Author Archives: dcaligari

Jingle Bells was originally written for Thanksgiving. James Lord Pierpont published the song in 1857 as One Horse Open Sleigh, and it was first performed for a Thanksgiving service at his family member’s church.

November 26, 1956 –The seemingly ageless gameshow, The Price Is Right, hosted by Bill Cullen and announced by Don Pardo, first aired on CBS TV, on this date. (those smarty pants out there, may know that this is actual the second episode of the series – the first episode is lost in the ephemera ofContinue reading “Tell them what they’ve won”

November 26, 1978 –The TV movie, A Question of Love, starring Gena Rowlands, Jane Alexander, Clu Gulager, Ned Beatty, and Bonnie Bedelia, premiered on ABC TV on this date. The film is noteworthy as it is the first lesbian themed TV movie. Based on the true story of mother Mary Jo Risher’s fight to retainContinue reading “A Question of Love premiered”

November 26, 1965 –After cleaning a church in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where they had Thanksgiving dinner the day before, Arlo Guthrie and a friend clean up the place, but toss the trash down a hill when they can’t find an open dump. They are arrested, fined $25 each, and forced to pick up the garbage. WhenContinue reading “… including Alice”

November 27, 1977 – Rankin/Bass’ animated version of The Hobbit, voiced by actors Orson Bean, Richard Boone, Hans Conried, John Huston, Otto Preminger, Cyril Ritchard, and Brother Theodore, premiered on NBC TV on this date. In the book, Bilbo is knocked unconscious by a falling rock during the Battle of Five Armies immediately after seeingContinue reading “My precious. It is my precious.”

November 25, 1987 –The now classic John Hughes’ Thanksgiving film, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, starring Steve Martin and John Candy, premiered in the US on this date. On instruction from John Hughes, Edie McClurg’s role as the St. Louis rental car agent was partially improvised. Hughes told her to simply riff a fake phone conversationContinue reading “That’s not a pillow!”

November 25, 1933 –An almost forgotten horror film, The Ghoul, starring Boris Karolff , Cedric Hardwicke, and Ralph Richardson (in his film debut) opened in the U.S. on this date. For years this was regarded as a “lost film” with no prints or elements known to exist. A nitrate release print was discovered in theContinue reading “The Ghoul premiered”

November 25, 1967 –The Strawberry Alarm Clock single Incense And Peppermints hit #1 on the Billboard Charts on this date. The group’s guitarist, who co-wrote this song, was Ed King. In 1970, an unknown band called Lynyrd Skynyrd opened some shows for The Strawberry Alarm Clock, and King got to know them. In 1973, KingContinue reading “You can almost smell the patchouli”

November 24, 1965 – NBC aired the Frank Sinatra: A Man And His Music to honor Sinatra, on this date. According to the April 1966 Esquire article Frank Sinatra Has a Cold by Gay Talese, Sinatra was suffering from a cold, when he started recording this special. If you pay close attention, you can seeContinue reading “A Man And His Music premiered”

November 24, 1958 –A precursor episode to the science fiction television series The Twilight Zone, The Time Element aired on this date as part of the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse anthology series on CBS-TV. Though not the pilot episode of Rod Serling’s series, The Twilight Zone, it was Rod Serling’s production that lead to The TwilightContinue reading “The Time Element premiered”