The romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle premiered in theaters 30 years ago today — June 25, 1993. The film includes a scene in which the character Annie Reed, played by Meg Ryan, tells her fiancé Walter Jackson, played by Bill Pullman, about a guy on a radio show who lived in Duluth … which is in North Dakota according to Walter.
Duluth is name-dropped in the new Netflix action/comedy series FUBAR, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, which premiered last week. In episode 4, titled “Armed & Dane-gerous,” the regional Central Intelligence Agency director informs a team of operatives that a medical glass manufacturer in Duluth went bankrupt and left a miniature nuclear reactor in the basement, where kids used it as a backstop for their stickball game.
This weekend’s syndicated Classic Peanuts comic includes a mention of Duluth. The strip was chosen for Mother’s Day weekend because Snoopy speculates on the location of Woodstock’s mother, who “could be in Anchorage, or in the Caribbean or Duluth for all you know.”
In honor of the Academy Awards on March 12, this week’s PDD quiz takes a look at mentions of Duluth on the silver screen. A previous quiz on this topic was published in August). If you’re looking to cheat study up on references to Duluth in popular culture, check out this sweet PDD tag.
The next PDD quiz will review the month’s headlines; it will be published on March 26. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by March 22.
Kip Praslowicz is perhaps best known in Duluth as a photographer and on YouTube as a ranter, but did you know he’s also a championship bowler? A movie shot in Duluth in 2022 has the proof. In his latest video, Praslowicz delves into Merry Kiss Cam from a local’s perspective.
Noting when movies reference Duluth is a top hobby on Perfect Duluth Day, but when its comes to Merry Kiss Cam — the flick that has more Duluth scenes than any before it — we hesitated. So now we’ll let Minnesota Public Radio explain the convenient taxi system, clean street-side snow and disappointing hockey team that make our city great.
Duluth was mentioned on the Nov. 2 episode of the NBC comedic talk show Late Night with Seth Meyers. During a segment titled “A Closer Look,” Meyers cuts into My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, suggesting it’s strange he made so much money on pillows because he doesn’t look well rested.
“He has the energy of a guy being dragged out of a Buffalo Wild Wings in Duluth for stuffing barbecue sauce in his pockets,” Meyers quips at the 9:25 mark in the video above.
Retired professional wrestler Greg Gagne mentions a match in Duluth on the new Vice cable television series Tales from the Territories. The anecdote occurs after the 19-minute mark in episode 3, titled “AWA: Bodyslams in the Heartland.”
Comedian Mary Mack performed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Friday. During the set she mentions her mother is “from that very bland Scandinavian country called Duluth, Minnesota.”
Mack’s parents are both Duluth natives and Mack herself was raised in Webster, Wis., about 50 miles south of Duluth.
During its nine-season run on the CBS television network, the sitcom How I Met Your Mother dropped numerous references to Minnesota, the home state of one of the show’s primary characters, Marshall Eriksen. In season 8, episode 10, titled “The Over-Correction,” Duluth finally got mentioned.
The episode aired 10 years ago today — Dec. 10, 2012.
Forty years ago today — Dec. 3, 1982 — the dramatic film Frances premiered in American theaters. In addition to featuring Cloquet native Jessica Lange in the leading role as Frances Farmer, the film also includes a reference to Duluth.
For the second time in four months — and third time overall — Duluth has been mentioned on the podcast Yo, is this Racist? In the show’s opening banter, Andrew Ti mentions his fingers are cold. Co-host Tawny Newsome quickly points out how someone in Los Angeles complaining about cold fingers might be annoying to people in places like Buffalo, Fargo or Duluth.
This Twin Cities Public Television segment challenges the notion that Minnesotans are all blond-haired, blue-eyed Scandinavians. Although the piece is Twin Cities-focused, the final clip includes a nod to Duluth.
I was watching this YouTube documentary on the Big Old Boats channel, like ya do. It is about the Carroll Deering, which wrecked on Cape Hatteras without her crew in a nautical mystery. But a lot of the footage used is stock footage from other sources, for seaside vibes. So when I saw Ol’ Lifty on screen @17:30-17:46, I wasn’t too surprised. Duluth as generic sea location, thrown into amateur doc about unrelated East Coast disaster.
