Author Archives: dcaligari

Elvis the King (who was born in 1935,) (As I always say – lay your hand upon the screen and feel his healing power pulsate through your nether regions.) and Davy Jones, who was born in 1947, somehow were both born on this date – (you may lay your hand upon the screen and feelContinue reading “It was written in the stars”

January 8, 1966 –The Beatles single We Can Work It Out reached No. 1 on the Billboard Charts. It was their 12th No. 1 hit. The Beatles recorded this specifically for release as a single at two quick sessions while they were making the Rubber Soul album in October 1965. When it was released asContinue reading “We Can Work It Out topped the charts”

January 8, 1968 –Welcome to zee exotic world of undersea explorer… The first episode of the documentary series, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau: Sharks premiered on this date.

January 8, 1978 – The TV series, based on the books by James Herriot, All Creatures Great and Small, starring Robert hardy and Christopher Timothy, debuted on BBC TV, on this date. Alf Wight (the real James Herriot) initially stipulated that all the incidents in the TV series had to be closely based on thoseContinue reading “The premiere episode of All Creatures Great And Small”

January 7, 1972 –David Bowie released Changes as a single in the UK on this date. The track peaked at No.49 on the UK chart and later at No.41 on the US chart. According to Bowie, this started out as a parody of a nightclub song – “kind of throwaway” – but people kept chantingContinue reading “The first time we had to turn and face the stranger”

January 7, 1961 –The pilot episode of The Avengers – Hot Snow, starring Ian Hendry and Patrick Macnee debuted in the UK on this date. The vast majority of the first series of The Avengers is missing from TV archives and likely lost forever – only the first 15 minutes of this first episode andContinue reading “The Avengers premiered”

January 7, 1934 –Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon comic strip debuted in newspapers across the United States. In addition to the comic strip, Flash has also starred in a live-action serial, a radio show, novels, comic books, animated cartoons, and he even appeared on his own U.S. postage stamp.

It’s the Feast of the Three Kings – (Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar), Little Christmas, the Epiphany etc. If you’re playing the home version of the game – the Gifts of the Magi were Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh (or the watch fob and a set of combs, or more obscurely, cigar box and soap dish wouldContinue reading “If nothing we do matters…, then all that matters is what we do”

January 6, 1979 –Soul Man, recorded by comedians John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as the fictitious singing team, The Blues Brothers, debuted on Billboard’s pop charts. The Blues Brothers had originally been created for TV’s Saturday Night Live, and had been so popular that it prompted several records and a movie with Jake and ElwoodContinue reading “The Blues Brothers made their way up the charts”

January 6, 1963 –See Jim try to swim to his dugout canoe through a lake of piranhas, while I watch safely from the studio, confirming the second pitcher of martinis is properly chilled. Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom with Marlin Perkins began on NBC on this date.