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Your first choice for movie and TV firsts

38 Movie and TV History Trivia Tidbits You Can Learn From Us Instead of a Podcast

February 05, 2024

You might be under the impression that absolutely every piece of information can be heard on the bajillion podcasts out there. But you know what? We guarantee that we’re packin’ a multitude of movie and TV history nuggets that have never once graced your ears. And no, there isn’t an audio recording of these bad boys, so you’ll just have to put the buds down and give ‘em a look-see.

38

Mary Kay and Johnny 1947-1950 CRACKED.COM The very first U.S. sitcom featured the first time a couple slept in the same bed and the first time a woman's pregnancy was shown on TV. — Source

37

Another World

Another World 1964 CRACKED.COM The soap opera was the first TV show to address abortion. It would be another eight years until Maude's famous abortion storyline. — Source

36

Ethel Waters

The Ethel Waters Show 1939 N в C CRACKED.COM Ethel Waters was the first Black person to star in her own TV show. She would later be the first Black woman to be nominated for a primetime Emmy. — Source

35

Crusader Rabbit 1950 CRACKED.COM This cartoon was the first made-for-TV animated show, created by Alexander Anderson and Jay Ward who also created Rocky and Bullwinkle. — Source

34

Film Firsts

Historical Firsts in Practical Effects Hg1 Frank Williams: Grandfather 1916 of the green screen 5 Fig.2. 6 Williams' traveling matte system shot actors or vehicles against a black background and isolated them to be placed on other moving images. It could only work in black and white, but is a direct precursor of blue/green screen technology. CRACKED — Source

33

Historical Firsts in Practical Effects Frame tinting 1903 The Great Train Robbery would tint three frames of film red as a gun was fired, to give the blast a visual pop. This was later used by Hitchcock in 1945's Spellbound. CRACKED — Source

32

Historical Firsts in Practical Effects 1899-1909 Georges Méliès: The father of FX The world's most well-known filmmaker at the time, he was the first to experiment with exposure, split screen, dissolve, superimposition, and reverse shots. Effects in his 1902 film A Trip to the Moon are big bang moments in modern cinema. CRACKED — Source

31

Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

Historical Firsts in Practical Effects The first-ever special effect 1895 Shot at Edison Labs in New Jersey, 1895's Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots was the first film to use a visual effect. They used stop- action for her beheading, and since no one had ever seen special effects, viewers thought they actually killed the actress. CRACKED — Source

30

Yakima Canutt

Historical Firsts in The World of Stunts Yakima Canutt pioneered the industry Instrumental in modern day stunt techniques, he developed horse falls, wagon wrecks, and screen combat over four decades. Не received an honorary Oscar in 1966 for his stunt work, and for developing safety devices that revolutionized the profession. CRACKED — Source

29

Historical Firsts in The World of Stunts The first safety precautions 1923 I IV ESTIC E S I II 1 Hollywood realized their stars' worth and took precautions. Ironically titled Safety Last! the 1923 film's iconic clock scene used stunt doubles, safety nets, harnesses, and camera tricks to pull off Harold Lloyd's dangle from a skyscraper. CRACKED — Source

28

Historical Firsts in The World of Stunts The first quantum 1920s leap in danger Buster Keaton's hilarious and life-threatening stunts raised the bar. In 1928's Steamboat Bill, Jr. a two- ton house falls as he stands precisely in its open window, and in 1924's Sherlock, Jr. a gush of water breaks his neck! Let's not forget 1926's The General. CRACKED — Source

27

Historical Firsts in The World of Stunts The first realistic 1920 sword fighting In 1920's The Mark of Zorro, Douglas Fairbanks brought in a fencing master, creating the first realistic on-screen swordplay. Prior to this, films had primitive whacking, but this opened doors for the countless swashbuckling films to come. CRACKED — Source

26

Historical Firsts in The World of Stunts Charlie Chaplin 1914 Beginning in 1914, Chaplin became known as one of Hollywood's first stars, and had the second- ever million dollar contract. As a vaudevillian and slapstick comic, he did all of his own stunts. CRACKED — Source

25

Stuntmen

Historical Firsts in The World of Stunts The first stuntman 1903 In the Guinness Book of World Records as the first stuntman, Frank Hanaway landed a part in 1903's The Great Train Robbery for his ability to fall off a horse without injuring himself. CRACKED — Source

24

The First Major Character Death 5700 Jean Hagen Actress Jean Hagen left The Danny Thomas Show in 1956. Producers decided an unexplained death would be less controversial than divorce. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

The First Color Broadcast Gulisson Epiphage Marshall A 1951 variety show called Premiere finally validated anyone who, for whatever reason, bought a color TV before TV was in color. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

Paul Shaffer

The first US f-bomb 1980 CRACKED.COM Paul Shaffer accidentaly said f*ing when he meant flogging on an episode of SNL. Не thought he was ruined; instead, Lorne Michaels told him You broke down the last barrier. — Source

