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1952 Fun Facts, Trivia and History |
Quick Facts from 1952Table of Contents |
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Top Ten Baby Names of 1952Linda, Mary, Patricia, Deborah, Susan, James, Robert, John, Michael, David |
Fashion Icons and Sex SymbolsLauren Bacall, Martine Carol, Dorothy Dandridge, Doris Day, Diana Dors, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, Grace Kelly, Eartha Kitt, Marilyn Monroe, Bettie Page, Jane Russell, Elizabeth Taylor, Lana Turner |
Sex Symbols and Hollywood HunksMontgomery Clift |
Oscars: 24th Academy AwardsIn 1952, the 24th Academy Awards ceremony unfolded on March 20 at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California. Danny Kaye served as the show’s host. An American in Paris waltzed away with Best Picture, surprising some who thought A Streetcar Named Desire would win. Vivien Leigh won Best Actress for her role in Streetcar, while Humphrey Bogart snagged Best Actor for his performance in The African Queen. A tidbit of trivia: the Best Animated Short Film category had only two nominees that year, the lowest in the Academy’s history. Emmy Awards: 4th Primetime Emmy AwardsOver on the television side, the 4th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on February 18, 1952, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Lucille Ball captured the Best Comedian award, forever immortalizing her iconic role in I Love Lucy. Her show also won Best Situation Comedy, solidifying its place in TV history. Red Skelton, the host for the evening, was awarded Best Comedy Show for The Red Skelton Show. The eligibility period for the Oscars was from January 1, 1951, to December 31, 1951. The Emmy Awards were still working out their framework and mainly recognized shows produced in and around Los Angeles. Both events offer a fascinating snapshot into the entertainment landscape of the early 1950s. |
“The Quotes:”“Lucy, I’m home!” “They’re gr-r-r-eat! ” “Finger-lickin’ good!” |
Time Magazine’s Woman of the YearQueen Elizabeth II |
Miss AmericaColleen Hutchins (Salt Lake City, UT) |
Miss USAJackie Loughery (New York) |
The ScandalArea 51, if it existed at 37°14’20 N 115°48’58 W (37.239, -115.816) in southern Nevada, would have been started this year. |
Pop Culture Facts & HistoryBoardgame Scrabble was created in 1938 but did not become popular until 1952 when the president of Macy’s played it while on vacation. Surprised that Macy’s did not carry it, he placed a large order, and within two years, four million games were sold. French writer Alfred Sauvy invented the term “Third World” to describe the vast stretches of Africa, Asia, and Latin America whose citizens lived in dire poverty. The “London Fog” was yellow smog so thick you couldn’t see the ground. These “pea-soupers” often carried toxic chemicals and killed 4,000 people in five days. Due to the Clean Air Act, the last London Fog was in 1962. Wernher von Braun wrote a book called Project Mars, which imagined that human colonists on Mars would be led by someone named “Elon.” The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 allows the President to “suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens” who “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.” Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver received the first patents for optical bar codes on October 7. The British Hypnotism Act of 1952 prevents the broadcasting of hypnosis procedures due to the risk that people watching the broadcast are hypnotized and cannot be brought back. ‘Invasion of Washington’ was a 1952 Washington, DC, mass UFO incident that several institutions and many people witnessed. The Air Force dismissed it as a combination of weather phenomena and the night sky, a claim which was disputed by all many people. Les Paul started selling his classic electric guitar. The 20th Century Fox media empire, now owned by Disney, is the namesake of William Fox ((born as Vilmos Fried, January 1, 1879 – May 8, 1952)) who was born as Vilmos Fried, lost control of the company in 1930, went bankrupt after the stock market crash went to jail for perjury, and died more or less unnoticed. Season Two of I Love Lucy included the most popular and remembered skit from the show – Lucy selling (and drinking) Vitameatavegamin. It had the expected ingredients – vitamins, meat, veggies, and minerals. It also had a high (23%) alcohol content. |
