Category: Entertainment

Talking Motion Pictures

Yes, Roscoe Bartlett was born in the era of silent movies. That all changed with The Jazz Singer in 1927. The Jazz Singer was a musical starring Al Jolson as a Jewish boy who gains fame by singing popular tunes in a beer hall, much to the consternation of his devout father, a cantor. Al Jolson appeared in blackface in the movie, and did so in real life as well. Blackface is actually central to the storyline of the movie as a way to hide the lead character's Jewish background.

Willie Nelson

We know what you're thinking. "Who could possibly be older than Willie Nelson?" Actually, Roscoe Bartlett was already in grade school when Willie Nelson was born. In high school, Willie was a member of the Future Farmers of America, and he spent one year at Baylor University studying agriculture. We're not sure what crops Willie was fixin' to grow.

He gave up his dreams of farming to give country music a try, and he moved to Nashville in 1960. Since then, Willie has appeared in 25 movies, won 10 Grammy Awards, released 14 Number 1 albums, 22 Number 1 singles, had 4 wives, fathered 8 children, and paid over $16 Million in back taxes. No wonder he looks like this.

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company was the first broadcasting network in America. Formed just months after Roscoe Bartlett was born, it started as a radio network, and evolved into a television network. The famous three note NBC chimes became the first audio trademark in 1931.

Concerned with NBC's status as a monopoly, the Federal Communications Commission ordered NBC split in two. After losing an appeal to the Supreme Court, a portion of the NBC became the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in 1945. Despite that, NBC is now available through over 200 stations and reaches nearly 99% of American households.

Bingo

Edwin Lowe is credited with inventing the game of Bingo in 1929 when Roscoe Bartlett was just 3 years old. Lowe's Bingo was a permutation of an earlier game called Beano which traced its history back to the Italian lottery. Just months after Lowe introduced Bingo in New York, a priest in Wilkes-Barre, PA approached Lowe with the idea of using Bingo as a way of saving his church from financial ruin. The church was saved, and the long tie between Bingo and the Catholic church began.

Our National Anthem

Frederick's Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner after watching American troops get shellacked by a British bombardment of Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore in 1814. The flag that remained flying, and that inspired Key, is now one of the most cherished possessions of the Smithsonian. Actually, Key only wrote the words to the Star Spangled Banner; the music itself is from The Anacreontic Song, a drinking song popular in London. Woodrow Wilson liked it enough to order it played by military bands, and Congress passed legislation making it the National Anthem in 1931.