Bernard D Valcourt (1915 - 1997)

Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during Bernard's lifetime.

In 1915, in the year that Bernard D Valcourt was born, Audrey Munson, playing a model for a sculptor in the film "Inspiration", became the first actress to shed her clothes on screen. Fearing that banning the film would mean that censors would also have to "ban Renaissance art" the film was released, with Munson in the nude scenes and a stand-in doing the acting. (Munson had previously been "America's First Supermodel" and posed nude as the model for many famous artworks.) The film was a hit with audiences.

In 1937, Bernard was 22 years old when on May 28th, the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge opened to cars. Taking 5 years to build, the 4,200-foot-long suspension bridge was an engineering marvel of its time - 11 men died during construction. The "international orange" color was chosen because it resisted rust and fading. To the present, it is the symbol of the City that is known throughout the world.

In 1947, he was 32 years old when on November 25th, the Hollywood "Black List" was created by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Ten Hollywood writers and directors had refused to testify to the Committee regarding "Communists" or "Reds" in the movie industry. The next day, the blacklist was created and they were fired.

In 1973, he was 58 years old when in October, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned - President Nixon nominated Gerald Ford for Vice President. Nixon's tax returns came under investigation. Nixon offered the recently discovered Oval Office tapes be heard by one person and summarized - his offer was rejected by the Special Prosecutor. Nixon ordered the Attorney General, then the assistant Attorney General, to fire the Special Prosecutor. Both refused and were fired. The Solicitor General became the acting Attorney General and fired the Special Prosecutor (the Saturday Night Massacre). Nixon releases some of the tapes, under extreme pressure because of the firings.

In 1997, in the year of Bernard D Valcourt's passing, on July 1st, Hong Kong was returned to China. In 1898, Great Britain was awarded Hong Kong for 99 years. In a subsequent agreement, China agreed to allow Hong Kong to remain capitalist. So the handing over of the area ended British rule but did not change the economic system of Hong Kong.