Category Archives: Uncategorized

July 30, 2004 –The surprise hit stoner film, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, starring John Cho, Kal Penn, and the very funny Neil Patrick Harris, opened on this date. Neil Patrick Harris plays a character named “Neil Patrick Harris” and is billed as such rather than being billed “as himself.” According to anContinue reading “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle premiered”

July 30, 1966 – The Dynamic Duo made the jump from the TV scene to the movie scene – Batman, The Movie, opened in Austin, Texas on this date. A follow up film was at one point considered. The film would have been released between seasons two and three, and would have been used toContinue reading “Batman, The Movie premiered”

July 30, 1947 –As the ‘Siegfried‘ leitmotif from Act III of Wagner’s opera played in the background – Arnold Schwarzenegger, the last gasp of the dream of the Aryan ‘Uberman‘, was spawned on this date. I’m not quite sure that an overly greased muscle man in a speedo (who would become the governor of aContinue reading “Arnold Schwarzenegger”

July 29, 1972 –Gilbert O’Sullivan topped the charts with his hit Alone Again (Naturally) on this date. (I will not take responsibility for the following ear worm.) This was Irish-born singer Gilbert O’Sullivan’s only American #1. It sold 2 million copies, spent six weeks at the summit in America and earned him three Grammy AwardContinue reading “Listen to the clip at your own risk”

July 29, 1965 – The Beatles movie Help! opened in London on this date. By Paul McCartney’s and Ringo Starr’s own admission, they were so stoned on pot the day they shot the scene where Dr. Foot (Victor Spinetti) and Algernon (Roy Kinnear) tried to blow them up in the Austrian Alps, that when GeorgeContinue reading “Help! premiered”

July 29, 1982 –Professional wrestler Jerry Lawler slapped actor Andy Kaufman in the face on the program Late Night with David Letterman, a staged event that prompted a several month ‘war’ between the two of them. It remains among the greatest Letterman moments of all time. The video went viral long before the Internet gaveContinue reading “Andy Kaufman’s smackdown”

July 29, 1983 –NBC’s answer to MTV, Friday Night Videos, debuted on this date. The show, created by Dick Ebersol, had some big-name artists and videos, and there was a fun segment called Video Vote, which pitted two artists/videos against one another to see who fans enjoyed the most (submitting their votes via a 900Continue reading “Friday Night Videos premiered”

July 28, 1945 –A US Army B-25 bomber crashes into the Empire State Building between the 78th and 79th floors. An engine plunges down an elevator shaft, sparking a fire in the basement. Eleven people in the building were killed, in addition to the three man bomber crew. Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver survived aContinue reading “Plane slammed into a skyscraper”

July 28, 1948 – Bud and Lou’s biggest box-office success, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, opened on this date, (this was one of my favorite childhood films.) The scene in which Wilbur (Lou Costello) is unknowingly sitting on the lap of Frankenstein’s monster (Glenn Strange) required multiple takes. The scene allowed Costello to improvise wildly,Continue reading “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein premiered”

July 28, 1957 –Jerry Lee Lewis appeared of TV for the first time when he performed on The Steve Allen Show on this date. Only a year earlier, Allen humiliated Elvis by making him appear in a tuxedo, singing Hound Dog to a dog, in an attempt to desexuallize Elvis‘ performance. Well, Jerry Lee LewisContinue reading “The Killer did a whole lot of shaking on Steve Allen’s”