| 1952, Tony the Tiger started telling people that Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes were “Gr-r-reat!” Thurl Ravenscroft is best known for supplying the voice of Tony. Thurl also sang You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch, in the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas TV special(1966), although many people mistakenly think it was narrator Boris Karloff. The saying “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” was first said by philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952). He was mentioned in Billy Joel’s song We Didn’t Start the Fire, which referred to Santayana’s death. Albert Einstein was offered the Presidency of the State of Israel. He declined, saying that as a scientist trained to deal with objective facts, he lacked the aptitude and experience to deal with people. The B-52 bomber, prototyped in 1952, is planned to remain in service until at least 2040. The first rock and roll concert, the Moondog Coronation Ball of 1952 at the Cleveland Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, was also the first rock and roll concert to be shut down by the local authorities. A volcano emerged in a cornfield 1943 named Paricutín in Michoacán, Mexico. By the time it went dormant in 1952, three people had lost their lives, and hundreds relocated, while two towns were buried by lava and three others were heavily affected. The volcano is still quiet today and is now a tourist attraction. George Stephen designed and sold the first Weber Grill in 1952. |
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Albert Gunton was a London city double-decker bus driver who found himself driving his route crossing Tower Bridge when the bridge began to rise to allow a ship to pass. He accelerated, jumped the gap, and was awarded £10 for his bravery. Sadly, no smartphones existed at the time to record the event. American Bandstand, originally called Bandstand, premiered on a Philadelphia TV Station on October 7, 1952, with DJ Bob Horn as host. A man wrote to The Philadelphia Inquirer to tell them they had spelled his name wrong in a recent column; it was “Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff,” not “Wolfeschlegelsteinhasenbergerdorff.” On May 2, the first commercial passenger jet flew from London to Johannesburg, inaugurating the age of jet travel. The trip carried 32 passengers and stopped five times en route. Kent sold cigarettes with an asbestos filter, claiming it was healthier than regular smoking. #itwasnt Over 200 passengers were trapped for days on a train at Donner Pass above Lake Tahoe in a massive blizzard in the California Sierra when their train hit a snowbank. Two rescuers died trying to reach them. All the passengers survived. The United Kingdom successfully conducted a nuclear test to become the world’s third nuclear power on October 3, 1952. The US Supreme Court passed a decision in 1915 establishing that free speech did not extend to motion pictures because they were not a form of art but a business. It was overturned in 1952 |
1st Appearances & 1952’s Most Popular Christmas Gifts, toys, and PresentsMr. Potato Head (Mr. PH was the first toy advertised on American TV), Slinky Dog, PEZ candy dispensers* |
Nobel Prize WinnersPhysics – Felix Bloch, Edward Mills Purcell |
Best Film Oscar WinnerAn American in Paris (presented in 1952) |
The Biggest Films of 1952 |
| 1. The Greatest Show on Earth |
| 2. The Snows of Kilimanjaro |
| 3. Hans Christian Anderson |
| 4. Ivanhoe |
| 5. Sailor Beware |
| 6. Moulin Rouge |
| 7. Jumping Jacks |
| 8. The Quiet Man (Pop Culture Classic) |
| 9. Singin’ in the Rain (Pop Culture Classic) |
| 10. High Noon (Pop Culture Classic) |
| 11. Come Back, Little Sheba |
| 12. Against All Flags |
| 13. Road to Bali |
| 14. The Big Sky |
| 15. Limelight |
| 16. The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima |
| 17. Son of Paleface |
| 18. Million Dollar Mermaid |
| 19. The World in His Arms |
| 20. Jack and the Beanstalk |
| 21. Hiawatha |
| 22. Red Planet Mars |
| 23. The Stooge |
| 24. Stars and Stripes Forever |
| 25. The Pride of St. Louis |
| 26. Clash By Night |
| 27. Meet Danny Wilson |
| 28. The Crimson Pirate |
| 29. Monkey Business |
| 30. Invasion, U.S.A. |
| *Movies beyond the Top Ten are based on (a somewhat subjective) ranking based on how much they had a long-lasting effect on Pop Culture. |
Broadway ShowThe Seven Year Itch (Play) Opened on November 20, 1952, and closed on August 13, 1955 |
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1952The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk |
1952 Most Popular TV Shows1. I Love Lucy (CBS) |
1952 Billboard Number One SongsDecember 29, 1951 – March 14, 1952: March 15 – May 16: May 17 – June 20: June 21 – July 4: July 5 – July 11: July 12 – September 12: September 13 – October 17: October 18 – November 21: November 22 – November 28: November 29 – December 26: December 27, 1952 – January 9, 1953: |
SportsWorld Series Champions: New York Yankees |
More 1952 Facts & History Resources:BabyBoomers.com (1952) |
