Author Archives: dcaligari

November 9, 1972 – The adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, 1776, starring William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, John Cullum, Ken Howard and Blythe Danner, premiered in NYC on this date Ken Howard related that he was rehearsing some of his lines from the play aloud while traveling on an airplane. The inflammatory revolutionary rhetoricContinue reading “1776 premiered”

November 9, 1964 –Another under-appreciated film that you should see, The Pumpkin Eater, opened in the US on this date. This was considered a very prestigious British film in the early 60s, when it was made. It had a large budget and took 16 weeks to film, although it is less than two hours inContinue reading “The Pumpkin Eater premiered”

November 9, 1946 – Another classic, yet surprisingly controversial Bugs Bunny outing, Rhapsody Rabbit, premiered on this date. (sorry for the lousy quality of the cartoon)Franz Liszt’s 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody music was first used in 1941’s Rhapsody in Rivets. A long-standing controversy exists between the previous cartoon and the Tom and Jerry short, The CatContinue reading “We’ll talk about the controversy later”

November 9, 1973 –Billy Joel releases his second album, Piano Man, on this date. The album and title track (based on his nights performing at a piano bar in Los Angeles called The Executive Room,) became Joel’s breakthrough album, which he released after signing with Columbia Records. His first album was released by Family RecordsContinue reading “Sing us a song …”

November 8, 1971 –Led Zeppelin released their untitled fourth album, on this date. And kids remember, according to the Consumer Protection and Toxic Materials Committee of the California State Assembly, if you play Stairway to Heaven backwards, you can hear: So, don’t play you albums backwards (many of you have no idea what albums are.)

November 8, 1962 –Lewis Milestone’s second major Hollywood telling of the Mutiny on the Bounty, starring Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard and Richard Harris, opened on this date. Marlon Brando’s notorious on-set antics reached a pinnacle on this film. According to Peter Manso’s Brando biography, Brando had so much clout by this point that he gotContinue reading “Mutiny on the Bounty premiered”

November 8, 1975 – David Bowie makes his US television debut on the CBS variety show Cher, on this date. Bowie performed both on his own as well as with Cher, which included an odd and interesting six and a half minute duet medley.

November 8, 1954 – You never know when you’re making a memory. Rickie Lee Jones, two-time Grammy Award-winning vocalist, musician, songwriter and producer, was born on this date.

Why is there a person chasing a turkey with a huge butcher’s knife? But that’s not the issue at hand – Once again, the very British fashion the sports wear company Barbour has turned to Shaun the Sheep, to send out their annual Christmas message – As I’ve said in the past, the commercial’s cutenessContinue reading “I do have one question about this old postcard:”

Today is International Tongue Twister Day. There seems to be some controversy about this date. Tongue twisters have technically been around since as early as the 19th century when John Harris published Peter Piper’s Practical Principles of Plain and Perfect Pronunciation, which included a twisty tongue tango for every letter of the alphabet. And whileContinue reading “Try saying – The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.”