Author Archives: dcaligari

June 6, 1953 –The WWII movie Stalag 17, directed by Billy Wilder, and starring William Holden, Don Taylor, Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck, Peter Graves, Neville Brand, Richard Erdman, Sig Ruman, and Otto Preminger, opened on this date. Otto Preminger always claimed that, as a director, he would only shout at actors if they were lateContinue reading “Stalag 17 premiered”

Today is National Donut Day. The holiday began as a fundraiser for the Salvation Army in 1938. It is celebrated annually on the first Friday of June, and honors all the female volunteers who served donuts to soldiers behind the front lines during World War I. (And if you hurry maybe Ben will be workingContinue reading “A suggestion for breakfast this morning”

Do you have anything else to do today? Perhaps you should do it. Today is Dead Duck Day, an annual event celebrated at the Natural History Museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It’s the anniversary of the first known observation of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck.< Now that you know, you may go about yourContinue reading “Sometimes, it doesn’t pay to know certain things”

June 5, 1998 –Peter Weir’s underrated film, The Truman Show (often credited with predicting the reality television phenomenon,) starring Jim Carrey, Laura Linney and Ed Harris, opened on this date. According to a 2008 New York Times article, psychologists in Britain and the U.S. reported a number of people experiencing “Truman Syndrome” or “the TrumanContinue reading “The Truman Show premiered”

June 5, 1968 –The mystery film, Jigsaw, directed by James Goldstone, and starring, Bradford Dillman, Harry Guardino, Michael J. Pollard, Susan Saint James, Hope Lange, and Diana Hyland, opened on this date. (This was a remake of the film Mirage, released in 1965.) This was originally planned to be a television movie. However due toContinue reading “Jigsaw premiered”

June 5, 1954 – The Looney Tunes short, Little Boy Boo, directed by Bob McKimson, starring Foghorn Leghorn, debuted on this date. Widow hen not only breaks the fourth wall, she addresses Foghorn by his proper name, Mr. Leghorn.

June 5, 1975 –… Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!… During the Wish You Were Here recording sessions on this date, Syd Barrett just happens to wander into Abbey Road studio while Pink Floyd were mixing Shine On You Crazy Diamond, a song written about Barrett. At first, none of Syd’sContinue reading “You never know when you’ll meet an old friend”

June 4, 1983 –The Police started a four week run at No.1 in the UK with a cut from their album Synchronicity, Every Breath You Take, (the group’s fifth and final No.1 single,) on this date. Sting wrote this at the same desk in Jamaica where Ian Fleming wrote his James Bond novels. By thisContinue reading “… Every bond you break …”

June 4, 1938 – Another extremely funny Warner Bros. Cartoon, Porky the Fireman, was released on this date. The director, Frank Tashlin, is one of the few directors to successfully make the transition from animation to live-action, noted especially for his work with Jerry Lewis. Tashlin never made a picture that couldn’t be slotted firmlyContinue reading “Porky the Fireman opened”

June 4, 1960 – The Looney Tunes short, Rabbit’s Feat, directed by Chuck Jones, starring Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote, debuted on this date. Wile E. Coyote speaks out loud here, which he does not do when pursuing his other nemesis, the Roadrunner.