News of the Week: Willie Mays’s Catch, Wood’s American Gothic, and Why 7-Eleven Plays Classical Music

A 2024 Baseball Game (1954-Style)

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the amazing catch Willie Mays made in the 1954 World Series, Fox did a rather neat thing for the Giants/Cardinals game: They recorded an inning of the broadcast the way it looked and sounded on TV 70 years ago.

Uploaded to YouTube by Fox Sports

Why Does 7-Eleven Play Classical Music Outside Their Stores?

If your first guess is because classical music is quite beautiful and timeless, that’s not it. It’s actually because the stores believe that music as sophisticated as classical will keep away undesirable loiterers, like teenagers and homeless people, and help prevent crime.

They’re not the only stores doing it. Some Walgreens and abandoned department stores are doing it too, some for decades. But they always have to contend with those rare teens who drink cheap beer but also happen to like Debussy.

Who is Alex Trebek?

The late Jeopardy! host got his own stamp this week, and they made the sheets look like the board from the game show.

Something I Learned This Week

I always assumed that the people in Grant Wood’s painting American Gothic were husband and wife. But they’re actually supposed to depict a father and daughter! And to make things even more interesting, the models for the painting were Wood’s daughter and…his dentist!

RIP Kinky Friedman, Bill Cobbs, Frederick Crews, Al Schultz, Russell Morash, Spencer Milligan, Taylor Wiley, and Tamayo Perry 

Kinky Friedman was a singer, songwriter, columnist, and satirist. His band opened for Bob Dylan, he wrote several novels (featuring himself as a detective), and he even ran for governor of Texas in 2006. He died Wednesday at the age of 79.

Bill Cobbs was one of the most recognizable character actors over the past 50 years. He appeared in such films as The Hudsucker Proxy, The Bodyguard, The Color of Money, The Cotton Club, Silkwood, Air Bud, and the Night at the Museum films. On TV you saw him on I’ll Fly Away, The Drew Carey Show, Go On, The Sopranos, The Slap Maxwell Story, Kate & Allie, and dozens of other shows. He died Tuesday at the age of 90.

Frederick Crews was an author, essayist, and critic. He died last week at the age of 91.

Al Schultz was a top makeup artist who worked on such shows as The Carol Burnett Show, All in the Family, The Sonny and Cher Show, The Dean Martin Show, and The Merv Griffin Show. He was the husband of actress Vicki Lawrence. He died last week at the age of 82.

Russell Morash created the PBS shows This Old House and Victory Garden and was a director/producer on Julia Child’s iconic show The French Chef. He died last week at the age of 88.

Spencer Milligan played Rick Marshall on the ’70s show Land of the Lost. He died Saturday at the age of 86.

Taylor Wily was a former sumo wrestler who became an actor. He was a regular on the Hawaii Five-0 reboot and appeared in many other shows. He died last week at the age of 56.

Tamayo Perry was a champion surfer and actor who appeared in such movies as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and TV shows like Hawaii Five-0. He died Sunday at the age of 49.

This Week in History

First Scholastic Aptitude Test (June 23, 1926)

It was given to 8,040 students. Here are a few of the questions from that test.

I did rather well on the reading part of the SAT. I’d rather not talk about the math part.

Dark Shadows Premieres (June 27, 1966)

It’s weird to think that there was once on TV – on a major broadcast network, every single afternoon – a soap opera about vampires, ghosts, and time travel. I was really into this show when I was a little kid, even though the theme song used to freak me out.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: French’s (June 27, 1953)

I’m not sure if you can zoom in to see those recipes – you can if you have a subscription to the Post – but they’re for Frenchwise Potato Salad and Frenchwise Barbecue Sauce.

Fourth of July Recipes

In addition to those recipes from French’s, here are more to try next week.

The Beef Checkoff gives us this recipe for Sweet Hawaiian Mini Burgers, and our own Curtis Stone has a Veggie Flatbread Sandwich with Feta-Yogurt Spread. Country Living has recipes for Salt-and-Pepper BBQ Ribs and Root Beer Baked Beans. For a patriotic dessert, Food Network has a Flag Cake and a Red, White, and Blueberry Trifle. And you can wash all of that down with a Frozen Cherry Coke Slushie or Homemade Lemonade, both from Delish.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

Wimbledon Begins (July 1)

A guy on Jeopardy! last week lost money because he said Wimbleton instead of Wimbledon. Happens all the time. ESPN will have full coverage every day and Tennis Channel will rerun the matches you may have missed.

The Dog Days of Summer Begin (July 3)

It’s not just a general phrase. There are actually official dog days, from July 3 until August 11.