2023-05-01T11:50:47.993Z, This was the III ICON Awards for Men's Fragrances: discover the winners Cunningham, a thirty-year veteran of the police force in nearby Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., was a regular customer at the restaurant, well-liked by the staff there. At a gathering on a chartered boat for the lottery winners and other members of high society, Muriel gets to know the newly rich Jack Gross. This is the true story of Robert Cunningham and Phyllis Penzo - the real-life inspirations for the main characters of the hit movie. EW: Rosie Perez portrays your wife as quite a money-grubber. We invite you to stay tuned to this Fact Compilation!I hope you guys enjoy this video and find it useful. It also happened in real life. MST Rice U., MEd SHSU, BM UT Arlington. In 1984, New York City police detective Robert Cunningham was at South Pizzeria in Yonkers when he jokingly asked waitress Phyllis Penzo if they could split a lottery ticket instead of tipping her. This event was the basis of the film, It Could Happen to You (1994) 5 Lottery Themed Movies and TV Shows You Must Watch! She had to have them bound down for the first half of the movie, to appear smaller. 2023-05-01T12:02:48.162Z, Jorge Rial's health: "He is waking up" from an induced coma, said his personal doctor True to his lighthearted style, Cunningham was making a sort of joke on Friday evening, March 30, 1984, when he offered his favorite waitress an unusual tip: a half-interest in a lottery ticket. Rosie Perez appeared in the sequel, Perdita Durango. Other lottery winnersoften say the same, though many very publicly fall off the deep end when faced with the excitement and responsibility of winning millions. Cunningham's ticket had won $6 million, which he split with Penzo, giving her $3 million. No fairy tale ending. Real love stories that inspired favourite films - The Sun He does win, and he makes good on his promise, giving her $2 million. Three years after winning the lottery, he stopped working at the pizzeria where he spent 27 years of his life. Naturally the ticket wins and the pair fall for each other. The unusual event that inspired a famous Hollywood movie with Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda. Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. Rotten Tomatoes calculates a "Fresh" rating with a score of 71% based on reviews from 35 critics. It did happen to them, but not quite the way the movie depicts. It is nine in the morning and she is a little asleep. Penzo suggested three numbers, and Cunningham came up with three more numbers on his own. A decade later, when the media checked in on the winners, neither had been robbed and murdered, despite the attention their story had received. The love story in Notting Hill seems improbable but the plot may have been inspired by a real-life fling this Hollywood starlet had during the 90s. Penzo bought a house, a car for her husband and her daughter, and traveled a bit. A Pizzeria Waitress Received A $3 Million Tip. Yes, Really! - Sunny Skyz Is obviously a fake story for the movie but the back page with the sports was real and published in the Monday June 14th 1993 New York Post, the New York Mets made that days headline and a top column says Suns Rise In 3 OT s after their game 3 win that year in the NBA finals against the Chicago Bulls. barry mcguigan, daughter funeral; phyllis penzo and officer robert cunningham DC Metro employee killed trying to stop shooter 'heroic,' suspect This film was inspired by the generosity of detective Robert Cunningham (ret.) Friends Isaac Hayes is the film's narrator and also plays a supporting role as undercover reporter and photographer, Angel Dupree. Dont forget to share with your friends and family. 2023-05-01T13:14:43.841Z, In India, a fake call center betrayed by breakfasts ordered at dawn Robert ended up with a 4,4 million win and he returned to the pizza restaurant where she worked to give her a whopping tip of 2,2m. Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action Little Mermaid with a new generation's Ariel. Spain: a volcano erupted on the island of La Palma, in the Canary Islands, The eccentric tower full of vegetation they want to build in the middle of Hollywood, All news articles on Weird Lottery Stories of Weird Lottery Winners | theLotter That was it. Apocalypse Later Film Reviews: It Could Happen to You (1994) As naci,. *** Origins of the fun fact ***Though school kids might think of fun and fact as natural enemies, the two have appeared together since the nineteenth century. 