Author Archives: dcaligari

November 1, 1969 –Elvis Presley single Suspicious Minds went to No. #1 on the Billboard Charts on this date. It was his last #1 hit in his lifetime. This was a big comeback song for Elvis, who hadn’t had a US #1 hit since Good Luck Charm in 1962. He had been making a seriesContinue reading “Suspicious Minds topped the charts”

October 31, 1945 –René Clair’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery And Then There Were None was released in the US on this date. In recent years it has come to light that much of Agatha Christie’s plot appears to have been inspired by a little-known 1930 play by Owen Davis titled The NinthContinue reading “It used to be knows as Ten Little Indians”

October 31, 1986 –Roland Joffé’s powerful historical drama, The Mission, starring, Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Aidan Quinn, and Liam Neeson, premiered in the US on this date. The film was released four years after its uncredited source book The Lost Cities of Paraguay by Father C. J. McNaspy was published. McNaspy also acted asContinue reading “The Mission premiered”

October 31, 1970 –Led Zeppelin started a four week run, on this date, at No.1 on the Billboard album chart with Led Zeppelin III, the bands second US chart topper. Although critics were typically confused over the change in musical style and gave the album a mixed response, Led Zeppelin III has since been acknowledgedContinue reading “We come from the land of the ice and snow”

October 31, 1963 –The Beatles returned to London today in 1963 from a short tour of Sweden, their first outside England. They were greeted at Heathrow airport by photographers, journalists, and hundreds of screaming fans, adding to the growing evidence that Beatlemania was going to be around for more than a few weeks. Ed SullivanContinue reading “Beatlemania proved it wasn’t a fad”

ACME Eagle Hand Soap’s brief history of All Hallow’s Eve: The ancient Romans celebrated a holiday called Feralia on February 21. At first, it was simply a day off to recover from the holiday of February 20 (Salvia Divinorum) and to take care of last-minute shopping before the holiday of February 22 (Salta Boca). Coincidentally,Continue reading “It’s the one day of breaking out of your shell”

October 30, 2002 –Warren Zevon was featured on the Late Show with David Letterman as the only guest for the entire hour, on this date. Zevon performing several songs and spoke about being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Kids, “…enjoy every sandwich.”

October 30, 1943 –A very funny war-time Bugs Bunny Cartoon, Falling Hare, was released on this date. In the early 1940s, Walt Disney was developing a feature film based on Roald Dahl’s book Gremlin Lore, and asked the other studios to refrain from producing gremlin films. While most of the studios complied, Warner Bros. alreadyContinue reading “Falling Hare debuted”

October 30, 1938 — The War of the Worlds was the Halloween episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. Directed by wunderkind Orson Welles, the episode was an adaptation of H. G. Wells’s classic novel The War of the Worlds (1898). Welles’s adaptation is arguably the most well-known radioContinue reading “It was supposed to be a a simple joke”

October 30, 1942 –Rene Clair’s second Hollywood film, the delightful romantic comedy, I Married A Witch, starring, Veronica Lake, Fredric March, Susan Hayworth, and Robert Benchley, premiered on this date. Sol Saks, creator of Bewitched, stated in an interview for E! True Hollywood Story: Bewitched that he drew inspiration both from this film and BellContinue reading “This may seem familiar”