi Arnaz produced the show The Untouchables. Mobsters responded by putting a contract on his life. Boy talk about taking a tv show too seriously.

During the life of the show, the only other show that ever had higher ratings was " The $64,000 Question."

The network initially rejected Lucy's request for her real husband to play her tv husband. She threatened to move to another network so they gave in.

Dwight D. Eisenhower made the mistake of televising his inauguration during the same time spot as I Love Lucy. Almost twice as many viewers tuned in to watch her show than to watch him.

Vivian Vance was only one year older than Lucille Ball. Part of her contract was that she had to stay at least twenty pounds over-weight so she would look much older than Lucy.

Desi Arnaz, the youngest of the main charaters, was six years younger than Lucille Ball!

The lyrics for I Love Lucy's theme song were only sung on the show once!

If the geography of I Love Lucy was correct, the Ricardos and the Mertzs would live in the middle of the East River!

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's characters names were originally supposed to be Lucy and Larry Lopez, but, they decided the names didn't sound real.

I Love Lucy was never ranked below 3rd in any of its six seasons.

I Love Lucy was canceled when it was #1 in ratings. There was only one other show that ever did that. It was the Andy Griffith Show.

Lucille Ball was on the very first TV guide! Since then, she has been on more TV guides than anyone!

In I Love Lucy, Ethel had three middle names, Mae, Roberta, and Louise!

"Little Ricky" was born on TV the same night that the real Desi Arnaz, Jr. was born (January 19, 1953).

In one episode Ethel can play the piano, but in a later episode with Little Ricky she can't.

In the "Madam X" episode, when Fred goes out the door to run from Madam X he must not have realized that the direction he ran would take him to Lucy's window. There would be no hallway there!

The Grape fight at the wine vat in the wine-stomping wasn't even originally in the script.

When Lucy's leg got stuck in the bar during the ballerina episode, it was an accident; Lucille Ball just played it up.

7 out of 10 people with televisions watched the Birth of Little Ricky when it first aired!

Over 1 billion people in the world today have seen I Love Lucy.

The cast died in the order of their casting call: Fred, Ethel, Ricky and Lucy.

"Job Switching" Episode #39 was one of Lucille Ball's favorite "Lucy" shows.

The Vitameatavegamin episode #30 was hailed by critics and fans alike as one of Lucy's best.

The Mertzes were added to the cast to give Lucy and Ricky foils of their comedic escapades.

The car used on the famous "California Here I Come" Episode #110 was a 1955 Pontiac convertible.

Honeymooners Trivia Facts

Jackie Gleason never needed to rehearse his part or even study his lines. He would just browse over the script casually before filming began.

The show was made when television was broadcast live. There was no way to edit out mistakes. If Gleason ever forgot his lines, he would signal a prompt by patting his stomach.

Gleason initially turned down Audrey Meadows as Alice because he thought she was too pretty.

Music Trivia

A rat's performance in a maze can be improved by playing music written by Mozart.

The real Maria von Trapp makes a brief cameo appearance in the film The Sound of Music during the musical number "I Have Confidence,".

The song "Happy Birthday" brings in about $2 million in revenue to Warner Communications who hold the copyright.

A glockenspiel is a musical instrument that is like a xylophone.

Rapper LL Cool J's name is short for "Ladies Love Cool James."

Yul Brynner was considered for the role of Captain Von Trapp in the film The Sound of Music (1965).

Billie Jean by Michael Jackson was the first video to air on MTV by a black artist.

Studies indicate that listening to music is good for digestion.

Before he pursued a career in the music industry, Elvis Costello worked as a computer operator at a cosmetics factory.

The biggest disco ball in the world has a diameter of 2.41 meters and 137.89 kilograms.

The Wizard of Oz was a Broadway musical 37 years before the MGM movie version was made.

Gordon Sumner, the rock star and actor known as Sting, got his nickname from the yellow-and-black jerseys he used to wear.

The music band UB40 got its name from an unemployment form in England.

Most cows give more milk when they listen to music.

Natalie Cole, daughter of music legend Nat "King" Cole, became the first black to win the Best New Artist Grammy Award.

Aretha Franklin was sued for breach of contract in 1984 when she was unable to open in the Broadway musical "Sing, Mahalia, Sing," mainly because of her phobia of flying.

At just four years old Mozart was able to learn a piece of music in half an hour.