THE SHAME OF TOOBWORLD: THAT DEVIOUS DVR!

The DVR service supplied by Time Warner Cable is a wonderful option, one that I miss whenever I'm visiting my relatives who are not so lucky to have its digital information available at the click of the button. 

But every so often, they screw things up.  Luckily it has no bearing on the Toobworld Dynamic.

Back in January, COZI-TV showed an episode of 'Maverick', "Alias Bart Maverick".......

However, that's not what COZI-TV was promising:

I'm sure a research job like that is handled by a low-level team of employees and isn't considered worthy of the utmost diligence.  Besides, eventually the blame has to go to the people who originally supplied the information:

It's all just another example of why I discount paying any attention to the credits on the screen.  And that goes for the information blurbs as well.....

But it could have been worse.  I turned on the Ovation network as I got ready for work back in July and they were showing 'Lonesome Dove'.  However, their DVR digitial readout listed it as "Dune"........

Happy trails to you!

TELE-FOLKS DIRECTORY - THE MANY JOHN WESLEY HARDINS

During the heyday of the Westerns in Toobworld, John Wesley Hardin was portrayed several times.  Maybe he didn't get the exposure that Jesse James or Billy the Kid did (He certainly never got his own series like they did!), but he kept his hand in the game......

Working backwards through time:

"Streets of Laredo"
    - Episode #1.1 (1999) TV episode, Played by Randy Quaid

Maverick (1994) Played by Max Perlich (as Johnny Hardin)

"The Virginian"
    - The Sins of the Fathers (1970) TV episode, Played by Tim McIntire

"Vacation Playhouse"
    - Luke and the Tenderfoot (1965) TV episode, Played by Charles Bronson

"Death Valley Days"
    - Preacher with a Past (1962) TV episode, Played by Neville Brand


"Zane Grey Theater"
    - Trouble at Tres Cruces (1959) TV episode, Played by Brad Johnson

"Maverick"
    - Duel at Sundown (1959) TV episode, Played by James Griffith

"Tales of Wells Fargo"
    - The Gunfighter (1958) TV episode, Played by Lyle Bettger
    - John Wesley Hardin (1957) TV episode, Played by Lyle Bettger

"Bronco"
    - The Turning Point (1958) TV episode, Played by Scott Marlowe

"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp"
    - The Time for All Good Men (1957) TV episode, Played by Phillip Pine
    - John Wesley Hardin (1955) TV episode, Played by Phillip Pine

"Studio One in Hollywood"
    - Dead of Noon (1957) TV episode, Played by Richard Boone

"Judge Roy Bean"
    - Gunman's Bargain (1956) TV episode, Played by Lash La Rue

"Stories of the Century"
    - John Wesley Hardin (1954) TV episode, Played by Richard Webb

Hardin's presence in 'Maverick', both the TV series and the 1994 theatrical release, were already splained away in a previous post last August. 

As for the others....

Right off the bat I'm eliminating Richard Webb's portrayal of Hardin from consideration to be the official televersion.  'Stories Of The Century' - from the Toobworld Dynamic perspective - was nothing more than the tall tales spun by an old railroad detective named Matt Clark.  According to his whoppers, Clark was responsible for the capture or deaths of just about every  outlaw in the Old West.  So Webb's embodiment of John Wesley Hardin is just the personification of Clark's "stories" (in much the same way as was seen with every episode of 'Jack Of All Trades'.)

I even have my doubts Matt Clark was ever a railroad detective!

With Randy Quaid in the Larry McMurtry adaptation, I'm placing that in another TV dimension since several of the characters were recast from the original adaptation of 'Lonesome Dove'.  (And that's mostly due to the late James Garner as Woodrow Call.)  In fact, better or for worse when it comes to quality, the two TV series based on the original novel have a stronger hold on a place in Toobworld.  (As for the recasting of Newt?  Allowances due to aging perhaps; maybe because of the hardships of the wild wild West.....)

