As I mentioned recently and have written of before, for ufologists, June 24th is of critical importance. On June 24, 1947, the modern era of UFOs began with Kenneth Arnold’s dramatic sighting of “saucers” flying between Mount Rainier and Mount Adams in Washington State. Since 1947, there is a history of this date being associated with ufologists' deaths.
The original press stories were written by Pendleton East Oregonian journalists Bill Bequette and Nolan Skiff. The phrase "flying saucers" appears in none of them but was invented by an unknown journalist or editor elsewhere (probably about June 27) on the basis of Bequette's wire stories.
Bequette, the paper's news editor, and Skiff had a first interview with Arnold in the newspaper office about noon on the morning of June 25, after which the intial stories were quickly written. The very first brief story by columnist Nolan Skiff, written just in time to make the bottom of the front- page of that day's issue of the East Oregonian, uses the phrase "saucer-like aircraft", proving that right from the start Skiff interpreted Arnold's use of the word "saucer" that morning to be a shape simile:
Impossible! Maybe, But Seein' Is Believin', Says FlierKenneth Arnold, with the fire control at Boise and who was flying in southern Washington yesterday afternoon in search of a missing marine plane, stopped here en route to Boise today with an unusual story --which he doesn't expect people to believe but which he declared was true.
He said he sighted nine saucer-like aircraft flying in formation at 3.p.m.yesterday, extremely bright -- as if they were nickel plated -- and flying at an immense rate of speed. Pendleton East Oregonian June 25 1947
Bequette had suggested to Arnold that a wire story might shake loose some information about the strange objects which both he and Arnold assumed were some sort of Army Air Force planes or rockets. He wrote a separate short story which he put out on the Associated Press wire that same afternoon. Consistently with Skiff's story it, too, said that Arnold (mistakenly identified as a US Forest Service employee) had described seeing "nine bright saucer-like objects":
PENDLETON, Ore., June 25 (AP) - Nine bright saucer-like objects flying at 'incredible' speed at 10,000 feet altitude were reported here today by Kenneth Arnold, Boise, Idaho, pilot who said he could not hazard a guess as to what they were.Arnold, a United States Forest Service employee engaged in searching for a missing plane, said he sighted the mysterious objects yesterday at three pm. They were flying between Mount Rainier and Mount Adams in Washington State, he said, and appeared to weave in and out of formation. Arnold said he clocked and estimated their speed at 1200 miles an hour.
Enquiries at Yakima last night brought only blank stares, he said, but he added he talked today with an unidentified man from Utah, south of here, who said he had seen similar objects over the mountains near Ukiah yesterday.
'It seems impossible,' Arnold said, 'but there it is.' ~ NICAP
The Military Times noted straightforwardly, "Skiff died in 1970, Arnold in 1984 and Bequette in 2011."
East Oregonian reporter Bill Bequette and editor Nolan Skiff didn't figure the 191-word story they banged out that Wednesday just in time for the evening paper and The Associated Press noon wire would take off, well, like a flying saucer.
But it captured the attention of the nation.
The headline at the bottom of the front page of the EO for June 25, 1947, reads: "Impossible! Maybe, But Seein' Is Believin', Says Flyer." And in the seven sentences that followed, Bequette and Skiff reported Arnold's claims that on the day before he saw "nine saucer-like aircraft flying in formation" at an altitude between 9,500 and 10,000 feet between Mount Rainer and Mount Adams moving at "the amazing speed of about 1,200 miles an hour." The Military Times.
Did the date of deaths of Arnold and Bequette have any significance (since they weren't June 24th)?
In addition to Spider-Man, his feature work included roles as the president of the United States in Michael Bay’s Armageddon and The Rock. His most recent film credits include Red Dragon, Legally Blonde 2 and Runaway Jury. On TV, he had a recurring role as Drew Carey’s dad on The Drew Carey Show and played the memorable role of Judge Vandelay in the final episode of Seinfeld.
Anderson also was a longtime member of three unions for actors, according to his family, and worked behind the scenes doing voiceover work in ads for Democratic candidates and issues across the country.
“He was most proud, ultimately, of the part he played in politics,” his family said.
Anderson was also in...
playing Agent Schoniger on
- "Closure" (2000)
-- Stanley Anderson (Agent Lewis Schoniger, who consults with Scully while viewing Mulder's regression tape) had a recurring role on The Drew Carey Show playing Drew's father.
-- Agent Schoniger is named for the next door neighbor of Chris Carter's grandparents....
-- The original script included a scene between Scully, Skinner, and Agent Schoniger discussing the fact that the Treasury Department was not happy that the records regarding Samantha's abduction were being pursued. The Official Site even ran the script crawl from this scene which was not in the final episode. Source.
Anderson, cryptokubrologically, did appear in...
The Shining (TV Mini-Series)
- "Episode #1.3" (1997) ... Delbert Grady
But Anderson's clearest link to UFOs came via his role (and his character's role) on...
Roswell (TV Series) - as James Valenti Sr., especially on one episode - "Secrets and Lies" (2001).
James Valenti, Sr. (through three actors) is a recurring character on Season 1 of WB sci-fi series Roswell.
A former Sheriff of Roswell, James Valenti (played by Anderson in the older role) spent his life attempting to prove that aliens are real. (This role appears to have been inspired by the real-life Sheriff George Wilcox, who told the Army about the Roswell UFO crash.)
After serving in World War II, James joined the Roswell Sheriff's Department. Deputy James Valenti was at the scene of the Crash in the summer of 1947. Over the next twelve years, James became a father (Jim Jr., born 1951) and eventually Sheriff of Chavez County.
On November 16, 1959, Sheriff James Valenti Sr. discovered the corpse of James Atherton. That same year, Valenti investigated the death of an actress who died from a freak lightning strike during the filming of They Are Among Us in Roswell. According to makeup artist Bess Covendall, Valenti's investigations caused 'quite a stir'. Valenti's efforts to uncover the truth earned him the ridicule of the F.B.I. and the nickname "Sgt. Martian". His eight-year old son Jim Jr. was an eyewitness to his father's growing obsession.
In 1972, Valenti met Everett Hubble. Valenti learned that Hubble's wife was killed in the same manner as Atherton; the killer leaving no marks other than a silver handprint. Hubble convinced Valenti that the killer had disguised himself as a drifter, and the two men tracked the suspect to a silo. Hubble shot the drifter, but Valenti took the fall. Valenti lost his job as Sheriff, beginning a slow slide into dementia.
Jim Valenti, Jr. was eventually forced to put his father (Stanley Anderson playing this role) in a home, where his visits have since become less and less frequent. Source.Stanley Anderson's actual end-of-life health issues, with brain cancer, mirrored, in a fashion, his on-screen struggle with dementia, 17 years earlier, on Roswell 17.
Frank Evans Heart
Frank Evans Heart, American computer engineer (worked on first routing computer for ARPANET, the Internet's predecessor), dies at 89.
Carlos Lopez, Jr.
George was a founding member of the baroque pop band, the Left Banke, which gained popularity in the late 1960s for their hit singles, “Walk Away Renee” and “Pretty Ballerina”. George’s involvement with the band remained until his death, often hosting reunion concerts and tours, releasing additional songs and albums, and performing at many children’s charity events throughout New York City.
Published in the Daily Press on July 1, 2018.