Author Archives: dcaligari

April 12, 1958 – The Merrie Melodies short, Whoa, Be-Gone!, directed by Chuck Jones and starring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, debuted on this date. This was the twelfth Road Runner cartoon in the series. This was the last film produced by Edward Selzer, the main producer of the company Warner Bros. CartoonsContinue reading “Whoa, Be-Gone! premiered”

April 12, 1974 –Elton John song Bennie and the Jets (Penny on the desk) hit No. #1 in the US on this date. Elton wrote the music to this song as an homage to glam rock. This style was defined by outrageous costumes. It was popular in the early ‘70s, especially in the UK. ArtistsContinue reading “Elton really liked this date”

April 12, 1934 –… Already he felt her absence from these skies: on the beach he could only remember the sun-torn flesh of her shoulder; at Tarmes he crushed out her footprints as he crossed the garden; and now the orchestra launching into the Nice Carnival Song, an echo of last year’s vanished gaieties, startedContinue reading “Tender Is the Night was released”

April 11, 1942 –Happy National Submarine Day! National Submarine Day is celebrated annually on April 11th to commemorate the U.S. Navy’s acquisition of its first modern commissioned submarine, the USS Holland (SS-1), on this day in 1900. The USS Holland was designed by Irish-American inventor John Phillip Holland. The Holland VI prototype was purchased forContinue reading “Sorry but it wasn’t yellow”

April 11, 1980 –ABC’s attempt at live late-night sketch comedy, Fridays, premiered on this date. Michael Richards, Larry David, Bruce Mahler, Maryedith Burrell and Melanie Chartoff would all work on Seinfeld in various capacities.

April 11, 1947 – Charlie Chaplin’s very dark comedy, Monsieur Verdoux, opened on this date in NYC. The film was a colossal box-office flop on its 1947 release, despite being ardently championed by writer-critic James Agee, who considered Charles Chaplin’s acting performance the greatest male performance he had ever seen in films.

April 11, 1942 –The Looney Tunes short, Saps in Chaps, directed by Friz Freleng, debuted on this date. This is the last black-and-white Looney Tunes cartoon that Friz Freleng directed.

April 11, 1942 – Bob Clampett was the first to tackle an adaption of a Dr. Seuss book when Merrie Melodies released Horton Hatches the Egg, on this date. Peter Lorre was a favorite characterization for the famed Warner Bros. cartoonists, as he tangled several times with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

April 11, 1983 –R.E.M. release their debut album, Murmur, on this date. Radio Free Europe was R.E.M.’s first single, released in 1981 before they signed to a major label. A better-produced version was included on Murmur, the band’s first full-length album, in 1983.

April 10, 1925 –…So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past… F. Scott Fitzgerald third book, The Great Gatsby, was published on this date. Among various titles considered were Among Ashheaps and Millionaires, Gold-Hatted Gatsby, The High-Bouncing Lover, On the Road to West Egg and Fitzgerald’s favorite Trimalchio’s BanquettContinue reading “…her voice is full of money”