Author Archives: dcaligari

May 24, 1941 –Shabtai Zisel ben Avraham Zimmerman, a young boy from a small shtetl called Duluth, in the great state of Minnesota, don’t ya know, who has been a major figure in popular music for nearly six decades, was born on this date. Even Zigman and Anna’s grandson, Shabtai can still write a goodContinue reading “Bob Dylan”

May 24, 1883 – The Brooklyn Bridge (originally the New York and Brooklyn Bridge), one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States, stretches 5,989 feet (1825 m) over the East River connecting the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn opened for business today. On completion, it was the largest suspension bridgeContinue reading “It stands the test of time”

May 23, 1969 –A brief glorious reflowering of the British Empire occurred on this day – The BBC gave the go-ahead for 13 episodes of Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

May 23, 1966 –The Beatles released the single Paperback Writer on this date At the time, The Beatles were about to cease touring and couldn’t make many TV appearances to perform the song. This made it very difficult to promote the single, so they commissioned a film clip that could be shown on these programs,Continue reading “Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book? …”

May 23, 1929 –Walt Disney released the ninth film in the Mickey Mouse film series, The Karnival Kid on this date. This is first cartoon in which Mickey Mouse speaks. His first words are “Hot dogs!“

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.) Stanley Kubrick, known for his compulsiveness and numerous retakes, got the difficult shot of blood pouring from the elevators in only three takes. This would be unremarkableContinue reading “Red Rum! Red Rum!”

May 23, 1984 –Sergio Leone’s epic crime drama, Once Upon a Time in America starring Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Joe Pesci, Burt Young, Tuesday Weld, and Treat Williams opened at the Cannes Film festive on this date. A few days before the film’s premiere in 1984, Treat Williams found out the two-hourContinue reading “Once Upon a Time in America premiered”

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 “Ticket to Ride (or Ryde) topped the charts”

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 “Sticky Fingers rises to the top”

May 22, 1995 –The cast of the TV series, Laverne and Shirley somehow put their personal animosity with each other aside and reunited to appear on The Laverne & Shirley Reunion on ABC TV on this date. Watching the special, may leave you not so much basking in the glow of fond memories as muchContinue reading “A Laverne & Shirley Reunion Show”