Author Archives: dcaligari

Elvis the King (who was born in 1935,) (As I always say – lay your hand upon the screen and feel his healing power pulsate through your nether regions.) and Davy Jones, who was born in 1947, somehow were both born on this date – (you may lay your hand upon the screen and feelContinue reading “Hosanna in the highest!”

January 8, 1980 –Prince made his national television debut on the NBC variety show Midnight Special, on this date. He performed I Wanna Be Your Lover and Why You Want To Treat Me So Bad. He was introduced by that evening hosts, members of the band Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show.

January 8, 1978 – The TV series, based on the books by James Herriot, All Creatures Great and Small, starring Robert Hardy and Christopher Timothy, debuted on BBC TV, on this date. Alf Wight (the real James Herriot) initially stipulated that all the incidents in the TV series had to be closely based on thoseContinue reading “The first TV version of All Creatures Great and Small premiered”

January 8, 1968 –Welcome to zee exotic world of undersea explorer… The first episode of the documentary series, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau: Sharks premiered on this date.

January 7, 1972 –David Bowie released Changes as a single in the UK on this date. The track peaked at No.49 on the UK chart and later at No.41 on the US chart. According to Bowie, this started out as a parody of a nightclub song – “kind of throwaway” – but people kept chantingContinue reading “Still don’t know what I was waiting for …”

January 7, 1934 – Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon comic strip was first published in newspapers across the United States on this date. In addition to the comic strip, Flash has also starred in a live-action serial, a radio show, novels, comic books, animated cartoons, and he even appeared on his own U.S. postage stamp.  Continue reading “Flash Gordon debuted”

January 7, 2011 –Tom Hopper’s historical drama, The King’s Speech, starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter, opened in United Kingdom on this date. Screenwriter David Seidler stammered as a child, and heard King George VI’s wartime speech as a child. As an adult, he wrote Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (widow ofContinue reading “The King’s Speech premiered”

January 7, 1961 –The pilot episode of The Avengers – Hot Snow, starring Ian Hendry and Patrick Macnee premiered in the UK on this date. The vast majority of the first series of The Avengers is missing from TV archives and likely lost forever – only the first 15 minutes of this first episode andContinue reading “Sadly, we only have a partial episode”

January 6, 1979 –The Village People appear on American Bandstand, where the crowd does the soon-to-be famous arm movements spelling out “Y.M.C.A.” Host Dick Clark makes sure they learn those moves, and they do.