Abraham Lincoln stashed papers in his Stovepipe hat. 
Do you think Jack and Ike did too? Maybe that’s where Jack hid all those long-legged phone numbers.
Marilyn Monroe lived in 20 different foster homes, sexually abused by more than half of her foster-fathers.
Shall we form a posse and beat up all their descendants? 
Marie Antoinette had a Pug called Mops she never left the palace without, till she was axed that is, for high treason. Apparently she never said, when complaints were laid at her feet by starving Parisians…let them eat cake.
See how rumors get started. Maybe she said, may I have some cake, France’s 1793 version of Fox TV.
I just saw Bill O’Reilly 
in a powdered wig eating Entenmanns.
Babe Ruth is buried at the Gates of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York… gravesite: Section 25, Plot 1115, Graves 3 & 4. His tomb, regularly visited, is covered with momentos like baseballs, 5ths of whiskey and letters written by young Babe wannabes who worship the Bam, the Great Bambino, the Sultan of Swat. 
George Herman Ruth Junior died of throat cancer on August 16th, 1948.
He was 53 years-old.
The Yankees retired Babe’s number 
given because he always batted third. 
When I visited him, I left a hot dog with the works, loving the story of how he used to pick up kids in his 1940 Lincoln-Zephyr Continental and treat them on the way to the stadium.
Thomas Jefferson promised his wife, Martha he affectionately called Patsy, on her death bed, he’d never marry again because she didn’t want another woman bringing up her children.
How selfish was she, and what a putz he was for listening. Hey, death do us part amigo, and if you really love someone, you want them to be happy.
Well, maybe not happy, but at least, taken care of. 
Francis Ford Coppola had to fight Paramount boss, Robert Evans, 
for Al Pacino to play Michael 
in The Godfather, Robert Redford, Evans’s first choice.
I’m a Bob fan, but can you really hear him say…
“Fredo, You’re My Older Brother, 
and I Love You. But Don’t Ever Take Sides With Anyone Against The Family Again. Ever.”
NOPE! 
They also wanted Frank Sinatra to play the Don.
Too close to home I would think, and speaking of Ol’ Blue Eyes, he wasn’t too happy with the Johnny Fontaine character that was based on him. Rumor has it, he threatened to break Francis’s and writer, Mario Puzo’s legs, but who knows. 
Was Fox on the air in 1972?
Robert Kardashian, OJ’s best friend, was Kim Kardashian’s father who appeared in court every day, to support 
his friend, even though some say he thought he was guilty, staying friends with OJ till he died of esophageal cancer in 2003 at age 59.
Speaking of his OFF-spring, who now owns Jackie Kennedy’s Cartier Tank Watch she snagged at auction for…
$379,500 bucks.
Is there no justice?
Her ass makes 6 of Jackie’s for starters.
Does the watch even fit her wrist?
Don’t get me started.
SB
I love these posts, Susannah. It’s a Reader’s Digest of interesting info.
I’m a Redford fan too, but he could never pass for Italian. However, I can imagine Frank as the Don. And poor Marilyn. She searched for true love so desperately.
As for Marie’s famous quote, I once read that today’s translation of ‘cake’ was ‘bread’ in her day. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of that.
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Sounds right though, and of course, the powers that be made hay, or in this case, cake out of it.
I must admit, I have the best time writing these. Thanks, as always. 🙂
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Good one! Really enjoyed 😎
~Hal Rubenstein from my iPhone
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Was thinking of you just yesterday Hal, so funny that you wrote. Thanks for reading. 🙂
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The horologist in me says the Cartier would look better on your wrist. I know you’d appreciate it more.
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One could actually buy a copy from The Smithsonian Institute. I’ve often thought of getting one.
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The Smithsonian sells watches?!!!
I am blessed to live only twenty miles or so from the Horology Institute at Upton Hall: a truly wonderous place, full of magic and history and breath-taking technology and beauty.
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All the books I like, the Poldarks for instance, always makes me think of where you live.
And the Smithsonian has a whole line of Jackie items, including sunglasses, I actually own, one can indulge in. She’s a big seller, even now. 🙂
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If you’re ever passing this way, Maeve and I would happily put you up. Lincolnshire is not Cornwall but it’s suitably steeped in history.
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I should have said J. Austen. The Bennets live in Derbyshire.
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I enjoyed this run-through of facts, Susannah. I had to laugh out loud on several—very much fun.
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For me too. Just when you think you know everything. 🙂
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Always something to learn.
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I always learn from your Monday essay.
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While putting it together, I do too. 😊
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I know. You’re the student taking notes to share.
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For some of your Skittles that is.
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Skittles???
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A multi flavored confection that was popular in the 70s
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DUH!!!
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😁
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It occurred to me, I meant to say, we’re the students taking notes. It came out wrong.
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yes we are. 😊
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Didn’t want you think I was leaving you alone out there. Have to reread what I pen before I press send, so a faux pas can be avoided. 🙂
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The reason I did the Skittles bit was when you mentioned sharing notes (in the original) I took on the persona of a high school nerd who would share notes for a Skittles payment. 😊.
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Oh I see. Now I get it. 🙂
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😁
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SB
This is Thin Girl at her thinking cap best, I love these.
As for the Babe, I’ll take his shenanigans over A-Rod’s any day. At least Babe was lovable and accessible. He was the Sultan of Swat and his exploits made Yankee Stadium THE place to be, and yet, he never thumbed his nose at his adoring masses.
