Category Archives: Uncategorized

November 27, 1977 – Rankin/Bass’ animated version of The Hobbit, voiced by actors Orson Bean, Richard Boone, Hans Conried, John Huston, Otto Preminger, Cyril Ritchard, and Brother Theodore, premiered on NBC TV on this date. In the book, Bilbo is knocked unconscious by a falling rock during the Battle of Five Armies immediately after seeingContinue reading “My precious. It is my precious.”

November 25, 1987 –The now classic John Hughes’ Thanksgiving film, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, starring Steve Martin and John Candy, premiered in the US on this date. On instruction from John Hughes, Edie McClurg’s role as the St. Louis rental car agent was partially improvised. Hughes told her to simply riff a fake phone conversationContinue reading “That’s not a pillow!”

November 25, 1933 –An almost forgotten horror film, The Ghoul, starring Boris Karolff , Cedric Hardwicke, and Ralph Richardson (in his film debut) opened in the U.S. on this date. For years this was regarded as a “lost film” with no prints or elements known to exist. A nitrate release print was discovered in theContinue reading “The Ghoul premiered”

November 25, 1967 –The Strawberry Alarm Clock single Incense And Peppermints hit #1 on the Billboard Charts on this date. The group’s guitarist, who co-wrote this song, was Ed King. In 1970, an unknown band called Lynyrd Skynyrd opened some shows for The Strawberry Alarm Clock, and King got to know them. In 1973, KingContinue reading “You can almost smell the patchouli”

November 24, 1965 – NBC aired the Frank Sinatra: A Man And His Music to honor Sinatra, on this date. According to the April 1966 Esquire article Frank Sinatra Has a Cold by Gay Talese, Sinatra was suffering from a cold, when he started recording this special. If you pay close attention, you can seeContinue reading “A Man And His Music premiered”

November 24, 1958 –A precursor episode to the science fiction television series The Twilight Zone, The Time Element aired on this date as part of the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse anthology series on CBS-TV. Though not the pilot episode of Rod Serling’s series, The Twilight Zone, it was Rod Serling’s production that lead to The TwilightContinue reading “The Time Element premiered”

November 24, 1996 –Crowded House played their farewell concert, performing on the steps of the Sydney Opera House to a crowd of over 100,000 (with some estimates of 250,000 people in attendance) on this date. In 2007, they got back together for a reunion tour.

November 23, 1959 –American International Pictures released one of the Classic ‘B‘ movies of the late 50s, The Angry Red Planet, in the US on this date. The 40-foot alien monster was actually a marionette about 15 inches high. It was essentially a combination of a rat, bat, spider, and crab. Master Marionette artist, BobContinue reading “The Angry Red Planet premiered”

November 23, 1969 – The Rolling Stones made an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which aired on this date, singing – Gimme Shelter, Love In Vain, and Honky Tonk Woman. They were promoting their latest album Let It Bleed. This was their sixth and final appearance on the show.

November 23, 1963 –The first episode of Doctor Who, The Unearthly Child, premiered on the BBC, on this date. Of the 253 episodes of Doctor Who that were produced in the 1960s, 97 no longer exist in the BBC Television Archives due to an archive purge between 1967 and 1978, during which BBC Enterprises destroyedContinue reading “The first time the doctor made a home call”