Author Archives: dcaligari

October 15, 1893 –The New York Times declared Coney Island “Sodom-by-the-Sea” for the thrilling rides that let men and women clutch each other. The Elephantine Colossus, a 200-foot-tall elephant-shaped hotel had a howdah on its back, topped with a gilded crescent was built on Surf Avenue, in 1885. It housed a concert hall and eventsContinue reading “When was the last time you hung out at Sodom by the Sea”

October 15, 1954 –The eponymously named series The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin debuted on ABC-TV on this date. A popular children’s record titled Rinny and Rusty and Rip was released in the 1950’s about the three lead characters. It was a 78 rpm Golden Records release, sung by Anne Lloyd and The Sandpipers, withContinue reading “The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin premiered”

October 15, 1988 –UB40’s cover of Neil Diamond’s Red Red Wine reached the top of the Billboard Charts on this date. UB40 recorded this as a cover of the Tony Tribe 1969 reggae version, which reached #46 in the UK charts. The band did not realize until after it topped the charts that Neil DiamondContinue reading “Red Red Wine topped the charts”

October 14, 1972 – The TV-series Kung Fu, starring David Carridine, debuted on ABC-TV on this date. The only reason this show went off the air was because David Carradine quit the series. He had sustained so many injuries, he felt he could not go on. The show got high ratings for all three seasonsContinue reading “Kung Fu premiered”

October 14, 1977 –Linda Ronstadt sang The National Anthem prior to World Series Game Three at Dodger Stadium, on this date. She was heavily criticized at the time, for casual attire – (Linda, the ever solid Dodger fan, only requested a Dodger jacket as her fee for singing the anthem.) Many consider her rendition ofContinue reading “Linda hits it out of the park”

October 14, 1978 – The gang finally got off the damn island (sort of) when the first TV movie from a TV series, Rescue from Gilligan’s Island, premiered on CBS-TV with all of the original cast except Tina Louise (who wanted too much money,) on this date. The scene in which the rescued castaways areContinue reading “They finally got home”

October 14, 1983 –Cyndi Lauper, formerly a member of the group Blue Angel, issues her first solo album, She’s So Unusual. With the MTV hits Girls Just Want To Have Fun and Time After Time, the album becomes an ‘80s touchstone. On the strength of her breakout solo album She’s So Unusual, Lauper won theContinue reading “She really was so unusual (in a good way)”

October 13, 1966 – The sixth episode of Star Trek, Mudd’s Women first aired on this date. In it, The Enterprise picks up a traveling con man, Harry Mudd, and his “beautiful” female cargo; the females seem to have a strange effect on the male crew. This is the first episode in which the Enterprise’sContinue reading “Mudd’s Women premiered”

October 13, 1957 – CBS-TV broadcasts The Edsel Show, a one-hour live special starring Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sinatra, and Louis Armstrong, designed to promote the new, ill-fated Ford automobile, on this date. It is the first and currently the oldest surviving show on videotape. It was aired live on this date in primeContinue reading “All that star power couldn’t save the car”

October 13, 1978 –Queen released their double A sided single Fat Bottomed Girls/ Bicycle Race on this date. The songs ran together on the album, and were often played that way by radio stations. The year before, Queen released We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions as a double A-side. They are stillContinue reading “Everybody likes to ride their bicycle”