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5 Things You Didn't Know About Graham Greene

I'll start with a full disclosure: Graham Greene is one of my very favorite writers. While his work runs the gamut from weighty explorations of human evil like Brighton Rock to genuinely funny farces like Our Man in Havana, there's just something consistently mesmerizing about his crisp prose and ability to work a moral or philosophical dilemma into even his espionage thriller "entertainments." Let's take a look at five things you might not know about the... READ ON

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5 Things You Didn't Know About Robert Todd Lincoln

Saturday is the 166th birthday of Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's oldest son and the only Lincoln child to survive into adulthood. While he didn't make quite the mark on history that his father did, Robert Lincoln had a pretty interesting life himself. Let's take a look at five things you might not know about him: 1. He Was on Ulysses S. Grant's Personal... READ ON

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5 Things You Didn't Know About Billy Wilder

When talking about director and screenwriter Billy Wilder, one really only needs to list the titles of his many triumphs in genres as disparate as light comedy and film noir. The Apartment. Double Indemnity. Sunset Boulevard. Some Like It Hot. The Lot Weekend. Sabrina. Stalag 17. The Austrian-American filmmaker was so prolific and so brilliant that even his minor works like Ace in the Hole, a scathing indictment of journalism, are unforgettable. I really can't articulate just how wonderful... READ ON

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5 Things You Didn't Know About Lou Holtz

Now that he's giving occasionally surreal pep talks and diagnoses to NCAA football teams as part of ESPN's college pigskin studio crew, it's easy to forget that Lou Holtz was one of the preeminent coaches in the college game until fairly recently. Let's look at five things you might not know about Coach Lou: 1. A Young Bill Clinton Had His Back Throughout his coaching career, Holtz insisted that his players perform well on the field and behave off of it. Sounds like a... READ ON

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5 Things You Didn't Know About Grace Kelly

From her first major screen role as Gary Cooper's violence-loathing Quaker wife in the classic Western High Noon through her "wedding of the century" and retirement from films to become Princess Grace of Monaco, Grace Kelly made it almost impossible not to stare. Her icy beauty and polished delivery brought something truly unique to each of her parts, so let's take a look at five things you might not know about Grace Kelly. 1. She Probably Could Have Been an... READ ON

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5 Things You Didn't Know About Cary Grant

This week's installment of our "5 Things You Didn't Know About..." series focuses on one of the finest comic actors of all time. Whether in comedies like The Philadelphia Story and Bringing Up Baby or Hitchcock thrillers like North by Northwest, Cary Grant could make even throwaway bits of dialogue screamingly funny with his superb sense of timing and brilliant facial expressions. Here are a few things you might not have known about him. 1. He Was Almost Cary... READ ON

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5 Things You Didn't Know About Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain. The mere mention of the Big Dipper's name evokes images of hoops dominance and romantic impossibilities. The man who once scored 100 points in a single game and claimed to have bedded 20,000 women was a fairly enigmatic figure, though, as his huge athletic gifts made him something of a loner throughout his career. As we continue our new series of five things you didn't know about famous people, let's take a look at Wilton Norman Chamberlain. 1. He Wasn't... READ ON

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5 Things You Didn't Know About Charles Bronson

A New York Times profile of Charles Bronson once noted that "Bronson looks like as if at any moment he's about to hit someone." It's tough to think of a better way to summarize Bronson's five-decade film career than that. Since the forthcoming July/August issue of mental_floss contains a picture of Bronson, we thought he would make a good second installment for our new series "Five Things You Didn't Know About"¦" Here's what you might not... READ ON

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5 Things You Didn't Know About John Cazale

John Cazale may not be a household name, but if you enjoyed classic films from the 1970s, chances are you'd recognize the vulnerable Italian-American character actor from his handful of memorable roles in films like The Godfather, where he played doomed Corleone brother Fredo. Although Cazale's career was cut short when he died from bone cancer at just 42, his brief stay in Hollywood generated one of the more interesting bodies of work in modern film. Let's take a look at five things... READ ON