On this day in history, May 30, 1868, the first Decoration Day —
a precursor to Memorial Day — was celebrated.
Originally known as Decoration Day, from early traditions of
decorating graves with flags, flowers and wreaths, Memorial
Day is a day for remembrance to honor those who have died
in service to our country.
John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979)
Born Marion Robert Morrison, Wayne’s family moved to
Glendale, California, when he was six years old. As a teen,
he rose at four in the morning to deliver newspapers, and
after school he played football and made deliveries for local
stores. When he graduated from high school, he hoped to
attend the U.S. Naval Academy. However, after the school
rejected him, he accepted a full scholarship to play football
at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
In the summer of 1926, Wayne’s football coach found him a
job as an assistant prop man on the set of a movie directed
by John Ford. Ford started to use Wayne as an extra, and he
eventually began to trust him with some larger roles. In 1930,
Ford recommended Wayne for Fox’s epic Western The Big
Trail. Wayne won the part, but the movie did poorly, and Fox
let his contract lapse.
1939
John Wayne in a scene from his last movie, "The
Shootist," 1976.
"Top Gun," a triumphant all-American pre-"woke" Hollywood
movie classic, was released on this day in history, May 16,
1986.
MovieWeb.com wrote in a 2022 retrospective of the silver-
screen sensation … "When ‘Top Gun’ hit the box office in
1986, it quickly rose to the top of the charts, drawing a
great deal of attention to the film and the cast."
"The film became an instant classic thanks to the award-
winning soundtrack and some of the best aerial scenes
to ever hit the big screen."
"Top Gun" was the top-grossing movie of 1986 by a wide
margin. It made upstart 23-year-old actor Tom Cruise one
of Hollywood’s biggest stars and produced a No. 1
soundtrack featuring top acts of the 1980s, including
Kenny Loggins, Cheap Trick and Loverboy.
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show opened in London on May 9, 1887
giving Queen Victoria and her subjects their first look at a
romanticized version of the American West.
A well-known scout for the army and a buffalo hunter for the
railroads (which earned him his nickname), Cody had gained
national prominence 15 years earlier thanks to a fanciful novel
written by Edward Zane Carroll Judson. Writing under the pen
name Ned Buntline, Judson made Cody the hero of his highly sensationalized dime novel The Scouts of the Plains; or, Red
Deviltry As It Is. In 1872, Judson also convinced Cody to travel
to Chicago to star in a stage version of the book. Cody broke
with Judson after a year, but he enjoyed the life of a performer
and stayed on the stage for 11 seasons.
William Frederick Cody “Buffalo Bill”
(February 26, 1846 – January 10, 1917)
Edward Zane Carroll Judson Sr.
(March 20, 1821 – July 16, 1886)
On May 8, 1963, with the release of Dr. No, North American
moviegoers get their first look–down the barrel of a gun–
at the super-spy James Bond (codename: 007), the immortal
character created by Ian Fleming in his now-famous series
of novels and portrayed onscreen by the relatively unknown
Scottish actor Sean Connery.
Sir Sean (Thomas) Connery
(25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020)
