Author Archives: dcaligari

September 19, 1981 –Despite the fact that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel had barely spoken to each other in ten year, they reunited on this date to raise funds to renovate Central Park and performed in front of 500,000 people in New York City. The concert was so successful, the duo decided to embark onContinue reading “Simon and Garfunkel in Central Park”

September 19, 1692 –Giles Corey was accused of witchcraft in 1692. This put him in a difficult spot. If he pleaded guilty, he’d be burned alive at the stake. If he pleaded not guilty, he’d have to take a lie-detector test. The state-of-the-art lie detector of 1692 wasn’t any less accurate than today’s models, butContinue reading “More Weight”

Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. The holiday is a parody holiday invented in 1995 by John Baur (Ol’ Chumbucket) and Mark Summers (Cap’n Slappy), of Corvallis, Oregon, who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk like a pirate. Nothing says Piracy (or the BritishContinue reading “Shiver me timbers”

September 19, 1975 – The British sitcom Fawlty Towers, created by John Cleese, premiered on BBC2 on this date. John Cleese (Basil Fawlty) and Connie Booth (Polly Sherman) were really husband and wife when they created and wrote the scripts for the first series. By the beginning of filming for the second season their marriageContinue reading “Fawlty Towers premiered”

September 19, 1970 – The greatest sitcom every produced, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, premiered on CBS TV on this date. The lyrics to the theme song were rewritten after the first season. The first season’s theme song emphasized Mary’s challenge of being independent, such as with the line, “You might just make it afterContinue reading “Mary Tyler Moore premiered”

September 18, 1970 –Jimi Hendrix died in his sleep, in London, from of a barbiturate overdose when chunks of his vomited tuna sandwich wound up in his lungs, causing him to choke, on this date. He was 27 years old. At least his family could take comfort that he did not choke on someone else’sContinue reading “Jimi Hendrix”

September 18, 1977 –NASA’s unmanned space probe Voyager 1 snapped the first photograph of the Moon and the Earth in the same frame while on its mission to study the Solar System and its boundaries. At the time, Voyager 1 was 7.25 million miles (11.66 million kilometers) from Earth. Voyager 1 continues its mission today,Continue reading “Say “cheese””

September 18, 1976 –Wild Cherry’s single Play That Funky Music went to No. 1 on the Billboard Charts on this date. This was going to be the B-side of Wild Cherry’s cover of the Commodores‘ I Feel Sanctified. When they heard it, the owners of their record label suggested that the B-side become the A-side.Continue reading “Play That Funky Music went to the top of the charts”

September 18, 1965 – Mel Brooks and Buck Henry started their fight to keep the world safe from KAOS when Get Smart premiered on NBC-TV on this date. When Don Adams was negotiating his salary, he had his choice between more money per week and no ownership stake in the show, or less money perContinue reading “Get Smart premiered”

September 18, 1965 –Kleenex stock rose precipitously as I Dream of Jeannie premiered on this date. While filming the first 12 episodes of season 1, Barbara Eden was pregnant with her son, Matthew Ansara. Her pregnancy was disguised by filming her in close-up or with a copious veil covering her front. Barbara Eden has saidContinue reading “I Dream of Jeannie premiere”