ASK MR. KNOW-IT-ALL Tom Selleck joins the family business


Q. There was a Coldwell Banker Real Estate ad on television. The voice sounded familiar to me. My boyfriend says it sounded like Tom Selleck. Was he right?

D.K., Ithaca, N.Y.

A. Your boyfriend is right; you heard the voice of Tom Selleck. Selleck’s father was a retired executive with Coldwell Banker, and two of his brothers and a sister work in the real estate business. When he got the gig, he told his mother that he “was at last in the family business.”

DID YOU KNOW? Long before Nokia became world-famous for its cellphones, the company, known at the time as Finish Rubber Works, manufactured galoshes and other rubber products. The name Nokia came from the town in which the factory was built, Nokia, Finland.

Q. When did the term “flying saucer” enter into American vocabulary?

F.V.C., Monett, Ill.

A. On June 24, 1947, private pilot Kenneth Arnold claimed to have seen nine shiny objects fly past Mount Rainier, Washington, at a minimum speed of 1,200 mph. This is considered the first modern-era sighting. Because of Arnold’s description, the press came up with the terms “flying saucer” and “flying disc.”

DID YOU KNOW? Marlene Dietrich was considered for the role of Margo Channing in “All About Eve” (1950) after Claudette Colbert was forced to pull out of the project due to a back injury. The role went to Bette Davis, who went on to receive a best actress Oscar nomination for her performance.

Q. As a kid, I remember going to see the Harlem Globetrotters and Meadowlark Lemon. Is Meadowlark his real first name? When was he born? How long did he play basketball?

T.R., Womelsdorf, Pa.

A. Meadow Lemon III was born April 25, 1932, in Wilmington, North Carolina. He started his long career with the Globetrotters in 1955 and continued until 1980, when he moved to the Bucketeers and later the Shooting Stars. In 1988, he created Meadowlark Lemon’s Harlem All Stars. During the years of play he officially changed his name from Meadow to Meadowlark and became an ordained minister. He was also known as the “Clown Prince of Basketball.”

Send your questions to Mr. Know-It-All at AskMrKIA@gmail.com or c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

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