Author Archives: dcaligari

December 21, 1969 –Diana Ross and the Supremes make their final television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, on this date. The song they sang, Someday We’ll Be Together, would become the last of their 12 number one singles.

December 21, 1937 – Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first feature-length color and sound cartoon, opened on this date. The animation took over two years and a then astronomical $1.5 million to create. Disney had to mortgage his house to pay for the film’s production.

December 20, 1939 –The Paramount Pictures animated version of Gulliver’s Travels directed by Dave Fleischer, opened in NYC on this date. Even though the film was a box-office success, it never managed to recover its enormous cost, which went nearly $500,000 over budget due to the relocation of the Fleischer studios, transportation of film forContinue reading “Gulliver’s Travels premiered”

December 20, 1969 –Peter, Paul & Mary’s cover of the John Denver song, Leaving on a Jet Plane, reached #1 on the Billboard Charts, on this date. The song turned out to be Peter, Paul and Mary’s biggest (and final) hit. This was written by a very young John Denver, who was then a memberContinue reading “Leaving on a Jet Plane topped the Charts”

December 20, 1974 –Arguably the greatest sequal ever made, Godfather II, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, and Robert De Niro, premiered in the US on this date. Robert De Niro spent four months learning to speak the Sicilian dialect of Italian in order to play Vito Corleone.Continue reading “One of the Best Films about Business”

December 20, 1957 –You are about to see Elvis in his skivvies. Elvis receives orders from the draft board to serve in the United States Army, which to his credit he does without complaint. December 20, 1997 –Sotheby’s auctioned off the loincloth worn by Kirk Douglas in the 1960 film Spartacus for $2,990 on thisContinue reading “A trigger warning – (there is a theme here)”

December 19, 1903 –On this date, the Williamsburg Bridge was opened in New York City. It was America’s first major suspension bridge using steel towers instead of the customary masonry towers. It was built to alleviate traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge and to provide a link between Manhattan and the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. TakingContinue reading “Adding to the traffic”

Japanese people traditionally eat at KFC for Christmas dinner. Although the percentage of christian people in Japan is less than 2%, every Christmas, kids and grown-ups head to the closest KFC to enjoy some fried chicken – the closest food to turkey that you can get in Japan. It’s all thanks to a successful “KentuckyContinue reading “I guess everybody loves the Colonel”

December 19, 1987 –The Pet Shop Boys had their third UK No.1 single with their version of Always On My Mind, on this date. The duo had performed a version of Always on My Mind on Love Me Tender, an TV special commemorating the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, their performance was so well-receivedContinue reading “Always On My Mind topped the charts”

December 19, 1971 –The pilot for the hit family series The Waltons, The Homecoming: A Christmas Story premiered on CBS-TV on this date. Earl Hamner’s two children Scott and Carrie are in the film as two of the children listening to the missionary lady. Carrie is the short-dark-haired girl in a home-made hat and ScottContinue reading “The first time we met the Waltons”