A FILM WITH 300,000 EXTRAS
Until Gandhi was released, the world record for the number
of extras in a film was a 1954 Soviet folk tale film with its
battle scene using 106,000 extras. The funeral scene for the
epic about the life of the famed Indian figure, however, used
300,000 extras, of which 200,000 were volunteers and about
100,000 were paid a small fee.
CHURCHILL WASN’T THE ONLY BRITISH
POLITICIAN WHO WARNED ABOUT HITLER
There is a myth that Winston Churchill was all alone in
giving an early warning to his country men and women
about Adolf Hitler and the threat of Nazi Germany to
Europe and the world. In fact, there were a number of
prominent, mostly young, political figures who tried to
sound the alarm as well. They included Harold Macmillan,
Robert Boothby, Leo Amery, Ronald Cartland, Anthony
Eden, Violet Asquith, and Lord Robert Cranborne. Both
MacMillan and Eden, after World War II became prime
minister, and Violet Asquith, the grandmother of movie
star Helena Bonham-Carter (Queen Mother Elizabeth in
The King’s Speech) was the daughter of World War I prime
minister Herbert Asquith). [Further reading on this in
Troublesome Young Men by Lynne Olson.]
JASCHA HEIFTEZ PLAYED THOUSANDS
OF CONCERTS, BUT ONCE STOOD UP
AN AUDIENCE BECAUSE HIS MOTHER
DIDN’T LIKE THE HALL
Jascha Heifetz was one of the word’s two greatest classical
violinists, and arguably the most famous. From his debut in
St. Petersburg, Russia at the age of seven until his death in
1987, Heifetz literally performed in recitals, concerts and
recordings thousands of times in cities large and small
across the globe. On January 12, 1922, he was scheduled for a
recital at the historic Park Opera House in Erie, PA. By that
time, Heifetz was world renowned, but all of his affairs were
handled by his parents (since he was not yet 21 years old). The
group which arranged the recital in Erie had a contract for the
space now renamed the Park Theater, but the demand for
tickets was so great that the event was moved to the Erie
Arena several blocks away. Instead of the few hundred which
the Park Theater could accommodate, the Erie Arena had a
capacity for 2500, and it was sold out. Heifetz’s piano
accompanist, Samuel Chotzinoff (he later became a major
U.S. music figure, and was personally responsible for
persuading Arturo Toscanini to come to America and conduct
the NBC Symphony), was sent to check out the original venue,
but was told the concert was moved. After then visiting the
Erie Arena (where boxing matches were sometimes held), he
reported back to Heifetz’s manager-mother Anna who was
the third person in the entourage. Claiming her son would be
humiliated by appearing where prizefighters fought, she
adamantly refused to let Heifetz perform. Some contemporary
observers suggested that the real issue was money --- that
Mrs. Heifetz wanted a share of the bigger crowd revenue, but
the bottom line was that Heifetz didn’t play. The story has a
happy ending, however. On March 1 and 2, 1949, the great
violinist returned to Erie to play with the Erie Philharmonic
under its conductor Fritz Mahler (nephew of the composer).
A violinist in the orchestra reported later that the virtuoso’s
playing was “so perfect and inspiring that we played better
than we ever have, before or since.”
THE GREATEST BASEBALL BATTER
IN HISTORY COULD HAVE BEEN ONE
OF ITS GREATEST PITCHERS
Most will agree that Babe Ruth was the greatest baseball
player ever, and he achieved his fame from his great
prowess with the bat, hitting far more home runs than
anyone else until recent times, and for having one of the
highest lifetime batting averages ever. But Ruth did not
begin his career as a batter. For the Boston Braves, he was
an ace starting pitcher. He even won 23 games in 1916 and
and 24 games in 1917. His lifetime pitching record was
93-46, and he pitched primarily for only six seasons. (He
pitched only five games for the Yankees and won all of
them.) But in one of the most disastrous and one-sided
trades in baseball history, the cash-strapped Braves
sold Ruth’s contract to the New York Yankees in 1920. In
his new home, Ruth quickly became a batter and fielder,
and changed the sport indelibly with home runs and a
iconic public personality.
DID THE ANCIENT ROMAN EMPIRE
FALL BECAUSE OF LEAD POISONING?
There is a widespread notion today that the Roman empire
came to an end because of lead poisoning. This theory arose
from the archaeological evidence that many ancient amphorae
and other containers of wine, water pipes and cosmetics
were made of, or with, lead. Bone samples of ancient Romans
show varying, but high levels of lead. Although there is no
doubt that many Roman subjects, especially its aristocracy,
were exposed to high levels of the toxic metal, scientists now
doubt that lead poisoning brought the mighty empire and
civilization to its end. Most compelling evidence is that the
Romans knew that lead was poisonous, and often took steps
of coating the insides of lead containers, and employing clay
or ceramics as alternative material for transporting or
carrying water. Water transported through lead pipes did not
pick up toxic levels of the heavy metal. Most Romans did not
drink wine with high lead levels. (The highest levels of lead
were found in the expensive additives used to preserve wine.)
While actual lead poisoning might well have occurred among
lead miners and smelters, and very heavy wine drinkers in the
aristocracy, there is no evidence that lead was the principal, or
even major, cause of the downfall of the Roman empire.
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Copyright (c) 2017 by Barry Casselman. All rights reserved.
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