I was sitting here, as I often do at this time of day, minding my own business and watching Countdown on MSNBC. And before I gloat, I have to say that I think Keith Olbermann is a pretty smart guy. But I caught him in a mistake. Not a big mistake, but a mistake nonetheless.
He was referencing the fact that today was Hugh Beaumont's birthday. If you are very young and/or never watch TV Land, Beaumont is probably best known for portraying Beaver Cleaver's dad on Leave it to Beaver between 1967 and 1963. Which has nothing to do with Olbermann's error.
Olbermann said that Beaumont was one of the stars of a 1950s B-movie, The Mole Men. Oops. The movie was actually called The Mole People and was made in 1956. I know this because it is one of my favorite bad movies.
Well, I thought, maybe that was an alternate title. Could have been. Olbermann doesn't make that many mistakes on his show. So I checked. The closest I could find on IMDB was Superman and the Mole Men (1951). Checked the cast list. No Hugh Beaumont. Instead, Superman and the Mole Men starred George Reeves, Phyllis Coates, and Jeff Corey and, while it was released in theatres, was the pilot for the 1950s series Superman and was Reeves's first appearance as the Man of Steel.
Okay. Maybe I shouldn't gloat. I make mistakes all the time. And many times, when I think someone else has made a mistake I end up being wrong. So, when I think I'm right and I discovere that I am right, I can't help but enjoy it. Kind of like when I saw Jurassic Park when it was first released. One of the characters references Disneyland's opening, which he says occurred in 1956. No. It was 1955. I didn't even need to look that one up to make sure. I was a little disappointed in that case that Steven Spielberg hadn't done his homework.
I'm not as disappointed in Olbermann's error. It's a natural mistake. People. Men. It's a cultural thing. I don't care how enlightened you are, the two get used interchangeably.
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