June 2, 1957 –Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was interviewed on US television for the very first time when CBS’s Face the Nationaired on this date. With Cold War tensions running high, some government officials accused CBS of putting out Communist propaganda. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, love god of Carol Burnett, refused to watchContinue reading “Nikki made his first TV appearance”
Author Archives: dcaligari
The question that still amuses
June 2, 1981 –Barbara Walters famously asks Katharine Hepburn “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?”, on this date. After the interview, Walters’ “tree” question was remembered, but the context in which it was asked was not. The so-called “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would youContinue reading “The question that still amuses”
Radio, Radio
June 2, 1896 –The first radio patent was issued to Guglielmo Marconi in England for his wireless telegraphy apparatus, described as “Improvements in Transmitting Electrical Impulses and Signals, and in Apparatus Therefor.” (UK No. 12,039) I wonder what will become of that new fangled thing?
It was 58 years ago today
June 1, 1967 –Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released in the UK on this date. The Beatles blew the world’s collective mind away. The album was quite complex to produced and took 129 days and about 700 hours to complete. The Beatles first album, Please Please Me, was recorded in less than 10Continue reading “It was 58 years ago today”
I’m just a gigolo …
June 1, 1985 –David Lee Roth’s cover of two Louis Prima songs – Just A Gigolo / I Ain’t Got Nobody peaks at No. 12 on the Billboard Charts on this date. Roth’s love of quirky songs from a bygone era stems from his childhood, when he would listen to the underground radio station KPPCContinue reading “I’m just a gigolo …”
Remember, we are NOT a number
June 1, 1968 –The British television series The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan, had its American premiere on CBS-TV, as a summer replacement for a Jackie Gleason series, on this date. At the end of the run of Secret Agent, there was a party, and some members of Parliament attended. Someone said to McGoohan, “So, whatContinue reading “Remember, we are NOT a number”
The last Dick Van Dyke episode
June 1, 1966 –Dick Van Dyke tripped over the ottoman for the last time when CBS aired the last episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Last Chapter on this date. In the show, Rob writes his autobiography and shows it to everyone. At the end of the show Alan decides to buy theContinue reading “The last Dick Van Dyke episode”
The pearl of summer
June is the sixth month of the year and consists of thirty days. The ancient Romans gave it 29 days until 46 BC, when Julius Caesar added the thirtieth for reasons known only to himself (Caesar’s hobbies seem to be conquest of the known world, sleeping with some very rich North African teenager and calendarContinue reading “The pearl of summer”
Big celebrations
It’s my sister’s birthday. She doesn’t usually make a big fuss about it but since she is the oldest relationship I have other than my parents, I will. It’s Oscar the Grouch’s birthday today. Remember to leave something nice out in the trash today. (Please note: when Oscar first moved into his trash can heContinue reading “Big celebrations”
The lungs you save may be your own
World No Tobacco Day is observed around the world every year on May 31. The member states of the World Health Organization created World No Tobacco Day in 1987. It draws global attention to the tobacco epidemic and to the preventable death and disease it causes. It aims to reduce the 3.5 million yearly deathsContinue reading “The lungs you save may be your own”
The Haus of Dcaligari 