The Secret History of Entertainment
David Hepworth
To my wife Alyson and our children Clare, Henry and Imogen
Table of Contents
ROCK AND ROLL WAS INVENTED BY A LOOSE LUGGAGE STRAP
THE MAN WHO DIED ON A TV CHAT SHOW
THE MAN WHO WAS MEANT TO BE BOND
THE MYSTERY OF ‘WHAT’S THE FREQUENCY, KENNETH?’
ALEC GUINNESS’S STAR WARS PENSION
DAVID BOWIE’S EYES ARE DIFFERENT COLOURS
THE BABYSITTER WHO INVENTED COUNTRY ROCK
ENGLISHMEN WERE THE GODFATHERS OF AMERICAN ROOTS MUSIC
BROWN M&MS AND OTHER ROCK STARS’ RIDERS
DELIA SMITH MADE THE LET IT BLEED CAKE
‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ IS STILL IN COPYRIGHT
SOME OF THE BEST LINES ARE MADE UP ON THE SPOT
JACK NICHOLSON GREW UP THINKING HIS MOTHER WAS HIS SISTER
THE TRAGIC LIFE AND LONG DEATH OF JACKIE WILSON
THERE’S ONLY ONE MANCUNIAN IN FRASIER (AND IT’S NOT DAPHNE MOON)
KEVIN COSTNER MADE NICK LOWE A MILLIONAIRE
MADONNA CO-WROTE A HIT WITH A DEAD MAN
BRUNO BROOKES, BOB HARRIS AND 35,000 RECORDS
FARGO IS NOT A TRUE STORY – BUT THIS IS
THE ROLLING STONES ACTUALLY HAD SIX MEMBERS
THE WORLD’S ONLY CELEBRITY DOG
THE HISTORY OF FUCK AND THE MOVIES
RICHARD GERE OWES HIS CAREER TO JOHN TRAVOLTA
THE LONESOME DEATHS OF FRANKIE HOWERD AND BENNY HILL
THE TERRIBLE EARLY LIFE OF RAY CHARLES
THE AMAZING STORY OF ‘BITTER SWEET SYMPHONY’
THOSE AREN’T JULIA ROBERTS’S LEGS ON THE PRETTY WOMAN POSTER
THEY KNEW IT WAS DIRTY BUT THEY DIDN’T KNOW HOW
THE NUDES IN THE DISNEY CARTOONS
CHOLLY ATKINS IS THE TRUE FATHER OF MODERN POP
WHY ELVIS NEVER TOURED OUTSIDE THE USA
SHIRLEY MACLAINE AND WARREN BEATTY ARE SISTER AND BROTHER