Author Archives: dcaligari

May 23, 1430 –The French, they are a strange race. A little french shepherdess goes out into a field for a picnic. And instead of getting food poisoning, which was common, heard the voice of God, which is not. Joan, heeding God’s command, heads the army of France to rout the English and help crownContinue reading “She came riding through the dark …”

May 23, 1929 –Walt Disney released the ninth film in the Mickey Mouse film series, The Karnival Kid on this date This is first cartoon in which Mickey Mouse speaks. His first words are “Hot dogs!“

May 23, 1980 –Stanley Kubrick’s classic horror thriller The Shining, opened on this date (I remember seeing it at the midnight showing on this date in Time Square.) There were so many changes to the script during shooting (a scene change was made almost daily) that Jack Nicholson claimed he stopped reading it. He wouldContinue reading “The Shining premiered”

Today is World Turtle Day. The purpose of World Turtle Day, sponsored yearly since 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue, is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive. It’s celebrated worldwide in a variety of ways, from dressing upContinue reading “Wasn’t it World Turtle Day just last week”

May 22, 1969 –The lunar module of Apollo 10 (named Snoopy, with Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene A. Cernan aboard) separated from the command module, on this date, (named Charlie Brown piloted by John W. Young) and flew to within nine miles of the Moon’s surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing.Continue reading “LEM of Apollo 10 separates from command module on this date”

May 22, 1965 –The Beatles single, Ticket to Ride hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts on this date. Most Americans at the time, concluded the “ticket” was from British Railways, and “ride” was the town of Ryde on the Isle of Wight. McCartney confessed to his biographer Barry Miles that they were partly right.Continue reading “Ticket to Ride hits No. 1”

May 22, 1992 –The man most of America went to bed with every night for 30 years, finally got tired of having to try to satisfy so many people. Johnny Carson’s final appearance on The Tonight Show was broadcast on this date. The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson remained a fixture on NBC through theContinue reading “The last Today Show with Johnny Carson airs”

May 21, 1983 –David Bowie, with guitar work courtesy of Stevie Ray Vaughan reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with Let’s Dance, which stayed on top for one week. On the surface, this song is about dancing with a lover, but according to Nile Rodgers, there’s a deeper meaning. He toldContinue reading “Let’s Dance hits No. 1”

May 21, 1992 –Bette Midler, the last scheduled guest, sang a touching impromptu duet with Johnny Carson, on the Tonight Show, on this date. (This was the apex of TV. It hasn’t gotten any better than this.) This penultimate show was immediately recognized as a television classic, and Midler would win an Emmy Award forContinue reading “Johnny Carson’s last guests”

May 21, 1971 – Regarded as one of the landmark recordings in pop music history, and one of the greatest albums of the 20th century, Marvin Gaye’s eleventh studio album What’s Going On, was released on this date. The What’s Going On album takes on many issues, including the environment (Mercy Mercy Me) and povertyContinue reading “What’s Going On released”