Author Archives: dcaligari

June 17, 1970 – The cult classic, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (co-written by Roger Ebert – yes that Roger Ebert,) directed by Russ Meyers and starring Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, John LaZar, Michael Blodgett, David Gurian, and Edy Williams, opened on this date. Budgeted at a modest $900,000 (approximately $4.5 millionContinue reading “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls premiered”

June 16, 1944 – The Merrie Melodies short, Slightly Daffy, directed by Friz Freleng, starring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck debuted on this date. Similarly to the short Scalp Trouble, this cartoon is seldom shown on television nowadays due to its stereotypical portrayal of Native Americans.

June 16, 1939 – The Merrie Melodies short, Hobo Gadget Band, directed by Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton, debuted on this date. When the lead hobo partakes in his “Soda Fizz” (or as he calls it, “Sodium Acetylsalicylate“), he states “Listen to it fizz“; which was an early catch-phrase for the Alka-Seltzer brand in theContinue reading “Hobo Gadget Band premiered”

June 17, 1971 –Carole King’s album Tapestry goes to No. 1 on US album charts and stays there for 15 weeks Tapestry was a groundbreaking album, which helped popularize the singer/songwriter genre. It stayed on the American album charts for over six years, selling over 24 million copies worldwide. Until 1976, it was the largest-sellingContinue reading “You’re so far away”

June 16, 1958 – The classic Hammer horror film, Dracula (AKA House of Dracula,) directed by Terence Fisher and starring Peter Cushing, Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling, and Christopher Lee, opened in the UK, on this date. Christopher Lee has only sixteen lines, as Dracula, in the entire film, all spoken by the 10 minute mark.

June 16, 1950 – The romantic comedy, Father of the Bride, directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor, Don Taylor, Billie Burke, and Leo G. Carroll, opened in the US on this date. The surrealist artist Salvador Dali created the sequence where Stanley (Spencer Tracy) has a very weird nightmareContinue reading “Father of the Bride premiered”

June 16, 1956 – The Merrie Melodies short, Napoleon Bunny-Part, directed by Friz Freleng, starring Bugs Bunny, debuted on this date. The large guard sounds like an early version of Barney Rubble. This is not surprising, as Mel Blanc voiced that character a few years later.

June 16, 1951 – The Looney Tunes short, Chow Hound, directed by Chuck Jones, debuted on this date. Because of the dog’s mean-spiritedness, lack of sympathy and greed. He’s often considered by fans as the most hated character in the entire Looney Tunes franchise as a whole, even more so than other highly-disliked characters suchContinue reading “Chow Hound premiered”

June 16, 1979 –The Supertramp song Logical Song peaked at #6 on the Billboard Charts, on this date. To accentuate the “d-d-digital” line in the lyrics, the band borrowed a Mattel handheld electronic football game from an engineer named Richard Digby-Smith, who was working next door. This device, which predated Nintendo, provided an unusual sounding,Continue reading “When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful”