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May 19, 1962 –Democrats staged a fund-raiser in New York’s Madison Square Garden that was billed as a birthday salute to President John F. Kennedy on this date. JFK thanked Marilyn, saying, “I can now retire from politics after having had ‘Happy Birthday’ sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way.” It takes aContinue reading “There a lesson here, somewhere”

May 19, 1994 – The last episode of In Living Color, aired on Fox TV, on this date. Keenen Ivory Wayans left the show in the middle of the fourth season over disputes with Fox about censoring the show’s content and rerunning early episodes without his consultation. At the end of the season, Kim WayansContinue reading “The finale of In Living Color”

May 19, 1986 –Peter Gabriel’s fifth solo album So was released, on this date. Many of its songs reflect conventional pop-writing style and became Gabriel’s first radio hits, including Sledgehammer, In Your Eyes, and Big Time. So was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1987 but lost to Paul Simon’sContinue reading “So went on sale”

May 18, 1896 –Bram Stoker’s novel, retitled just before its release on this date, as Dracula, tells the story of the Count’s attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and his subsequent battle with a group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Over 200 films have featured Dracula in a majorContinue reading “Dracula went on sale”

May 18, 1976 –Warren Zevon released his self-titled album, produced by Jackson Browne, on this date. Warren Zevon’s eponymous second album came out six years after his first. In the years between, he took musical odd jobs like writing jingles, but he also performed and caught the attention of Jackson Browne, who helped him landContinue reading “Warren Zevon’s eponymous album went on sale”

May 18, 1998 – The final episode (or so we thought) of Murphy Brown, Never Can Say Goodbye, aired on CBS-TV on this date. (The re-boot of the series ran for about a year.) One of the running series jokes was Murphy Brown’s inability to get a good secretary or one that could work withContinue reading “The finale of the original Murphy Brown series”

May 18, 1990 –For a reason few people really understand, CBS TV aired the TV film, Return to Green Acres, on this date. It was reported that Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor were extremely close friends during the run of the show and the chemistry between them often showed in scenes where they were inContinue reading “Return to Green Acres premiered”

May 17, 1980 –Blondie’s single Call Me by reached No. #1 on the Billboard charts on this date. Call Me was the most successful of all Blondie singles in the USA, where it was the best-selling single of 1980.

May 17, 1950 –Nicholas Ray’s excellent film noir, In a Lonely Place, starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame premiered on this date. Lauren Bacall and Ginger Rogers were considered for the role of Laurel Gray. Bogart naturally wanted his wife to play opposite him, but Warner Brothers refused to release her from her contract. RogersContinue reading “In a Lonely Place premiered”

May 17, 1969 –The fourth studio album by The Who, Tommy, a double album, was released in the US on this date. The song, Pinball Wizard, was the last one written for the album. Pete Townshend wrote it, in part, to impress a rock critic named Nik Cohn who was a pinball fanatic. The ployContinue reading “Tommy went on sale”