Author Archives: dcaligari

July 31, 1976 –Blue Oyster Cult single, from their album, Agents of Fortune, (Don’t Fear) the Reaper, was released on this date. (Don’t Fear) The Reaper was written and sung by Blue Öyster Cult’s lead guitarist, Donald Roeser, also known as Buck Dharma. It was rumored to be about suicide, but it actually deals withContinue reading “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper dropped”

July 30, 2003 –The last ever ‘old style‘ Volkswagen Beetle, #21,529,464, rolled off the assembly line at the Volkswagen de Mexico manufacturing plant in Puebla, Mexico on this date. The classic Volkswagen Beetle was produced in Mexico from 1955 where it was used as a taxi. The Mexican government effectively ended the Beetle’s production becauseContinue reading “The last of the original Volkswagen made”

July 30, 1932 – The Silly Symphonies cartoon, Flowers and Trees, produced by Walt Disney, directed by Burt Gillett (released to theatres by United Artists) opened in the US on this date. It was the first commercially released film to be produced in the full-color three-strip Technicolor process, after several years of two-color Technicolor films.Continue reading “Flowers and Trees premiered”

July 30, 1966 –The Troggs’ single Wild Thing went to No. 1 on the Billboard Charts on this date. The Troggs recorded this song and another, A Girl Like You, in about 20 minutes, at the end of a studio session booked for an orchestra that wrapped up 45 minutes early. This was written byContinue reading “Wild Thing topped the charts”

July 30, 2004 –The surprise hit stoner film, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, starring John Cho, Kal Penn, and the very funny Neil Patrick Harris, opened on this date. Neil Patrick Harris plays a character named “Neil Patrick Harris” and is billed as such rather than being billed “as himself.” According to anContinue reading “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle premiered”

July 30, 1966 – The Dynamic Duo made the jump from the TV scene to the movie scene – Batman, The Movie, opened in Austin, Texas on this date. A follow up film was at one point considered. The film would have been released between seasons two and three, and would have been used toContinue reading “Batman, The Movie premiered”

July 30, 1947 –As the ‘Siegfried‘ leitmotif from Act III of Wagner’s opera played in the background – Arnold Schwarzenegger, the last gasp of the dream of the Aryan ‘Uberman‘, was spawned on this date. I’m not quite sure that an overly greased muscle man in a speedo (who would become the governor of aContinue reading “Arnold Schwarzenegger”

July 29, 1972 –Gilbert O’Sullivan topped the charts with his hit Alone Again (Naturally) on this date. (I will not take responsibility for the following ear worm.) This was Irish-born singer Gilbert O’Sullivan’s only American #1. It sold 2 million copies, spent six weeks at the summit in America and earned him three Grammy AwardContinue reading “Listen to the clip at your own risk”

July 29, 1965 – The Beatles movie Help! opened in London on this date. By Paul McCartney’s and Ringo Starr’s own admission, they were so stoned on pot the day they shot the scene where Dr. Foot (Victor Spinetti) and Algernon (Roy Kinnear) tried to blow them up in the Austrian Alps, that when GeorgeContinue reading “Help! premiered”

July 29, 1982 –Professional wrestler Jerry Lawler slapped actor Andy Kaufman in the face on the program Late Night with David Letterman, a staged event that prompted a several month ‘war’ between the two of them. It remains among the greatest Letterman moments of all time. The video went viral long before the Internet gaveContinue reading “Andy Kaufman’s smackdown”