The PLAYWRIGHT
IRA WALLACH has penned novels, many on and off Broadway plays, and some notable feature films, including the Oscar-nominated screenplay for Hot Millions (1968), which also won him and co-writer Peter Ustinov the Writer's Guild of Great Britain award for comedy screenplay. Wallach began his sterling career when he published the novel The Horn in the Rose (1947). His subsequent novels, like Hopalong-Freud Rides Again, and How to Be Deliriously Happy, were decidedly satirical. Wallach's better-known plays include The Absence of a Cello (1964), Drink to Me Only (1958) and Smiling, the Boy Fell Dead (1961). In 1962, Wallach penned the screenplay for the comedy Boys Night Out, starring James Garner, Kim Novak and Tony Randall. Wallach died of pneumonia on December 1995, following a stroke.


1964 – A YEAR AT A GLANCE
MAJOR EVENTS
After completing what would have been the final year of John F. Kennedy's first term, President Johnson re-elected in a landslide over Barry Goldwater
President Johnson declares "war on poverty," introduces a variety of federal welfare programs, including Medicare
Three civil rights workers murdered in Mississippi during "Freedom Summer"
24th Amendment to Constitution adopted, ensuring fair voting practices
Race riots break out in Harlem and other U.S. cities
Investigating the Kennedy assassination, the Warren Commission determines that "Oswald acted alone" in killing the president
US military forces launch attacks on North Vietnam in response to an alleged attack on a U.S. destroyer off the Vietnamese coast; Congress passes Gulf of Tonkin resolution that gives the President greater freedom to authorize combat actions in Vietnam
Soviet leader Khrushchev falls from power, is ultimately replaced by Leonid Brezhnev
Anchorage, Alaska hit by massive earthquake
Nelson Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment in South Africa
China detonates its first atomic bomb
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Space probe Mariner IV flies by Mars, transmitting pictures of the planet's surface back to earth
The world's longest suspension bridge, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York, opens
World's Fair held in New York
First lung transplant
SPORTS
World Series:
St. Louis over New York Yankees, 4-3
Summer Olympics held in Tokyo
Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Movies: Lord of the Flies, A Hard Day's Night, My Fair Lady, Goldfinger, Zorba the Greek, Mary Poppins
Musicals: Hello Dolly, Fiddler on the Roof
Songs: Hello Dolly!, She Loves You, Can't Buy Me Love, Do Wah Diddy Diddy, Oh Pretty Woman, Baby Love, My Guy, I Want to Hold Your Hand
FUN FACTS
According to some reports, not a single juvenile crime is reported in New York City the night of the Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964
In The Absence of a Cello, Andrew Pilgrim is in debt $200,000 – adjusted for inflation $200,000 would be equivalent to $1,341,043.57 today


TERMS AND CULTURAL REFERENCES

ALBATROSS is a large seabird that is absent from the North Atlantic.
ANTIMACASSAR is a small cloth placed over the backs or arms of chairs or sofas to prevent soiling of the permanent fabric.
BANKRUPTCY is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organizations to pay their creditors.
THE BLIZZARD OF 1888 (March 11 - March 14, 1888) was one of the most severe blizzards in United States recorded history. Snowfalls of 40-50 inches fell in parts of New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, and sustained winds of over 45 miles per hour produced snowdrifts in excess of 50 feet.
BOYCOTT is the act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with someone or some other organization as an expression of protest.
CALIGULA was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 37 AD until his assassination in 41 AD. Caligula was a tyrant associated with cruelty, extravagance, and perversity.
COMMUNITY CHEST is a forerunner of The United Way.
DON JUAN is a legendary fictional libertine, whose story has been told many times by different authors. The name is sometimes used figuratively, as a synonym for "womaniser".
DORIS DAY is an American singer, actress, and animal welfare advocate. A vivacious blonde with a wholesome image, Day was one of the most prolific actresses of the 1950s and 1960s.
DOUBLE PARKING refers to the illegal practice of parking a vehicle to the side of a row of vehicles that is already parked next to the curb. This often prevents some of the vehicles in the first row from departing and always obstructs a traffic lane.
ELSIE DINSMORE is a children's book series written by Martha Finley between 1867 and 1905.
GOTTFRIED VON STRASSBURG is the author of the Middle High German courtly romance Tristan, which is regarded one of great narrative masterpieces of the German Middle Ages.
HAIRSHIRT is a garment of rough cloth made from goats' hair and worn in the form of a shirt or as a girdle around the loins to serve penance.
THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD occurred on May 31, 1889. It was the result of the failure of the South Fork Dam situated 14 miles upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania which killed over 2,200 people.
GINA LOLLOBRIGIDA is a Golden Globe Award-winning Italian actress and photojournalist.
MANDRAKE ROOT, CURARE, AND HEMLOCK are a variety of poisons.
MARTINI is an alcoholic beverage usually made with 5 parts gin and 1 part dry vermouth and garnished with either olives or a lemon peel.
NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE was a daily newspaper that was published from 1924 –1967. The Herald Tribune was a leading Republican paper with a nation-wide readership that rivaled The New York Times in the quality of its reporting.
THE PALMER HOUSE HILTON is a famous and historic hotel in downtown Chicago.
PHILOLOGY is the study of a language together with its literature and its historical and cultural contexts. It relies on the ability to recognize the words of one language from the roots of another, by recognition of common (shared) roots and grammar.
PHYSICIST is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole.
POTATO FAMINE was a period between 1845 and 1852 when the population of Ireland was reduced by 25% due to a pathogen that wiped out the potatoe crops that were the main source of sustinence for the Irish people.
RADCLIFFE was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. Radcliffe was completely integrated into Harvard by 1999.
THE RACING FORM is a publication about horse racing. It is sold at racetracks, casinos, sports books, supermarkets, and convenience stores across the United States.
ALBERT SCHWEITZER (1875–1965) was a theologian, musician, philosopher, and physician. Schweitzer challenged both the secular view of historical Jesus current at his time and the traditional Christian view, depicting a Jesus who expected the imminent end of the world. He received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize.
TEETOTALER is a person who practices and promotes the complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages.
THEORY is a mathematical or logical explanation, or a testable model of the manner of interaction of a set of natural phenomena, capable of predicting future occurrences or observations of the same kind, and capable of being tested through experiment or otherwise falsified through empirical observation.
THOMAS OF BRITAIN was an Anglo-Norman poet of the 12th century. He is known for his Old French poem Tristan, a version of the Tristan and Iseult legend.
TRISTAN AND ISEULT is a the tragic story of the adulterous love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult. The narrative predates and most likely influenced the Arthurian romance of Lancelot and Guinevere, and has had a substantial impact on Western art and literature since it first appeared in the 12th century.
ULTRASONICS refers to the use of high-intensity acoustic energy to change materials. It offers great potential in the processing of liquids and slurries, by improving the mixing and chemical reactions in various applications and industries.
VANITY PRESS is a publishing house that publishes books at the author's expense.
WASSERMAN TEST is an antibody test for syphillis.
THE WHARTON SCHOOL is the business school of University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which is consistently ranked as one of the top institutions for business education.
WOOLWORTH'S was a retail company that was one of the original American five-and-dime stores. The first Woolworth's store was founded in 1878 and from there, the company grew to be one of the largest retail chains in the world. In 1997 the company converted itself into a sporting goods retailer and closed It’s stores operating under the Woolworth’s name in the US. Woolworth’s named stores are still in existance in the UK, Germany, Austria, Mexico and South Africa.