Spotlight:
Was King Kong just a giant gorilla? Carl Denham, the fictional film director in the original version of King Kong, described the creature as "neither beast nor man." In ads, RKO called him a "prehistoric type of ape." King Kong looked like a gorilla, often walked upright and had a kind of human intelligence. Though he was supposed to stand at about 50 feet (15 1/4 meters) tall, Kong's height varied in the film, depending on the models and camera angles used. The film went through several title changes before settling on "King Kong," including "The Beast," "The Ape," "The Eighth Wonder" and "Kong." The original movie, starring Fay Wray as the blonde actress Kong falls in love with, had its world premiere at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on March 2, 1933.
Today in History:
- Puerto Rico: became a US territory; its residents gained US citizenship (1917)
- Time: the newsweekly debuted (1923)
- Bill of Rights: the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution were finally ratified by Massachusetts, 147 years after having gone into effect (1939)
- B-50 Superfortress: became the first aircraft to fly around the world nonstop, landing in Fort Worth, Texas, after a flight time of 94:01 (1949)
- Morocco: gained independence from France (1956)
- 100-point game: Wilt Chamberlain set the NBA's single-game scoring record in a Philadelphia Warriors-New York Knicks game; he had not slept and had a hangover (1962)
- Tom Wolfe (80): author, The Right Stuff, Bonfire of the Vanities; plus, writers John Jay Chapman (1862-1933), Dr. Seuss (1904-1991), Geoffrey Grigson (1905-1985) and John Irving (69)
- Mikhail Gorbachev (80): last president of the Soviet Union; plus, president of Republic of Texas Sam Houston (1793-1863)
- Daniel Craig (43): actor, James Bond, Defiance; also, actors Jennifer Jones (1919-2009), John Cullum (81), Jon Finch (70), Cassie Yates (60), Laraine Newman (59), Bryce Dallas Howard (30) and Robert Iler (26)
- Chris Martin (34): frontman for Coldplay; also, musicians Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884), Kurt Weill (1900-1950), Doc Watson (88), Lou Reed (69), Karen Carpenter (1950-1983), John Cowsill (55), Jon Bon Jovi (49), Alvin Youngblood Hart (48) and Luke Pritchard (26)
- Ben Roethlisberger (29): Steelers' quarterback; and, Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush (26)
Source: Answers.com
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