Redford as Michael makes me shudder. And I agree with you on Sinatra, much too close to home. And does it make me a bad person to feel nostalgic about the story of Frank wanting to break things with a baseball bat? Adjudication via Louisville Slugger . . . I remember those days.
Stovepipe hats would never work with today’s leaders. Their heads are too fat.
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Marco, this is so great. The perfect addendum. The Babe’s antics would have landed him in the pokey if he were around today.
There’s a story I like about the press that always traveled with the team, by train in those days. One night The Babe came running, stark naked, through the press car while a woman chased him with a knife. A reporter said…well, that’s one more story we won’t be printing. God I love that. 🙂
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But it would have been so much more fun. A-Rod is so fake. And now the news that he was messing with some Barbie? Is anyone surprised?
I love that too, and I’ve heard it before. And it happens to be so true. That was inside a time when ballplayers were just that. Ballplayers.
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It’s why JFK got away with it. Clinton was just a little late, with that BJ that could be heard around the world.
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Yeah, it’s true.
As great as Ted Williams was, it’s a good thing he played inside the time he played. Today he would have been vilified by certain members of the press for being a miserable SOB. And while that might have been true, it’s nice to know his swing will live forever inside that other time.
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How bout Joey D. who was abominable to Micky Mantle who was just coming up, as he was about to bat his swan song. Ever read the book, The Last Boy about The Mick? I’ve asked you that before. Can’t recall what you said.
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Joe was a miserable soul. Great player, icon. But alas, that don’t make the whole pie.
I read it, after you mentioned it. 🙂
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I loved it, and it was written by a woman who’se a kick-ass sports writer. Jane Leavy. Yeah, say it ain’t so, Joe, was a trip.
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My old man sat next to Joe D on a cross country flight. Had no blessed idea who he was seated next to until someone on the plane asked him about it later.
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He was rather remote. Can’t imagine him with Marilyn Monroe. Must have been painful, for both of them.
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Yeah that was an odd coupling.
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All good stuff. Love the way you ended it … with a shot at the Kardashians. They are at the top of Useless Celebrity Mountain for me … and it’s pretty crowded up there.
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It just irks me. Wonder why Caroline gave it away. Don’t understand it at all. Surely her granddaughter, Rose, she adored being her fist grandchild and all, would have wanted it. Something smells fishy Midget.
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These are fabulous, Susannah.
I honestly don’t understand how Caroline could let that fat-ass become the proprietor of Jackie’s watch. I guess we never know what goes on inside.
Always a joy to read.
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Like Butch says to Sundance…don’t sugarcoat it like that Kid, tell me straight. Fat-ass, indeed. I’m laughing.
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I ain’t the sugar-coatin’ kind so I’m with Butch (well, obviously, right?).
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I love that film. They were both so handsome…Newman and Redford. And Katharine Ross as Etta Place. Wow!!! Was she a beauty in that.
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So do I! I watched it (again) not too long ago. Both of them so very handsome and yes, she was definitely a beauty.
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I’m sure still is. She’s married to Sam Elliot, the actor who’s pretty handsome too.
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Right… I know not why I was speaking in the past tense! The only one no longer of this world is Paul. And yes, she is still beautiful!
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That film was made so long ago. The writer, William Goldman, passed away last year. He lived near me. My father used to repair Paul Newman’s air conditioning units. He’d call the house. My mother would have to sit down with a fresh cocktail if she answered the phone. 😂
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Tell me about it. Wow. How cool is that? How could she not need a cocktail for that one?
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My Dad was one of those men who could fix anything, so word got around. He worked for a company, but moonlighted a bit on his own. Enter Paul…:)
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I think the fixer-uppers are the ones with the most interesting lives!
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it would seem. 🙂
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You find the strangest stuff about the famous. But then it seems most of them are strange…at least to me. But then they would think me strange…as do some who know me.😼
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I love trivia and always surprised by some of the things I read. Why would Caroline Kennedy put up for auction a watch her mom wore every day of her life practically. Then it hit me…money…they had a huge inheritance tax to pay, and her mother had told both kids, take what you want and sell the rest, you’ll make a fortune, and they did…the auction at Sotheby’s gleaned something like 34 million dollars. I still think they could have kept the watch.
Thanks for reading Patricia. It’s always a pleasure. 🙂
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I was listening to an interview about the Godfather’s making last week, and I yelled Robert Redford!!?? in my car. I can’t believe it was an option.
Oh, that ass, there are no words other than why? V would always ask, “are you sure it’s real”? Lol! I hope that she appreciates that watch and purchased it for Jackie’s sake, not Cartier.
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It’s one of those mysteries that she has the watch. They still make it, so she could have just gone to Cartier to buy a new one, so I’m guessing she wanted it because it was Jackie’s. To have that kind of money to tickle your fancy, blows my mind. Think of the people you could feed or the kidneys to buy for kids who need one. I’m like you Top. I’m a Quaker/Shaker at heart. 🙂
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It’s good the studio trusted Coppola’s artistic vision. Clearly he knew what he was talking about. 🙂
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I think Evans may have been thinking of the early Michael when he’s a soldier at the wedding. I just don’t think Redford could have made that change from Joe College to killer the way Pacino did. His eyes turned like a cobra’s about to emerge from a basket.
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