So, it’s the 85th anniversary of Orson Welles causing mass panic among millions of Americans who actually thought the Martians had invaded Earth — except that story’s (almost) complete balls.
It’s 373 years since the founder of the Society of Friends was up in court for interrupting a sermon, told the local magistrates they should “tremble at the word of the Lord”, earning the retort that he was the only ‘quaker’ in the room, thus coining a name for the organisation which stuck for centuries.
…and it’s 27 years since the Mirror ran a story — WALLOPED; Hollywood duo in club brawl — about Woody Harrelson and Bill Murray getting into a scrap in Soho House with
a cult performer on London’s club circuit known as Phil Dirtbox
Yes, this is a ridiculous story.
No, I’m not sure why I’m bothering to tell it, either.
Anyway, as you can see, it’s a masterclass in creating copy from almost nothing. The very short fight was an “astonishing brawl”, and it’s terribly important that we know how tall one of the protagonists was.
So it’s perhaps no great surprise that the people who wrote it up were Richard Wallace (who went on to be the Mirror’s editor) and Matthew Wright (yes, that one). As the history of The Sun tells us, there’s remarkable continuity between writing the showbiz pages and going on to edit the whole comic. But back to the ‘story’…
Murray, 46, and ex-Cheers barman Harrelson, 36, were having a drink in a private upstairs room… Peace was shattered when Dirtbox burst in. Bizarre poems are his trademark and he gave a recital of self-penned verses titled The Day We Caught The Grain. Murray and Harrelson tried to ignore him, but he would not be silenced.
So, Murray emptied a fire extinguisher over him, fists flew as a result, and Harrelson’s (by the sound of it) actually connected — so successful that he was back the next night telling the story.
This is Phil Dirtbox, by the way:
…so you can be forgiven for thinking that he deserved at least some remonstration just for that hat. Anyway, you can find out more from The Fence magazine — or, to be specific, their newsletter, including links to the man’s ‘poetry’.
Yes, this is all pretty thin stuff. Tomorrow’s post is weighty and sensible…
Obviously.
