Author Archives: dcaligari

May 23, 1980 –Stanley Kubrick’s classic horror thriller The Shining, opened on this date (I remember seeing it at the midnight showing on this date in Time Square.) Because Danny Lloyd was so young, and since it was his first acting job, Stanley Kubrick was highly protective of the child. During the shooting of theContinue reading “Redrum! Redrum!”

Today is World Turtle Day. The purpose of World Turtle Day, sponsored yearly since 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue, is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive. It’s celebrated worldwide in a variety of ways, from dressing upContinue reading “Making progress only when you sticks your neck out.”

May 22, 1965 –The Beatles single, Ticket to Ride hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts on this date. Most Americans at the time, concluded the “ticket” was from British Railways, and “ride” was the town of Ryde on the Isle of Wight. McCartney confessed to his biographer Barry Miles that they were partly right.Continue reading “I think I’m going to be sad”

May 22, 1971 –The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers album, with a working zipper on the cover, hits #1 in the US, on this date. Andy Warhol designed the Sticky Fingers album cover. Before he started working on it, Mick Jagger send Warhol a note warning that a complicated design could cause nasty production delays, butContinue reading “Gold Coast slave ship bound for cotton fields”

May 22, 1948 – The Merrie Melodies short, Bone Sweet Bone, directed by Arthur Davis, debuted on this date. Both dogs break the fourth wall in their own unique way.

May 22, 1940 – The Merrie Melodies short, Sniffles Takes a Trip, directed by Chuck Jones, starring Sniffles debuted on this date. This cartoon is possibly a nod to Aesop’s fable, “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse”, where two mice visit the countryside and the city, only to end up going through so manyContinue reading “Sniffles Takes a Trip premiered”

May 22, 1937 – The Merrie Melodies short, Clean Pastures, directed by Friz Freleng, debuted on this date. The short is notable for, not just being a member of the infamous Censored Eleven shorts due to its outdated depictions of African-Americans, but was also a problem with the Hays Office when it was created andContinue reading “Clean Pastures premiered”

May 22, 1954 – The Merrie Melodies short, Claws for Alarm, directed by Chuck Jones, starring Porky Pig and Sylvester, debuted on this date. This is the second of three cartoons teaming Porky and Sylvester, continuing his nonspeaking role as Porky’s cat in a spooky setting, where only Sylvester is aware of the danger theContinue reading “Claws for Alarm premiered”

May 22, 1947 –David Lean’s classic, Great Expectations, premiered in NYC on this date. Charles Dickens wrote a much harsher ending to the novel for its original publication, in which Pip and Estella remain apart. He was forced to substitute the more famous ending when it was published as a book later on, because theContinue reading “Take nothing on its looks, take everything on evidence.”

May 22, 1992 –For 30 years, the man most of America went to bed with every night, finally got tired of having to try to satisfy so many people and decided to retire. Johnny Carson, known for his sharp wit, impeccable timing, and understated charm, made his final appearance on The Tonight Show on thisContinue reading “He got to sleep in the next day”