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July 10, 1966 –The follow-up to the Japanese science fiction television series produced by Tsuburaya Productions, Ultra Q, Ultraman, first aired in Japan on this date. (I have seen it listed as having first aired one week later July 17, 1966. Who knows, I wasn’t there.) The sequences of Ultraman battling monsters were so expensiveContinue reading “Ultraman premiered”

July 10, 1942 –Orson Welles‘ butchered masterpiece, The Magnificent Ambersons, was released by RKO Pictures, on this date. After a disastrous preview (which occurred a week after the Pearl Harbor attack,) it was clear to the execs at RKO that the film was too long, too dense and too somber. Orson Welles, however, had decampedContinue reading “The Magnificent Ambersons premiered”

July 10, 1856 –Inventor and electromechanical genius Nikola Tesla, the man who invented the 20th Century, was born to Serbian parents in what is now Croatia on this date. Remember, if we could only harness the free floating electricity, we could do away with the electric companies.

July 10, 1976 –Starland Vocal Band’s song about afternoon nooky – Afternoon Delights went to No. 1 on the Billboard Pop charts on this date. Despite having only this one hit, the Starland Vocal Band were given their own summer replacement TV series on CBS called The Starland Vocal Band in 1977. An unknown comicContinue reading “Afternoon Delights topped the charts”

July 9, 1966 –The Beatles song Paperback Writer, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Charts on this date. The B-side to this single was John Lennon’s Rain. Paul and John would always compete for the A-side of The Beatles singles.

July 9, 1945 – … dirty money always brings sorrow and sadness and misery and disgrace. Said by a man who never took a bribe. During a newspaper strike, New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia read the daily comic strips aloud on WNYC radio on this date. Co-incidentally or not, yesterday was the 99th anniversaryContinue reading “LaGuardia reads the Funnies”

July 9, 1995 –The Grateful Dead, who had been performing for 30 years, gave their last performance on this day, when they performed at Soldier Field in Chicago. During their 30 years, they performed more than 2,300 live concerts. The lead guitarist and backbone of the band, Jerry Garcia, died one month after the finalContinue reading “The last Grateful Dead show”

July 9, 2001- The mockumentary The Office, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and starring Ricky Gervais and Martin Freeman first aired on BBC Two, on this date. The series started as a small, home-made video by Stephen Merchant when he was trying to get a job at the BBC. He came up withContinue reading “The British Office premiered”

July 7, 1989 –The second single from their album The Raw & the Cooked, Good Thing by the Fine Young Cannibals, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart on this date. Fine Young Cannibals rose from the ashes of the UK band The Beat. Sometimes called “The English Beat” to distinguish them from the US PaulContinue reading “Good Thing went to No. 1”

July 8, 1969 ->The U.S. Patent Office issued a patent for the game Twister. (Yes smartpants, the game came out in 1966 but the patent wasn’t issued until this date.) Remember kids, if you are going to play nude Crisco Twister – always use protection.