Author Archives: dcaligari

Today is Global Champagne Awareness Day (or International Champagne Day) – the third Friday in October. Most champagne-lovers will already know that, in order for the sparkling nectar to be classified as “champagne“, the wine must come from the Champagne province in France. You may not know that to be termed “champagne” it must alsoContinue reading “Champagne is one of the elegant extras in life.”

October 20, 1955 –Harry Belafonte, advocate for civil rights and humanitarian causes, recorded the famous Day-O (Banana Boat Song) on this date. This song was first recorded in 1952 by Edric Conner, a musician from Trinidad who sang it with his band The Carribeans as Day De Light. The song re-emerged in 1956 when theContinue reading “Come Mr. Tallyman, tally me bananas”

October 20, 1985 –The first of two reunion films, I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later, starring Barbara Eden, Wayne Rogers, and Bill Daly aired on NBC on this date. Larry Hagman was unavailable to reprise his role as Tony Nelson reportedly because he was too busy filming his CBS series Dallas at the time.Continue reading “A plethora of Jeannies”

October 20, 1957 –Walter Cronkite’s documentary series, The Twentieth Century, first aired on CBS-TV on this date, with Churchill, Man of the Century. The program presented filmed reports on news and cultural events that were important for the development of the 20th century.

October 19, 1974 –Billy Preston’s single, Nothing from Nothing went to No. #1 on the Billboard Charts, on this date. The B-side of the single was another song Preston wrote with his songwriting partner Bruce Fisher: You Are So Beautiful, which was later a hit for Joe Cocker.

October 19, 1990 –Kevin Costner’s directorial debut, Dances with Wolves, starring himself, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, and Rodney Grant, premiered in Washington D.C. on this date. Kevin Costner’s daughter Annie Costner, playing Stands With A Fist as a child, is seen running away from the Pawnee party that killed her family in the dream sequence.Continue reading “Dances with Wolves opened”

October 19, 1984 –One of the greatest concert movies, the Talking Heads film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathon Demme opens in the US on this date. Jonathan Demme wanted to shoot additional performance footage on a soundstage made to recreate the Pantages Theater. The band vetoed this idea because they thought the lack ofContinue reading “Fa-fa-fa-fa, fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa, …”

Several sources, including the eponymously named Facebook page, lists today as International Gin and Tonic Day. Some cite April 9th as the date, although that is usually seen as National Gin and Tonic Day. I’m up for celebrating on both dates. (But don’t confuse it with World Gin Day which always falls on the secondContinue reading “Time to get in the spirit”

October 18, 1968 – The Star Trek episode Is There in Truth No Beauty? first aired on this date. In it, the Enterprise travels with an alien ambassador who must travel inside a special black case because his appearance causes insanity. The Vulcan IDIC was inserted into the script and into the episode at theContinue reading “Is There in Truth No Beauty? premiered”

October 18, 1953 –The live Peter Brooks‘ Omnibus production of King Lear starring Orson Welles, Micheál Mac Liammóir, Natasha Parry, Arnold Moss and Beatrice Straight premiered on CBS-TV on this date. This was the TV debut of Orson Welles This adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play cuts out the subplot involving Edmund, Edgar and their father,Continue reading “Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!”