"Anybody see the Mona Lisa? She was hanging there just a minute ago" How is it that the most famous painting in the world could simply vanish, its disappearance not noted for 24 hours, and then not be found until nearly two years later? As with most mysteries, the disappearance of the "Mona Lisa" is certainly stranger than fiction. It was August 21, 1911, when the painting's absence was first noted by Louvre staff. The museum was shut down for a week so that the entire 49-acre facility could be searched. All employees and administrators were ruthlessly questioned by Paris police and many staffers were fired. France's borders were closed and all international shipments were subject to search and seizure. In short, it was the "Crime of the Century" (and offered a convenient distraction from the international conflicts that would evenutally lead to World War I). When the "Mona Lisa's" disappearance became public, everyone had a theory as to the identity of the perpetrators. Could it be an obsessive American art collector? An angry anti-establishment poet? A foreign conman and art forger? Or maybe it was the world’s foremost artist, Pablo Picasso. Picasso was actually questioned by police after being implicated by his friend and fellow suspect Guillaume Apollinaire, but both were eventually exonerated. For hunt continued for two years, but the trail went cold. In late 1913, however, Italian authorities arrested a former Louvre employee named Vincenzo Peruggia. Peruggia had been turned in by two local art experts (one the director of the Uffizi Gallery) after he attempted to sell the "Mona Lisa" in Florence. Peruggia's motive was political: he was angered by the plunder of Italian artwork more than a century before during the Napoleonic Wars and was attempting to restore the painting to its rightful homeland. Peruggia was convicted by an Italian court, but served minimal time and eventually returned to Paris. Embarrassed by the publicity surrounding the painting's theft and rediscovery, French art authorities allowed the "Mona Lisa" to tour Italy before she was returned to the Louvre, where she remains to this day. Even today, the "Mona Lisa" continues to evoke strong emotions. In 1956, two separate vandals attempted to damage the painting by throwing acid and a rock at it. Several years later, the painting was encased in bulletproof glass, which helped protect Mona in 1974, when another vandal tried to spray her with red paint. And just last week, a woman gained publicity (and probably jail time) by hurling a ceramic mug at poor Mona. Meanwhile, the success of the book and film "The DaVinci Code" (as well as other books) has renewed interest in that enigmatic smile (not to mention other features) for whole new generations. The true story of the theft of the "Mona Lisa" may not be as exciting as something out of "The DaVinci Code," but it is certainly has its own elements that would make any mystery fan proud: scandal, celebrity, politics, and some good old-fashioned detective work. Suggested Sites... Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of the Mona Lisa - a new book by R.A. Scotti that explores the painting's disappearance and its widespread appeal. The Crimes of Paris - also new in literature. Dorothy and Thomas Hoober's fictional account of the theft of the "Mona Lisa," focusing on the efforts of a French detective to find it. The Louvre - official site for Mona Lisa's home. Virtual Tour of Le Louvre - take a walk around the home of the world's artistic and historical treasures.

Directory categories: Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci, Le Louvre, Stolen Art, French History

Archived under: 1910s, Anniversaries, Art Museums, Artists, Arts, Crime, Criminals, Da Vinci Code, Detectives, Disappearances, Europe, European History, France, History, Images, Italy, Louvre, Museums, Mysteries, Secrets, Tourist Attractions, Women

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Cecil B. DeMille in the trailer for 1952's "The Greatest Show on Earth" Few Hollywood filmmakers have fit the cliché of a "Hollywood director" as well as Cecil B. DeMille. He was egotistical, a tyrant on the set, he oversaw even the smallest details of every scene -- and he even wore riding pants and boots and used a megaphone while working. But, then, few Hollywood filmmakers were as successful and popular as DeMille. From the mid 1910s to the late 1950s, De Mille turned out hit after hit by combining comedy, drama, overacting, sex, and the Bible into a style that the public couldn't get enough of. Born on August 12, 1881, "C.B." was working by the age of 19 for legendary Broadway producer Charles Frohman as an actor, writer, and director. In 1913, film producer Jesse Lasky hired DeMille to direct a feature version of the stage play, "The Squaw Man." Since Lasky's studios in New York City weren't really suited for filming a Western, it was decided to take the production on location. Originally, the film was intended to film in Arizona, but bad weather forced the company to keep moving west, until they ended up in Hollywood, California (specifically around what is now the corner of Selma and Vine). Over the next fifteen years, DeMille turned out more than 60 feature films, ranging from sex comedies to westerns to Biblical epics. In the late '20s, his fortunes dipped a bit, but with a series of pictures that were filled with the bizarre -- Exploding dirigibles! Baths in asses’ milk! Lesbian orgies! -- he made it back to the top. The wilder it got, the more moviegoers ate it up, and DeMille never looked back. His fame increased. He hosted a weekly radio program; he appeared in the trailers for his films as a guarantee of their quality; he even showed up in other directors' pictures as the model of what a Hollywood director looked like. Although his pictures were always box office hits ("The Ten Commandments" alone made the 2009 equivalent of more than $600,000,000), they won only one Oscar for Best Picture (1952's "The Greatest Show on Earth.") For all his success, DeMille's legacy (other than filming the first feature picture in Hollywood) may lie in three things he didn't have much to do with: The first is the annual television airings of "The Ten Commandments." Each year, new viewers are exposed to the hammy acting of Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, and Edward G, Robinson in a film that somehow combines piousness and ballyhoo. The second is an anecdote from the filming of that same picture. While probably apocryphal, the story of DeMille and a cameraman gave us the expression, "Ready when you are, C.B." The last is from Billy Wilder's film, "Sunset Boulevard." Wilder cast DeMille as himself in this story of the deluded silent-film star Norma Desmond, played by Gloria Swanson (who had herself starred in many of DeMille's biggest hits of the '10s and '20s). Norma, who has just murdered her lover, retreats into a world of past glory, calling to her former mentor, "All right, Mr. DeMille; I'm ready for my close-up." Suggested Sites... Cecil B DeMille.com - dedicated to the work, life, and legacy of the director. Classic Movie Favorites: Cecil B. DeMille - all kinds of epic information about the director. Greenbriar Picture Shows: Pre-Code DeMille on DVD - it's not dirty; it's morally uplifting! MySpace: Cecil B. DeMille - he's got a MySpace page!? Who knew? DeMille's Lost City - in 1923, DeMille filmed a silent version of "The Ten Commandments," and left the set as a ruin to confuse archaeologists.

