Category: September
ABBA-DABBA-DOO
September 30 in history:
“The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” might not have existed without Fred Flintstone. On September 30th, 1960, “The Flintstones” debuted on ABC. It was the first long-running animated sitcom in prime time, and it inspired spinoffs, sequels, live-action movies, breakfast cereals, and chewable vitamins.
Lewis Milestone was not a character on “The Flintstones.” He was an Oscar-winning director who had a hit movie in theaters in the fall of 1960…the original “Ocean’s Eleven.” Milestone was born on this date in 1895. He also directed the Best Picture winner for 1930…the World War One drama “All Quiet on the Western Front.”
European leaders hoping to prevent a second World War signed the Munich Pact on September 30th, 1938. The pact would allow Hitler to annex the Sudetenland portion of Czechoslovakia to Germany. The agreement has gone down in history as a monumental blunder, especially for British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who returned to England that day with a peace treaty signed by Hitler.
The most popular song in much of Europe on this date in 1976 was ”Dancing Queen” by ABBA. On September 30th, it was the number-one song in England, Ireland, Holland, Norway, and Sweden.
DODGERS, ANGELS, AND CARDINALS
September 29 in history:
Pope John Paul, formerly Cardinal Albino Luciani, died on September 29th, 1978, only 34 days after being elected. John Paul was immensely popular during his short reign as pope, prompting his successor, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, to choose the name John Paul the 2nd.
Construction on the Washington National Cathedral began on September 29th, 1907.
On that same day, “Singing Cowboy” Gene Autry was born. Autry was famous for his movies and Christmas recordings, and later in life as the founder of the Los Angeles Angels baseball team.
September 29th was the last day of the regular baseball season in 1957, and two franchises played–and lost–their last games as New York teams on that day before moving to California. The Giants, headed to San Francisco, lost their last home game at the Polo Grounds to Pittsburgh, and the Brooklyn Dodgers were beaten in Philadelphia in their final game before moving to Los Angeles.
BRITISH INVASIONS
September 28 in history:
The Norman Conquest began on this date in 1066, when William, the Duke of Normandy, invaded England. William was crowned king of England the following Christmas.
The battle which ended the American Revolution began on September 28th, 1781. The British surrendered three weeks into the Battle of Yorktown in Virginia.
“Revolution” was the flip side of the Beatles’ single “Hey Jude,” which became the number-one song in America on this day in 1968, replacing “Harper Valley P.T.A.” ”Hey Jude” stayed on top of the charts for two months.
The Beatles led the “British Invasion” of American popular music when they first appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964. Sullivan was born September 28th, 1901…the same day and year as his long-time boss at CBS, network founder William S. Paley.
SHORT REIGNS
September 27 in history:
Pope Urban the 7th (real name, Giovanni Castagna) died on this date in 1590. He had only been the pope for 13 days, the shortest papacy ever. There was no controversy about the cause of death…Pope Urban died of malaria.
The assassination of the first Catholic president of the U.S. led to a government investigation that concluded on September 27th, 1964, with the release of the Warren Commission report. The Commission led by Chief Justice Earl Warren concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing President John F. Kennedy. TV networks did live programs about the Commission findings at the hour the report was released to the public.
A live late-night program called “Tonight!” debuted on September 27th, 1954, on NBC. Steve Allen was host for the first three years, succeeded by Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, and Conan O’Brien. Allen’s first night as host was also the 34th birthday of his wife, actress Jayne Meadows.
A THREE-YEAR TOUR
September 26 in history:
Explorer Francis Drake ended a three-year voyage around the world when he arrived back at his starting point of Plymouth, England, on this date in 1580. Drake was knighted by Queen Elizabeth less than a year later.
The cruise ship Queen Mary was launched on September 26th, 1934. It made regular cruises between Europe and the U.S. before it was retired in 1967, and docked in Long Beach, California.
“A three-hour tour” for the S.S. Minnow led to a three-year run on CBS for the sitcom “Gilligan’s Island,” which premiered on September 26th, 1964. ”Gilligan” producer Sherwood Schwartz launched another iconic sitcom on this day exactly five years later in 1969, when “The Brady Bunch” made its debut on ABC.
