1951 Fun Facts, Trivia & History

Quick Facts from 1951:

• TV Ratings: In 1951, the first year Nielsen released television ratings, the most-watched series was Texaco Star Theater with a 61.6 rating. The 2017 winner (Sunday Night Football) scored only a 12.2.
• Influential Songs include: Be My Love by Mario Lanza and Cry by Johnnie Ray
• The Movies to Watch include The African Queen, Scrooge (A Christmas Carol), The Day The Earth Stood Still, Kon Tiki, A Streetcar Named Desire and Show Boat
• The Most Famous Person in America was probably John Wayne
• Notable books include: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and The Revolt of Mamie Stover by William Bradford Huie
• Price of children’s pair of ‘Howdy Doody’ slippers in 1951: $1.99
• US Life Expectancy: Males: 65.6 years, Females: 71.4 years
• The Funny Guy was: Milton Berle
  The Funny TV Lady: Lucille Ball
  The Funniest TV Duo: Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca
• The Crazy Conspiracy: J.D. Salinger did not write Catcher in the Rye, the CIA did as a brainwashing instrument. Noted celebrity killers Mark David Chapman (John Lennon), John Hinckley (Ronald Reagan, survived), Robert Bardo (Rebecca Schaeffer) as well as Lee Harvey Oswald all supposedly recently read or had the book with them while committing their evil actions.

“The Quotes:”
“Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!”
– Patricia Neal in The Day the Earth Stood Still

“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers”
– Vivien Leigh, in A Streetcar Named Desire

“Stella! Hey, Stella!”
– Marlon Brando, in A Streetcar Named Desire

Pop Culture Facts:
MLB’s Joe DiMaggio had a 56 game hitting streak.

In 1951, MGM owed the dog who played Lassie $40,000 in back pay. Not planning any more Lassie movies, MGM instead gave the rights to the Lassie trademark to the dog’s trainer, who spun it off into a TV show that ran for 19 seasons.

Clarence Karcher and Eugene McDermott renamed their ‘Geophysical Service Inc” to Texas Instruments.

Ike Turner, the ex-husband of Tina Turner, recorded what is considered by many to be the first rock and roll song, Rocket 88 (credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, who were actually Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm).

1951 introduced the world to Tupperware parties, although the products were first available in 1946. 1947 saw the development of the soft-burping Tupperware seal.

UPI photographer Arthur Sasse asked Albert Einstein to smile, but instead, he stuck his tongue out, creating the famous photo. Leo Strauss coined the term ‘Reductio ad Hitlerum’ to describe the fallacy of trying to refute an opponent’s argument by comparing it to a view that would be held by Hitler or the Nazis.

Eddie Gaedel, a dwarf, became the shortest person in MLB history when he went up to bat a single time. His jersey number was 1/8. He was released from the team the following day.

Joe Gold opened the first ‘Gold’s Gym’ in New Orleans. Things didn’t work out, but he started again in Venice, California in 1965. The second time was the charm.

The first production car with power steering was the 1951 Chrysler Imperial.

The standard set for Compact Discs to be able to hold 74 minutes of audio, was made so that one disc could hold Wilhelm Furtwangler’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony no.9 from the 1951 Bayreuth Festival.

The actor credited for performing in the most movies for a long time was Oliver Hardy, of Laurel and Hardy fame, with a record 417 movies between 1914 and 1951.

The first sex-change operation was performed in Denmark. George William Jorgensen, Jr. was transformed into Christine Jorgensen.

“The World’s First Porn Star” was 16-year-old Candy Barr (Juanita Slusher) starring in a silent porn film called Smart Alec.
“Only when my hunger was gone could I think straight. But I was still too young to understand fully just what I had done,” Barr told Playboy Magazine. “I’m still sick with shame over what I did, but when you’re (young) and all alone and your insides are crying for food, you can’t always figure out right from wrong.”

Eric Morley organized a bikini contest as part of the Festival of Britain, and it was intended as a promotion for the recently introduced bikini, which was widely regarded as immodest. It then went on to become an annual event called the Miss World Competition.

The movie Distant Drums contains the first known instance of “The Wilhelm Scream” (a sound effect of a man screaming, since used in hundreds of other films and television shows).

Le Bal Oriental was a costume ball held in Venice was considered the “party of the century.” Hosted by Count  “Charlie” Beistegui, a thousand guests attended, including Salvador Dali, Christian Dior, & Orson Wells.

Hallmark’s Hall of Fame is the longest prime time running TV show in history. It has been several networks but has continued without interruption and has won over 80 Emmys.

It was this year, 1951, that Lillian Vernon started mailing her catalogs.

Most of the cast and crew of the film classic The African Queen suffered from dysentery while on shooting on location in Uganda. Only Humphrey Bogart remained healthy because he drank more whiskey than water.

The school board of Logan, Utah forced 7th graders to get tattoos of their blood type in case they were injured during a nuclear war. #ouch

The 1951 Boston Marathon was the first post-World War II athletic competition to invite Japanese athletes. It was won by Shigeki Tanaka, a Japanese citizen.

Alfred “Teen” Blackburn (April 26, 1842 – March 8, 1951) was the last confederate civil war veteran and former slave.

Two different comic strips appeared both called “Dennis The Menace” on March 12, Dennis UK became Dennis and Gnasher. Neither author was aware of the other’s existence. They were created by Hank Ketcham in America and David Law in Britain.

The Explorers Club in NYC hosted a dinner featuring meat from a woolly mammoth.

J.D. Salinger’s cultural phenomenon, The Catcher in the Rye, was published.

1951 Billboard Number One Songs:
December 16, 1950 – March 2, 1951:
The Tennessee Waltz – Patti Page

March 3 – March 9:
If – Perry Como

March 10 – April 20:
Be My Love – Mario Lanza

April 21 – June 22:
How High The Moon – Les Paul & Mary Ford

June 23 – July 27:
Too Young – Nat King Cole

July 28 – September 7:
Come On-A My House – Rosemary Clooney

September 8 – November 2:
Because Of You – Tony Bennett

November 3 – November 16:
Cold, Cold Heart – Tony Bennett

November 17 – December 28:
Sin (It’s No Sin) – Eddy Howard

December 29, 1951 – March 14, 1952:
Cry – Johnny Ray