Author Archives: dcaligari

October 2, 1955 – Revenge, the very first story on the Alfred Hitchcock Presents show premieres on this date. The sponsors, who had great influence regarding the presentation of the show, insisted that for the episodes ending with the perpetrator “getting away with a crime,” Alfred Hitchcock provide a statement in his closing monologue thatContinue reading “Funeral March of a Marionette was first heard on TV”

October 2, 1959 – The first episode of the anthology series The Twilight Zone, Where is Everybody?, premiered on this date Rod Serling thought he had come up with the term “The Twilight Zone” on his own (he liked the sound of it), but after the show aired, he found out that it is anContinue reading “… a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind …”

October 2, 1925 –Scottish inventor John Logie Baird successfully transmitted the first television picture with a greyscale image: the head of a ventriloquist’s dummy nicknamed Stooky Bill on this date. (“Stooky” being slang for someone who moves woodenly and a colloquial term for the plaster cast used to immobilize bone fractures.) Almost immediately, Logie BairdContinue reading “TV made a big leap forward”

October 2, 1983 –Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler’s single Total Eclipse Of The Heart was No. 1 on the Billboard Charts, on this date. The song, which was Tyler’s biggest hit of her career, made her the only Welsh artist to score a U.S. No. 1 hit. The song was written and produced by Jim Steinman,Continue reading “(Trigger warning – major Earworm ahead.)”

October is the tenth month of the year and its name is therefore derived from Octo, the Latin word for eight (as the vegetables in V8 well knows.) October is often preceded by September and sometimes followed by November. There are 31 days in October, many of which are Wednesdays. (Wednesday is the fourth dayContinue reading “A glorious crown the year puts on …”

October 1, 1955 – The Honeymooners half hour episodes premiered on this date. The show was shot “as live” (filmed before an audience, edited and shown later). If you ever notice Jackie Gleason patting himself on the stomach, it was a sign that he had forgotten his line.

October 1, 1971 – The comedy-variety sketch series, The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine, starring, Marty Feldman, Spike Milligan, John Junkin, Hugh Paddick, Frances de la Tour, and Barry Levinson, first aired on ABC-TV on this date. Terry Gilliam’s animation contributions for this series were the opening and closing credits. The opening was a production lineContinue reading “The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine premiered”

October 1, 1992 –Turner Broadcasting launched a cable channel with 24 hour animated programming called the Cartoon Network on this date. The first program aired on the channel was the Looney Tunes classic Rhapsody Rabbit.

October 1, 1977 –(Please I beg of you, save yourselves – it’s too late for me, do not listen to the entire track)Meco’s (real name Domenico Monardo) song Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band was the No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, on this date. Fans with a keen ear will notice that manyContinue reading “The Disco Star Wars Theme topped the charts”

September 30, 2011 –Pearl Jam wrapped up Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’s week-long performance tribute to Pink Floyd by performing Mother from the legendary British rock band’s classic 1979 album The Wall. Their performance was the coda to a week of Pink Floyd tribute performances, which featured The Shins performing Breathe , Roger Waters andContinue reading “Eddie Vedder’s voice was unexpectedly perfect”