Author Archives: dcaligari

June 11, 1975 – Robert Altman’s classic Nashville, starring a very large ensemble cast, including, Ned Beatty, Karen Black, Ronee Blakley, Keith Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Shelley Duvall, Allen Garfield, Henry Gibson, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum, Barbara Harris, Michael Murphy, Lily Tomlin, and Keenan Wynn, premiered in New York City, on this date. Robert Altman originallyContinue reading “Nashville premiered”

June 11, 1938 – The Merrie Melodies short, Katnip Kollege, directed by Ben Hardawayand Cal Dalton, debuted on this date. Cuddling and singing about romance was about as far as the censors would allow at the time, even for animated felines.

June 11, 1949 – The Merrie Melodies short, Mouse Mazurka, directed by Friz Freleng, starring Sylvester the Cat, debuted on this date. A made up bucolic Central-Eastern European country is shown here, as is an inference to a mad experimenting scientist (who apparently owns the very latest model of water coolers). Both were popular plotContinue reading “Mouse Mazurka premiered”

June 11, 1955 – The Looney Tunes short, Rabbit Rampage, directed by Chuck Jones, starring Bugs Bunny, debuted on this date. This cartoon is a successor to Duck Amuck, with Bugs as the victim and Elmer as the animator. However, unlike Daffy in the aforementioned short, Bugs seems to know the animator’s identity in thisContinue reading “Rabbit Rampage premiered”

June 11, 1977 –Electric Light Orchestra’s record Telephone Line reached #7 on the Billboard Charts in the US, giving the band its first gold single. ELO’s first manager was Don Arden. When he lost interest in the group, he gave them to his daughter Sharon who ran Jet Records. Sharon married Ozzy Osbourne a fewContinue reading “Just let it ring a little longer”

June 10, 1966 –The Beatles song Paperback Writer was released in UK, on this date. This claimed the top spot in the US for two non-consecutive weeks; it was interrupted for one week by Frank Sinatra’s Strangers in the Night.

Today is National Black Cow Day – Everybody grab a root beer float today and run around to celebrate. Especially if you add bourbon to the drink. According to several websites, the Black Cow was made by Frank J. Wisner, of Cripple Creek, Colo., in 1893. He was already making sodas for the people ofContinue reading “Down to Greene Street”

June 10, 1939 – MGM released the first cartoon in the Barney Bear series, The Bear That Couldn’t Sleep, on this date. Barney Bear was a character patterned after actor Wallace Beery, a character actor known for playing gruff but lovable characters, as well as the occasional villain.

June 10, 1933 –The charming Merrie Melodies short, I Like Mountain Music, directed by Rudolf Ising, was released on this date. The cartoon contains caricatures of popular personalities of the period include Eddie Cantor, Will Rogers, Ed Wynn, Edward G. Robinson, George Arliss, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and King Kong.

June 10, 1975 – The comedy, Love and Death, directed by Woody Allen and starring Woody Allen, and Diane Keaton, opened on this date. The movie is considered a spoof of the Russian novel, particularly the works of Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky, particularly The Idiot, The Gambler, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, Crime andContinue reading “Love and Death premiered”