June 30, 1971: “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” Premieres

June 30, 1971: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory premieres, based on Roald Dahl's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Gene Wilder plays Willy.

The film tells the story of a poor child named Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum), who, upon finding a Golden Ticket in a chocolate bar, wins the chance to visit Willy Wonka's chocolate factory along with four other children from around the world, and his Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson).

After events that led to the other kids being disqualified, and led to phrases like "Golden Ticket," "Oompa Loompa" and "Everlasting Gobstopper" being introduced to the English lexicon, the tour ends, and Willy dismisses Charlie and Grandpa Joe, retreating to his office.

When Grandpa Joe asks him about Charlie's promised lifetime supply of chocolate, Willy tells them that they have forfeited it, on the grounds that they violated the contract stealing the Fizzy Lifting Drinks: "You get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!" Grandpa Joe wishes to give the Gobstopper to Slugworth out of spite, but Charlie returns it to Willy.

Seeing this act of selflessness, Willy declares Charlie the winner of the contest, and reveals that "Slugworth" was actually one of his employees, Mr. Wilkinson, and that the offer was a test of character for the kids. He explains that he created the contest to find an honest child to succeed him as the factory's owner. Charlie, having fulfilled that, is invited along with his family to come and live in the factory.

The music was composed by British actor-songwriter Anthony Newley, with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. The songs included "Pure Imagination," and "The Candy Man," which became a Number 1 hit for Sammy Davis Jr. in 1972.

Werner Heyking (Mr. Jopeck) died in 1974, Jack Albertson in 1981, Peter Capell (The Tinker) in 1986, Roy Kinnear (Henry Salt) in 1988, Günter Meisner (Arthur Slugworth/Mr. Wilkinson) in 1994, Ursula Reit (Mrs. Gloop) in 1998, Anthony Newley in 1999, David Battley (Mr. Turkentine) in 2003, Nora "Dodo" Denney (Mrs. Teevee) in 2005, Leonard Stone (Sam Beauregarde) in 2011, Aubrey Woods (Bill) in 2013, Gene Wilder in 2016, Diana Sowle (Charlie's mother) in 2018, Denise Nickerson (Violet Beauregarde) in 2019, and Leslie Bricusse in 2021. As of June 30, 2022, Peter Ostrum, Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt), Paris Themmen (Mike Teevee), Michael Böllner (Augustus Gloop) and Peter Stuart (Winkelmann) are still alive.

At the time of filming, Ostrum was 12 years old. He left acting to become a veterinarian. Nickerson became part of The Short Circus, the kid band on PBS' The Electric Company.

The film was remade in 2005 as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with Johnny Depp as Willy. But we don't talk about that.

UPDATE: In 2023, Timothée Chalamet starred in the origin-story film Wonka. This film also shows that a popular theory, that Willy Wonka is actually a retired version of The Doctor from Doctor Who, is not true.

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June 30, 1971 was a Wednesday. Actress Monica Potter was born.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Washington Senators, 2-1 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. All the scoring came in the 9th inning. Roy White hit a home run for the Yankees, then the Senators got a double from Lenny Randle, and 3 straight singles from Frank Howard, Bernie Allen and Larry Biittner.

Denny McLain outpitched Mel Stottlemyre. At the conclusion of this game, McLain was 27 years old and had 122 career wins, and Stottlemyre was 29 and had 120. After it, McLain won 9 and Stottlemyre won 44. Both men's careers ended early due to torn rotator cuffs.

* The New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-0 at Shea Stadium. Ed Kranepool went 3-for-4 with a solo home run. Willie Stargell went 0-for-4. Roberto Clemente did not play.

Nolan Ryan pitched 7 innings of 6-hit shutout ball, and Danny Frisella completed the 7-hit shutout, outpitching Steve Blass. But when the year was over, Blass had pitched a complete-game victory in Game 7 of the World Series, and Ryan had been traded, a move that would haunt the Mets.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Montreal Expos, 6-5 at Jarry Park in Montreal. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. He did not hit a home run for the Braves, but Mike Lum and Earl Williams did. Charles Frederick "Boots" Day went 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBIs for the Expos.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-4 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The Phils scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th to win it, including a home run by Willie Montañez. Pete Rose and Johnny Bench each went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* A doubleheader was split at at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles in the opener, 5-4. Roy Foster drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th, with a sacrifice fly that scored Fred Stanley. Phil Hennigan was the winning pitcher, in relief of Steve Dunning. Pete Richert was the losing pitcher, in relief of Mike Cuellar. Frank Robinson went 1-for-3 with a walk, and Brooks Robinson went 0-for-4.

The Orioles won the nightcap, 4-3. Grant Jackson outpitched Steve Hargan. Frank Robinson did not play, and Brooks Robinson got a hit as a pinch-hitter. Among Indians who would be Yankees, Graig Nettles hit a home run in the 1st game, and Chris Chambliss hit one in the 2nd game. Over the 2 games, for the Birds, for the Tribe, Jack Heidemann went 5-for-8, and Roy Foster went 3-for-7 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-4 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Carl Yastrzemski went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Al Kaline went 0-for-3 with 2 walks.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 10-5 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ken Holtzman outpitched Claude Osteen, and went 1-for-3 with an RBI in his own cause. Billy Williams, Joe Pepitone and Paul Popovich hit home runs for the Cubs. Ernie Banks, in his last season as a player, did not play in this game.

* The Chicago White Sox swept a doubleheader from the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-5 and 8-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 2-1 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium). Steve Arlin outpitched Gaylord Perry. Nate Colbert went 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Willie Mays went 0-for-4. Willie McCovey did not play.

* The California Angels beat the Kansas City Royals, 4-3 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland Athletics, 10-4 at the Oakland Coliseum. Jim Perry, Gaylord's brother, outpitched Jim "Catfish" Hunter. Rod Carew went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs. Rich Reese went 1-for-4 with 4 RBIs. Harmon Killebrew did not play. Sal Bando went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-5.

* And the Houston Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals were not scheduled.