"Vacation Playhouse"
    - Luke and the Tenderfoot (1965) TV episode, Played by Charles Bronson

"Death Valley Days"
    - Preacher with a Past (1962) TV episode, Played by Neville Brand

"Zane Grey Theater"
    - Trouble at Tres Cruces (1959) TV episode, Played by Brad Johnson

"Studio One in Hollywood" 

    - Dead of Noon (1957) TV episode, Played by Richard Boone

These TV shows were anthology series with no regular cast each week.  We could easily spread the wealth by placing each of these Hardin stand-ins into separate TV dimensions so they could be the official versions in their own little fictional TV worlds.  If we keep them in Earth Prime-Time, then most of them might be the John Wesley Hardin impersonators I mentioned earlier.  And if so, the psychotic gunman who truly believed he was Hardin might have gone gunning for each of them.

I toyed with the idea that perhaps Paladin of 'Have Gun Will Travel' was impersonating Hardin in "Studio One In Hollywood", but I wouldn't want to make such a claim without having seen the episode.  For alls I know, as Stuart Best would say, "Dead of Noon" ends with the death of John Wesley Hardin at the hands of John Selman, Sr. in 1895, soon after Hardin's release from prison.  And we can't have such a fate for Paladin - not when we expect to resurface in Oklahoma as 'Hec Ramsey'!

"The Virginian"
    - The Sins of the Fathers (1970) TV episode, Played by Tim McIntire

"Tales of Wells Fargo" 

    - The Gunfighter (1958) TV episode, Played by Lyle Bettger
    - John Wesley Hardin (1957) TV episode, Played by Lyle Bettger

"Bronco"
    - The Turning Point (1958) TV episode, Played by Scott Marlowe

"The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp"
    - The Time for All Good Men (1957) TV episode, Played by Phillip Pine
    - John Wesley Hardin (1955) TV episode, Played by Phillip Pine

In these four TV series with a combined six episodes, each of these John Wesley Hardins met with TV characters who are definitely card-carrying citizens of Toobworld:

'The Virginian' & Clay Grainger

Jim Hardie

Bronco Layne

Wyatt Earp

We can eliminate Tim McIntire's presence in Medicine Bow, Wyoming, as being John Wesley Hardin, even though he had the youthful appearance to have been the Gentleman Killer before he was incarcerated.  Unfortunately, 'The Virginian' takes place around 1898, with several timeline indicators spread throughout the series (gravestone markings, Oscar Wilde publications, etc.)  Since Hardin died in 1895 at the age of 42, it's O'Bvious to me that this outlaw was just another impersonator.  

Bronco Layne, like the actor who portrayed him, was about 28 years old when we first met him.  He was a veteran of the Civil War, so the 'Bronco' series could have been taking place at any time from 1865 to 1874.  I would lean towards the latter date so as to accommodate the crossovers with 'Sugarfoot', 'Cheyenne', and 'Maverick'.  

In fact, it's probably 1870 as Hardin was already "credited" with six killings.  (According to Wikipedia, he had killed four men by 1869.)

At that time it would be conceivable that Bronco Layne could have saved the life of John Wesley Hardin as a young man after he had been bitten by a rattlesnake.  (When they first met, Hardin introduced himself as Gary Williams.)  And Scott Marlowe does come closer than most actors hired to play the role in looking like the real gunfighter.

An added bonus to claiming him as Toobworld's John Wesley Hardin - Hardin's parents also show up in the episode.  (Here they are Reverend Leslie and Emma Hardin, while in real life they were Reverend James Gibson and Mary Elizabeth Hardin.)

The temptation would be to choose either Bettger's or Pine's portrayal of Hardin since both of them played the role twice in 'Tales Of Wells Fargo' and 'The Life And Legend Of Wyatt Earp' respectively.  But Bettger was too old to be the "real" Hardin on the Toobworld timeline.  (Hardin was put away in prison when he was 25 and wasn't released until the year of his death when he was 42.)

And 'Tales Of Wells Fargo' took place in the 1870s - 1880s, so Bettger's Hardin was definitely an impersonator.

Here's the Wikipedia description of Wyatt Earp's encounter with Hardin in Toobworld:

Hardin arrives in Wichita to avenge Earp for having run out of a town a friend of Hardin's. The Hardin character unveils tricks he has learned with his revolvers. Earp is suspicious when Hardin kills a man in the saloon who drew first according to witnesses, including the unnamed man played by Glenn Strange. Barbara Bestar portrays Hardin's wife, Jane Hardin, who encourages him to head north to Nebraska.

