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July 11, 1965 –One of the 60s best Beach movies, Beach Blanket Bingo opened today. In the scene where Don Rickles is doing his comedy routine, everyone in the club is laughing, except Buster Keaton (who can be seen in the background) indicating that he didn’t think Rickles was particularly funny (and didn’t realize heContinue reading “Beach Blanket Bingo premiered”

July 11, 1942 – A classic 40s Merrie Melodies cartoon, Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid was released on this date. The part where Bugs and Killer are temporarily fooled into thinking that the bones are theirs is a reference to a Harold Lloyd film, The Freshman.

July 11, 1970 –Three Dog Night started a two-week run at No.1 in the US with their version of the Randy Newman song Mama Told Me Not To Come, which was also a No.3 hit in the UK. The song was first covered by Eric Burdon on his first solo album in 1966 and gaveContinue reading “Mama Told Me Not To Come topped the charts”

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”