Today, we celebrate the shared birthday of two great Americans from widely different backgrounds.
First, politician and folk hero Davy Crockett was born on August 17, 1786 in Greene County, Tennessee. The real Davy Crockett was a complex and fascinating character who embodied the spirit of the American frontier and served a term in the Tennessee state legislature and three nonconsecutive terms in the House of Representatives before being voted out of office and returning in a huff to Texas ... where he was killed at the Battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. Mr Crockett will probably always be remembered as the character played by Fess Parker on television and in the movies ...
And yes, I admit it ... I proudly wore a Davy Crockett coonskin cap, which was all the rage at the time.
Also born on this date - somewhat later, in 1893, in Brooklyn, New York - was vaudeville, stage, and film actress and playwright Mae West, mainly remembered for her over-the-top sexual persona and heavy use of innuendo and double entendres.
Her most famous line was the invitation delivered to Cary Grant in the film She Done Him Wrong to "come up sometime, and see me" (usually misquoted as "why don't you come up and see me sometime?") You can see a film clip with the original line here (sorry, but YouTube won't allow me to embed it).
You, Dear Readers, should raise a glass to Davy and Mae, and come back and see me tomorrow ... for Cartoon Saturday.
Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.
Bilbo
5 comments:
Great historical figures to be reminded of. Neat ballad of Crockett.
Coonskin caps should make a return in style! Anything but those billed hats.
Mae West is also remembered for her "Do you have a gun, or are you glad to see me?" quote which was naughty for the time.
David Crockett was a true Tennessee hero. I love that ballad!
I can still hear the Davey Crockett song in my head.
I had a coonskin hat too.
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