This would have occurred at some point after October of 1874 when Earp became a lawman in Wichita.  By May of 1876, he had accepted a lawman's position in Dodge City.  So that's nearly a two year window for this episode to take place.

Hardin would later ride to Earp's aid with Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, and several other famous outlaws including Ben Thompson (who was also a lawman).

As with his appearance in the 'Bronco' episode, there was an added reason as to why this could be the true Hardin - the appearance of his wife Jane.  This would be Jane Bowen, Hardin's first wife.

On the Toobworld timeline, this would be about four years on from his appearance in 'Bronco'.  As a splainin for the change in physical appearance from Scott Marlowe to Philip Pine?  Hard years on the trail, drinking, and a matter of perspective from the viewpoints of Bronco Layne and Wyatt Earp.

And since we're not averse to mixing genres in the Toobworld Dynamic, perhaps there was a sci-fi reason for the change in appearance.  Perhaps the real John Wesley Hardin (from 'Bronco') had been dispatched in some way and this new interloper quantum leaped into his life and took his place.

Who could it have been?  I would suggest Colonel  Philip Greene, the tyrannical despot who caused the deaths of more than thirty-seven million inhabitants of Earth.  

There doesn't appear to be any record of what happened to Greene, so perhaps he used quantum leap technology to escape into the distant past and took over the life of Hardin.

Like I said... just an idea.

So of all the appearances by John Wesley Hardin in the greater TV Universe, I'm going to declare the portrayals by Marlowe and Pine to be the official televersions.

Happy Trails To You!

"WAGON TRAIN" ON THE TOOBWORLD TIMELINE

'Wagon Train' is one of those shows which cannot be accepted as being in chronological order with each episode's broadcast.

Wikipedia has noted some of the discrepancies which make such a timeline impossible:

In a first-season episode Adams says the war has been over for five years (suggesting the first season takes place in 1870, although, in "The Major Adams Story", part 1, it is clear that Adams had taken trains west in previous years, commencing "as soon as the war was over"). 

In season two, reference is made to the war ending six years earlier (1871) and to the presidential nomination of Ulysses S. Grant (1868), a neighbor of Adams before the war and eventually his commanding officer. 

In season three (in "The Vincent Eaglewood Story") Grant and Colfax are identified as the current President and VP, which dates it as Grant's first term (March 1869 to March 1873); but also in season three (in "The Countess Baranof Story") the storyline involves the impending sale of Alaska by Russia, but that transaction actually took place in 1867 under Pres. Andrew Johnson. 

"The Bernal Sierra Story" (first season) made extensive reference to the ongoing revolution in Mexico pitting Benito Juarez against Maximillian I of Mexico (aka Emperor Maximilian)--but that uprising ended decisively with Maximillian's capture and execution in 1867. 

"The Cathy Eckhardt Story" (fourth season, broadcast November 9, 1960) clearly shows the year is 1870, but in "The Charlene Brenton Story" (late third season, broadcast June 8, 1960) reference is made to Bill Hawks' having read the novel Ben-Hur, which was not published until 1880. 

The First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869, following approximately the same route as a wagon train from St. Joseph to Sacramento. This would have made wagon trains obsolete by the time most episodes in the series take place; however, little reference is made to railroads in the West during the series.

As long as this is kept in mind, the placement of 'Wagon Train' on the Toobworld timeline should be done on an episode by episode basis.  And that would keep it Zonk-free.

BCnU!

WILD WILD WORDEN WEDNESDAY

Hank Worden played six roles on 'The Lone Ranger' over four years; two of them being stage coach drivers:

"Stage To Tishomingo" (1954) - Ike Beatty

"The Bait: Gold!" (1955) - Jud

In order to simplify matters and to cut down on the surplus populace of wild west Wordens, I'm going to claim that Ike and Jud are the same character.  Some of Mr. Beatty's associates knew him as "Ike", and others as "Jud".

Ike is a diminutive for "Isaac".  Jud could be a variant of "Jordan", "Jude", or "Judah".  Since having "J." as a middle initial is a Toobworld staple, I think his full name could have been:

ISAAC JUDAH BEATTY

Happy Trails!

THEORIES OF RELATEEVEETY - THOSE HAMILTON MEN

I think we'd all like to believe that we come from a long line of good men and that our descendents will be good men and women as well.

