Author Archives: dcaligari

September 28, 2013 –Miley Cyrus’ single Wrecking Ball went to No. 1 on the Billboard Charts on this date. This song was written for Beyoncé, but when it was finished, MoZella suggested she send the demo to Miley Cyrus, deeming her a better fit. MoZella had been working on some other songs for Cyrus, soContinue reading “Wrecking Ball topped the charts”

September 28, 1961 –Viewers got to spend time with the Baxter’s and their wise-cracking maid when Hazel premiered on CBS-TV on this date The house where Hazel and the Baxters lived was also used as the home of Gidget Lawrence and her father on the 1965 TV sitcom Gidget. It also served as the homeContinue reading “Oh, Mr B., Mr B.”

September 28, 1949 – The first of the 12 films Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis made, My Friend Irma, opened in New York City on this date. According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, Jack Carson was originally slated to appear as Al, but was unavailable. Marie Wilson created the role of Irma in theContinue reading “My Friend Irma premiered”

September 27, 1903 –The Southern Railway freight train, known as the Fast Mail (or “Old 97”), jumped the tracks and crashed at the Stillhouse Trestle outside Danville, Virginia, killing eleven people, on this date. The accident became a public sensation, drawing thousands of spectators to the scene and inspiring a series of musical ballads. TheContinue reading “Well, they give him his orders in Monroe, Virginia …”

Google is celebrating it’s ‘official‘ 27th birthday, despite the the fact that it has listed six other dates for it’s start.< The interesting fact is that September 27 isn’t the search giant’s birthday. The selection of September 27 as Google’s birthday seems to be a one of convenience than the actual date when the companyContinue reading “Not sure what you get a company that has and knows everything”

September 27, 1973 –Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert premiered on this date on ABC-TV, featuring The Rolling Stones first American television performance in over four years. Unlike TV music shows, such as American Bandstand, performances on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert were not lip-synched in a studio. Instead, the series featured raw, full-length performances in a liveContinue reading “The subject of Paul Shaffer’s best impersonation had his first show”

September 27, 1987 –The Dolly Parton Variety Show premiered on ABC-TV on this date The series, starring Dolly Parton, was an attempt to revive the variety show genre and was promoted as a more creative venture for Parton compared to her 1976 syndicated show of the same name.

September 27, 1991 –The very short-lived series (it only aired for eight episodes,) Princesses, starring Julie Hagerty, Fran Drescher, and Twiggy premiered on CBS TV, on this date. Even in the face of bottom five Nielsen ratings, universally-scathing reviews, behind-the-scenes problems, affiliate defections, and the general apathy of Fran Drescher and CBS programming head JeffContinue reading “This one was a real stinker”

You wouldn’t be mistaken to be a tad confused when you heard today is National Pancake Day. Sometimes, it happens on Februay 28th, sometimes it’s March 4th (either time could be Ash Wednesday, wihich makes some sort of sense.) Whenever you celebrate, (the girls and I are on the upper East Side indulging this morning,)Continue reading “It’s literally a moveable feast day”

September 26, 1945 –Secretly, I wanted to look like Jimi Hendrix, but I could never quite pull it off. Bryan Ferry (the Lord of Louche) lead singer of the group Roxy Music and solo artist, was born on this date. September 26, 2003 –Robert Palmer, the famous blue eyed soul singer also known for hisContinue reading “Bryan Ferry and Robert Palmer”