Author Archives: dcaligari

July 27, 1940 – Bugs Bunny made his debut in a cartoon called A Wild Hare, on this day. Warner Brothers’ writers and animators set out to make a rabbit who would be the epitome of cool. They modeled bugs on Groucho Marx with a carrot instead of a cigar. Mel Blanc gave him aContinue reading “What up doc?”

July 27, 1586 –Sir Walter Raleigh and some of his men returned to England and disembarked at Plymouth smoking tobacco from pipes, which caused a sensation, on this date. William Camden, a contemporary witness, reports that “These men who were thus brought back were the first that I know of that brought into England thatContinue reading “So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed”

July 27, 1984 –Warner Bros. gift to an unsuspecting world, Purple Rain, starring Prince, premiered on this date. A few days before the premiere, Prince had a nightmare that Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert despised the film, with Ebert ripping the film apart. He said, “I dreamed those two guys on the TV were reviewingContinue reading “Purple Rain premiered”

July 27, 1949 –Mighty Joe Young, an RKO Radio Picture made by the same creative team responsible for King Kong, opened in New York City on this date, (in fact, when Joe smashes through the facade during the nightclub riot, the first scream you hear is that of Fay Wray, stock audio from the originalContinue reading “Mighty Joe Joe premiered”

July 26, 2015 –In a field just outside of Cesena, Italy, 1000 musicians and singers play Foo Fighters Learn to Fly simultaneously with the dream of attracting the band to play a show in their city for the first time in nearly 20 years. On November 3, 2015, the Foo Fighters performed a 27-song setContinue reading “Dream big – You never know”

July 26, 1991 – One of Mel Brooks non-film parody movies, Life Stinks, starring Mel, Leslie Ann Warren, Howard Morris, and Jeffrey Tambor opened on this date. (This was one of my father-in-law’s favorite movies.) The film screened out-of-competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 1991 playing at a “surprise screening“. France, being the homeContinue reading “Life Stinks premiered”

July 26, 2006 –The directorial debut of the husband-wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Little Miss Sunshine, starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Arkin, went into limited release on this date. All of the girls acting as participants in the “Little Miss Sunshine” beauty pageant, exceptContinue reading “Little Miss Sunshine opened”

July 26, 1895 –Brains, integrity, and force may be all very well, but what you need today is Charm. Go ahead and work on your economic programs if you want to, I’ll develop my radio personality. Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen, the brilliant comedian and actor, and better half of the Burns and Allen teamContinue reading “Gracie Allen”

For some reason, today is All or Nothing Day. All or Nothing Day is a time to take risks and live on the edge. Live like today is your last day on earth and let your inner daredevil shine, especially if you are looking to become a Darwin Award winner.

July 25, 1965 –The ever-changing Bob Dylan plugged in for his headlining set backed by the Butterfield Blues Band at The Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, on this date. Dylan’s electric performance at the Newport Folk Festival surprised his audience — and not in a good way. The crowd booed, even when heContinue reading “The day the music changed”