Category Archives: Uncategorized

July 8, 1932 – W.C. Fields’ very funny political satire, Million Dollar Legs, opened on this date. Writer Joseph L. Mankiewicz was inspired to write this film by the wild events of the 1928 Olympic games held in Amsterdam, particularly by an Albanian pole-vaulter who took to the field wearing a pair of goatskin shorts.

July 8, 1932 – Tod Browning’s groundbreaking shockfest Freaks, featuring genuine carnival sideshow performers, opened at the Rialto theater in New York on this date. Cast member Olga Roderick, the bearded lady, later denounced the film and regretted her involvement in it. Although Roderick was the most vocal in her dislike of the movie, manyContinue reading “One of Us, One of Us”

It’s Father-Daughter take a walk together day, (Once again, two teams of high priced (non-ACME) lawyers have confirmed that – a.) I can refer to this as a ‘digital image‘,b.) I am in the digital image, andc.) I may or may not be related to two of the other people in this digital image. (Again,Continue reading “Parenthood remains the single greatest preserve of the amateur”

Today is Chocolate Day (If you’re a chocoholic, then you have two more chocolate days to celebrate! World Chocolate Day is on September 4 and National Chocolate Day is on October 28.) The date commemorates the introduction of Hershey’s Kisses on this date in 1907 and the introduction of chocolate in Europe in 1550. RememberContinue reading “Reasons to be cheerful”

July 7, 1984 –Prince’s song from his upcoming movie Purple Rain, When Doves Cry goes to #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, giving his first #1 hit, on this date. There is no bass on this song. Prince took out the bass track at the last minute to get a different sound, though he hated toContinue reading “When Doves Cry topped the charts”

July 7, 1936 –The first ever television show was broadcast by NBC/RCA on this date. It was seen by only a few hundred people who had access to the new television. The first ever program featured newsreel items, as well as a variety show of sorts, which included female dancers performing a water lily dance,Continue reading “NBC’s first TV broadcast”

July 7, 1939 –Jean Renior’s prescient masterpiece, Rules of the Game, starring Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, and Paulette Dubost, opened in Paris, France on this date (because of World War II, the film did not officially open in the US until 1950.) The fact the movie was almost lost during the war is a myth:Continue reading “Rules of the Game premiered”

July 6, 1921 –Several members of the Chicago White Sox went on trial for throwing the 1919 World Series, on this date. The White Sox players despised their owner Charles Comiskey. He was notoriously stingy. He would offer bonuses for performance and then take them back at the last minute. Gamblers knew that the playersContinue reading “The Black Sox Scandal”

July 6, 1988 –MTV refused to play Neil Young’s video for This Note’s For You, citing a policy against videos that mention products, on this date. The video is a parody of various ad campaigns, with lyrics mentioning Coke, Pepsi, Miller and Bud. Forced to admit they were refusing to air an excellent video toContinue reading “Neil Young bites the hand that feeds him”

July 6, 1964 – The Beatles‘ film Hard Day’s Night opened in London, on this date. After filming for the day on April 1, 1964, John Lennon had met his father, Alfred Lennon, for the first time in seventeen years. In the morning, Alf had walked into NEMS Enterprises (where The Beatles’ manager Brian EpsteinContinue reading “Hard Day’s Night premiered”