All posts by Phil Gibbons

James J. Andrews, The Great Locomotive Chase and The First Medal of Honor. Volume Seven, Episode Four (Part Two)

One of the most incredible stories of the Civil War.

Rendition of the execution of seven of the Andrew’s Raiders
The General, refurbished for a celebration with some of the original raiders and William Fuller, conductor, leaning on post.
Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War
John Scott’s Medal of Honor, awarded posthumously after Scott was hanged.
The monument to Andrew’s Raiders at Chattanooga National Cemetery, James J. Andrews grave is in the left forefront

 

James J. Andrews, The Great Locomotive Chase and The First Medal of Honor. Volume Seven, Episode Four (Book and Music Information)

The book used in this episode was:

“Stealing the General,” by Russell S. Bonds

The music used in the intro of this episode was, “Blast Off to Glory,” by Media Right Productions, and in the outro, “Eyes of Glory,” by Aakash Gandhi

 

 

 

Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. Volume Seven, Episode Three (Part One)

Publicly,  perceived as one of the great romances of the 20th century, privately the Oliviers endured infidelity, severe mental illness and ultimately divorce.

Olivier in Wuthering Heights
Jill Esmond

Leigh and Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire
Hattie McDaniel, Olivia De Havilland and Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind
Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, Gone With the Wind.

Poster for one of the many revivals that made Gone With the Wind the most profitable film ever made.

Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. Volume Seven, Episode Three (Part Two)

Publicly revered as one of the great romances of the 20th Century, privately it was marred by infidelity, severe mental illness and divorce

Olivier in Rebecca with Joan Fontaine
The Oliviers in Australia, the smiles would eventually fade
Vivien Leigh, 1957
Olivier’s costume in Spartacus
Olivier in, “The Entertainer,” with Joan Plowright
Olivier and Joan Plowright visiting the Reagan’s in the White House in the 80’s
Olivier’s grave in Westminster Abbey

Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. Volume Seven, Episode Three (Book and Music Information)

The books used to compose this podcast included:

“Truly, Madly,” by Stephen Galloway.

“Olivier,” by Terry Coleman.

“Vivien Leigh,” by Hugo Vickers

The music used in this podcast included:

Intro, parts one and two: “Night Shift,” by National Sweetheart.

Outro, part one: “Inconsciousness,” by Mini Vandals.

Outro, part two: “Natural Light,” by Chris Haugen

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. Volume Seven, Episode Two. (Part One)

In 1969, the 20th Century Fox film, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” established these two outlaws as popular culture icons. But what was the truth about the lives, crimes and deaths of these two American legends?

Butch Cassidy’s boyhood home, Circleville, Utah
Butch Cassidy, Wyomng prison mug shot
Telluride location of Butch Cassidy’s first bank robbery, bank building is actually the white building to the right.
Montpelier, Idaho site of Butch Cassidy bank holdup
Sundance and Etta Place, taken shortly before they left for Argentina

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. Volume Seven, Episode Two. (Part Two)

In 1969, the 20th Century Fox film, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” established these two outlaws as popular culture icons. But what was the truth about the lives, crimes and deaths of these two American legends?

Butch and Sundance’s Argentine cabin today
Posse containing Joe Lefors, third from left
The house used in the Butch Cassidy film that Katharine Ross/Etta Place lived in. The front yard is the site of Paul Newman’s bike ride during, “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head.”
Red Rock plateau of the Hole In The Wall hideout near Kaycee, Wyoming
The location near Durango, Colorado where Paul Newman and Robert Redford jump off of a tall cliff into this river.
Historical marker denoting the site of Hell’s Half Acre in Fort Worth

The Heroes of Telemark and the Norwegian Destruction of Hitler’s Nuclear Weapons Program. Volume Seven, Episode One (Part One)

Shortly after the conquest of Norway by Nazi Germany, Allied intelligence determined that an electrical plant at Rjukan, Norway was providing a crucial element in a potential German atomic bomb. As a result, Norwegian commandos embarked on one of the most successful and heroic operations of World War II.

Norsk Hydro Plant, Vemork
Leif Tronstad, 1944
Heavy water manufactured at Vemork
British glider being towed by a bomber
Reichskommisar Josef Terboven
General Nicholas Von Falkenhorst
SS official Friedrich Fehlis

The Heroes of Telemark and the Norwegian Destruction of Hitler’s Atomic Weapons Program. Volume Seven, Episode One. (Part Two)

Shortly after the conquest of Norway by Nazi Germany, Allied intelligence determined that an electrical plant at Rjukan, Norway was providing a crucial element in a potential German atomic bomb. As a result, Norwegian commandos embarked on one of the most successful and heroic operations of World War II.

Leif Transtad with King Haakon VII in Britain in 1944.
Lake Tinnsjo, site of the Hydro ferry sinking
The ferry SF Hydro and railroad track that led to Vemork, 1935
King Haakon VII congratulating surviving commandos from left: Knut Haukelid, Joachim Ronneborg, Jens Anton Poullson and Kasper Idland