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January 12, 1944 – Probably Alfred Hitchcock’s most underrated film, Lifeboat, opened in NYC on this date. This movie was shot entirely on a restricted set in which the boat was secured in a large studio tank. Alfred Hitchcock, always striving for realism, insisted that the boat never remain stationary and that there always beContinue reading “Hitchcock made his cameo appearance”

January 12, 1967 – You’re pretty high and far out son, what kind of kick are you on son? Dragnet reappeared in color when their iconic episode The LSD Story premiered on this date. When the revival was in the planning stages, Jack Webb had originally planned on bringing in his former co-star Ben AlexanderContinue reading “Dragnet… now in color”

January 12, 1992 – “… My instructor was Mr. Langley, and he taught me to sing a song. If you’d like to hear it I can sing it for you.” The HAL (Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic Computer) 9000 computer became operational in the HAL plant in Urbana, Illinois, on this date in the film, 2001, AContinue reading “The Robot Wars started on this date”

January 11, 1980 –The Pretenders eponymous album Pretenders debuted on this date in the UK. In the UK, three singles were released before the album appeared. The first was a cover of The Kinks song Stop Your Sobbing, which was released in January 1979 and reached #34 in March 1979. Kid followed in June, goingContinue reading “I like the way you cross the street”

January 11, 1940 –The classic newspaper comedy, His Girl Friday, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, premiered in New York on this date. During the 1930s, Howard Hawks was hosting a dinner party when the topic of dialogue was brought up. He pulled out a copy of The Front Page to demonstrate the snappy exchangesContinue reading “His Girl Friday premiered”

January 11, 1972 –The TV movie, Kolchak, The Night Stalker, starring Darren McGavin premiered on ABC-TV on this date. The original script by Richard Matheson called for Carl Kolchak to be dressed in Bermuda shorts and wearing an Aloha shirt. Actor Darren McGavin said, “That doesn’t sound like anyone I know,” and elected to useContinue reading “Kolchak’s coming back in style.”

Today is the start of National Mocktail Week – January 11-17, in honor of Dry January. In case that’s not how you roll, feel free to celebrate Hot Toddy Day today.

Harry Gordon Selfridge was born on January 11, 1864. Though American-born, he is best known as the founder of the British department store Selfridges & Co., Ltd. (Think Macy’s, for those of you unfamiliar with the store.) He receives little or no attention here in the United States. His name does not appear in textbooks,Continue reading “No man goes before his time – unless the boss leaves early.”

January 10, 1964 –Introducing the Beatles, the first Beatles album is released in the US by Vee-Jay Records. Originally scheduled for a July 1963 release, the LP came out on this date,ten days before Capitol’s Meet the Beatles! The first editions of the LP were halted after Vee-Jay received a restraining order from Beechwood Music,Continue reading “(Follow along, this is complicated …)”

In the springtime, the heart regrows hope There are 69 days until Spring, but I don’t think the weather has decided what season it’s supposed to be. There’s something else to celebrate – The Reverse Manhattanhenge – But what is Reverse Manhattanhenge? Opposite of Manhattanhenge – which occurs when the sun sets on the ManhattanContinue reading “It soon will be here”