Author Archives: dcaligari

Autumn began at 2:50 a.m. EDT today. Joyfully, it’s also the first day of Fall. Many people in the northern hemisphere are disturbed by the changes they see around them at about this time each year. It gets darker earlier, temperatures drop, leaves change color and die and the Red Sox tend to drop outContinue reading “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”

September 23, 1962 – The Jetsons debuted on ABC-TV’s Sunday night’s prime time lineup on this date. It was the network’s first program ever to be broadcast in color. The design of the Jetsons‘ flying car was inspired by a 1954 Ford concept car, the FX-Atmos, notable for its all-glass bubble canopy, dashboard radar screenContinue reading “The Jetsons premiered”

September 23, 1977 – ABC Records breathed a huge sigh of relief when they were finally able to release the much delayed sixth studio album of the ultra-perfectionists Steely Dan’s Aja on this date. The album is pronounced “Asia,” and was inspired by the continent. Steely Dan have several songs with a Far East influence,Continue reading “You finally got to drink That Big Black Cow”

September 22, 1994 – 29 years ago, you could get a cup of coffee at Central Perk for the first time when Friends, premiered on NBC-TV on this date. Many titles were considered and rejected before the show was named as Friends. They included Friends Like Us, Insomnia Cafe and Across the Hall.

September 22, 1964 – Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, who kept the world safe on The Man from U.N.C.L.E, made their first appearance on NBC-TV on this date. Originally, Will Kuluva was to play the head of U.N.C.L.E., but was replaced by Leo G. Carroll. After the pilot was screened for the network executives, theyContinue reading “The Man from U.N.C.L.E premiered”

September 22, 1986 –For some reason ABC-TV felt the need to introduce America to the Tanner Family and Gordon Shumway when ALF (an acronym for Alien Life Form) first aired on this date. The Alf puppet was operated from various “trap doors” hidden within the set, making filming more hazardous than a normal sitcom. TheContinue reading “ALF premiered”

September 22, 1986 –Aaron Spelling’s crime drama Charlie’s Angels starring Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith, David Doyle and John Forsythe debuted on ABC-TV on this date. John Forsythe was called in at the last minute to voice Charlie, when the original actor (Gig Young) who had been cast turned out to have a drinkingContinue reading “Charlie’s Angels premiered”

And yet, all at once, summer collapsed into fall. Today is the last day of Summer – enjoy your day.

September 21, 1937 –George Allen and Unwin, Ltd. of London published the first edition of J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit on this date. It was illustrated with many black-and-white drawings by Tolkien himself. The original printing was only a 1,500 run and sold out by December due to enthusiastic reviews.

September 21, 1912 – Chuck Jones, animator and director of Warner Brothers cartoon characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, was born on this date. He has directed three films have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant: Duck Amuck, One Froggy Evening, andContinue reading “Two giants of animation sharing the same birthday date:”