Browsing: Arts & Entertainment

A Brief History On October 17 or 18, 2012, Sylvia Kristel, the first soft-core adult film star, died at age 60.  A lifelong smoker of cigarettes, she had developed throat and lung cancer that was detected in 2001 and treated with chemotherapy and surgery.  She passed away in her sleep a few months after suffering a stroke. Digging Deeper Sylvia Maria Kristel (her real name) was born in Ultrecht in the Netherlands in 1952.  She claimed her first sexual experience was at age 9 and began modeling when she was 17.  A beautiful young woman, Kristel won the Miss TV…

A Brief History On October 15th, 1917, the famous exotic dancer and courtesan Mata Hari was executed by firing squad after having been found guilty of espionage.  Digging Deeper In our three previous articles from this series, we have already listed 31 women famous for being naked or who, at one point in their lives, had famously been naked.  In this article, we again examine 10 more such ladies.  These lists on History and Headlines are different from conventional naked ladies lists in that the main prerequisite for being considered for these is less the actual nudity itself and more its social, cultural or historical significance.   For the latest installment…

A Brief History On October 12, 1957, Little Richard made a dramatic gesture to prove he was quitting rock music for a more religious life when he tossed four diamond rings into the Hunter River in Sydney, Australia.  Well, that lasted five years before Little Richard was back on stage, where he still is to this day, rocking and rolling at the age of 81. In 1955 Little Richard had a massive hit with the song “Tutti Frutti” at a time when many white parents were trying to keep their kids away from rock and roll.  This slam-bang-in-your-face song was…

A Brief History On October 11, 1975, the iconic television show Saturday Night Live made its debut with the late, great George Carlin hosting.  Guest performers included Andy Kaufman, Billy Preston and Janis Ian.  That memorable show featured Janis Ian singing her second major hit song, “At Seventeen.” Her first hit had been the controversial song “Society’s Child (Baby I’ve Been Thinking),” a song that dealt with a relationship between a 16-year-old white, Jewish girl and a black man.  Initially released in 1965, the song about interracial love was released 3 times before it made the charts in 1967.  It was subsequently banned from many radio stations…

A Brief History On October 9, 2012, Malala Yousafzai boarded her school bus in northwest Pakistan.  A gunman asked for Malala by name, then pointed a Colt 45 at her and fired three shots.  One bullet hit the left side of Malala’s forehead, traveled under her skin the length of her face and then penetrated her shoulder.  In the days immediately following the attack, she remained unconscious and in critical condition, but later her condition improved enough for her to be sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in England for intensive rehabilitation.  She went on to win Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize and the Sakharov Prize for 2013. Digging…