Curated playlist
California Republicans
- Frank SinatraFrank Sinatra was dropped by his record label in 1952. A movie role then brought him back to the top.
- Richard NixonRichard Nixon was the only U.S. president to resign. He left office on the 9th of August, 1974, over Watergate.
- Clark GableA Warner Bros. executive once rejected Clark Gable because his ears were too big. He said Gable looked like an ape.
- James StewartJames Stewart gave his Oscar to his father for the shop window.
- Dean MartinDean Martin, born Dino Paul Crocetti, delivered one of his sharpest hometown jokes in a 1967 spy spoof. In The Ambushers, his secret agent Matt Helm is about to be executed and is offered a last cigarette. Helm tells the man who hands it…
- Robert MitchumRobert Mitchum, the American film actor and singer, gave critic Roger Ebert a picture that never faded. Ebert named him his favorite movie star and praised his "deep, laconic voice and his long face and those famous weary eyes." Ebert saw…
- Charlie SheenCharlie Sheen was the highest-paid actor on television in 2010, earning US$1.8 million for every episode of the sitcom Two and a Half Men. He had been born Carlos Irwin Estévez, and he grew up in a household where acting was the family…
- Robert DuvallRobert Duvall died at his farm in Middleburg, Virginia, on the 15th of February 2026, at the age of 95. His wife, Luciana Pedraza, announced his death in a public statement. He had worked for seven decades, and on screen he rarely seemed…
- Clint EastwoodPresident Reagan quoted Clint Eastwood's line "Go ahead, make my day" to Congress.
- Ginger RogersGinger Rogers and Fred Astaire were only supporting players in Flying Down to Rio, a film meant for other stars.
- John WayneJohn Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison and got his new name from a dog.
- Irving ThalbergIrving Thalberg ran MGM's production, yet his name never appeared on screen while he lived.
- Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Schwarzenegger broke into a locked gym on weekends as a teenager. He later became California's governor.
- Ray KrocRay Kroc took the public address microphone in San Diego on the 9th of April 1974 and criticized his own baseball team. The Padres were about to lose their season opener to the Houston Astros, 9-5, and 39,083 fans were watching. Kroc told…
- Richard V. AllenReagan's first National Security Advisor resigned after a check was found in an office safe.
- Roger McGuinnRoger McGuinn was born James Joseph McGuinn III on the 13th of July 1942, and he chose his first name from a list of ten. When he started with the Byrds, he went by Jim, a name he thought too plain. In 1965 he became involved with Subud, a…
- Kelsey GrammerKelsey Grammer was meant to play Frasier Crane for only six episodes. He kept the role for 20 years across two shows.
- Lou FerrignoLou Ferrigno built his first weights from a broomstick and pails of cement. He later played the Hulk.
- Adolphe MenjouAdolphe Menjou, an engineer from Pittsburgh, became Hollywood's ideal of Parisian elegance.
- John McCarthy (computer scientist)John McCarthy coined the term "artificial intelligence" in the summer of 1956. He also created the language Lisp.
- John C. FrémontJohn C. Frémont served just 175 days as a U.S. senator. He was in Washington for only twenty-one working days.