21

The first s#!t 1999 CRACKED.COM Dr. Jack McNeil says s#!t happens in a 1999 episode of Chicago Hope. — Source

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20

The first condom commercial 1975 TROJANS CRACKED.COM A local station in San Jose ran a Trojan ad promoting responsible parenthood. — Source

19

Billions

The first non- binary character 2017 CRACKED COM Non-binary actor Asia Kate Dillon's character on Billions, Taylor Mason, is a highly-intelligent go-getter. — Source

18

The first lesbian main character 1997 CRACKED.COM When Ellen Morgan accidentally yelled Susan, I'm gay! into a microphone, Ellen became the first show to feature an out and proud lesbian as a protagonist. — Source

17

TV Firsts

The first male kiss 2001 CRACKED.COM Actors Kerr Smith and Adam Kaufman shared the first dude-dude smooch on an episode of Dawson's Creek. — Source

16

Elizabeth Taylor

ELIZABETH TAYLOR ended her career as a cartoon mom. THE FLINTSTONES CRACKED.COM Appearing as a caricature of her once glamorous self, Taylor battled Fred Flintstone as his battle-axe mother-in-law. Likely not the last performance she wanted inscribed on her, er, tombstone. — Source

15

PAUL WALKER was partly digital in his final film FURIOUS 7 CRACKED.COM It took state-of-the-art 2013 CGI (and Walker's brothers as stand-ins) to complete Walker's final performance. Amazingly, missing dialogue was pieced together from the actor's previously recorded lines. — Source

14

MARILYN MONROE shared a final film with CLARK GABLE THE MISFITS CRACKED.COM Gable had a massive heart attack two days after the film wrapped. Monroe overdosed 18 months later. The Misfits arguably featured Monroe's finest performance, earning her a Golden Globe. — Source

13

M*A*S*H CRACKED COM With a 2 hour finale on February 28, 1983, CBS honorably discharged M*A*S*H. The famous ending had stones spelling out goodbye as Hawkeye flew off, and the 105.9 million viewers made it the most watched TV event of all time, until the 2010 Super Bowl nudged it out with 106.5 million viewers. — Source

12

CHEERS CRACKED.COM The bar where everybody knows your name aired its finale on May 20, 1993, after 11 seasons. Diane (Shelley Long) returns after 6 years, but Sam realizes the bar will always be his biggest love. The 98-minute finale was seen by about 40% of the U.S. population at the time - 84.4 million viewers. — Source

11

Seinfeld Finale

SEINFELD CRACKED.COM Wanting to end it before any ofthe funny was compromised, Seinfeld called it quits after 9 seasons on May 14, 1998. After almost being cancelled early on, it became the #1 show by the 1994-95 season, averaging just over 30 million viewers per episode. It rose back to #1 in season 9, and the finale brought in a whopping 76.3 million viewers. — Source

10

FRIENDS CRACKED.COM With Ross & Rachel getting together for real this time, and Chandler & Monica deciding to raise their adopted twins in the suburbs, the finale aired on May 5th 2004. In all 10 seasons, viewership ranged from 20-30 million, but that tearful finale had 52.5 million. — Source

9

Film Firsts

The first copyrighted motion picture. 1894 CRACKED.COM W.K. Dickson copyrighted Fred Ott's Sneeze, a 5-second film of Thomas Edison's assistant snorting some sketchy 1800's stimulant and then, spoiler alert, sneezing. — Source

8

The first soap opera 1946 the entire production Faraway written and directed by Hill DAVID P LEWIS GRACKED.COM Farway Hill, about a New York City widow who finds herself upstate in a love triangle, was the first to port the soap opera from radio to TV. — Source

7

The first kids' show 1955 CRACKED.COM Captain Kangaroo was a show based on the warm relationship between grandparents and children and inspired all your favorite shows when you were a wee lad or lass. — Source

6

The first live news story 1938 CRACKED.COM NBC New York interrupted its scheduled programming to report on a fire on Ward's Island, home to both an Inebriate Asylum and an Idiot Asylum. — Source

5

The first televised face 1925 CRACKED.COM Scottish inventor John Logie Baird televised his ventriloquist dummy, Stooky Bill, because the system couldn't detect the contrast of a human face. — Source

4

The first 24-hour newsday 1963 CRACKED.COM The networks threw their regular programming out the window to cover the assassination of JFK around the clock. — Source

3

George Lucas

The first to credit the full crew. 1977 CRACKED.COM George Lucas decided to list every last crew member in the Star Wars final credit crawl. Before that, only department heads would get their moment in the limelight. — Source

2

The first movie filmed in color. 1922 CRACKED.COM There are color films that predate this one, but they all required post-production coloring processes. The Toll of the Sea was the first movie actually filmed in color. — Source

1

The First Movie Studio

The first movie studio. 1893 CRACKED.COM Thomas Edison's New Jersey studio, The Black Maria, was built for about $600 to produce short films for the Kinetoscope. — Source

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