Directory categories: Cecil B. DeMille, The Ten Commandments, Movie Directors, Film History, Hollywood

Archived under: 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 19th Century, Biographies, Birthdays, Broadway, California, Celebrities, Directors, Entertainment, Filmmaking, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Men, Movie History, Movies, Silent Movies

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The Automat in 1936 (Photo from Bob Bobster) Once upon a time, five cents went a long way. You could make a phone call, ride the subway, or buy a newspaper (though you couldn't get a "good cigar," apparently…) This was especially true in Manhattan, when New Yorkers with a fistful of nickels could eat, if not the best food in town, certainly the fastest, by going to the Automat. Automats in America were an invention of the Horn & Hardart Company. While there were never more than a handful in New York and Philadelphia, they made a quick and indelible mark on American society, beginning on July 7, 1912. The idea behind the restaurant was simple and democratic. Anyone with a nickel -- from socialite to panhandler -- could enter the restaurant, sit at one of the immaculate tables, and enjoy hot meals, sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, pies, and what was reputed to be the best coffee in town, served hot from a chrome dolphin’s head. Horn & Hardart pioneered drip-brewed coffee and the java served was never more than twenty minutes old. In the 1950s, they served more than 90 million cups annually. (By comparison, in 2006, Starbucks sold nearly 1.5 billion cups of joe -- but since they had more than 12,000 locations; that's only 125,000 per store.) While the bill of fare at the Automat was never more than what you’d find at a really good cafeteria, it was the uniqueness of the method of payment that brought folks back. Patrons could enter with bills or coins, go to the central change booths (staffed by "nickel throwers"), and get as many nickels as they needed. Once they had their change, diners would proceed to a wall of small glass doors (behind which waited cold and hot foods), and drop as many nickels into the slot as were needed to pay. They’d then slide the door open, remove the food (which was instantly replenished from the huge kitchens on the other side of the wall), and sit down (or stand at the post office-like counters for a "perpendicular meal"). Of course, for some, not even nickels were necessary; many Depression-era diners were able to enjoy hot meals by making "Automat Tomato Soup," which combined the restaurant’s free hot water and ketchup. As with most good things, the Automat couldn't last. The combination of rising prices and the proliferation of fast-food restaurants (not to mention real estate values) made the Automats museum pieces, fit only for nostalgists. The spaces were converted to Burger Kings, and in 1991, the last Automat closed. (And even that space has since been turned into a Gap.) In 2006, a trio of entrepreneurs opened an updated version of the concept in New York's Greenwich Village, but it, too, shuttered earlier this year, a victim of costs (and mediocre reviews). That may seem like the end of the road, but a 35-foot section of the Philadelphia automat lives on at (where else?) the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Unfortunately, there's no pie behind those windows any more. Suggested Sites... The Automat - the history, recipes, and allure of Horn & Hardart's masterpiece. Meet Me at the Automat - history of the restaurants from Smithsonian Magazine. Bamn! - the recent attempt at recreating the Automat format. Automat Recipes - recreate the mac and cheese, baked beans, and creamed spinach. Last Day at the Automat - listen to an audio report on the closing of the last Automat.