Many TV shows promote this belief when they show the ancestors and/or future generations of their TV characters. (Often played by the same actor.) But it's a lie and we all know it.

As an example, let's use Cyrus Whittaker.

In the 1890s, Cy Whittaker was a cantankerous old coot who was hired by Bret Maverick to be the foreman at the Lazy Ace Ranch. He wasn't a bad man, but he was no angel either.

Decades earlier, Cy abandoned his wife and children back in Oklahoma and headed further west to be free of his responsibilities to his family. And so he never saw his kids grow up and he never learned about any grandchildren they might have presented him.

We only met Cy Whittaker as an old man and never saw that family from Oklahoma... at least as far as the series 'Bret Maverick was concerned.

But I think we did meet his great grandson in the 1960s.



Philip Hames had been brought back to New York City after being extradited from his hometown in Oklahoma. But while he was awaiting trial for a previous crime, Hames tried to rob an armored car delivery in order to finance his escape from the country. However, Hames killed three police officers in the botched attempt before he was captured.

On November 19th, 1962, Philip Hames was executed at Sing Sing.

Who's to say what might have happened had Cy Whittaker had not abandoned his family in the 1860s?

(Richard Hamilton portrayed Cy Whittaker and Philip Hames......)

SHOWS CITED:

• 'Bret Maverick'
• 'Naked City' - "The Prime Of Life"

Happy trails to you!

DOUBLE VISION: THE FIX IS IN!

"Josua Smith" and "Thaddeus Jones" met three different characters played by Paul Fix of 'The Rifleman' fame:

Two were to be found in Earth Prime-Time:

1] Tom Hansen ("The Day They Hanged Kid Curry")

2]  Clarence Bowles ("Night Of The Red Dog")

Hrmmm... Night and Day.....

The third Paul Fix appearance was as "Bronc" in "Only Three To A Bed".  But that was in the alternate TV dimension where Hannibal Heyes (alias Joshua Smith) looked markedly different (because he was being portrayed by Roger Davis by that point.)

"Bronc" is an O'Bvious nickname and so he could have been the alternate doppelganger to either Tom Hansen or Clarence Bowles.  But that keeps it all in the family of 'AS&J' and where's the sport in that?

What if "Bronc" was actually that Toobworld's Micah Torrance, as he was known in Earth Prime-Time?  But instead of becoming the Marshal of North Fork, New Mexico, he ended up as a grizzled old saddle tramp always looking for the next big score as a bronco buster.

It's pozz'ble... just pozz'ble.....

VIDEO SUNDAY - PHILEAS FOGG, AROUND THE TOOBWORLDS

Here are some video depictions of Phileas Fogg from various TV dimensions.....

First up, a Tooniverse entry:

These next two are from the 1989 mini-series starring Pierce Brosnan.....

The next five are celebrations of the official Phileas Fogg for the main Toobworld....

How about a few more from the Tooniverse?

Phileas Fogg meets Paladin.  Save for the intrusion by the TV Western hero, this is a fairly faithful depiction, especially because of the timeline mention......

This last one is a rarity - David Niven as Phileas Fogg doing a short film about the United Way.  You might recognize the little girl - Beverly Washburn, who played the doomed Lt. Galway in the 'Star Trek' episode "The Deadly Years".....

TVXOHOF, 08/2015 - THE BRITISH INVASION OF THE WILD, WILD WEST

Toobworld Central is throwing a British Invasion as the theme for 2015 in the Television Crossover Hall Of Fame.  However, August is traditionally the TV Western month, but that didn't stop me for a second.

Of course, I had to go to BookWorld first to find a Brit with a presence in the wild wild West.

From Wikipedia:

 

Phileas Fogg is the main protagonist in the 1873 Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days.

Fogg attempts to circumnavigate the late Victorian world in 80 days or fewer, for a wager of £20,000 with members of London'sReform Club. He is accompanied by his French servant Jean Passepartout and followed by a detective named Fix, who suspects Fogg of having robbed the Bank of England and in the second half of the book helps Fogg in order to get him back to England. While in India, Fogg saves a widowed princess, Aouda, from Sati during her husband's funeral and she accompanies Fogg for the rest of his journey. She and Fogg eventually fall in love and marry at the end of the book.

