THUNDERBALLS

Pardon me, did you happen to see my gimp come this way?

Sean Connery has serious king-size Scottish stones. After greasing himself up and donning skintight swim briefs for the 1953 Mr. Universe contest, he squeezed into this red get-up for his 1974 sci-fi adventure Zardoz. In 2004 Total Film dubbed the costume the worst decision in movie history, but we disagree. Sure, he looks like he should be leading a gimp on a leash, and the easy-access tie-front diaper screams serial teabagger, but we suspect most women and not a few men enjoyed him in this outfit. He’s 44 at this stage, and holding together nicely. A little bearish perhaps, but manscaping hadn’t been invented yet. The point is, few actors could have pulled off the look. Besides, Zardoz was a good movie. Director John Boorman went all-in with the capital he had earned from the success of Deliverance, and Connery—along with co-star Charlotte Rampling—helped out with a committed performance. The result was first unveiled thirty-five years ago today. It was not well-received, but if you dare say so out loud Connery will jam a ball gag in your mouth.

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1955—Cy Young Dies

American baseball player Cy Young, who had amassed 511 wins pitching for five different teams from 1890 to 1911, dies at the age of 88. Today Major League Baseball’s yearly award given to the best pitcher of each season is named after Young.

1970—Feral Child Found in Los Angeles

A thirteen year-old child who had been kept locked in a room for her entire life is found in the Los Angeles house of her parents. The child, named Genie, could only speak twenty words and was not able even to walk normally because she had spent her life strapped to a potty chair during the day and bound in a sleeping bag at night. Genie ended up in a series of foster homes and was given language training but after years of effort by various benefactors never reached a point where she could interact normally in society.

1957—Soviets Launch Dog into Space

The Soviet Union launches the first ever living creature into the cosmos when it blasts a stray dog named Laika into orbit aboard the capsule Sputnik II. Laika is fitted with various monitoring devices that provide information about the effects of launch and weightlessness on a living creature. Urban myth has it that Laika starved to death after a few days in space, but she actually died of heat stress just a few hours into the journey.

1989—Los Angeles Herald-Examiner Folds

William Randolph Hearst’s newspaper the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, which had gained notoriety for its crime and scandal focus, including coverage of the Black Dahlia murder and Charles Manson trials, goes out of business after eighty-six years. Its departure leaves the Los Angeles Times as the sole city-wide daily newspaper in L.A.

1938—Seabiscuit Defeats War Admiral

At Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, Maryland, the thoroughbred stallion Seabiscuit defeats the Triple Crown champion War Admiral in a match race that had been promoted as “The match of the Century” in horse racing. The victory made Seabiscuit a symbol of triumph against the odds during the dark days of the Depression, and his story became the subject of a 1949 film, a 2001 book, and a 2003 film, Seabiscuit, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Uncredited cover art for Lesbian Gym by Peggy Swenson, who was in reality Richard Geis.
T’as triché marquise by George Maxwell, published in 1953 with art by Jacques Thibésart, also known as Nik.

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