Author Archives: dcaligari

September 28, 1963 – The Merrie Melodies short, Aqua Duck, directed by Bob McKimson, and starring Daffy Duck, was released on this date. Final Daffy Duck cartoon directed by Robert McKimson in the classic era until Moby Duck with Speedy Gonzales in the DePatie-Freleng era.

September 28, 1957 – The Looney Tunes short, Greedy for Tweety, directed by Friz Freleng and starring Tweety Bird and Sylvester the Cat, was released on this date. https://dai.ly/x6l2zy7 Sylvester’s carefully constructed Rube Goldberg-like contraption is reminiscent of the many D-I-Y schemes launched by fellow cast member Wile E. Coyote.

September 28, 1946 – The Merrie Melodies short, Fair and Worm-er, directed by Chuck Jones, was released on this date. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3ehyq The skunk character looks (and hops) like an early Pepe Le Pew. The worm likewise sounds like an early version of the voice of fellow cast mate Tweetie Bird.

September 28, 1940 – The Merrie Melodies short, Stage Fright, directed by Chuck Jones, was released on this date. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2adm1t The tough bird in this short reappeared in The Bird Came C.O.D..

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”

September 28, 1980 –Billions and billions of brilliant moments on TV are about to be aired – Carl Sagan’s 13 part Cosmos debuted on PBS. In many episodes we see a photo of Earth showing Africa in the upper left. That is the ‘Blue Marble‘ photo taken in 1972 by Apollo 7 astronauts on theirContinue reading “Cosmos premiered”

Munich is smack dab in the middle of Oktoberfest season and here in the US we celebrate National Beer Drinking Day Today. It’s a wonderful reminder to enjoy the world’s most popular adult beverage. Today is also St. Wenceslaus’ Day, patron saint of brew masters, named after Wenceslas I the Duke of Bohemia (commemorated inContinue reading “Life is too short to drink cheap beer.”

September 27, 1980 –Kurtis Blow becomes the first rapper to perform on national television when he does The Breaks on Soul Train. The Breaks was the first rap song to sell over 500,000 copies, earning a certified Gold record. Rapper’s Delight, released a year earlier, certainly sold a lot more (as Kurtis attests), but thatContinue reading “Clap your hands, everybody”

September 27, 1958 – The Merrie Melodies short, A Bird in a Bonnet, directed by Friz Freleng and starring Tweety Bird and Sylvester the Cat, was released on this date. Sylvester does not talk in this short until the very end when he grabs Tweety through the open sunroof door in the taxi.

September 27, 1952 – The Merrie Melodies short, The EGGcited Rooster, directed by Bob McKimson and starring Foghorn Leghorn and Henery Hawk, was released on this date. This cartoon rarely airs in the United States due to Henery Hawk pretending to be a Native American and trying to scalp Foghorn.