WTF Fun Fact 12449 – Sly Stallone’s Dog

We heard this one straight from the legendary actor’s mouth (or Instagram page, which in 2022 is roughly the same thing).

It’s a pretty sad fact, actually. Having to sell your dog for food because you’re both starving must be heart-wrenching. And making the journey to repurchase him, paying out some of the first money you’ve laid eyes on in years sounds like it comes straight from a movie.

But here’s the skinny from Sly himself, which he posted alongside a photo of him and Butkus as a pup from 1971:

1971… Since we’re on the subject of ” man’s best friend” this is myself and Butkus as a puppy, we were both, thin, hungry and living in a flophouse above a subway stop, I used to say this apartment had ” … Hot and cold running roaches” anyway there was not much to do except spend time with each other and that’s where I started to learn the craft of screenwriting. Since I never went out, I relied on his companionship, And actually it was his idea to write Rocky, but don’t tell anyone…. Years later when things got even worse I had to sell him for $40 in front of a 7-Eleven store, because I couldn’t afford food, then like A modern day miracle, the screenplay for Rocky sold, and I could buy and buy him back, but the new owner knew I was desperate, and charged me $15,000 … He was worth every penny! #NewYorkCity #HellsKitchen#BullMastiff#It‘sADogsWorld. #MoreToCome#inspiration#ThunderingYourHeart#GoingThedistance

Now, to be completely honest, we were most surprised that Stallone was a screenplay writer and that he wrote the screenplay for Rocky. In fact, he wrote it in 3-and-a-half days, right after watching the championship match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner on March 24, 1975.

If you’re confused by the dates, only the photo itself is from 1971; the story is from 1975.

– WTF fun facts

Source: Sylvester Stallone @officlaslystallone — Instagram

WTF Fun Fact 12424 – Marilyn Monroe’s Drone Skills

At 18-years-old, Norma Jeane Dougherty was the wife of a U.S. merchant seaman who worked in a factory for Radioplane in Burbank, California. Founded by actor Reginald Denny, the company made remote-controlled, pilotless aircraft – also known as drones.

Of course, in the 1940s, the word “drone” didn’t carry the baggage it does today. These drones were used to perfect the targeting skills of U.S. soldiers in the Army and Navy. Then came D-Day and Operation Aphrodite, in which similar drones were packed with explosives and used to bomb Nazi sites after the pilots ejected.

Back on the homefront, Norma Jean Dougherty ignored advice to quit her 10 hour/day drone factory job (where she sprayed and inspected parachutes) for fear it would ruin her hair and skin. Already a beauty, she was later named “Queen” of the company picnic and awarded a $50 war bond. She continued to work.

A year later, Norma Jean was photographed in color film (rare at the time) while holding a Radioplane propeller to show the role of women in the war effort. It’s part of what helped turn her into a star. She would soon change her name to Marilyn Monroe and leave the factory for Hollywood. – WTF Fun Facts

Source: Marilyn Monroe’s World War II Drone Program — The New York Times

WTF Fun Fact 12412 – The Wonderful Betty White

Not one to claim she was just a “product of her time” when it came to race, Betty White went to bat for a talented tap dancer back in 1954. Despite attempts by others to keep Black dancer and singer Arthur Duncan off of her variety show, White decided to fight back by inviting him on every chance she could.

When networks and viewers in the South threatened to boycott “The Betty White Show” because of Duncan’s skin color, White said she replied: “I’m sorry, but, you know, he stays…Live with it.”

White died on Friday, just a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday, news that prompted a look back on a career that included advocacy on many fronts.

Arthur Duncan also confirmed the story in 2017 on Steve Harvey’s “Little Big Shots: Forever Young,” where he recalled: “I was on the show, and they had some letters out of Mississippi and elsewhere that some of the stations would not carry the show if I was permitted to stay on there. Well, Betty wrote back and said, ‘Needless to say, we used Arthur Duncan every opportunity we could.”

Betty White continued to invite Duncan on her show until it was canceled in 1954. – WTF Fun Facts

Source: ‘He stays’: Betty White refused to remove Black dancer from her show in 1954 — USA Today