For more, click here.

Fogg is a multiversal, beginning "life" in BookWorld and then being adapted into other media.  He has appeared in several dimensions of the Cineverse, beginning in the era of silent movies.  But his most famous incarnation was portrayed by David Niven in the all-star extravaganza of the 1950s.

On TV, he is a multi-dimensional, beginning with a Belgian TV series back in the early 1950s.  Now usually, I'm one who advocates that the first portrayal on TV is the official televersion.  However, Fogg is an Englishman and the actor playing the role should be speaking English naturally, not dubbed in later.  

So the very first Fogg would be found in the alternate Toobworld in which the world was conquered by either the French, the Germans, or the Dutch.  (Those are the three official languages of the Belgies.)  There are two other French Phileas Foggs, and a German one as well, so I'm inclined to give this over to the Dutch Toobworld.  What helps this argument is that I've seen Senne Rouffaer, who played Fogg, listed online as being Flemish - the Dutch-speaking people of northern Belgium.
 

The wonderful 1989 mini-series starring Pierce Brosnan, Peter Ustinov, and Eric Idle, which also had an all-star cast, was pretty much a faithful adaptation of the novel by Jules Verne.  However, I'm inclined to enshrine it in a BookWorld Borderland in much the same way as was done with the recent production of 'Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell' and will be done with Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods'.

My preference for adaptations gives special treatment to those which can be seen as being part of the main TV Universe.  A series, no matter the length of its run or how dutiful it is to the source material, would take precedence over a faithful adaptation of a work.  And if the characters from a book crossed paths with a previously established TV character?  Even better!

And that's what we have for Earth Prime-Time in the case of Phileas Fogg: an English language series, even if it is fantastically, radically, different from the original Verne book, as well as a crossover with a famous TV character.

EARTH PRIME-TIME
"The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne"
Played by Michael Praed

EARTH PRIME-TIME, P.O.V.
"Have Gun - Will Travel"
    - Fogg Bound (1960) TV episode, Played by Patric Knowles

 

Even though these two productions involve recastaways, they share the same dimension, the main Toobworld.  That Fogg was played by two different men and yet still be the same person can be splained away.  Over a decade separates Fogg in the TV series from himself as a guest star, plus we are seeing him from the perspective of Paladin.

 

And the fact that the TV series was a steam-punk wonder that had the most minimum of connections to the original story is not an impediment either. All of those adventures with their new friend Jules Verne happened after the events of the book (which Verne had yet to write, O'Bviously) but before the events of the "Fogg Bound" episode of 'Have Gun Will Travel'.  They both belong in the main Toobworld.

 

'The Secret Adventures Of Jules Verne' takes place during the American Civil War on the Toobworld timeline, with Jules Verne at least a decade younger than he was in the real world.  It's been a while since I've seen the series (which unfortunately is not available at present on DVD), but a very good website for the show suggests that Fogg's first trip around the world had already taken place by the time Verne met Fogg, Passepartout, and Fogg's loverly second cousin.  And that means that it happened at least before 1860. 

 

When we meet Fogg again, it is 1872 and he's now on his second voyage around the world.  This is the one Verne will end up writing about.  It is during this circumnavigation of the globe when Fogg will meet and rescue the Princess Aouda, whom he will marry by the time they reach England.  (Although he appeared to be enamored of his second cousin, she appeared to be out of the picture by 1872.  As she was the first female spy in the British Secret Service, it's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble, that she died in the line of duty.  And that would provide a third reason for the difference in Fogg's appearance besides aging and Paladin's perspective - grief.

 

Let's do a quick rundown of the other Phieas Foggs in the Toobworld Dynamic:

BOOKWORLD BORDERLAND
"Around the World in 80 Days"

Played by Pierce Brosnan

THE TOONIVERSE
"Around the World in Eighty Days" (1972) TV series

Played by Alistair Duncan

Jules Verne's Amazing Journeys - Around the World in 80 Days (2000) (

Played by Alex Taylor 
... aka "Les voyages extraordinaires de Jules Verne - Le tour du monde en 80 jours" - France

  

"Around the World with Willy Fog"
... aka "La vuelta al mundo de Willy Fog" - Spain (original title)
   Played by Banjô Ginga (as Fog)

