Author Archives: dcaligari

September 13, 1969 – Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! made its CBS network debut on this date. Shaggy is the only character (apart from Scooby himself) to be in every incarnation of the series.

September 13, 1980 –The musical variety show, Solid Gold, featuring Dionne Warwick and the Solid Gold dancers, first started in syndication on this date. Rumor has it that Wayland Flowers, whose scene-stealing puppet, Madame, was a recurring guest, was so high on cocaine that he frequently had to be carried on and off the set.Continue reading “Solid Gold premiered”

September 13, 1979 –A spin-off of the series Soap, Benson, starring Robert Guillaume, James Noble, Inga Swenson, and Missy Gold first aired on ABC TV, on this date. The series was on the air seven years, longer than the show from which it was spun off, Soap, which lasted four years.

September 13, 1965 –Ben Gazzara’s series about a wealthy, successful lawyer, Paul Bryan, who quits his practice after learning he has a terminal illness, Run for Your Life, debuted on NBC-TV on this date. Some sources claim that Ben Gazzara’s character suffered from leukemia. However, in a 1998 interview conducted by television book writer EdContinue reading “Run for Your Life premiered”

It’s Friday the 13th. In most large cities in the United States, many building don’t have 13th floors. In Japan, they don’t have 4th floors, because the word for four sounds similar to the word for DEATH! Some say that the modern basis for Friday the 13th phobia dates back to Friday, October 13, 1307.Continue reading “Bad luck never lost a race.”

September 12, 1970 –Long tails and and ears for hats… Josie and the Pussycats debuted on CBS-TV on this date. Hanna-Barbera wanted to change Valerie to a Caucasian even though she was already established as African-American in the Archie comics, so they wanted to fire Patrice Holloway who had been cast as Valerie’s singing voice.Continue reading “Josie and the Pussycats premiered”

September 12, 1966 – NBC television premiered The Monkees, a sitcom about four guys in a rock band on this date. When the TV series was about to be renewed for a third season, The Monkees wanted to change it from a half-hour sitcom to an hour-long variety show where they would introduce new artists.Continue reading “People started saying that they were monkeying around”

September 12, 1978 – The show James L. Brooks and friends created after the Mary Tylet Moore series ended, Taxi, starring Judd Hirsch, Jeff Conaway, Marilu Henner, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito, and Andy Kaufman premiered on this date. Andy Kaufman had invented the persona for his character in his comedy act prior toContinue reading “Taxi started looking for fares”

September 12, 1954 –What girl – Jeff’s trapped in a mine; fell into a well; considering early withdrawal of his principle from an IRA; worried about the the Haitians in Ohio … Lassie (or Jeff’s Collie – how many of you remember Jeff’s Collie) premiered on on CBS-TV on this date. Although it has beenContinue reading “I had a stress-free day. I locked Timmy in his room”

September 12, 490 B.C. –It looked like it was going to be a pretty bleak day for Western Civilization. The Greeks, who were not yet Ancient or Classical, were facing a massive invasion of Persians. Persia was not yet part of the Axis of Evil, but was pretty nasty just the same. They had moreContinue reading “History can turn on a dime”