ASK MR. KNOW-IT-ALL
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A: Kilmer’s ex-wife Joanne Whalley. Whalley, an English actress, played Scarlett O’Hara in the 1994 miniseries “Scarlett.” The two met during the filming of Ron Howard’s “Willow” and were married in February 1988. Mercedes was born in October 1991, while Jack entered the world in June 1995. Shortly after the birth of Jack, Val and Joanne announced their separation and filed for divorce. Super trivia note: Val Kilmer is a distant cousin of poet Joyce Kilmer, of “I think that I shall never see /A poem lovely as a tree” fame.
Q: Actress Kate Hudson’s mother is Oscar winner Goldie Hawn. Who is her father? When was she born? — U.B., Pueblo, Colo.
A: Kate Hudson was born on April 19, 1979, in Los Angeles; her father is singer-comedian Bill Hudson. Mom and pop divorced shortly after Kate’s birth. Hawn and Hudson also have a son, Oliver, who like his kid sister is an actor.
Q: The first new car my dad ever bought was a 1949 Buick Roadmaster. I still remember the car and how much he liked it. On the fenders there were portholes. They had a name. Can you find out what they were called? — P.B., East Greenbush, N.Y.
A: They were called Ventiports. A car designer named Ned Nickles came up with the idea and installed them on his own car. Buick head designer Harley Earl saw them and liked them so much that he had the design incorporated in the Roadmaster. Ventiports were around for a few years and then disappeared, only to be resurrected on the 2003 Buick Park Avenue Ultra.
Q: JVC is a brand name found on many electronic items. What do the initials mean? — L.M., Elk River, Minn.
A: Victor Company of Japan (or Japan Victor Company). JVC was founded in 1927 as a manufacturer of records and phonographs, and was a subsidiary of Victor Talking Machine Company of the United States. In 1929, Victor was purchased by RCA and the corporate name was changed to RCA-Victor. During World War II, JVC and RCA severed their relationship. Today, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. owns JVC, along with Panasonic, Quasar and Technics.
Q: In 1969, The Who released “Tommy,” a rock opera. Did Tommy have a last name? — A.R., Greenbelt, Md.
A: The rock opera is a biography of fictitious deaf-mute pinball prodigy Tommy Walker.
Q: “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” was, of course, an incredibly popular quiz show. It seems to me that was the title of a song many years ago. True? — S.M.P., Dover, Del.
A: True. The Cole Porter song was introduced in the movie “High Society”(1956), starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm, John Lund and Louis Armstrong.
Q: While looking through the sports sections in some old newspapers, I noticed an NBA team called the Chicago Packers. What ever happened to them? — O.R., Hutchinson, Kan.
A: The Packers were founded in 1961 as an expansion team in the National Basketball Association. During the 1962 season they were called the Chicago Zephyrs. The following season they moved and became the Baltimore Bullets. In 1974 they moved again and became the Capital Bullets, only to become the Washington Bullets the season after that. After the 1997 season, team owner Abe Pollin changed their name to the Wizards.
Q: Did the sorcerer in the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” segment of Walt Disney’s movie “Fantasia” have a name? — W.K., Knoxville, Iowa
A: He did: it was Yen Sid — “Disney” spelled backward.
Q: When was the first ticker-tape parade held in New York City? — K.A., Palmdale, Calif.
A: There have been over 150 such parades held on lower Broadway. It all started on Oct. 29, 1886, in honor of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty.