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October 19, 1984 – One of the greatest concert movies, the Talking Heads film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathon Demme opens in the US on this date. Jonathan Demme wanted to shoot additional performance footage on a soundstage made to recreate the Pantages Theater. The band vetoed this idea because they thought the lackContinue reading “Stop Making Sense (the film) opened”

In the midst of the First World War, Salvation Army volunteers in France found themselves stymied by inadequate supplies and a lack of proper ovens for baking. Unable to prepare the cakes and pies they so dearly wanted to make for the troops, they came up with a novel idea: frying the dough instead ofContinue reading “I bet Homer Simpson celebrates this day”

October 18, 1953 – The live Peter Brooks‘ Omnibus production of King Lear starring Orson Welles, Micheál Mac Liammóir, Natasha Parry, Arnold Moss and Beatrice Straight premiered on CBS-TV on this date. This was the TV debut of Orson Welles This adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play cuts out the subplot involving Edmund, Edgar and theirContinue reading “Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!”

October 18, 1957 –Given almost complete control of the program, the eponymously named The Frank Sinatra Show, a variety/drama anthology series, debuted on ABC on this date. Sinatra wanted to do a dramatic television series, while the ABC television network wanted him to host a variety show. The star and the network compromised – 13Continue reading “Frank got another TV series”

October 18, 1975 – The second-ever episode of Saturday Night Live was notable for the reunion of Simon & Garfunkel on this date. This show marked the first public appearance of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel together since 1972. There are 10 musical performances in this episode, the most ever for the show. The NotContinue reading “Oh yes, they did have a bit of comedy on”

October 18, 1967 – The 19th animated feature and the first film Disney Studios released after Walt Disney’s death, Jungle Book, opened on this date. The original child actor who voiced Mowgli, David Alan Bailey, had to be let go as his voice broke during the film’s three-year production.

October 18, 1968 –The police with the help of two sniffer dogs named Yogi and Boo-Boo, on this date, raided the apartment of John Lennon and Yoko Ono and finds a very small amount of pot. The couple is fined £150. Musicians smoking dope – Shocking! Shocking!

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.