Author Archives: dcaligari

November 11, 1985 –One of the first major films dealing with AIDS, An Early Frost, starring Aidan Quinn, Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, and Sylvia Sidney, first aired on NBC-TV on this date. Aidan Quinn (Michael) remembers that NBC’s Standards and Practices department were a constant (in Quinn’s words, “hovering“) presence on the set. They regulatedContinue reading “An Early Frost premiered”

November 11, 397 –St. Martin of Tours, another in the series of anorexic visionaries, patron saint of France, soldiers (he is known as the he man’s saint), reformed alcoholics and winemakers, died on this date. When the armistice fell on the Saint Martin’s Day, November 11, 1918, the French people saw it was a signContinue reading “Saint Martin’s Day”

November 10, 1969 –Come and play. Even at 56, everything’s still A-OK (even on HBO.) Sesame Street premiered on PBS-TV on this date.

November 10, 1974 –Bob Fosse’s devastating bio-pix about Lenny Bruce, Lenny, starring Dustin Hoffman and Valerie Perrine opened in NYC on this date. The scene in which Lenny does his act in a raincoat, near the end of the film, came from a real-life show that a student tape-recorded and sent to Dustin Hoffman. Lenny’sContinue reading “Lenny premiered”

November 10, 1953 –Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom was an educational Adventures in Music animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions, and originally released to theaters by Buena Vista Distribution on this date. This was a “sequel” of sorts to 1953’s Adventures in Music: Melody. This was originally meant to be an ongoing seriesContinue reading “Disney in CinemaScope”

November 10, 1975 –Arista Records released Patti Smith’s debut album, Horses, on this date. The origin of the Horses album lies in the inception of a poem Patti Smith wrote called Oath when she was around 20. It began, “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine.” She explained to Mojo magazine: “It was myContinue reading “Jesus died for somebody’s sins … but not mine”

November 10, 1967 –The Moody Blues released their hit, Nights in White Satin, on this date. This was written by Justin Hayward, who joined the band the previous year. He got the idea for the song after someone gave him a set of white satin sheets – yes, sometimes, it’s just that inane. The MoodyContinue reading “Letters I’ve written never meaning to send”

November 9, 1951 – The zenith of Hollywood Musical film making (I’ll let you argue about whether this or Singing in the Rain is better), An American in Paris, opened in California on this date. Despite the objections of Gene Kelly, who wanted to shoot on location in Paris, the movie was shot at MGMContinue reading “I got music, I got rhythm …”

November 9, 1972 – The adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, 1776, starring William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, John Cullum, Ken Howard and Blythe Danner, premiered in NYC on this date While it is generally accepted that John Hancock was the only one who signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, Sherman Edwards andContinue reading “Sit down, John”

November 9, 1946 – Another classic, yet surprisingly controversial Bugs Bunny outing, Rhapsody Rabbit, premiered on this date (We’ll talk about the controversy later.) Franz Liszt’s 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody music was first used in 1941’s Rhapsody in Rivets. A long-standing controversy exists between the previous cartoon and the Tom and Jerry short, The Cat Concerto.Continue reading “Coincidence – you decide!”