Directory categories: Restaurants, Fast Food, New York Restaurants, Manhattan History, Food and Drink History

Archived under: 1910s, 1930s, American History, Anniversaries, Disappearances, Eating, Fast Food, Food and Drink, New York, Pennsylvania, Restaurants, Tourist Attractions, United States

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Johnny Weissmuller, before he play Tarzan Me Tarzan, you reader. Friends ask Tarzan why English lord speak so badly. Tarzan shrug and answer, "Give people what they want." Tarzan speak fine in 1912 when Tarzan created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. (Tarzan even speak French.) But when Tarzan played by Johnny Weissmuller in many movies, Tarzan somehow tongue-tied. Go figure. Anyway, Tarzan is King of Apes and of many jungles: African jungle (even have song about it!), movie jungle, TV jungle, radio jungle, comic book jungle, cartoon jungle. Tarzan even had Broadway musical. Eat heart out, Batman! Today good day for many friends. Cheeta recently celebrate 77th birthday. Live in Valley. Paints. Lucky. ($125 a painting? Maybe Tarzan should try.) Weissmuller's 105th birthday today. Couldn't speak, but good swimmer. To them and you, Tarzan have only one thing to say: Ooohhhhaaeeeaaaahhhh Oooohhheeeaaahhh! Suggested Sites... Tarzan.com - home of Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan, John Carter of Mars, David Innes, Carson Napier, and dozens of other pulp heroes. Tarzan: The Broadway Musical - swinging onto the Great White Way. ERBzine - dedicated to all of the creations of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Salon: Jungle love - Stephanie Zacharek puts the Tarzan and Jane marriage under the microscope. Tarzan of the Apes - the complete first novel, anotated.

Directory categories: Tarzan, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan Movies, Musicals, Primates

Archived under: 1910s, 1930s, Africa, Apes, Athletes, Authors, Birthdays, Broadway, Cartoons, Comic Books, Comic Strips, Disney, Entertainment, Fiction, In Character, Movies, Musicals, Olympics, Royalty, Superheroes, Swimming, TV, Tarzan

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Halley's Comet, minus the advertising space that's sure to come next time If there's one thing mankind has discovered, it's that nature cannot be tamed. As last weekend's earthquake in Los Angeles and the recent "inland hurricane" in Southern Illinois proved, when Mother Nature wants to do something, it's best to stay out of her way. With that in mind, today we examine a few of the ways in which people have coped with nature's whims. The first took place on May 19, 1780. While the former British colonists of New England were still fighting their Revolution, strange things were happening. For a couple of days prior, the skies from Maine to New Jersey had been strangely colored -- yellow, copper, and red -- but in mid-morning of the 19th, those skies began to darken unnaturally to the point that, by noon (in most places), it was as dark as midnight. While animals behaved normally, many humans panicked and flocked to religious services, believing the end of the world had come. Those of a more scientific bent tried to determine what had happened, but were baffled. By the next day, the darkness had dissipated as mysteriously as it had come. Modern scientists have examined "Dark Day" and are now pretty sure (though not positive) that a combination of wet weather, Canadian forest fires, and just-right winds created a "perfect storm," and a cloud cover so thick that sunlight was unable to provide illumination to the region. While 18th-century Americans were driven into confusion and terror by a natural phenomenon, by the 20th century, Yankee ingenuity had figured out how to capitalize on Mother Nature. Halley's Comet paid the Earth a visit in 1910. Even though it had been doing so with no harmful effects since at least 240 BCE, the media got hold of the fact that the Earth would pass through the comet's tail on May 19th, and a minor worldwide panic ensued. Predictions of the damage that would be caused were apocalyptic. It got even worse when scientists determined that the comet's tail contained cyanogen gas -- similar to cyanide -- leading many to believe they'd be poisoned. Panicked (again), Americans packed churches, stopped up their doors and window with towels, and went insane from worry -- and (of course) there was a land-office business in comet "cures," ranging from pills to inhalers to gas masks. Of course, not everyone panicked, but even for those folks who kept their heads, retailers and restraurateurs managed to capitalize on comet fever, with souvenirs, postcards, pins, soaps, and even special dinners. While we can't imagine that when the "Big One" finally hits, folks will be flocking to buy souvenirs, we're pretty sure that, given the vast number of scams that popped up after Hurricane Katrina, American knowhow will figure out a way to make a buck. Suggested Sites... The Dark Day Over Olde New England - just what happened? Wikipedia: New England's Dark Day - description and links to sites explaining what occurred. Halley's Comet Postcards - capitalism is a worldwide phen A Brief History of Halley's Comet - from prehistory to the future. Comet Hysteria and the Millennium - it wasn't limited to 1910.

Directory categories: Weather, Weather Phenomena, Halley's Comet, Astronomy, Fraud

Archived under: 18th Century, 1910s, American History, Anniversaries, Astronomy, Coincidence, Comets, Environment, Events, Halley's Comet, History, Nature, Revolutionary War, Scams, Science, Society and Culture, Storms, Superstition, United States, Weather, Weird Stuff

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