“The Beverly Hillbillies” also had its premiere on September 26th, in 1962…the birthday of Donna Douglas (1933), who played Elly May Clampett on the show. Immediately after “Hillbillies” that night on CBS, “The Dick Van Dyke Show” began its second season with a new opening sequence, in which Van Dyke, as TV writer Rob Petrie, walks into his house and either trips over an ottoman, or sidesteps it. Three versions were shot, so viewers could guess every week whether Rob would trip or not.
SEPTEMBER FIRSTS
September 25 in history:
On September 25th, 1513, explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the east, while traveling on the Isthmus of Panama. Balboa claimed the ocean for the king and queen of Spain.
On this date in 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor took office as the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
ABC was the first U.S. network to hire a woman to anchor the evening news, when it teamed Barbara Walters with Harry Reasoner in 1976. Walters was born on September 25th, 1929.
And the first weekly TV cartoon show about living celebrities debuted on ABC on September 25th, 1965. On “The Beatles” series, the animated adventures portrayed the band members as they looked in 1965. But during the four years that “The Beatles” aired on network TV, the show did take note of the band’s changes in appearance and musical styles.
SPY VS. SPY
September 24 in history:
On September 24th, 1789, President George Washington signed the Judiciary Act, creating the U.S. Supreme Court and the office of Attorney General.
The Attorney General can investigate cases of treason and espionage. The office was created too late for the Benedict Arnold case. On this date in 1780, Arnold fled to a British ship on the Hudson River after his plot to surrender West Point to the British was foiled.
The government conspiracy thriller “Three Days of the Condor”, starring Robert Redford as a CIA employee, was released on this day in 1975. The movie opened a year after Redford starred in “The Great Gatsby,” based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, born on September 24th, 1896.
RETURN OF THE CHICAGO SEVEN
September 23 in history:
Senator Richard Nixon had to give the biggest speech of his political career on this date in 1952. Nixon’s role as Dwight Eisenhower’s running mate in the presidential election was in jeopardy, because of questions about a fund used to help him pay campaign expenses. In a live, televised address, Nixon claimed that he would keep just one gift to his family…a dog named “Checkers.” The speech saved his spot on the Republican ticket.
Nixon went on to be elected president in 1968, the year that protesters rioted outside the Democratic Convention in Chicago. Eight organizers of the protests went on trial, starting on September 23rd, 1969. When the judge ordered a separate trial for defendant Bobby Seale, the protesters became known as the “Chicago 7.”
Bobby Seale’s name was used in a punchline in the college-reunion movie “The Big Chill,” which opened the New York Film Festival on September 23rd, 1983. That was the 36th birthday of “Big Chill” cast member Mary Kay Place, also known for her role as a country singer on ”Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.”
QUEENS, KINGS, AND HANGINGS
September 22 in history:
Nineteen people were hanged in Salem, Massachusetts, during a seven-month period in 1692, for allegedly practicing witchcraft. The final hanging happened on September 22nd that year.
Twenty-one-year-old Nathan Hale was hanged as a spy by the British on this date in 1776 in New York City. Hale had gone behind enemy lines to observe the movements of British troops.
The American colonists were rebelling against England’s King George the 3rd, who was crowned on this date in 1761. George set a record as England’s longest-reigning monarch, serving for 59 years…a record broken on September 22nd, 1896, by his granddaughter, Queen Victoria.
Anne of Cleves was queen of England for a very short time, only six months. She was the fourth wife of King Henry the 8th, who had the marriage annulled. Anne was born on September 22nd, 1515.
DO YOU BELIEVE?
September 21 in history:
A letter about Santa Claus appeared in the newspaper in September…on this date in 1897. The New York Sun printed the letter from 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon, which asked “Is there a Santa Claus?” The famous response by editor Francis P. Church included the answer, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”
The Mormon Church began with a vision seen by Joseph Smith on September 21st, 1823. Smith said an angel named Moroni appeared to him, and revealed the existence of golden plates which would be translated into the Book of Mormon.
A musical called “The Book of Mormon” would become a Broadway hit in 2011. A big hit musical from the 1940′s, “Annie Get Your Gun,” was revived on September 21st, 1966, in New York. The show’s original star, Ethel Merman, once again played Annie Oakley in the new version.
Mary Martin starred in the touring company of “Annie Get Your Gun” when Merman was performing in the original Broadway run. September 21st is the birthday of Martin’s son Larry Hagman (1931), who starred on TV in “Dallas” and “I Dream of Jeannie.”
(Letter and editorial courtesy of lettersofnote.com.)
