April 15, 1923 –Dr. Lee De Forest demonstrates his Phonofilm sound-on-film process to the first paying movie audience at an invitation-only event at the Rialto Theater in New York City. (I’ve seen the date listed as March 12 as well.) Dr. De Forest received in 1959 an honorary Oscar from the Academy of Motion PictureContinue reading “Big development in sound motion pictures”
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In Living Color first aired
April 15, 1990 –Fox TV premiered the Wayans Bros. comedy series In Living Color on this date. According to an Oscar profile in Entertainment Weekly, Thomas Haden Church auditioned for a spot on the show, but was edged out by Jim Carrey.
We first heard about the New York Mining Disaster 1941
April 14, 1967 –The Bee Gees released their single in England, New York Mining Disaster 1941, on this date. There was no mining disaster in New York in 1941, although there was one in McIntire, Pennsylvania which killed 6 people. The song though appears to have been vaguely inspired by the Aberfan tragedy in SouthContinue reading “We first heard about the New York Mining Disaster 1941”
Impress your friends with this knowledge
April 14, 1883 –Leo Delibes’ opera Lakme, premiered in Paris on this date. The main reason you’ve probably even know this opera is because of the duet, Viens and Mallika sing, Les Liens en Fleurs (The Flower Duet) in Act I has become widely used in ads, as well as in films (I’ll stop now.)Continue reading “Impress your friends with this knowledge”
The Notorious Bettie Page premiered
April 14, 2006 –The bio-pix film about the 1950s pinup and bondage model Bettie Page, The Notorious Bettie Page, directed by Mary Harron and starring Gretchen Mol was released in the US, on this date. A good friend of Bettie’s, Hugh Hefner held a private screening of this movie for Bettie Page and a smallContinue reading “The Notorious Bettie Page premiered”
This was the last time they were all the Monkees for a while
April 14, 1969 –The bizarre 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee TV special starring The Pre-fab four, The Monkees, aired on NBC TV, on this date. This TV special was going to be the first of three such specials starring The Monkees, but the other two were scrapped after this one turned out to be aContinue reading “This was the last time they were all the Monkees for a while”
The Shooting of Dan McGoo premiered
April 14, 1945 – Tex Avery retooled his Warner Brothers cartoon, Dangerous Dan McFoo, and remade it for MGM as The Shooting of Dan McGoo. It was released on this date. This is probably the better version, but what do I know.
What you plant now, you will harvest later
It’s International Plant Appreciation Day. Cut flowers fade away, while a potted plant, especially a flowering one, brings long-lasting pleasure. But after the clip you may want to see some plants cut down. So now you know.
First time win
April 13, 1964 –Sidney Poitier became the first African-American male to win the Best Actor Academy Award for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field, on this date. However, whatever satisfaction Poitier felt winning this award was undercut by his concern that he won not because Hollywood had shown enlightened thinking, but rather he wasContinue reading “First time win”
Casino Royale premiered (no, not that one)
April 13, 1967 –A very silly film, loosely Loosely based on the first James Bond novel by Ian Fleming, Casino Royale, directed by John Huston, Ken Hughes, Robert Parrish, Joe McGrath and Val Guest and starring (among others) Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, David Niven, Woody Allen, Joanna Pettet, Orson Welles, Daliah Lavi, Deborah Kerr, WilliamContinue reading “Casino Royale premiered (no, not that one)”
