Author Archives: dcaligari

February 15, 1979 –There’s no real reason to post this except that it really occurred – The Temple City Kazoo Orchestra appeared on the Mike Douglas Show, on this date. (In case you don’t know, members Harold Bronson and Richard Foos are the founders of Rhino Records.) Hopefully that made your day a little better.

February 15, 1987 – >Broadcast over the course of seven nights, Amerika, premiered on ABC-TV on this date. Amerika sparked much controversy from many camps long before it even aired. Many liberals dismissed the mini-series as right wing paranoia, while many conservatives complained that the Soviet brutality that was depicted was seriously underplayed. Several re-writesContinue reading “The mini-series Amerika premiered”

February 14, 1998 –The Fox Broadcasting Company aired the 914th episode of The Simpsons, Das Bus, on this date. In the episode, Bill Gates offers to buy out Homer’s Internet start-up, Compu-Global-Hyper-Mega-Net. Instead of actually buying the company, two of his goons trash the office. To suggest that Microsoft would actual do such a thingContinue reading “Das Bus premiered”

February 14, 1962 – First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, with her breathless voice, took television viewers on a tour of the White House, on CBS TV, on this date. (Haven’t you always found it strange that Marylin Monroe and Jackie Kennedy basically had the same voice?) It was estimated that hundreds of millions of people sawContinue reading “Jackie showed off her family’s temporary digs”

February 14, 1969 –The Star Trek episode Requiem for Methuselah first airs on this date. In it, the crew is confronted by a reclusive immortal on an isolated planet while searching for a cure to a rare disease. When the show repeated in September of that year, it was the last official telecast of theContinue reading “Requiem for Methuselah premiered”

February 14, 1972 –Starting on this date, The Mike Douglas Show broadcast a full week, five shows, with co-hosts John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Mike Douglas described the experience this way: “It was probably the most memorable week I did in all my 20-something years on air.” Although it wasn’t all fun and games, twoContinue reading “John and Yoko Stayed the whole week on Mike Douglas”

February 13th, 1966 – The Rolling Stones returned for their third appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on this date. Their performances had been taped the day before.

February 13, 1932 –The Our Gang short, Free Eats premiered on this date. This marked the introduction of George “Spanky” McFarland to the Our Gang comedies. Spanky McFarland’s career lasted a decade, approximately, as his career at Our Gang concluded in 1942 short, Unexpected Riches.

February 13th, 1983 –Marvin Gaye sang the National Anthem at the 33rd National Basketball Association All-Star Game at The Forum in Inglewood, California, on this date. Gaye’s rendition went on to become one of the most legendary performances of The Star Spangled Banner in sports history. The performance unconventionally made use of a drum machine.Continue reading “Finally, someone sang it the right way”

February 13, 1996 –The Fugees release their second and final album, The Score, on this date. The band broke up a few months later. At the time of the release of the album, Lauren Hill was still taking classes at Columbia University; when their record company had her and her bandmates appear at a NewContinue reading “The Score went on sale”