"Willy Fog 2"

Played by Claudio Rodríguez (as Willy Fog) 

FRENCH TOOBWORLD
"Le tour du monde en 80 jours" (1980) TV series

Played by Jean Pellotier (as Philieas Fogg)

FRENCH TOOBWORLD-MOTW
Le tour du monde en 80 jours (1979) (TV movie)

Played by Daniel Ceccaldi

[EAST] GERMAN TOOBWORLD
Die Reise um die Erde in 80 Tagen (1963)

Played by Alfred Müller

DUTCH TOOBWORLD

"De reis om de wereld in 80 dagen" (1957)

Played by Senne Rouffaer

(The very first depiction of Phileas Fogg....)

 

And so there you have it - the many faces of Phileas Fogg in the TV Universe.  But it will be MIchael Praed as seen in the TV series 'The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne' and Patric Knowles in 'Have Gun Will Travel' who will serve as the official portrayals of the English gentleman and adventurer.

Welcome to the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, Mister Fogg!

BCnU!

TELE-FOLKS DIRECTORY - DWIGHT SINCLAIR, MAYOR OF SAN FRANCISCO

'THE FUGITIVE'

"THE COMMITTEE FOR THE 25th"

Over the years, Toobworld Central has relaxed its rules on elected officials of real places in Toobworld - not all of them have to reflect exactly the people who hold their offices in the real world.  We'll never budge on the President and Vice President of the United States and the uneasy head that wears the crown in Great Britain.  But for senators, governors, mayors, etc.?  We'll take it on a case by case basis.

For example.....

Dwight Sinclair was a former mayor of San Francisco who came to Las Vegas at the request of Paul Bryan in order to persuade his daughter (Sarah Sinclair) to return home with him.  (Unfortunately, because of her abusive mobster boyfriend Cappi, that was not to be.)

Played by the great character actor Wendell Corey, Dwight Sinclair must have been out of office for at least a decade, maybe longer.  (Corey was 52 in 1966, but looked older, like most of the actors of the time; men who knew how to carry off the commanding air of maturity.)  To my way of thinking, his stern patrician air guaranteed that he followed the Republican party protocols of that period.  I bet his wife probably wore a respectable Republican cloth coat.  Hell, his first name was Dwight!

But to be the Mayor of San Francisco at any point in the Toobworld timeline, Dwight Sinclair would have had to displace somebody from the real world's list of San Francisco mayors.  And there was a sixteen year block, from 1948 to 1964, in which a segment could be donated to Sinclair's mayoralty without really having an adverse effect on Toobworld history.  

Elmer Robinson [Republican]

January 8, 1948 - January 7, 1956

George Christopher [Republican]

January 8, 1956 - January 7, 1964

Robinson and Christopher were the 33rd and 34th mayors respectively.  (So yeah, inserting Dwight Sinclair would have an effect on the numbering.)  I think carving out a block from the end of Robinson's term in office and from the beginning of Christopher's - let's say from 1954 to 1959 - probably wouldn't make much of a difference when it came to any Toobworld plotlines that might have had an impact on life in San Francisco.  

(Of course I could be wrong.  I usually am.)

BCnU!

DATELINE TOOBWORLD - 70 YEARS AGO TODAY

On this date in History, both the Real World and Toobworld......

From Wikipedia:

After major repairs and an overhaul, Indianapolis received orders to proceed to Tinian island, carrying parts and the enriched uranium (about half of the world's supply of Uranium-235 at the time) for the atomic bomb Little Boy, which would later be dropped on Hiroshima. Indianapolis departed San Francisco on 16 July 1945, within hours of the Trinity test. Arriving at Pearl Harbor on 19 July, she raced on unaccompanied, delivering the atomic weapon components to Tinian on 26 July.

Indianapolis was then sent to Guam where a number of the crew who had completed their tours of duty were replaced by other sailors. Leaving Guam on 28 July, she began sailing toward Leyte where her crew was to receive training before continuing on to Okinawa to join Vice Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf's Task Force 95.