2023-05-01T12:26:49.182Z, Dirty and graffiti for a holiday unit: the perfect transformation of the house in Tel Aviv - voila! What a Tip! | Natchitoches Parish Journal , 3 . In 1984, New York City detective Robert Cunningham was dining at Sals Pizzeria in Yonkers when he suggested to his waitress and long-time friend Phyllis Penzo that the two split a lottery ticket instead of tipping on the bill. People often introduce a fun fact, sometimes in the form of witty and biting observations, with the phrase itself because otherwise how would you know it was a fun fact. After Cunningham finally convinced her that it was not a joke, she screamed and woke her husband, Robert, a construction worker, to tell him they were rich. A 1994 romantic comedy, It Could Happen to You starring Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda was made based on this event but moving the movie's location to New York City . He promised to split the winnings between them if he won. She then moves in with her mother in The Bronx and goes back to her old manicure job. 2023-05-01T12:03:04.546Z, Japan cries for the final decision of Daisuke Takahashi, an ice skating legend Robert Cunningham and Phyllis Penzo knew each other before they split a lottery ticket and they each picked half of the numbers. Cunningham's ticket had won $6 million, which he split with Penzo, giving her $3 million. Cage's wife sues to get back the half of the money that he handed to a stranger, and a court sides with her. 2023-05-01T13:44:49.833Z, Carlo Ancelotti throws flowers at Nico Paz, and doesn't give him up to the Under 20 World Cup? Nicolas Cage and Richard Jenkins both appear in Trapped in Paradise (1994) which also came out in 1994. The movie poster starring Cage and Fonda. (2004, June 26). Wrigley used fun facts in newspaper ads for its chewing gum. If I win, tomorrow we will split the winnings and if I don't I will come back and leave you the tip. Welcome to our Fun Fact Compilation! The second of back-to-back films starring Nicolas Cage that was released by Tri-Star Pictures in 1994. Cunningham, a thirty-year police veteran, was a regular diner at Sal's, where he liked to order linguine with clam sauce and maintain a steady flow of banter with Penzo, other employees, and regular customers. In a plot inspired by a real-life news story,[3][4] a New York City police officer (Cage) who is short on cash and unable to tip his waitress (Fonda), half-jokingly offers to share his winnings if he happens to win the lottery. But did you know that it wasn't entirely all made up? Massive losses on The Late Late Show may have meant that the show was close to the ax whether or not Corden walked away. 834 ebm 18-8 3810901 1 He and Yvonne become stars almost immediately. On Friday afternoon, March 30, 1984, 55-year-old Dobbs Ferry Police Department Chief of Detectives Sgt. The other was Guarding Tess (1994), which was released a few months earlier by the studio, co-starring Oscar winner Shirley MacLaine. The waitress - Phyllis Penzo, 48, of Yonkers - said she thought that Detective Cunningham was ''very generous.'' The detective said that on Friday night he and some fellow officers from the. What Happened in 1984 - On This Day It is readily preventable by making sure puppies get all their vaccines, although Yvonne probably lacked the money to pay for them. Police Officer Charlie Lang is a kind and generous man who loves his job and the Queens area of New York City where he lives. But, no, I didnt marry Bob, and I would never go up in one of those balloons [as Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda do in the movie to celebrate]! Robert Cunningham was a Metro mechanic killed during a shooting at the Potomac Avenue station in Southeast D.C. (Courtesy Metro) Metro established an online fundraiser for the 64-year-old mechanic . 2023-05-01T13:20:43.945Z, Wood carvers in the square in Trieste with chainsaws We are in Yonkers, New York, transiting the first of April 1984. It Could Happen to You (1994) - Trivia - IMDb Missouri, USA. Except for the part about us winning, its totally fiction, she noted during the interview. Historical Events in 1984 (Part 2) Mar 30 US ends participation in multinational Lebanon peace force. Home and design news What do you think? They will divide the lottery payment of $ 285,715 a year over 21 years. Nicolas Cage tells Bridget Fonda in, She, without knowing that her prognosis would be wrong, replied: "I think I'll never see you again.". In the movie's initial phase, it was originally titled "The $2 Million Tip". 2023-05-01T11:26:47.685Z, At the request of Avi Maoz, the secretary of the government in a letter to the ministers: to issue forms also with the headings "father" and "mother" - voila! Cunningham jokingly promised that if he won, he would split the winnings with Penzo as a tip. Since Charlie doesn't have enough money to pay the tip, he promises Yvonne to give her either double the tip or half of his prospective lottery winnings. Cunningham gave Penzo a tip of $142,857.50 a year for twenty years. The movie is based on the true story of Phyllis Penzo and Officer Robert Cunningham. There are hundreds of lottery stories, but that of these two New York neighbors managed to transcend by having reached Hollywood and by the attractive elements of the plot: a policeman, a waitress with financial problems, a lottery ticket, a friendship of years, a word of honor and six million dollars.