Author Archives: dcaligari

July 17 1913 –On this date, audiences attending the silent film A Noise from the Deep observed Mabel Normand striking Fatty Arbuckle in the face with a pie. It was purportedly the first use of the pie-in-the-face routine in film history. It may not seem that remarkable when you consider how much history there’d beenContinue reading “Thoughts on Pie”

July 17, 1968 –The premiere of the drug-induced, Big Blue Meanie-infested cartoon Beatles film Yellow Submarine, was held at the London Pavilion on this date. The Beatles hated The Beatles, the television cartoon show of them, which was also produced by Al Brodax and George Dunning. When the producers approached them about this movie, theContinue reading “Yellow Submarine premiered”

July 17, 1943 –Originally released in B & W (re-release as a color version in 1968 and 1990,) Porky Pig’s Feat premiered on this date. This is the first time the Raymond Scott composition Powerhouse is used in a Warner Bros. cartoon. A rare appearance for Porky Pig (his last appearance in a black andContinue reading “Porky Pig’s Feat premiered”

July 16, 1951 –The Catcher in the Rye was published 71 years ago today. The book contained secret code words by means of which its author, J.D. Salinger, was able to communicate diabolical commands to his evil minions. Exactly six years after the Trinity test, and fourteen years later, the tunnel connecting France and ItalyContinue reading “The Catcher in the Rye was published”

July 16, 1969 –53 years ago on this date, the 363-foot-tall Apollo 11 space vehicle was launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, at 9:37 a.m. (As I have gotten older, I have only now put it together that some sick puppies at NASA (probably some of the ‘“Good Germans‘) arranged toContinue reading “Apollo 11 launched”

July 16, 1945 –…If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One – I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds…. – thus began the Atomic Age. Fittingly, in a desert named Jornada del Muerto (Journey of Death,) code-named Trinity, theContinue reading “Testing the first atomic bomb”

July 16, 2000 –Coldplay went to No. #1 on the UK album charts on this date with their debut release Parachutes. The album produced four singles: Shiver, Yellow, Trouble, and Don’t Panic. Parachutes later went on to earn the British outfit their first Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2002.

July 15, 1799 –The Rosetta Stone is an Ancient Egyptian artifact which was instrumental in advancing modern understanding of hieroglyphic writing. The stone is a Ptolemaic era stele with carved text. The text is made up of three translations of a single passage, written in two Egyptian language scripts (hieroglyphic and Demotic), and in classicalContinue reading “The Rosetta Stone was found on this date”

July 15, 1946 –I didn’t think I was a famous singer. I didn’t think I was a star or that I could make the waters part – just that singing was what I was going to do. Linda Maria Ronstadt, singer and actress was born in Tucson, Arizona on this date. (Send her your goodContinue reading “Linda Ronstadt”

July 15, 1972 –Elton John’s fifth studio album, Honky Chateau, reached No. #1 on the US Billboard Charts, on this date, making it the first of John’s seven consecutive US No. #1 album. The album was recorded at Château d’Hérouville, Hérouville, France, in January 1972. At the time, the studio was known as “Strawberry Studios,”Continue reading “Honky Chateau hits the top of the charts”