DAILY DIRT: Some little-known items tied to the time of the JFK assassination

Raise your hand if you were alive at the time JFK’s assassination. If you raised your hand, I would wager you can remember exactly where you were and what time of day it was … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,053 of The Daily Dirt

1. For those who lived through the fall of 1963 it will forever be remembered as the time of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

And while that tragic event will always be the unwanted centerpiece of that specific period, there were several interesting events that surrounded and will always be linked to it.

For instance:

• JFK was scheduled to do the coin toss for the annual Army-Navy football game, but was killed on Nov. 22, a little more than a week before the service academies were scheduled to play. The Army-Navy game was eventually rescheduled for Dec. 7, ironically another memorable date in U.S. history. 
• Because of the assassination, Life magazine wanted to put JFK on its next cover but had already started printing hundreds of thousands of copies with Navy quarterback Roger Staubach on the front. So, Life officials stopped all of the original copies from being distributed and replaced them with the JFK memorial issue.
• Another interesting historical fact tied to that 1963 Army-Navy game helped change TV viewing history forever. With millions of Americans watching the game on national TV they saw the Army quarterback Rollie Stichweh score a touchdown — and then saw it again a few moments later. Viewers started calling CBS to ask what was going on. What viewers had just witnessed was the very first use of instant replay.
• So, over the span of about two weeks, a U.S. president was assassinated, Life magazine (one of the world’s leading publications at the time) recalled an unknown number of copies and replaced them with an issue dedicated to the late JFK and network television unveiled the first use of instant replay. 

2. Did you know (Part 116)

• That Barry Manilow wrote “Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There,” “I’m Stuck on Band-Aid Because Band-Aid’s Stuck on Me,” and “You Deserve a Break Today at McDonald’s”.
• That (arguably) the top sibling combos in NFL history are Peyton and Eli Manning, Shannon and Sterling Sharpe, T.J. and J.J. Watt, Clay and Bruce Matthews, Tiki and Ronde Barber and Travis and Jason Kelce. And if you want to count kickers, Chris and Matt Bahr, plus Charlie and Pete Gogolak.
• That Danny DeVito’e role as The Penguin in “Batman Returns” (1992) was originally meant for Marlon Brando.
• That also in “Batman Returns,” the original choice for Catwoman was Annette Bening, who had to remove herself from the role because she was pregnant with Warren Beatty’s child. Michelle Pfeiffer wound up as her replacement
• That Actress Katie Sagal (“Married … with Children”) is the goddaughter of Norman Lear, famous screenwriter, producer and overall television icon.

3. On this beautiful September Sunday, we wish a happy birthday to the following celebrities:

• Actor Michael Keaton, the worst Batman in film history, who will be 73 on Monday.
• Alleged comedian Adam Sandler, who has not been funny for about 20 years, turns 58, also on Monday.
• Rapper/actor Ludacris will be 47 on Tuesday. His real name is Christopher Brian Bridges.
• Former “American Idol” participant Ruben Studdard turns 46 on Thursday.
• Former lead singer of Chicago, Peter Cetera, will be 80 on Friday.

Steve Thought O’ The Day – One final thought about the Army-Navy game and U.S. presidents: Since 1901, there have been 10 sitting presidents attend the Army–Navy Game. The first was Theodore Roosevelt, who attended the game in 1901 and 1905.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Keaton’s original performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman, although not as strong as Christian Bale or Ben Affleck, was very solid. His return to the role in “The Flash” was excellent. Val Kilmer probably gets the nod for the worst interpretation of the Caped Crusader. Yes, even worse than George Clooney. But Kilmer gave us Doc Holliday, so he gets a pass.