Author Archives: dcaligari

July 27, 1586 – Sir Walter Raleigh and some of his men returned to England and disembarked at Plymouth smoking tobacco from pipes, which caused a sensation, on this date. William Camden, a contemporary witness, reports that “These men who were thus brought back were the first that I know of that brought into EnglandContinue reading “Smoke em if you got em”

July 27, 1968 –Cass Elliot releases her first solo single, Dream a Little Dream of Me following the break up of The Mamas and Papas on this date. This song was written in 1931 and became a popular standard in depression-era America. Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt composed the music and Gus Kahn wrote theContinue reading “Dream a Little Dream of Me was dropped”

July 27, 1983 –Little Tommy’s break out film, Risky Business, opened on this date. This film is not, as usually noted, an above average teenage sex comedy but the precursor to ‘Greed is Good‘ mantra that sunk this country for years to come. The sunglasses Joel wears are the Ray-Ban Wayfarer model. Annual sales ofContinue reading “Risky Business premiered”

July 27, 1984 –Warner Bros. gift to an unsuspecting world, Purple Rain, starring Prince, opened on this date. A few days before the premiere, Prince had a nightmare that Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert despised the film, with Ebert ripping the film apart. He said, “I dreamed those two guys on the TV were reviewingContinue reading “Purple Rain premiered”

July 27, 1940 –Bugs Bunny made his debut in a cartoon called A Wild Hare, on this day. Warner Brothers’ writers and animators set out to make a rabbit who would be the epitome of cool. They modeled bugs on Groucho Marx with a carrot instead of a cigar. Mel Blanc gave him a BrooklynContinue reading “I AM A WABBIT!”

July 26, 1959 –There was a partial nuclear reactor meltdown at Rocketdyne’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, on this date. Little known outside of the area, the nuclear accident released far more radiation that the Three Mile Island accident. A report in 2006 said it may have caused hundredsContinue reading “The Santa Susana Field Laboratory meltdown”

July 26, 1979 –The Clash releases their first U.S. single, I Fought the Law on this date. This was written by Sonny Curtis, who was a member of The Crickets (Buddy Holly’s group). The Crickets recorded it shortly after Buddy Holly’s death in 1959 and released it on their 1960 album In Style With TheContinue reading “I Fought the Law dropped”

July 26, 1895 –Presidents are made, not born. That’s a good thing to remember. It’s silly to think that Presidents are born, because very few people are 35 years old at birth, and those who are won’t admit it. Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen, the brilliant comedian and actor, and better half of the BurnsContinue reading “Gracie Allen”

July 26, 2006 –The directorial debut of the husband-wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Little Miss Sunshine, starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Arkin, went into limited release on this date. All of the girls acting as participants in the “Little Miss Sunshine” beauty pageant, exceptContinue reading “Little Miss Sunshine opened”

July 26, 1951 –Walt Disney’s 13th animated feature, Alice in Wonderland, debuted in the UK and New York City on this date. Continuing the pattern of film versions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland not being commercially successful, this movie was a huge box office failure. However, it did become something of a cult film duringContinue reading “Alice in Wonderland premiered”