Author Archives: dcaligari

June 20, 1975 –Steven Spielberg’s thriller, Jaws, premiered on this date. Beach vacations were never the same again. According to director Steven Spielberg, the prop arm looked too fake in the scene where Chrissie’s remains are discovered, so instead, they buried a female crew member in the sand with only her arm exposed.

June 20, 1941 – Advertised as their farewell film (they went on to appear in two more,) The Big Store, starring the Marx Brothers and Margaret Dumont (in her final appearance in a Marx Bros. film) premiered on this date. Groucho Marx was bitter when he was called for retakes on the Sing While YouContinue reading “The Big Store premiered”

June 20, 1967 –The late great Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) had refused to serve in the U.S. military, stating that it went against his religious beliefs and his opposition to the Vietnam War. This led to his conviction of violating Selective Service laws on this date. The U.S. Supreme Court later overturnedContinue reading “Standing up for his principles”

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time. … John Lubbock Today is the first day of Summer, also known as the SummerContinue reading “What power you have to make us suffer and like it”

June 19, 1976 –The original emo boy, Eric Carmen’s single Never Gonna’ Fall in Love Again went to the top of The Billboard Charts on this date. Once again, Carmen uses (steals) a piece of classical music – this time, the melody line from Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 for this song. It comes from theContinue reading “Never Gonna’ Fall in Love Again topped the charts”

June 19, 1954 – The Tasmanian Devil, Taz, made his debut in the Looney Tunes cartoon, Devil May Hare, on this date. While Robert McKimson and his team were discussing new adversaries for Bugs Bunny, animator Sid Marcus suggested offhandedly that they have used everything except a Tasmanian devil. They looked the animal up inContinue reading “Devil May Hare premiered”

June 19, 1963 –Columbia Pictures releases the Ray Harryhausen fantasy film Jason and the Argonauts, directed by Don Chaffey in the U.S. on this date. In order to capitalize on the success of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Ray Harryhausen originally conceived of the film as Sinbad in the Age of Muses. The story wouldContinue reading “Jason and the Argonauts premiered”

June 19, 1976 –HBO launched the series, Standing Room Only (SRO) with a taped special by Bette Midler on this date. The original HBO presentation was shown “complete and uncut, minus any editing or interruption” (per the June 1976 HBO On Air guide), lasting nearly two-and-a-half hours. When it was shown on broadcast television laterContinue reading “Bette Midler Show Live at Last premiered”

June 19, 1934 –The Federal Communications Commission, perhaps the most wicked body of do-gooders ever to exist in the United States, was created. These are the clowns that perfected the fine art of capricious and arbitrary.

Can you hear those glasses chilling? We might never know how utterly charming, brilliant and entertaining we are were it not for martinis. I’m not talking a cup of cheap gin splashed over an ice cube. I’m talking satin, fire and ice; Fred Astaire in a glass; surgical cleanliness, insight.. comfort; redemption and absolution. I’mContinue reading “I will be celebrating all day”