At 00:14 on 30 July, she was struck on her starboard bow by two Type 95 torpedoes from the Japanese submarine I-58, under the command of Mochitsura Hashimoto. The explosions caused massive damage. The Indianapolis took on a heavy list, and settled by the bow. Twelve minutes later, she rolled completely over, then her stern rose into the air, and she plunged down. Some 300 of the 1,196 crewmen went down with the ship. With few lifeboats and many without lifejackets, the remainder of the crew were set adrift.

Navy command had no knowledge of the ship's sinking until survivors were spotted three and a half days later. At 10:25 on 2 August aPV-1 Ventura flown by Lieutenant Wilbur "Chuck" Gwinn and copilot Lieutenant Warren Colwell spotted the men adrift while on a routine patrol flight. Of the 880 who survived the sinking, only 321 men came out of the water alive; 317 ultimately survived. They suffered from lack of food and water (some found rations such as Spam and crackers amongst the debris), exposure to the elements (hypothermia, dehydration, hypernatremia, photophobia, starvation and dementia), severe desquamation, and shark attacks, while some killed themselves or other survivors in various states of delirium and hallucinations. "Ocean of Fear", a 2007 episode of theDiscovery Channel TV documentary series Shark Week, states that the Indianapolis sinking resulted in the most shark attacks on humans in history, and attributes the attacks to the oceanic whitetip shark species. Tiger sharks might have also killed some sailors. The same show attributed most of the deaths on Indianapolis to exposure, salt poisoning and thirst, with the dead being dragged off by sharks.

Gwinn immediately dropped a life raft and a radio transmitter. All air and surface units capable of rescue operations were dispatched to the scene at once. A PBY Catalina seaplane under the command of Lieutenant R. Adrian Marks was dispatched to lend assistance and report. En route to the scene, Marks overflew USS Cecil J. Doyle and alerted her captain, future U.S. Secretary of the Navy W. Graham Claytor, Jr., of the emergency. On his own authority, Claytor decided to divert to the scene.

Arriving hours ahead of Doyle, Marks' crew began dropping rubber rafts and supplies. Having seen men being attacked by sharks, Marks disobeyed standing orders and landed on the open sea. He began taxiing to pick up the stragglers and lone swimmers who were at the greatest risk of shark attack. Learning the men were the crew of Indianapolis, he radioed the news, requesting immediate assistance. Doyle responded while en route. When Marks' plane was full, survivors were tied to the wings with parachute cord, damaging the wings so that the plane would never fly again and had to be sunk. Marks and his crew rescued 56 men that day.

The Doyle was the first vessel on the scene. Homing on Marks's Catalina in total darkness, Doyle halted to avoid killing or further injuring survivors, and began taking Marks' survivors aboard. Disregarding the safety of his own vessel, Captain Claytor pointed his largest searchlight into the night sky to serve as a beacon for other rescue vessels.  This beacon was the first indication to most survivors that rescuers had arrived.

The destroyers Helm, Madison, and Ralph Talbot were ordered to the rescue scene from Ulithi, along with destroyer escorts Dufilho, Bassett, and Ringness of the Philippine Sea Frontier. They continued their search for survivors until 8 August.

And those events happened in the Cineverse as well, but the account of them were off.....

From Wikipedia:

Arguably the most well known fictional reference to the events occurs in the 1975 thriller film Jaws in a monologue by actor Robert Shaw, whose character Quint is depicted as a survivor of the Indianapolis sinking. The monologue emphasizes the numerous deaths caused by shark attacks after the sinking. John Milius was specifically brought into the production to write lines for this scene and he based them on survivor stories. However, there are several historical inaccuracies in the monologue: the speech states the date of the sinking as 29 June 1945, when the ship was actually sunk on 30 July, that they were spotted at noon of the fifth day rather than the third day, that 1,100 men went into the water and 316 came out (nearer 900 went in and 321 came out, of whom 317 survived) and that because of the secrecy of the atom bomb mission no distress call was broadcast, while declassified Navy documents prove the contrary.

It occurred in Toobworld as well: The incident itself was the subject of the 1991 made-for-television movie "Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the USS Indianapolis", with Stacy Keach portraying Captain Charles Butler McVay III.

This scene is dubbed into Spanish but it doesn't lessen the power of the acting if you don't speak the language....

The full movie is available on YouTube but embedding has been disabled.  Click here to see it.

God bless the crew of the Indianapolis that fateful day 70 years ago today........