March 2 in Pop Culture History

The 1933 film King Kong is considered a classic of American cinema and a groundbreaking achievement in film history. There are several reasons why the film is regarded as so special:

1. Technical Achievements: The film used groundbreaking special effects and techniques, such as stop-motion animation, matte painting, and rear projection, to create a realistic and believable world in which Kong could exist. It was one of the first movies to use these techniques on such a grand scale, and it helped develop modern special effects.

2. Storytelling: The film is a classic tale of adventure and romance, with a giant gorilla as the central character. The film’s exploration of the relationship between beauty and the beast and its portrayal of the struggle between man and nature still resonates with audiences today.

3. Performances: The film features strong performances from its cast, including Fay Wray, who played the female lead, and Robert Armstrong, who played the film director Carl Denham. However, his performance of Kong brought to life through the stop-motion animation of Willis O’Brien, and the vocalizations of actor Frank Reicher truly captured audiences’ imaginations.

4. Impact: “King Kong” was a massive commercial success and quickly became a cultural phenomenon, inspiring numerous sequels, spin-offs, and imitators. The impact can still be felt today, with its influence seen in modern films such as “Jurassic Park” and “Avatar.”

1657 – The Great Fire of Meireki in Edo (now Tokyo), Japan, caused more than 100,000 deaths and lasted three days

1807 – The US Congress passed an act to “prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States… from any foreign kingdom, place, or country.”

1863 – The US Congress authorized a track width of 4-feet, 8-1/2 inches as the standard for the Union Pacific Railroad, which became the standard width for most of the world.

1933 – King Kong (film) opened at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

1940 – Elmer Fudd debuted in the animated short Elmer’s Candid Camera.

1944 – Train #8017 stopped in a tunnel near Salerno, Italy; more than 500 people on board suffocated and died. In the midst of WW II, the story was very much covered up by the Italian government.

1949 – The first round the world nonstop airplane flight was completed in a US Air Force B-50 Superfortress bomber, the Lucky Lady II, by Captain James Gallagher. They landed back at Carswell Air Force base, Fort Worth, Texas, which they had left on February 26, about 94 hours earlier.

1957 – #1 Hit March 2, 1957 – March 29, 1957: Tab Hunter – Young Love

1960 – Lucille Ball filed for divorce from Desi Arnaz, ending their marriage and the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show franchise on CBS.

1962 – Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points against the New York Knicks in a basketball game – final score: 169-147, at the Hershey Arena. Although only about 6,000 tickets were sold, guesstimates are that almost 50% of male sports fans born in the Philadelphia area between 1925 and 1958 claim to have been at the event.

1963 – #1 Hit March 2, 1963 – March 22, 1963: The Four Seasons – Walk Like A Man

1969 – The Concorde SST Supersonic jet aircraft, prototype 001, made its first flight from Toulouse airport in France.

1972 – US spacecraft Pioneer 10 was launched.

1974 – #1 Hit March 2, 1974 – March 22, 1974: Terry Jacks – Seasons in the Sun

1983 – Compact discs and players are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. (They had previously been available only in Japan.)

1978 – Charlie Chaplin’s body was stolen from a cemetery in the Swiss village of Corsier-sur-Vevey, near Lausanne, Switzerland. The grave robbers (and the re-buried body) were found a few weeks later.

1982 – Diner was released in theaters.

1984 – Repo Man, This is Spinal Tap, and Against All Odds were released in theaters.

1985 – Sheena Easton was the first and still only recording artist to score top-10 singles on all five major Billboard singles charts: Pop, Country, Dance, Adult Contemporary, and R&B with her hit Sugar Walls.

1990 – The Hunt for Red October was released in theaters.

1990 – Nelson Mandela was elected deputy President of the African National Congress.

1995 – Smokey Joe’s Cafe (Broadway Review) Opened on March 2, 1995, and closed on January 16, 2000

2009 – Late Night with Jimmy Fallon premiered on NBC.

2012 – Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax and Project X debuted in theaters.

2013 – #1 Hit March 2, 2013 – April 19, 2013: Baauer – Harlem Shake