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The third Friday in October has been set aside to celebrate Global Champagne Awareness Day (or International Champagne Day) and I’m always up for celebrating something. Most champagne-lovers will already know that, in order for the sparkling nectar to be classified as “champagne“, the wine must come from the Champagne province in France. You mayContinue reading “I’ll drink to this”

Today is National Pasta Day. Pasta is one of America’s favorite foods. Collectively, the U.S. consumed 5.95 billion pounds of pasta last year. The first American pasta factory was opened in Brooklyn, New York, in 1848, by a Frenchman named Antoine Zerega. Mr. Zerega managed the entire operation with just one horse in his basementContinue reading “Life is a combination of magic and pasta”

October 17, 1958 –What is considered a comeback special, An Evening with Fred Astaire aired on NBC-TV on this date. The special was the first color show pre-recorded on videotape at NBC’s new state-of-the-art ‘Color City‘ studios in Burbank, California.

October 17, 1975 –The British science fiction television series Space: 1999, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson without the use of Supermarionation, starring Barbara Bain and Martin Landau, premiered in the US on this date. Originally conceived as a new season of UFO, which would’ve been set twenty years further into the future with theContinue reading “It’s strange to think that this aired 50 years ago today”

October 17, 1980 –Dire Straits released their third studio album, Making Movies on this date. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Making Movies number 52 in their survey of the 100 Best Albums of the Eighties. The album was the biggest selling album in Italy in 1981 with one million copies sold, with 3.8 million copies soldContinue reading “Getting crazy on the waltzers”

October 17, 1814 –Late on a Monday afternoon on this date, one of the 800lb iron restraining hoop fell off one of the two giant porter vats at the the Meux and Company Brewery on London’s Tottenham Court Road. A clerk made a note of the occurrence but thought no more of it until aboutContinue reading “That’s a lot of beer”

October 16, 1974 –The Rolling Stones release their the 12th British (and 14th American) studio album, It’s Only Rock N’ Roll, on this date. It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll was an important transitional album for the Rolling Stones. Following the departure of long-time producer Jimmy Miller, the album was self-produced by guitarist Keith Richards andContinue reading “Time waits for no one”

October 16, 1944 – Universal Pictures released the 11th Walter Lantz Woody Woodpecker cartoon, The Beach Nut, on this date. The cartoon marked the debut of Wally Walrus, Woody Woodpecker’s first steady nemesis.

October 16, 1966 – The film adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, directed by Richard Lester and starring Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, Phil Silvers, Buster Keaton, Michael Crawford, Michael Hordern, and Roy Kinnear premiered on this date. Stephen Sondheim was reportedly so upset with theContinue reading “Was 1 a good year?”

October 16, 1992 – The pilot for Gilligan’s Island was finally aired – 28 years after the series began. Although the pilot was filmed in 1963, because of cast changes, it wasn’t aired this date. The pilot’s cast differed from the series with Kit Smythe as Ginger, John Gabriel as the high school science teacher/professor,Continue reading “The original Gilligan’s Island pilot finally aired”