December 26, 1958 –Stan Freberg presents a check for $1,000 to the Hemophilia Foundation of Southern California as his royalties from the first year’s release of Green Chri$tma$, on this date. He gave all the proceeds from the song to charity, defusing any criticism that he was hypocritically profiting from the subject of his satire.
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The Godfather III opened
December 25, 1990 –Francis Ford Coppola’s much maligned sequel, The Godfather III starring everyone you would expect (except Robert Duvell, who couldn’t come to an agreement about his salary,) went into general release on this date. Francis Ford Coppola once admitted that he was still unhappy over the final result because of lack of timeContinue reading “The Godfather III opened”
To Kill a Mockingbird premiered
December 25, 1962 –Robert Mulligan’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, starring Gregory Peck and Mary Badham opened on this date. The watch used in the film was a prop, but Harper Lee gave Gregory Peck her father’s watch after the film was completed, because he reminded her so much of him.
A wonderful film to open during the holidays
December 25, 2013 –The Martin Scorsese drama The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, and Matthew McConaughey premiered in US theatres on this date. Matthew McConaughey’s scenes were shot on the second week of filming. The chest beating and humming performed by him was improvised and actually a warm-up riteContinue reading “A wonderful film to open during the holidays”
Somehow or other… it’s coming just the same.
Do you hear what I hear?< Christmas is but a day away. Although the ACME phone banks are closed, believe me, ACME factories are hard at work. So, were you naughty or nice? You may dab your eyes – It really doesn’t matter at this point, Santa knows the score.
The Big Little Jesus premiered
December 24, 1953 –Jack Webb’s series Dragnet aired a special episode, The Big Little Jesus on this date. The episode was network television’s first half-hour color film. It was the only color show of the series. Those of you with very sharp eyes can tell with some prompting that this is not the color episode.Continue reading “The Big Little Jesus premiered”
The Philadelphia Story premiered
December 24, 1940 – George Cukor’s classic film-comedy The Philadelphia Story, starring Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, and Jimmy Stewart opened on this date. The film was shot in eight weeks, and required no retakes. During the scene where James Stewart hiccups when drunk, you can see Cary Grant looking down and grinning. Since the hiccupContinue reading “The Philadelphia Story premiered”
Vitalogy topped the charts
December 24, 1994 –Pearl Jam’s third studio album Vitalogy went to No.1 position on the US album charts on this date. The Vitalogy album was released as a vinyl record two weeks before it was issued on CD. Vinyl was completely outdated and not yet retro-cool, but many people still had record players and PearlContinue reading “Vitalogy topped the charts”
Now 100% Tinsel Free!
Festivus for the rest of us As not to embarrass yourself tonight at your Festivus family gathering, here are the four tenets of the holiday: The Festivus Pole: During Festivus, an unadorned aluminum pole is displayed. The pole was chosen apparently in opposition to the commercialization of highly decorated Christmas trees, because it is “veryContinue reading “Now 100% Tinsel Free!”
Oh, poor Brian
December 23, 1964 –The Beach Boys made their first appearance on ABC-TV’s musical variety series Shindig!, on this date The performance was tape on December 14th. Besides Little Saint Nick, the band went on to perform Dance, Dance, Dance, Monster Mash, Papa Oom Mow Mow, Johnny B. Goode,and We Three Kings of Orient Are. (OnlyContinue reading “Oh, poor Brian”
