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April 20, 1981 –ABC unceremoniously aired the final episode of Soap, leaving many of the plotlines unresolved. Susan Harris, the creator of the series, went on to create The Golden Girls and Empty Nest, using many of the same actors who first appeared on Soap.

April 20, 1939 –During the 1939 World’s Fair, David Sarnoff, president of RCA, unveiled the first commercial publicly accessible television broadcast, on this date. In Flushing NY, Sarnoff proclaimed “Now we add sight to sound” and during the opening ceremonies of the fair on April 30th, FDR became the first president to ever be televised.Continue reading “Broadcast TV began”

April 20, 1976 –George Harrison, who is good friends with Eric Idle, joined Monty Python on stage at the comedy troupe’s show at New York’s City Center, on this date. Dressed as a Canadian Mountie, Harrison joins the chorus for The Lumberjack Song. No mention is made of Harrison’s appearance, and few in the audienceContinue reading “He’s a lumberjack, and he’s OK”

Bunkies, if you or your kid cut school or work today, once again, lock up the snacks. They may come home with a case of the munchies. Be thankful though, they’re not out celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Klara Hitler’s bouncing baby little evil bastard named Adolf on this date in 1889, (smackContinue reading “There’s a lot going on today”

Since 2007 (give or take a year), record stores on six continents are set to celebrate Record Store Day, an annual event, held one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, in order to ‘celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store‘. Click here to see which albums areContinue reading “Put the needle on the record”

April 19, 1978 –The Patti Smith Group released the song Because the Night on this date. Bruce Springsteen wrote this song. He gave it to Patti Smith in 1976 because he thought it would suit her voice. He was also in a legal battle with his manager, Mike Appel, that kept him from recording forContinue reading “Because the Night was dropped”

April 19, 1935 – James Whale’s brilliant sequel to Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Elsa Lanchester, Ernest Thesiger, and Oliver Peters Heggie, opened in the U.S. on this date. Boris Karloff protested against the decision to make The Monster speak, but was overruled. Since he was required to speak inContinue reading “The Bride of Frankenstein premiered”

April 19, 1987 – The short-lived but critically acclaimed series, Duet, starring Mary Page Keller, Matthew Laurance, Allison La Placa, and Chris Lemmon, debuted on the Fox Network, on this date. The series was part of the original Sunday prime time line up for the network that launched in April 1987. Alison La Placa wasContinue reading “Duet premiered”

April 19, 1987 –The Simpsons make their television debut in the short Good Night – a segment for The Tracey Ullman Show. (I had to hang around the murky world of the internet underground to get this blurry copy of the clip. I’d like to show you a better version of the clip but theContinue reading “I wonder whatever happened to The Simpsons”

Today commemorates the first recorded ‘on purpose‘ LSD trip taken by Albert Hofmann, on this date in 1943, (Hoffman ‘accidentially‘ dosed himself three days previously.) If you are going to celebrate the holiday, remember to titrate your trip correctly.