Did the Democratic Party hire a comedian to play pranks on Richard Nixon?

QUESTION Did the Democratic Party prosecute a comedian to play pranks connected Richard Nixon during his predetermination campaigns?

This was Richard Gregory ‘Dick’ Tuck (1924-2018), a Democratic Party operative who made a vocation of governmental pranks, specialising successful tormenting Richard Nixon.

The brace archetypal crossed paths successful 1950 erstwhile Tuck was a Second World War seasoned studying governmental subject astatine the University of California, Santa Barbara. Tuck was moving part-time for Helen Gahagan Douglas, a Democrat moving against Nixon for the California senate seat. Nixon had tried to smear Douglas arsenic a communist sympathiser.

The university, unaware of the affiliation, unwittingly asked Tuck to organise Nixon’s sojourn to the university. Tuck arranged for the unsuspecting campaigner to talk successful 1 of the largest auditoriums disposable and hardly publicised the event. 

He introduced Nixon with a long-winded speech, past called the bemused Nixon to the microphone, saying the campaigner would talk to the sparse assemblage astir a taxable ‘all Californians attraction about, the International Monetary Fund’.

Tuck made a vocation retired of annoying Nixon. At the 1956 Republican convention, wherever Nixon was to beryllium chosen arsenic President Eisenhower’s vice-presidential candidate, Tuck paid garbage trucks to walk by, carrying the slogan ‘Dump Nixon’.

He was besides known to airs arsenic a occurrence marshal astatine Nixon appearances and springiness reporters debased estimates for the size of the crowds. But Tuck ne'er officially confirmed reports that helium had donned a conductor’s azygous and waved a bid retired of San Luis Obispo portion Nixon was inactive speaking from its rear.

Daniel Reed, Malvern, Worcs.

QUESTION How did Mike ‘the headless chicken’ past for 18 months without a head?

Mike the Headless Chicken, besides known arsenic Miracle Mike, was a existent chickenhearted who achieved fame for surviving without a caput for implicit a year.

In September 1945, a husbandman named Lloyd Olsen was slaughtering chickens connected his workplace successful Fruita, Colorado. When helium decapitated 1 chicken, Mike, helium missed the jugular vein.

To Olsen’s surprise, alternatively of dying similar the different chickens, Mike remained live and adjacent attempted to peck for food. Realising this, Olsen decided to attraction for him. He fed Mike a substance of beverage and h2o — and adjacent atom —through an eyedropper.

Amazingly, Mike survived and thrived, increasing to astir 8 pounds during the remainder of his life.

Scientists and veterinarians who examined Mike speculated that the brainstem, which controls rudimentary functions similar breathing and bosom rate, was inactive partially intact, allowing him to support these functions and survive. However, since helium lacked higher encephalon functions, helium couldn’t see, perceive oregon process accusation arsenic a mean chickenhearted would.

Mike’s singular endurance garnered wide attention, and helium became a fashionable attraction astatine sideshows and carnivals.

Sadly, Mike yet choked to decease connected his ain mucus (the syringe Olsen utilized to assistance Mike wide it having been near astatine a sideshow) successful a motel country portion connected circuit successful Phoenix, Arizona, successful outpouring 1947.

J. G. Ashley, Hull.

QUESTION What films person had their endings changed due to the fact that the archetypal was excessively depressing?

Several films person altered their endings due to the fact that of concerns that the archetypal endings were excessively depressing oregon bleak for audiences.

Some notable examples: Fatal Attraction (1987) astatine archetypal ended with Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) committing termination and framing Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) for her murder. However, trial audiences hated this ending, truthful it was reshot to person Alex killed by Dan’s wife, allowing for what was deemed a much satisfying resolution.

The archetypal screenplay for Pretty Woman (1990) by J. F. Lawton was titled Three Thousand and had a overmuch darker tone, focusing connected the grim realities of prostitution. It ended with Vivian (Julia Roberts) being near by Edward (Richard Gere) aft paying her for her services. However, this was changed to a much romanticist and uplifting ending wherever Edward rescues Vivian from her beingness arsenic a prostitute and they thrust disconnected into the sunset together.

Little Shop Of Horrors (1986) initially had the aforesaid ending arsenic the off-Broadway philharmonic connected which the movie was based. This saw Seymour (Rick Moranis) killed by the carnivorous works Audrey II, and the works taking implicit the world. Again, trial audiences disliked this ending, truthful it was reshot to springiness a happier decision with Seymour defeating Audrey II and truthful redeeming humanity.

Ed Timpson, Cheltenham, Glos.

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Write to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Daily Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY oregon email [email protected]